Tag: Readers’ Advisory

Suggested Reading Five: March 25, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ’90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett 

More than a chronicle of Black comedy, Bennett’s 20 chapters tell a story of cultural innovation for recognition and self-representation. The Peabody Award-winning political journalist and PBS NewsHour co-anchor employs chronologically arranged portraits of performers and programs from minstrelsy, vaudeville, Broadway, motion pictures, radio, and television. Linking early performers, such as minstrel Billy Kersands (1842-1915), to TV programs like Living Single (1993-98) and Chappelle’s Show (2003-06), Bennett shows how Black comedians have fundamentally shaped the American sense of humor and how pointed, provocative, nuanced, unapologetic Black voices engaged with issues like racism, sexism, colorism, and class. Their irreverent, sometimes controversial or even offensive comedy has challenged stereotypes and pushed boundaries, redefining public perceptions of comedy and Black identity. While carving out spaces for themselves in mainstream entertainment amid shifting politics and media industry economics, Black comedians have used humor to survive and subvert oppression. They have wielded artful satire as a weapon of resistance and helped open eyes in the United States and elsewhere to the richness and complexity of Black life.  

VERDICT Bennett’s deft unfolding of a complicated legacy offers readers of U.S. popular culture, race relations, or Black identity insight into Black comedy’s poignant power. – Starred Library Journal Review 

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Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano 

Starting her latest adventure (following Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave), Cosimano’s heroine is used to a chaotic life, but things have been harder since Vero Rodriguez, her kids’ nanny and Finlay’s own literal partner in crime, was arrested. Now Vero is under house arrest and awaiting trial for a crime (stealing from a sorority treasury) she adamantly insists she did not commit. Determined to clear Vero’s name, Finlay agrees to leave her adorable but wild children in the care of her boyfriend, “hot cop” Nick Anthony, and hops in her minivan. She arrives at Vero’s home to learn that Vero has been getting threatening messages and has had just about all of her overprotective mother and aunt that she can take. Together with help from some of their misfit friends, Finlay and Vero set out to prove Vero’s innocence. Hijinks ensue as they try to find Vero’s ex and alibi, identify her stalker, and program Vero’s ankle monitor to show her safely at home while she’s actually on a mission to clear her name.  

VERDICT Great pacing, humor, storytelling, and characterization for fans of the series or those who enjoy the books of Janet Evanovich and Jesse Q. Sutanto. –Library Journal Review  

Reader’s Note: Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line is the sixth book in the Finlay Donovan series. If you’d like to start reading the series from the beginning, check out book one: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It. 

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Python’s Kiss: Stories by Louise Erdrich 

An eight-year-old girl is sent to live with her flinty grandparents while her mother has a baby, carefully fitting herself into their hard-bitten lives as they run a small grocery store and butcher shop overseen by a fierce guard dog. School is not much safer when a presentation of “dangerous exotic creatures,” including an enormous python, veers out of control. The title story, the first in this enrapturing collection set primarily in Erdrich’s centering place, Minnesota, is saturated with feelings while wild, hilarious, and cruel acts and accidents occur in rapid succession. Each dramatic tale that follows, however distinct, generates a similar incandescent intensity. Dora’s niece insists on hearing the stories of Dora’s four water-damaged wedding dresses. A boa constrictor signifies the drastic troubles plaguing the son of a woman running a tribal newspaper. “The Hollow Children” reveals the thoughts of a farmer and part-time schoolteacher driving a full school bus through a deadly 1923 blizzard. “Love of My Days” is a riveting nineteenth-century outlaw tale. Erdrich glides into the future in two chilling tales about the corporate digital takeover of the afterlife. Spanning two writing decades, these profound and resplendent stories are shaped by wit, artistry, and wisdom as Erdrich traces the weave of life that intricately meshes humans with each other, animals, earth, sky, and spirit.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Erdrich is always on readers to-be-read lists and her admirers and all short-story lovers will be drawn to this landmark book, her first story collection since The Red Convertible (2009). –Starred Booklist Review  

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Second Chance Duet by Ana Holguin 

