The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe features a very smart woman who knows how to “work the system.” She is very good at accounting, as she learns early in her life, and figures out how to use her talents to embezzle money. You will probably feel bad for her, at first, as she tries to help save her father’s business, the reader understands how Becky starts this life of crime. Her motives are pure- help her father save his farm equipment business. But everything snowballs until there is no turning back.
It’s a wild ride to follow her journey and watch as she lives what is a double life.
Synopsis:
At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie’s in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she’s known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she’s a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.
But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely—a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family’s farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town’s treasurer and controller.
No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson’s accounts better than Becky; she’s the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn’t see—and can never discover—is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, “borrowed” funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.
But as Reba Farwell’s deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell’s debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?
What is interesting to me is that this story is based on a real woman:
Inspired by the true story of the woman who pulled off the biggest municipal fraud in US History, embezzling over $50 million in a period spanning more than 20 years.
This comes out in September, you can pre-order here!
In Convince Me by Nina Sadowsky, every wife’s nightmare comes true. Your husband isn’t who you thought he was. How did she not know who this man really was?
When Annie’s husband Justin dies, she learns the man she married has lied and deceived her. Narrated by Annie, along with Justin’s mother, Carol plus friend Will, this book will have you hooked. By about by halfway through I was turning the pages as quickly as possible.
Take a look:
Justin Childs is handsome, likable, smart. A devoted son to his mother, Carol; a loving husband to his wife, Annie; and a sure-footed, savvy business partner to his best friend from college, Will. To so many, the perfect man. He’s also a liar. And now he’s dead.
When Justin’s body is retrieved from the wreckage of a car accident, his death leaves his loved ones with more questions than answers. In life, his charm and easygoing nature inspired trust, making him friends wherever he went. Now that he’s gone, the cracks begin to show: disturbing discrepancies in his company’s financials, unaccounted-for absences, a medical record that appears to be entirely fabricated.
As the secrets and betrayals pile up, Annie, Carol, and Will realize their beloved Justin was not the man they thought he was. And why was he found dead with Valium in his system when he notoriously detested drugs? Was the crash that killed him really an accident—or did Justin finally get caught in something he couldn’t lie his way out of?
I loved the premise of this novel. It’s crazy how this sociopath misled people and you will definitely have to add this to your TO READ list!
Coming out on August 4, you can pre-order it here.
I love a great historical fiction novel and The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore is a book I think you will love as much as I did. I appreciate a beautifully written story that entertains and teaches me something new, especially when it’s based on true events like this one. It reminded me of when I read about Georgia Tran, an evil woman who abducted children and sold them, a prolific child trafficker. When I learned about her, I listened to every podcast and read everything I could.
Now, learning about Dolly and her work, I am intrigued and need to find out more. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Take a look:
When twenty-six-year-old Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to stay for only one year to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women. Within days, she discovers that the job is much more complicated than perfect stitches and even hems. San Francisco has a dark side, one where a powerful underground organization—the criminal tong—buys and sells Chinese girls like common goods. With the help of Chinese interpreters and a local police squad, Donaldina works night and day to stop the abominable slave and prostitution trade.
Mei Lien believes she is sailing to the “Gold Mountain” in America to become the wife of a rich Chinese man. Instead she finds herself sold into prostitution—beaten, starved, and forced into an opium addiction. It is only after a narrow escape that she hears of the mission home and dares to think there might be hope for a new life.
Before starting this book, I knew nothing about the trafficking of Chinese girls in San Francisco. Rich details plus facts, and excellent research make this novel an absolute must-read. As heartbreaking as it is, it’s important to learn about the history that wasn’t taught in school. Now I want to learn more about Donaldina “Dolly” Cameron.
Another excellent book! Be sure to read this when it comes out on September 1. Pre-order here!
Jodi Picoult’s books are always very good. She is one of those authors whose books I read as soon as they come out. I am still remembering when I read My Sister’s Keeper and how bereft I felt as I closed the novel, exhausted and emotional over the entire story.
The Book of Two Ways is her latest. Since the main character, Dawn, is studying to be an Egyptologist, there is heavy archeology and Egyptian references throughout the book which, at times, can slow down the flow of the story.
Look at the interesting premise:
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.
But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.
As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?
There must have been a ton of research into ancient Egypt and belief in an afterlife along with quantum physics in this book. While I enjoyed most of it, I wished the book was a little lighter in the heavy details. But still, it’s a book I’d recommend to fans of Jodi’s work!
This will be published on September 22, pre-order now!
What a book! I knew from the synopsis I needed to read If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin. An unstable main character who falls in love with someone and plunges into a prison of her own thoughts will always grab my attention.
Constance is a lonely young woman who works at a doctor’s office. When she embarks on a secret affair with one of the doctors, she is soon pulled into a dark obsession that takes over everything she does. She believes they are in love, he believes its all just “fun” and discards her. Constance won’t let him go, however, and delves into a destructive obsession.
I appreciate how the author really takes us into the mind of Constance.
Take a look:
Samuel, the day we met I knew I’d finally found what I’ve been waiting for.
You. Happiness, at last. Then you left me.
And now I am alone. Everyone I love leaves in the end. But not this time. I’m not giving up on us. I’m not giving up on you.
When you love someone, you never let them go. That’s why for me, this is just beginning.
