• Loose Lips, Kemper Donovan
• The Butler, Clare Mackintosh
• Mad Mabel, Sally Helpworth
• The Land and Its People, David Sedaris
• A Curse of Beasts and Magic, Jeaniene Frost
• The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne, Ron Currie
• The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield, Claudia Gray
• A Power Unbound, Freya Marske
• Beach Thriller, Jamie Day

Kemper Donovan’s Loose Lips is an intelligently written treat of a mystery. Belle Currer, ghost writer and mystery writer, is invited to teach on a women’s writing cruise by her arch-frenemy Payton Garrett, bestseller and champion self-promoter. The tension builds immediately when Belle and Payton’s former close friend comes on board, and it’s not too surprising when the bodies start falling. Belle is just enough self-aware to keep us interested, and Payton turns out to deserve being a best-seller. This is great fun.

The Butler is just as enthralling. Baxter, a meticulous and hard-working butler, is hired to temporarily manage a lavish beach house overlooking Cannes. The guest host, Alec Prescott, has invited a blend of family and business acquaintances to the celebrated film festival. Baxter, arriving in the middle of an emergency, is up to the task. But all to soon a gang of thieves, a young pickpocket, and the roving hands of Alec, Baxter has his hands full. To no one’s surprise, Alex is found dead. Baxter is just as good at solving mysteries as he is buttling.

Sally Hepworth’s Mad Mabel is a hot book, and deservedly so. We meet Mabel as an 81-year-old woman, devoid of friends and living a fierce and independent life. Her past is unknown to her neighbors, and that’s the way Mabel wants it. But when a neighbor is found dead, Mabel’s past becomes public, and she must soldier on to keep her life on keel. A very young neighbor, Persephone, and two podcasters play surprising roles in Mabel’s life. Loved this book.

I think I’ve read everything David Sedaris has written. I was very excited about The Land and Its People. Of course, this book is well-written, like everything Sedaris does. It truly is a mixture of delight and apprehension. It’s not surprising that Sedaris is a bad nurse to his partner, Hugh, after Hugh has a hip replacement. But he’s also a help. Mindful of the passage of time and the probability of infirmity (as we all are) Sedaris finds friends and enemies, pleasure and interest, and ultimately entertains us all with his musings and travel.

In the interest of disclosure, I’ve known and liked Jeaniene Frost for many years. I was really happy to hear A Curse of Beasts and Magic was on its way, and even happier to get my copy. What a great read! Raine Stone (who is the sole survivor of an attack on her family) now harbors a Beast within. Since it feeds on violence, Raine tries to make her Beast useful by preying on predators. Naturally, her secret comes out, and Remy Byrne must make Raine either an accomplice or a target. Together, they might save the world.

Ron Currie’s The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is remarkable. That means it can be hard to handle from time to time. Babs is an amazingly tough character, a sort of French-Canadian-in-Maine godmother. Her community relies on her, and she’s up to the task . . . until a point. Not for the weak of heart or stomach, this has to be one of the best books I’ve read this year to date.

I’m a huge Jane Austen fan, so from time to time I sample the Austen-based books that I come across. Mostly, I’m disappointed . . . but not by Claudia’s Gray’s series. I could eat these novels for breakfast. Jonathan Darcy, neurodivergent son of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, finds a kindred soul (one who does not mock him for his oddities) in Miss Juliet Tilney, whose parents are found in another Austen book. The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield is their fifth murder investigation, and also marks the deepening of their attachment.

A Power Unbound is the final book in Freya Marske’s THE LAST BINDING trilogy. Jack Alston (Lord Hawthorn) and his friends have terrible enemies with great power, so he and his friends are in danger. The plot comes to a head at Cheetham Hall, Jack’s ancestral home and the base of his family’s power. The climax is suspenseful and shattering. Marske writes with great charm and inventiveness. I hope you read all three books.

Here’s another book I really liked, Beach Thriller by Jamie Day. Holly Sinclair, an author who is broke (yes, it happens), has to retreat to her family’s beach house. It’s in terrible condition. Holly has to write a book to make the money for repairs, she’s pestered by a realtor who only wants to put the house on the market, and there’s a teenager squatting in the house who is actually in worse shape than Holly, emotionally and financially. There’s trouble brewing; we find Holly is being watched by someone who knows more about her past than she does. Luckily, there’s a congenial handyman to help Holly find her way.

Blog:

I’m in the enviable position of having news I can’t share yet. Believe me, I’ll spill when I can.

I got to hold my grand-snakes this past week. Yes, my grandchildren have two snakes, both ball pythons. Kamari is the older, really beautiful with several colors: my grandson says she is a designer snake. Kamari is very chill. I love to hold her. Mello, who is all white, is much smaller and timid. He’s had a rough time of it, and is just now becoming healthy and can eat on his own.

Yes, they eat mice. And watching Kamari strike is a lesson in snake nature. From seeming quite slow and indolent, she is a bolt of lightning. Sobering, for sure.

Our grandson is allergic to almost anything with fur, so conventional pets are not for this family. But snakes are interesting. Somewhat to my surprise, I am happy to hold them. Snakes are not cold and slimy. They are cool and smooth.

I had never imagined I’d take an interest in snakes. But then I never anticipated watching a young man with a pink guitar sing to wild animals (Plumes). Or watch meerkats keeping watch on their surroundings from top of a photographer’s head (Jack Swynnerton). The wild world is endlessly fascinating when we take the time to look. We see deer in our yard frequently, and we live in a suburban neighborhood. We also have a fox who visits, and some roadrunners (clue: they are not purple and they do not go “Beep beep,” for those who have seen the cartoons).

I spotted a prairie falcon in my church parking lot, sitting on one of the lighting poles. He (or she) was magnificent.

Our tame world is interwoven with the wild world, and that’s the way it should be. We should notice. We should share. It’s their world, too.

Charlaine Harris