Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

 

Very quirky, very funny.

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke

This was fantastic -- a great combination of mystery, social commentary, and excellent writing. Recommended.

The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar

 

I didn't like this -- it felt kind of emotionally manipulative as well as unresolved.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

 

meh

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Honestly, this was disappointing.

Pleasantville by Attica Locke

 

 Attica Locke is one of my favorites. As usual, an excellent combo of mystery and social commentary. Highly recommended.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

 

This worked on so many levels. Why have I never read Robinson before?

American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashtower

 

This was solid. Lots of interesting details.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

 

I honestly can't believe this was published. The writing is spectacularly cliched, and the story is bizarre.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

 

A really delightful book with a really lame ending.

Camino Island by John Grisham

 

This was a little different for him (i.e., not a legal thriller), but a fun read.

The Truth about Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell

 

The basic conceit here was . . . implausible?

Science Fictions by Stuart Ritchie

 

Super-interesting.

A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver

 

This was good. I really like this series.

The Puppeteer's Daughters by Heather Newton

 

This was very clever. Good characters, nice plot. Would be fun to discuss.

Review copy provided by publisher.

What She Knew by Miranda Rijks

 

This was a solid mystery (despite the somewhat cheesy cover). It had a good twist.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

 

This wasn't very good -- it's an interesting idea, but was too short to be developed well.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

 

This was so clever. 

Vox by Christina Dalcher

 

This was really amazing. It would be great to discuss.

Deep Work by Cal Newport

 

The book was a bit simplistic, but the concepts are solid.

Traitor King by Andrew Lownie

 

No doubt a fascinating story, but this book is written in a dull way and seems to uncritically use sources.

Review copy provided by publisher.

All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell

 

Fascinating story, excellent writing -- nonfiction just does not get much better than this. Highly recommended.

Overkill by Sandra Brown

 

Interesting plot, but a lot of painfully awkward writing.

Review copy provided by publisher.

All the Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson

 

I would describe this as 'just ok' in terms of plot and characters. And the narrator for the teen girl was way too over the top -- it really distracted from the audio book.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

 

This was a mediocre thriller with an exceptionally poor narrator.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

 

This was decent.

All the Secrets of the World by Steve Almond

 

This was unusually good.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

 

Decent.

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

 

This was objectively silly, but I still kind of liked it.

Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

 

This was really well done -- the solution may have been a little too pat, but the character development was excellent.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

 

I can't decide whether I liked this.

Impact by Mark Mills

 

This was well-done. Several layers, unexpected events. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Another fun beach read.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

 

This was very clever and well done. Recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

 

I enjoyed this -- it's a quintessential beach read.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

 

This was pretty good. I stayed up too late finishing it.

Oleander City by Matt Bondurant

 

This just wasn't very good. It tried to do too much, and didn't do any of it particularly well.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

 

I think I liked this?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

 

This was pretty good. Not life-changing or anything, but pretty good.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

 

This was really fun. If you are in the mood for a light rom-com, this is a good choice.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Mistaken Identity by Lisa Scottoline

 

Decent.

The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci

 

Very engaging, right up until the end, when it totally jumped the shark.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Into the Mist by P. C. Cast

 

Interesting concept, but it didn't really do anything unique with it, the dialogue was a bit stilted, and the treatment of religion was ham-fisted.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Boys by Katie Hafner

 

A great story. I'm still not sure if I think the sudden resolution near the end is reasonably realistic or not, but there is--either way--a lot of interesting things going on here.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger

 

I loved this. Just totally got into it. Highly recommended.

An Immense World by Ed Yong

 

I feel like this should have been fascinating, but somehow it still felt like a slog.

The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. by Lee Kravetz

 

Unusually good -- a really compelling story.

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

 

This was kind of amazing, unique. I'll be thinking about it for a long time. It would be great for book groups. Recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Billy Summers by Stephen King

 

Decent.

Courting Trouble by Lisa Scottoline

 

Decent.

Secrets from the Eating Lab by Traci Mann

 

This is very, very good. Recommended. 

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky

 

Unusually good -- excellent writing, solid plot. Recommended.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

 

This was unusually good -- interesting plot, ultimately uplifting.