Celia Garcia has spent the last decade trying to break into the world of movie music, but so far all her jobs have involved creating advertising jingles and the like. Now a career-making opportunity to compose the score for a famous Hollywood director’s first television series is within her grasp. There is just one problem: Celia must work with a partner on the project. Ordinarily, Celia wouldn’t hesitate before agreeing to this stipulation, except the person Celia will be partnering with is none other than Oliver Barlowe. When they were both students at Juilliard, Oliver was a perpetual thorn in her side. Now if Celia wants the job, she will have to figure out some way to spend the next couple of months working closely with Oliver without going crazy. Holguin (Up Close & Personal, 2025) doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to composing a compelling enemies-to-lovers love story that is both flirtatiously sweet and seriously sexy in equal measures. With its perfectly matched protagonists and a fascinating plot that delves into the intriguing world of music composition, this will be a hit with romance readers. –Starred Booklist Review  

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Truffle Trouble by Amanda Flower 

Combining the sugar rush of candy making with a fascinating look at Amish life, a quirky whodunit, and a sweet romance between chocolatier Bailey King and Sheriff Aiden Brody, Amanda Flower’s USA Today bestselling Amish Candy Shop Mysteries continue, as summer wedding season comes to the village of Harvest, Ohio… 

Horror d’oeuvres 

Summer is finally upon the village of Harvest, Ohio, nestled in picturesque Amish Country, and folks are abuzz over their very own Bailey King’s upcoming June wedding. The Amish Candy shop owner and star of TV’s Bailey’s Amish Sweets is marrying Holmes County Sheriff Aiden Brody. To sweeten the occasion will be a scrumptious giant chocolate truffle wedding cake, made especially for the happy couple by Bailey’s New York City mentor, Jean Pierre. Other than the risk of the ring bearer, Jethro the pig, taking a bite out of the confection, what could go wrong? 

As it turns out, a food-related disaster does befall the day. But with Bailey in the mix, it’s nothing so pedestrian as a peckish pig. At the reception, a wedding guest dies after sampling the hors d’oeuvres. Café owner and new caterer Darcy Woodin, who made all the food except the desserts, is pegged by police as the number one suspect. Even more incriminating, the victim is one of Darcy’s ex-boyfriends . . . 

Still, Bailey is friends with Darcy, and she’s certain the young woman is innocent. Even before the first dance with her new husband, Bailey’s on the case. Can she help solve it in time for her honeymoon—or will a killer try to end her happily ever after before it’s even begun . . .? 

Reader’s Note: Truffle Trouble is the tenth book in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series. If you’d like to start reading from the beginning, check out book one: Assaulted Caramel. 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Reading Five: March 18, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson 

Stevenson’s hot streak continues with the fabulous fourth case for Ernest Cunningham (after Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret), an amateur sleuth and former writer of instructional texts about how to write whodunits. When Ernest and his fiancée Juliette visit a bank in the small Australian town of Huxley in search of a loan to finance Ernest’s PI business, they’re taken hostage by “a bank robber who doesn’t seem to care about money.” Puzzlingly, the robber locks the doors to the building but allows his captives to roam free as he attempts to fish out a single dollar from a locked vault. Unable to resist investigating, Ernest soon finds that many of his fellow hostages—including a film producer, a priest, numerous healthcare workers, and a security guard—also planned to rob the bank. Then someone in the party dies, piling a locked-room murder mystery on top of the already-curious case of overlapping heists. As always, Stevenson plays scrupulously fair with readers, offering all the evidence needed to solve his devilishly intricate puzzle from the jump. Still, even the most seasoned mystery fans will struggle to beat him to the final reveal. This series continues to impress. –Starred Publishers Weekly Review 

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Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America’s Birds by James H. McCommons 

The late 19th century was not a good time for North American birds, which were being hunted (for food, sport, and feathers) to the brink of extinction, until bird lovers intervened and called for protection. Journalist McCommons’s (Camera Hunter) account meticulously guides readers through the battles of the feather wars as politicians, socialites, artists, tycoons, gun makers, and game wardens collaborated to preserve birds and their habitats. The stories shared are truly awe-inspiring, as the bird crusade brought together the unlikeliest of allies who triumphed against overwhelming odds. McCommons hopes this account will serve as proof that big problems are not insurmountable. This is a timely message, as the United States once again faces a bird extinction crisis. The chapters are easy to follow, though descriptions of bird slaughter can be graphic. Contemporary photographs are sprinkled throughout the well-researched book for which McCommons visited libraries, museums, national parks, and wildlife refuges. There is an extensive notes section at the book’s end. VERDICT The chronicle of the fight to save birds will have widespread appeal to bird lovers, nature enthusiasts, and readers interested in environmental conservation.–Starred Library Journal Review  

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Love Song by Elle Kennedy 

A Briar universe standalone romance featuring the next generation Off-Campus characters—where one unforgettable summer changes everything. 

