Author: Hanna
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“Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For” by Leonie Swann

I enjoyed two previous books in the “Miss Sharp Investigates” series by Leonie Swann and was excited to learn that the third book, “Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For,” is set to be published in 2026. Luckily, I got my hands on the advance copy, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. It was…
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“The Storm” by Rachel Hawkins

Geneva, a woman with the unusual first name, is the owner and innkeeper of the famous, century-old inn on the coast of Alabama’s St. Medards Bay. She inherited the inn from her parents and has been struggling with keeping the place afloat. The guests appreciate its charm, but the bay is frequently battered by powerful…
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“Palaver” by Bryan Washington

At what point do strangers become family, and family change into strangers? A mother and a son. The son is young, Black, and gay; he left his family in the States and moved to Tokyo. The mother had a fair share of moving in her life as well: first from Jamaica to Toronto, then…
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“Mockingbird Court” by Juneau Black

Sometimes I feel like reading something lighthearted, whimsical, and relaxing, especially in the fall, when the days start getting shorter and darker, and diving into a book that tackles serious issues doesn’t appeal. The Shady Hollow series latest – and the final – installment fits the bill. Vera Vixen, the village reporter and self-proclaimed detective,…
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“The Armchair Detectives” by Matt Dunn

Martin Maxwell is an 84-year-old former government agent (he refers to his employer as “The Company”), now retired and recuperating from a hip replacement at a retirement home located on the beautiful, albeit cloudy, coast of England. He observes that people are dying there in bigger numbers than the national statistics and finds it alarming.…
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“What We Can Know” by Ian McEvan

“What We Can Know” is the new novel by Ian McEwan, and it primarily explores the way we perceive ourselves now, as humanity, in comparison to those who lived before. The year is 2119, and Thomas Metcalfe, a professor of literature from 1990 to 2030, is obsessed with a singular piece of poetry: a cycle…
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“The Killing Stones” by Ann Cleeves

“The Killing Stones” is the new mystery by Ann Cleeves featuring DI Jimmy Perez and his partner Willow Reeve. They moved to Orkney, off the northern coast of Scotland, hoping to have more time and peace of mind to raise their son, James. Willow is pregnant with their second child and on maternity leave. She…
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“Does This Make Me Funny?” by Zosia Mamet

I reached for Zosia Mamet’s “Does This Make Me Funny” out of curiosity. I like reading essays very much, and earlier I read a collection of essays written by her father. This time, I expected a somewhat lighthearted collection of anecdotes about Hollywood, written from the perspective of someone younger, a new generation. Zosia’s status…
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“Mayra” by Nicky Gonzalez

Mayra and Ingrid used to be childhood friends, growing up in Hialeah, a Cuban neighborhood west of Miami. At the time, their friendship was for them the most essential thing in the world. Ingrid was a quiet one, while Mayra, wild and mostly free from her mother’s care, initiated adventures that were risky but exciting.…
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“The Lake Escape” by Jamie Day

“The Lake Escape” by Jamie Day is a summer book: something you can quickly pick up and read sitting in a beach chair and sipping iced tea, then promptly put it aside when a seagull tries to steal your snack. In the style of recently popular movies and novels, “rich people behaving badly”, the story…