This is one of those books where the reader is glued to the pages, knowing the character is taking things too far, but we need to keep reading to see just how far she will go.
Don’t miss If I Can’t Have You! It’s due out on July 9. If you liked The Girl on the Train or Gone Girl, I think you will love this book.
I didn’t see it on Amazon but you can order it from Book Depository (I order books from here all the time) here.
This was a fabulous novel, I’ve seen so many people rave about it and the accolades are well deserved. And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall should be on your radar. Its suspenseful, twisty, captivating, and Rachel has a very descriptive way of writing so every chapter will thoroughly entertain you!
Take a look:
Isabel Lincoln is gone. But is she missing?
It’s up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray’s search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman’s secrets and the truth she’s hidden from her friends and family.
Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, Rachel Howzell Hall’s And Now She’s Gone explores the nature of secrets — and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.
I enjoyed the character of Grayson, a PI carrying the pain of her past, drinking to escape, trying to get through the days. There is a parallel between the missing woman, Isabel, and Grayson. I love it when characters are flawed and dimensional; I think the author did a brilliant job with Grayson. And the book is one you won’t want to miss.
Coming out on September 22, pre-order now.
This book is CRAZY.
Twisty.
I don’t even know how to gather my thoughts enough to write about it other than to say I loved it. If you like your books full of suspense and darkness, this is for you!
My Darling by Amanda Robson is a book you should go into not knowing much, it will shock you and leave you thinking, “WHAT DID I READ?”
Synopsis:
A new couple moves in next door.
And nothing will ever be the same again…I watched you move in and thought we might be friends. I saw you watching from the window – and knew I’d have to keep you away from my husband.
I started to trust you. Confide in you. I started to mistrust you. Suspect you. I was confused when I blacked out after an evening at your place. Was I really that drunk?
I came up with a plan. A plan to make you both pay . . .
I’m glad I have never had neighbors like the ones in this book. The characters are tricky and cunning.
Really, don’t take my word for it, read it yourself!
It comes out on August 24, pre-order here.
I will preface this by saying I don’t cry often. So when I read a review for The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels, and it mentioned having tissues nearby, I thought yeah sure. But you know what? Tears were streaming down my face as I read the last few chapters of this book.
I don’t know what stood out for me initially: was it the five-star reviews? The plot of a man dying of AIDs in the 80s when everyone feared catching it? The idea that numerous gay men suffered and died alone, which pains my heart? The mention of the excellent novel, Tell The Wolves I’m Home? Whatever the case, I knew I had to read this, and I’m glad I did.
Take a look:
Small-town Appalachia doesn’t have a lot going for it, but it’s where Brian is from, where his family is, and where he’s chosen to return to die.
At eighteen, Brian, like so many other promising young gay men, arrived in New York City without much more than a love for the freedom and release from his past that it promised. But within six short years, AIDS would claim his lover, his friends, and his future. With nothing left in New York but memories of death, Brian decides to write his mother a letter asking to come back to the place, and family, he was once so desperate to escape.
Set in 1986, a year after Rock Hudson’s death shifted the public consciousness of the epidemic and brought the news of AIDS into living rooms and kitchens across America, The Prettiest Staris part Dog Years by Mark Doty and part Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. But it is also an urgent story now: it a novel about the politics and fragility of the body; it is a novel about sex and shame. And it is a novel that speaks to the question of what home and family means when we try to forge a life for ourselves in a world that can be harsh and unpredictable. It is written at the far reaches of love and understanding, and zeroes in on the moments where those two forces reach for each other, and sometimes touch.
Days after I finished this book and I still get emotional thinking about Brian’s story and everything he went through. I feel like there is so much to unpack with this and I highly, highly recommend it. The Prettiest Star is emotional, sad, and heartbreaking, but it’s a must-read. My emotions went from sadness to anger to rage to sadness again to love. But yeah, have tissues nearby or at least a sleeve.
YOU WILL CRY. This book will stay with you.
The Prettiest Star will be one of the best I’ve read in 2020! You can get it here.
Another excellent book to add to your must-read list! 2020 has been a year (so far) of craziness, yes- but also of great books! Thank goodness, we really need books at this time, don’t we?
Her Perfect Life by Rebecca Taylor caught my attention right away. Clare Collins is a novelist with secrets. She lives her life out of the spotlight and when she is discovered dead on the beach, the first question is WHY?
Clare’s sister Eileen is confounded. Why would Clare kill herself after all of her success? The two sisters weren’t close but Eileen takes it upon herself to look for the truth behind what happened to her sister. What kind of secrets did Clare harbor?
Synopsis:
Do we ever really know the ones we love? Reclusive Clare Collins crafts her novels like she crafts her life: perfectly. So the world is stunned when the famous author is found dead on a beach from a self-inflicted gunshot — the morning after her latest book hits the shelves. Her sister, Eileen, is at a loss. Clare led a charmed life: success, mansions, money… Why would she throw it all away? But while reading through her sister’s latest — and greatest — novel, Eileen discovers a clue that unravels the fiction and reveals the painful truth. Suddenly, the life that Eileen had envied doesn’t seem so sparkling… Her Perfect Life is a page-turning debut that reminds us that no matter the success, everyone has secrets. And some are more devastating than others.
Flawed characters, infidelity, secrets, family… it’s all here in this book. Her Perfect Life is out now so you can get it here and start reading.