After a brutal breakup, college junior Blake Logan escapes to her family’s lake house in Tahoe, determined to shut out the world. Her plan is simple: no men, no drama. Until Wyatt Graham shows up. Four years older and far too good at getting under her skin, Wyatt is the living embodiment of a “bad idea,” and the guy who shattered her pride when she confessed her crush at sixteen. 

With his music career stalled, Wyatt has come to Tahoe for inspiration. The last thing he expects is to find it with Blake. He’s spent years keeping his distance, convinced he’s all wrong for her, but she’s no longer the innocent girl he once knew. She’s confident, captivating, and impossible to ignore. And the slow-burning tension between them? It’s catching fire fast. 

They both know this can’t last, but one reckless kiss turns into another, and soon they’re tangled in something that feels dangerously like more. Just as they finally give in to the pull, tragedy tears them apart, leaving their hearts in pieces. 

But forgetting that one, nearly perfect summer? Not a chance. And when fate brings them together again, Blake and Wyatt must decide if this is a second chance…or the final verse. 

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Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy  by Shamichael Hallman 

America is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with troubling effects on our mental and physical health. We live in one of the most divisive times in our history, one in which we tend to work, play, and associate only with people who think as we do. How do we create spaces for people to come together—to open our minds, understand our differences, and exchange ideas? 

Shamichael Hallman argues that the public library may be our best hope for bridging these divides and creating strong, inclusive communities. While public libraries have long been thought of as a place for a select few, increasingly they are playing an essential role in building social cohesion, promoting civic renewal, and advancing the ideals of a healthy democracy. Many are reimagining themselves in new and innovative ways, actively reaching out to the communities they serve. Today, libraries are becoming essential institutions for repairing society 

Libraries have a unique opportunity to bridge socioeconomic divides and rebuild trust. But in order to do so, they must be truly welcoming to all. They and their communities must work collaboratively to bridge socioeconomic divides through innovative and productive partnerships. 

Drawing from his experience at the Memphis Public Library and his extensive research and interviews across the country, Hallman presents a rich argument for seeing libraries as one of the nation’s greatest assets.  He includes examples from libraries large and small–such as the Iowa’s North Liberty Library’s Lighthouse in the Library program to bring people together to discuss important topics in a safe and supportive space, to Cambridge Cooks, an initiative of the Cambridge MA Public Library that fosters social connection by bringing people together over shared interest in food. 

As an institution that is increasingly under attack for creating a place where diverse audiences can see themselves, public libraries are under more scrutiny than ever. Meet Me at the Library offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and the social and civic impact they must play if we are to heal our divided nation. 

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On Sunday She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield 

In their first full-length novel, Schofield (author of the story collection Just a Little Snack) weaves a haunting, surreal Southern gothic meditation on generational trauma and what it takes to escape the bonds of toxic relationships. Time both drips and rushes by as readers follow 41-year-old Jude’s flight from her childhood home and abusive mother to take refuge in an abandoned cottage in the Georgia woods, where she finds freedom, despite the horrors that surround her. When the mysterious Nemoira arrives at her door, Jude takes her in and becomes enamored of her. Through their vivid, intoxicating prose, Schofield creates a visceral tale infused with feminine rage and the inherited trauma from being Black in America that is beautiful, bloody, and gory. VERDICT This evocative work that’s lush as a humid Georgia summer night will stick with readers for a long time. Fans of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland, or Tananarive Due will find themselves transfixed.–Starred Library Journal Review  

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Reading Five: January 14, 2026

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

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The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan 

Reader’s Note: The second book in the DS George Cross Mysteries Series, after The Dentist. 

DS George Cross has unique and unmatchable talents. He uses a combination of logic, determination and exacting precision to get answers where others have failed for families who have long given up hope. So when a ravaged body is found in a local demolition site, it’s up to Cross to piece together the truth from whatever fragments he can find. 

