Quick Lit September 2019 Archives

Summer of ’69

by Elin Hilderbrand

Is it really summer if you don't read Elin Hilderbrand’s latest novel? This time she's back with her first historical fiction. The Levin children love spending their summers at their grandmother's home in downtown Nantucket but this summer finds them torn in other directions—Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Vietnam—with the exception of 13 year old Jessie, who's suddenly not so sure about getting stuck with her grandmother. Get a front seat view as the family experiences the changing times for their country and for themselves.

The Secrets We Kept

by Lara Prescott

The story behind this historical thriller could launch its own novel. Lara Prescott has always loved the book Dr Zhivago, and was stunned—along with the rest of the world—when the CIA declassified documents revealing that it had played a role in the book's covert publication and distribution in Russia during the Cold War. This is Prescott's imagining of what that might have looked like. The story moves between East, where the focus is on Pasternak and his muse/mistress, and West, where readers get to know the female spies of the OSS. The book has the feel of Kate Quinn’s The Huntress, with some of the storytelling flavor of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, or Brit Bennet’s The Mothers.

A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

by Louise Penny

A favorite series, set in a tiny village in Quebec. These mysteries are unlike anything I'd ever read: the whodunit plot lines are just an excuse to explore human nature, granting them a depth and psychological astuteness I never expected from this genre. (Note: if I thought Three Pines was a real place, I'd move there in a heartbeat.) These are great on audio.

Playing House (Uptown Book 1)

by Ruby Lang

When I found out there was a new novel that featured two urban planners falling in love, you can bet I was all over it: I'm fascinated by urban planning, yet this topic never comes up in fiction! In this short book—just over 100 pages—two professional planners get to know each other by touring homes all over NYC's Uptown. I so enjoy a book that makes me google locations, and this one had me searching for Strivers' Row and Forest Hills Gardens. This was fast and fun, but take note: this book was spicier (that is, more open-door) than I'm typically comfortable with.

Quick Lit September 2019

Summer of ’69

The Secrets We Kept

A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

Playing House (Uptown Book 1)

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th