All in Her Head by Elizabeth Comen

 

Interesting and infuriating.

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

 

Meh.

The New People by Andrea Uptmor

 

In general, this was quite good, with a few surprising moves and interesting perspectives (although it is hard to say more without adding spoilers). However, there was one character and situation that just felt so one-dimensional, and that was pretty disappointing. Overall, though, this could be a really good choice for book groups.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Night Watch by Iris and Roy Johansen

 

Decent.

Swamp Story by Dave Barry

 

Fun.

One of Us by Elizabeth Day

 

Decent.

The Sorrow Proper by Lindsey Drager

 

Meh

A Philosophy of Ruin by Nicholas Mancusi

 

Meh.

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein

 

Decent.

Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

 Meh.

Rules for Aging and Larceny by Julia London

 

Fun.

The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne

Decent.

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

 

Meh.

Very Slowly All at Once by Lauren Schott

 Decent.

The English Problem by Benna Kamlani

 

 Solid.

Get Lost by Justin Halpern

 

I was a bit surprised at how good this was. It was clever, with well-developed characters and a not-predictable plot.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts

 

If you can suspend a lot of disbelief, this is a really fun series. I do wish Thorogood were just a little more careful with some aspects so that wouldn't be necessary. But this is still a fun series.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monoghan

 

Fun.

Voyagers by Meg Charlton

 

 Tedious.

Whiteout by Ken Follett

 

Meh.

Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong

 Solid, and Eunice Wong is always a plus 

Julia at the Drive-In by Rainbow Rowell

 

OMG, this was so much fun. I pretty much never do short stories, but this was just delightful.

Review copy provided by publisher.

A Good Person by Kirsten King

Entertaining .

Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker

 

Meh.

Take Me with You by Steven Rowley

 

I usually love  Rowley, but this was disappointing.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back on the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 

Decent.

Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh

 

This seems like something I would hate, what with all of the magical realism and meandering, overly-detailed discursions. But for some reason I loved it. Maybe it was partially the narrator?

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Lowe Job by Grace Alexander

 

I didn't love this because it seemed like it was neither fish nor fowl: it couldn't quite decide what genre, tone, or register it wanted to be. That said, I do think there would be a lot here for book groups to discuss.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Burning Library by Gilly MacMillan

 

Meh 

Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughn

 

So dumb.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

 

Fun.

Insane City by Dave Barry

 

Lots of fun.

Blackman's Coffin by Mark de Castrique

 Solid.

Social Animals by Camille Perri

 

Basically solid, and I appreciated a sort of unusual plot twist as well as an excellent twist at the very end. However, it seemed like it couldn't quite decide whether it was a farce (see: the gala) or more serious (see: issues faced by characters).

Review copy provided by publisher.

Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer

Very solid. There was some dimension missing stopping it from being fantastic; it felt somewhat predictable. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews

 

I really liked this.

A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman

 

Meh.

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith

 

I really liked this.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monoghan

 

So much fun.

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick

 

Meh.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

 

So very, very bad.

Year Zero by Rob Reid

 

 Solid.

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

 

Meh.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

 

Really good.

The Children by Melissa Albert

 

This was a fun read, but it just didn't feel like it quite stuck the landing. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

Blunt Instrument by Amy Bloom

 

This was a solid mystery, but there just wasn't anything really setting it apart from all of the other mysteries out there.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Final Chapter by C. B. Everett

 

This was a lot of fun -- many meta elements that were well-constructed and not predictable.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin

 

Solid 

A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Fun.

Two Times Murder by Adam Oyebanji

 

Decent.