From the faint tan lines and strange scars on the victim’s forearms, Cross meticulously unravels the young man’s life, delving into the world of amateur cycling, an illicit supply of performance enhancing drugs, jealousy, ambition and a family tearing itself apart. 

Cross’s relentless pursuit of the truth and eccentric methods earn him few friends. But just as the police seem to be nearing a conclusion, he doubles back. Could it be the biggest mistake of his career? 

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Damaged People: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons by Joe McGinniss Jr. 

The son of a prominent writer contemplates difficult father-son relationships and the possibilities of healing. The author of political exposes (The Selling of a President 1968) as well as more sensationalistic works (the true-crime account Fatal Vision), McGinniss lived a “writer-as-rock-star” life, chasing stories, women, and fame. He was also cynical, depressive, an addict and alcoholic as well as an absent father allergic to anything that limited his freedom. His son, also named Joe McGinniss, builds the sober, intact household his father could not provide. But Jr., too, is a writer, and a keen observer of his own attachment-avoidant impulses. When his own son, Jayson, arrives, the younger McGinniss finds himself parenting in his father’s likeness: too stern, too angry, and more than a little scared of his own inadequacy. As the old man succumbs to late-life psychosis, his son must excavate his own trauma to halt the damage he has already started inflicting on teenage Jayson. The resulting memoir becomes an act of narrative therapy, as well as a raw and often poignant tribute to a difficult dad. 

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First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery by S J Rozan 

Reader’s Note: First Do No Harm is the sixteenth book in the Lydia Chin & Bill Smith Mystery Series. If you’d like to binge read the series from the beginning, check out book one: China Trade. 

About First Do No Harm: In the newest in the Lydia Chin and Bill Smith mystery series from S. J. Rozan since The Mayors of New York (2023), Dr. Elliott Chen asks his sister, private investigator Lydia, to investigate when Sophia Scott, a nurse helping to negotiate with management to prevent a nurses’ strike, is murdered. Lydia and her partner Bill find themselves in a maze of basement rooms in which it becomes evident that the institution is riddled with “scams and grifts . . . lying and covering up” and that there were many motives for the murder. Nurse Scott was definitely not a model employee. It’s a mad tangle and plays out in a brutally hot New York City August when air conditioning comes and goes at an annoying rate, reflecting the confounding case. Amidst the pervasive fragrance of legendary Manhattan curbside hot dogs, the two foodies find sanctuary in a few of the city’s amazing eateries. Throughout 16 books in a series that started in 1994, Rozan’s characters have bonded and grown, and readers are treated to a seemingly effortless flow of banter and deduction. They are in a class by themselves. – Starred Booklist Review  

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May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin 

Reader’s Note: The second book, after Knife Skills for Beginners, in the Chef Paul Delamare Mystery Series. 

About May Contain Murder: For fans of Nita Prose, Benjamin Stevenson, and Jessa Maxwell, this delightfully witty and tightly-written new locked room culinary mystery from the MasterChef semi-finalist, cookbook writer, and bestselling author of Knife Skills for Beginners features a charming chef, delicious original recipes, and a killer cruise aboard a luxurious superyacht. 

“If it weren’t for all the terrible things that have been happening, I’d consider myself the luckiest man alive . . .” While his flooded house undergoes repairs, chef-turned-writer Paul Delamare has been offered an accommodation upgrade—an all-expenses-paid trip aboard a private superyacht in the company of Xéra, one of his dearest friends. Paul will help Xéra work on her memoirs as Maldemer glides its sumptuous way to the Caribbean. The scenery is stunning, the luxury is unparalleled, and the food…well, at least the dishes that Paul is roped into preparing are delicious. The hired chef, meanwhile, seems completely out of her depth. She’s not the only one. Much as Paul adores Xéra, a Parisian socialite who he was introduced to by his late lover, Marcus, he has little in common with the other guests, a motley crew consisting of Xéra’s new husband and his grasping family. When Xéra’s priceless new necklace goes missing, Paul falls under suspicion. But there’s far worse in store, as one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious and grisly circumstances. The stormy weather matches the threatening mood onboard, and as Maldemer veers off course, every semblance of order goes with it. Above and below deck there are secrets and dangerous alliances. And as he untangles the truth, it becomes clear that Paul’s sharing close quarters with a killer eager to make this his final voyage . . . 

