On our honeymoon, I took a variety of used paperbacks that I left in the libraries of our hotels and other spaces. Ten years later, I have fully joined the ebook space, thanks to the friends who forced a used Kindle on me a few birthdays back — and finally getting approved for NetGalleys, so here is what I read on my summer, er, spring vacation. Most links to my local indie, Bookmarks, (except the one really indie book); feel free to order from yours or check your local library!
ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET, Molly Morris
What a dear little coming-of-age — coming-of-death? — book. Morris had me crying tears of frustration, sorrow, and joy. It’s a wacky concept that works, with a strange little insular town where a person can come back to life for 30 days every ten years, and an altogether lovely story with wonderful bi/pan representation. Available now.
THE SWIMMER, Loreth Anne White
Loreth Anne White is hardly a new author, so I was very excited to get approved for this on NetGalley, and it did not disappoint. An unreliable “rear window”y narrator; a good looking but sketchy husband; and a ‘victim’ that may have been less than innocent? Sign me UP. A perfect vacation read. Pub date 9/10.
KNIFE RIVER, Justine Champine
So, fun fact, this is actually the second Net Galley book I read on this trip about a fraught sisterly dynamic. I refused to leave a review for the first because it was just that bad (to me). It was supposedly a dramatic take on “Snow White and Rose Red” but read more like a judgement on women who choose the bear over men. And I don’t even think that was a thing when this book would have been written.
Anyway, KNIFE RIVER is a fraught sisterly drama fronting as a white lady thriller. Yes, the drama is about Jess and Liz discovering what happened to their mother who disappeared in their youth, but it’s more about trauma and how different people deal with it, with a mystery on the side. I liked it much more than expected. Out now.
THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY, Brendan Slocumb
Somehow I read Slocumb’s second novel first, but this hold finally came in on Libby during our trip, so I had to get to it. Much has been written about his unique voice, as a Black man in classical music — and a fit, tattooed one, at that — so I won’t bore you with those easily googleable details, but suffice it to say this semi-local celeb (he graduated from UNC Greensboro) undeniably has a way with words. I loved both of his books and will be first on the list for anything new.
GIRL, MISSING, Dreda Say Mitchell & Ryan Carter
This was an Amazon Prime First to Read option right before we left. It’s got a fairly solid 4.0 rating, 3.9 on Goodreads, which I feel is probably fair given that my experience has been that Goodreaders tend to be overly judgey [it’s why I’m not on there; people are so very, very confident in their wrongness]. At any rate, this is a solid British white lady thriller, which is its own subgenre in Annworld and sometimes just what you want.
MALL WALKERS: THE DAY THE SHOPPING DIED, Sean Thomas Fisher
This was a Voracious Readers Only pick that took me back to my days waiting tables in a mall restaurant. Fisher says he writes “GOOSEBUMPS for adults”, and that is pretty darn accurate. This was a fun quick read with just enough jump scares and “what the heck”s. He especially did a really good job showing the chaotic action scenes. Available now.
THE GHOST OF US, James L. Sutter
Not gonna lie, I was a little concerned about a white dude writing a female teen LGBTQ+ protagonist especially when my first Net Galley YA this trip was so cute [see ANNIE LEBLANC above]. BUT, I liked this a lot. Cara is a teen wannabe ghost hunter who finally finds a ghost (who wants to set her up with his sister so he can step into the light) and a very realistically flawed protagonist. I could see all of the characters so clearly, and it’s a wonderful story about learning what really matters. Available now.
Ann Davis-Rowe 
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