Etna

by Paul Yoon

Scribner/S&S

     A brilliant anti-war novel for our time. This should be required reading for anyone thinking about joining the military.  Actually everyone should read this book, immediately. 

     Etna's voice never falters. Yoon does an amazing job of keeping a strong, compassionate dog in charge of the story; and making you care so very much for Etna, his pack and his search for home and peace.

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Tell Me Something True

by Michael Robotham

Atlantic Crime/GroveAtlantic/IPG

pub date 1/5/2027

    You will want this to not end. The tension comes partly from the crime at the heart of the story. But more than that, you come to care for these people. They are so well written, you believe in them and that you've known them. And you very much want things to turn out well for them, in spite of that seeming like a long shot.

I apologize for posting so far ahead of the pub date, but you can probably preorder at bookshop.org or at the very least secure one on hold at your library.

These Days

by Lucy Caldwell

SJP Lit/PRH

    Belfast in 1941 - a family story in the midst of the bombings. Not for the squeamish, but very well told. An intimate look at three women of the family and the decisions they need to make for themselves while keeping themselves and their loved ones as safe as possible.

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org. 

In the Morning I'll Be Gone

Rain Dogs

by Adrian McKinty

Blackstone Publishing

    

     The Sean Duffy series of mysteries is set in Northern Ireland around the time of the Troubles. Duffy is a police officer in Carrickfergus, near Belfast. The political situation is not a main character, but is there. You don't need to

read the series in order (I haven't); each book is a separate mystery, 'though some refer back to other solved cases. The stories tend to be intense, the characters very human, the mysteries sometimes bloody and not easily solved, but well worth the effort.

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org. 

Ghost-Eye

by Amitav Ghosh

FSG/Macmillan

    You don't need to believe in a spiritual dimension, reincarnation, or even like to eat fish in order to fall under the spell of this beautiful novel. It is a family story, a coming of age story and a search for a world that is just beyond our everyday senses. 

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.