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The Mysterious Death of Junetta Plum by Valerie Wilson Wesley 

1926: Harriet Stone, a liberated, educated Black woman, and Lovey, the orphaned, biracial, 12-year-old she is bound to protect, are Harlem-bound, embarking on a new, hopefully less traumatic chapter in their lives. They have been invited to move from Connecticut by Harriet’s cousin, Junetta Plum, who runs a boarding house for independent-minded single women. 

 It’s a bold move, since Harriet has never met Junetta, but the fatalities of the Spanish flu and other tragedies have already forced her and Lovey to face their worst fears. Alone but for each other, they have little left to lose—or so it seems as they arrive at sophisticated Junetta’s impressive brownstone. 

 Her cousin has a sharp edge that makes Harriett slightly uncomfortable. Still, after retiring to her room for the night, she finally falls asleep—only to awaken to Junetta arguing with someone downstairs. In the morning, she makes a shocking discovery at the foot of the stairs. 

 What ensues will lead Harriet to question Junetta’s very identity—and to wonder if she and Lovey are in danger as well. It will also tie Harriet to five strangers. Among them, Harriet is sure someone knows something. What she doesn’t yet know is that one will play a crucial role in helping her investigate her cousin’s murder . . . that she will be tied to the others in ways she could never imagine . . . and that her life will take off in a startling new direction . . . 

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

–

Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

–

Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

–

Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

–

Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

–

Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

–

StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

–

Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

–

Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.

Suggested Reading Five: December 17, 2025

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!

This week we’re turning our reading spotlight on five of the best mysteries of 2025, as found on several of Best Books of 2025 lists; links to the Best Books lists used in researching this post, are found at the end of the post.

Have a great holiday season!

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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 

English writer Hall serves up twist after twist in her canny U.S. debut, a story of grief, love, and murder set in the Dorset countryside. The year is 1968 and Beth Johnson, wife of gentle sheep farmer Frank, remains shattered by the death of her nine-year-old son, Bobby, in an accident two years earlier. Her first love, Gabriel, a bestselling novelist who grew up wealthy on a nearby estate, returns with his young son, Leo, after separating from his American wife. Beth reconnects with Gabriel, fantasizing about rewinding her life to a simpler time, and she forges a bond with Leo, who reminds her of Bobby. An unreliable narrator, Beth provides a blinkered view of the action, mentioning early on that a farmer has been murdered and someone close to her is on trial for the crime, but neglecting to reveal the identities of these two characters until more than halfway through the narrative. As a result, readers are kept guessing about the precise consequences of Gabriel’s return and the circumstances behind Bobby’s death. Hall makes Beth a fascinatingly complex lead who vacillates between restlessness and contentment, and the other characters’ motivations prove to be different than they seem at first glance. This sharp morality tale will stay with readers. – Publishers Weekly Review

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Fair Play by Louise Hegarty 

Hegarty’s brilliant debut kicks off with a murder mystery–themed New Year’s Eve party at a posh London Airbnb. The guests of wealthy siblings Abigail and Benjamin include work acquaintance Barbara; Benjamin’s childhood friend, Stephen; bankrupt spoilsport Declan; extravagant couple Cormac and Olivia; and Dorcas, the maid. The morning after the festivities, Benjamin is found dead in his locked bedroom. The doctor who arrives on the scene suspects suicide, but a skeptical Abigail hires famous PI Auguste Bell to investigate. When Benjamin and Abigail’s eccentric aunt arrives to console Abigail, she, too, is unconvinced that Benjamin took his own life, and she partners with Bell to solve the crime. “There are too many clues,” complains a frustrated Bell, who asks absurd questions (“Does this house have gas central heating?”) of each suspect in an attempt to sniff out the murderer. A distraught Abigail turns against each of her friends until Bell finally announces the name of the killer. Or does he? Readers, especially fans of Richard Osman, will happily go along with the plot’s many reversals and take heart in its surprisingly tender conclusion. Hegarty’s wonderfully eccentric characters, expert knowledge of classic whodunits, and ability to balance silly hijinks and serious emotional stakes mark her as a writer worth keeping tabs on. For mystery lovers, this is a joy. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review

