February/March 2026 Book Marks
Reading is solace. And March means spring is on the way. Other than that I have nothing to say…..
Thriller:
Best Boy by Deborah Goodrich Royce
She’s known for writing engrossing suspense novels with twisty-turn endings that make you sit up. This latest suspense thriller from Goodrich Royce movesbetween the humble and unhappy Detroit childhood of Ingrid Lind. One pivotal, unfortunate night will change everything in her life. When “newly transformed” Viveca Stephenson arrives in Hollywood as an ingenue actress, she meets a dark and handsome man (isn’t that always where trouble starts?) After marrying, Viveca works hard to be a devoted wife and mother. But the danger she escaped in Michigan is alive and well, lurking under the surface all along. When her home is broken into and the safe ripped from the floor, Viveca must finally confront the truth and face the music. You’ll keep reading this book until the very end.
Fiction:
More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen
I’ve had a girl crush on Quindlen since she penned her “Life in the 30’s” column for the NYT. As a novelist, she brings that wry sense of humor and keen eye for a story to the complexities of family and relationships. Her latest book delivers struggles and heartaches in a gradually unfolding tale. Polly is over 40 and desperate to have a baby after a sequence of infertility disappointments. Her supportive husband Mark is a lovable veterinarian, and she has a wonderful circle of devoted female friends. When the gift of an ancestry DNA kit reveals a surprising discovery, Polly begins to dig into her own past. As she uncovers answers about her distant mother, her father is slipping away with Alzheimer’s. This lovely and many-tentacled novel reminds us (as only Anna can) that the scales of loss and discovery within family can exist on the very same plane.
Historical Fiction:
It Girl by Allison Pataki
Allison Pataki’s historical fiction reads as if she is making it up, with authentic dialogue and engrossing stories of women who time has forgotten or overlooked. Her latest book, (with an eye-popping cover) is pulled from the pages of history and yet it seems very timely in the age of social media influencers. In the early 1900’s, with the dawn of Edison’s light bulb, pop culture is born. A new crop of independent young women become stars based on talent, charisma and beauty. The brightest of all is Evelyn Talbot, the very first “Gibson Girl,” and the most famous face of the day who captivated the collective imagination of American society. At the height of her fame, a stream of rich and powerful men are constantly circling, but life will prove to be a harsh teacher. Evelyn learns the only person she can count on is herself. When circumstances put her at the epicenter of “the Crime of the Century,” she’ll will need to pull off the biggest act of her life.
Fiction:
Flesh by David Szalay
As a shortlisted novel for the 2025 Booker Prize, I’d heard buzz about this book but knew nothing more. The story begins in a drab housing project with a Hungarian teenage boy and the older married woman who introduces him to sex. The bleak hopelessness of this opening almost caused me to abandon the book, but it quickly began to move when a pivotal moment thrusts him into juvenile detention, and then into war in Iraq. When he returns home with PTSD and no plan, his life takes on an aimlessness as he falls into one situation after another until he finds himself a wealthy man. This slow-burning novel is the circular story of a man’s life, and an inside look at the workings of men’s minds where the desire for casual sex is a low-level thrum. Once I got into this story, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again.
Fiction:
So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder
I gravitate toward stories about enduring friendships – relationships that stand the test of times over generations, no matter how many speed bumps they encounter. Ginder’s latest is a combo love story and tragi-comedy, looking at friendships through the lens of five separate parties, six college students and a twenty-year timespan that puts the characters in their 40’s – that middling season of life that’s neither old nor young. The one post-college constant in the lives of Marco and Mia, Sasha and Theo and Richie and Adam has been change. While they always understood that jobs, moves, spouses and children would be in flux, they imagined the bedrock of their connection would remain solid. The passage of time puts that to the ultimate test as they roll through the raucous jam-packed parties of their 20’s into weddings, disappointments and backyard BBQ’s with toddlers in tow. This story celebrates all the phases and stages of our lives, and the people we choose (and reject) to go through them with us.
Thriller:
The Last Celebrity by Madeleine Henry
A pop celebrity is performing in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden when a mysterious group called the Nomen stage an elaborate kidnapping. They leave a chilling manifesto with a scree against how the cult of celebrity has disturbed civilization. With it is a list of 49 other stars who they are determined to exterminate. As the targets begin to disappear, Fiona, the protagonist, can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched, even in her own apartment. The story takes the reader down a rabbit hole of murder, intrigue, lies and a fast- paced thriller that keeps you guessing until the end.
Short Stories:
Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich
Erdrich’s writing is rich and wide-ranging in this beautiful and inspiring collection of stories that feature a range of characters, from farmers, tribal elders, a folk-singing thief, a young girl who chooses to live with a stone. Her imagination and talent have kept me reading her books since I first discovered her.
These are books I genuinely love and am thrilled to recommend to my friends. These are Bookshop.org affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Alternately, if you prefer to rent books at your local library or buy from your local bookstore, I very much support that!
