As the month of August comes to a sweltering end, we will soon say goodbye to the summer season.
Personally, I can’t wait because I love Fall!
But before we embrace that autumn chill, let’s hang on to the last bits of summer we have left with these fabulous reads:
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024)
Liz Moore, author of the 2020 bestseller Long Bright River, returns with a new gripping story that’s become my favorite read this summer. In August 1975, thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar disappears from the local summer camp causing the entire community to go into a frenzy. To make matters worse, not only is Barbara the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp, but it is the second time a Van Laar child went missing from the area. Fourteen years prior, Barbara’s brother vanished in the nearby woods and was never seen again. As the police investigate, what follows is an intense drama where long buried secrets are uncovered and hidden tensions between the rich Van Laars and the working-class staff employed by them boil up to the surface. This is a must read that will leave you guessing till the very end.
The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster by Shauna Robinson (2024)
As Mae Townsend prepares for her wedding, she finds herself bothered by the fact that she knows next to nothing about her late father’s side of the family. Growing up with a white mother and a black father, Mae longed to connect with the all black Townsends but never got the chance. However, when her maternal grandmother passes away, Mae heads down to the funeral hoping to finally bond with her estranged family. Instead, she finds the Townsends in peril. There’s a long-standing feud, a missing macaroni and cheese recipe and a beloved barbecue that may not happen. Determined to lift everyone’s spirits, Mae decides to do the unthinkable: put on the annual 4th of July barbecue herself! In what is Shauna Robinson’s third endearing novel, we take a look at a brood of lovable yet messy people who despite their flaws remind us all of the importance of keeping in touch with family.
The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell (2023)
Fans of The Great British Bake Off will get a kick out of this murder mystery. For the past ten years, celebrity baker Betsy Martin has hosted the hit series “Bake Week”, a competition where six aspiring bakers gather at her sprawling estate to go head to head for the coveted Golden Spoon trophy and a chance at culinary success. Betsy, ever a perfectionist, has usually conducted the show without incident, but this year is different. From the arrival of an obnoxious co-host to strange occurrences happening on set (like a sugar container being replaced with salt), Betsy and the bakers can’t seem to catch a break. Things go from bad to worse when a dead body is discovered on the grounds. With a terrible storm delaying the arrival of the police, Betsy and the bakers have no choice but to wait it out as they wonder who among them is capable of murder. If the people who ran the Food Network and the Hallmark Mystery channel wrote a book, it would be this. It’s a delicious whodunit that’s the perfect treat to indulge in.
Here are some more books with summer vibes:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2018)