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Holy City by Henry Wise 

Winner of the 2025 Edgar Award for Best Novel by an American Author

 A heinous crime tests a freshly minted deputy sheriff’s allegiances in Wise’s stylish debut. When Will Seems’s mother died 13 years ago, he fled rural Euphoria County, Va., for the “holy city” of Richmond. Now, he’s returned to take a job with Euphoria County’s police department, and he finds that his old neighborhood remains mired in poverty and crime. Soon after Will dons his badge, his childhood friend, Tom Janders, is murdered in an arson. Zeke Hathom, father of another of Will’s boyhood friends, is spotted running from the burning building, and authorities swiftly place him in custody. Substantial evidence implicates Zeke in Tom’s death, and Will’s boss wants to send Zeke to prison. Will, however, owes a deep adolescent debt to Zeke’s son and sets out to prove the older man’s innocence. When Zeke’s friends and family hire PI Bennico Watts to help exonerate him, she and Will enter into an uneasy alliance and plunge together into Euphoria County’s underworld. Wise propels the plot forward with flashbacks to the violence of Will’s past and the shame that motivates his return. Bold characters and splendid prose further enhance the proceedings. Wise knocks it out of the park his first time up to bat. – Publishers Weekly Review

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The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell

Winner of the 2025 Edgar Award for Best Novel

The second in the rompy, contemporary, Agatha Christie-esque Detective Inspector Caius Beau series, following The Other Half, sees Caius Beauchamp’s evening at the theater interrupted when a dead body is discovered. Two cold cases complicate matters further, as do politics and a duke-in-waiting. – Library Review

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Vantage Point: A Novel by Sarah Slinger  

 To be a member of one of the country’s wealthiest, most prestigious families means, well, wealth and prestige. But what if your family’s cursed and you’re a woman on the internet—are you ever truly safe? Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point blends family drama, generational trauma and the destructive forces of cutting-edge technology in a disturbing suspense story told from two compelling female perspectives. For the Wieland family, April is a historically tragic month: 14 Aprils ago, a teenage Clara Wieland witnessed both her parents’ brutal demise. A whirlwind of chaotic world travel, heavy substance use and eating disorder clinic stays later, Clara returns to Vantage Point, the family estate on a remote Maine island. Also living at Vantage Point are Clara’s brother, Teddy, now running for the U.S. Senate, and Clara’s childhood best friend, Jess, now married to Teddy. At the beginning of April, an intimate, graphic video of Clara surfaces online and immediately goes viral, but Clara has no memory of the video’s events. Is it real, or an extremely advanced deepfake? As Teddy’s political campaign is threatened and Jess struggles to hold the family together, Clara experiences disturbing hallucinations she insists are also engineered. Has Clara descended into madness, or are the three surviving Wielands in serious danger? Author and academic Sligar expertly crafts the history of her fictional dynasty through fictional Wikipedia entries describing the tragic outcomes of the Wieland curse, from wine cellar explosions to rogue horse tramplings. Jess grew up impoverished and became enmeshed with the Wielands at an early age, and Clara is still grappling with the tremendous loss in her adolescence. Close confidantes and now in-laws, they each provide a unique perspective on the family’s collective trauma, and they share common ground as women vulnerable to a society intent on ruining them. The “future” of believable deepfakes is already here, and Sligar’s novel serves as an entertaining literary companion to shows like Succession, but also a warning to women everywhere: Your moment of deepfake reckoning may be just around the corner. – Starred BookPage Review

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References

Best Books. (2025).New York Public Library. https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults?year=2025&f%5B0%5D=terms%3ACrime%2C%20Mysteries%20%26%20Thrillers. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults?year=2025&f%5B0%5D=terms%3ACrime%2C%20Mysteries%20%26%20Thrillers

Gaffney, A. (2025, October 31). The best mysteries and thrillers of 2025. ELLE. https://www.elle.com/culture/books/g69127582/best-mystery-thriller-books-2025/

Mwa. (2025, May 2). 2025 Edgar Award Winners announced. Mystery Writers of America. https://mysterywriters.org/mystery-writers-of-america-announces-the-2025-edgar-award-winners/

Schumer, L. (2025, December 6). PEOPLE picks the 15 best books of 2025. People.com. https://people.com/peoples-best-books-of-2025-11862936

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Happy reading!

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.

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Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.

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Information on the four library catalogs

The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/

The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!

All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.

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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.

Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.

The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.

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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en

The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.

The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!

You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).

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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org

Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.

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Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.

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Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.