March is filled with an abundance of exciting new books from best-selling authors! There are new mysteries by Kate Alice Marshall, No One Can Know, and B. A Paris, The Guest. Also, you’ll find inspirations from The Fast by John Oakes, and how to improve your conversations with Supercommunicators.
Whichever book you choose, it’s a wonderful time to find a cozy chair and begin to read! Enjoy!
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall | Mystery/Thriller
In No One Can Know, the lives of three sisters changed forever after the tragic night they found their parents brutally killed. In order to survive the incident, the girls formed a lie and hid the ugly truth. The police never solved the case, and now the sisters are estranged. Fourteen years have passed, and the house has been sitting vacant since. Now, the family begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again.
The Fast by John Oakes | Nonfiction/Self-Help
Fasting is a practice that is resurging in popularity and an essential part of many health approaches, religions, and philosophies. John Oakes interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists, and others who guide him through this practice. Oakes also embarks on a week-long fast of his own to provide readers with profound new understanding, appreciation, and inspiration.
The Women by Kristin Hannah | Historical Fiction
The Women is the story of one woman who has gone to war, but it shines a light on all women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country have too often been forgotten. This is an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield. The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage are under fire.
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang | Mystery
The Phoenix Crown is an historical drama about two very different women whose paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit a wealthy railroad magnate. His patronage offers them the chance of a lifetime. Then the 1906 earthquake rips San Francisco apart and their lives are all thrown into turmoil. The railroad magnate disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined.
The Guest by B.A. Paris | Suspense
The Guest is a tense and twisty thriller that builds layer upon layer until the chilling climax. The story begins with a shocked couple who return home from a holiday and find one of their dearest friends in their house – sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris’ clothes, and even rearranging the furniture. She has walked out on her husband – and their good friend – over his confession of an affair. The guest becomes the guest who just won’t leave. This is a compelling slow burn, and the surprise ending makes this one worth it.
Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg | Nonfiction/Self-Help
Supercommunicators is a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work and how we can all learn to be super communicators at work and in life. Whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical, emotional, and social. The book teaches us the skills we need to navigate these three conversations more successfully. It goes through a mountain of research – and some riveting stories – unearthing practical tactics to show that anyone can become a more effective listener and speaker.
In Case You Missed It: Here’s Sandy’s March reading list from 2019!
The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki | Historical Fiction
Marjorie’s journey began with gluing Post Grape-Nut cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. Before turning thirty, she amassed millions of dollars, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post shows that her life force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit led to Marjorie Post’s stunning legacy, making history in the process.
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont | Historical Fiction
The Christie Affair is told from the perspective of Nan O’Dea, the mistress of Agatha Christie’s husband. This is a new twist on Agatha Christie’s mysterious, real-life eleven-day disappearance in 1926 when her husband, Archie, asked her for a divorce. The story unfolds as if it were one of Christie’s mysteries, as one clue is added after another to the intricate web of love and revenge, betrayal and justice.
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor | American Classic
Beautiful Little Fools is a reimagining of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of the three women whose lives are unraveled by Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession. In this version, each woman had a motive to kill Gatsby: Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy. This exploration of the “women of The Great Gatsby” will forever change how you see this American classic. The story is both heartbreaking and satisfying.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley | Mystery
The Paris Apartment, address No. 12 Rue de Amants, is as beautiful and luxurious as eerie and sinister. The people who live in the building are all strange and unusual; they all have something to hide, and everyone knows something they’re not telling. The “missing person” is the plot point that hooks the reader when the tenant of Apartment Number Four disappears as his sister comes to visit him in Paris. The longer he’s missing, the deeper she digs.
Violeta by Isabel Allende | Hispanic American Lit
Violeta tells her story in the form of a letter to her grandson, whom she loves above all others. She recounts her devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss, and immense joy. Violeta’s life is shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women’s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics.
Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino | Nonfiction
Eating to Extinction explains why everything we eat today is starting to taste the same wherever you are in the world. Over the past several decades, globalization has homogenized what we eat, and we risk the loss of traditional flavors, smells, and textures. Our food monoculture is a threat to our health. The source of much of the world’s food―seeds―is mainly controlled by just four corporations.
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy | Classic
Far From the Madding Crowd deals with the harsh realities of a young woman who inherits a family farm in Victorian England, proves she can manage the farm on her own, and then finds herself unexpectedly wealthy and fighting off suitors. This portrayal of a successful female business owner is a challenge to Victorian assumptions about the role of women in public life.
Released in 1874 as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, the novel has been dramatized several times, including a 1967 film Oscar nomination, a 1996 ballet, a 2000 musical, a 2006 opera, and a 2015 film.
In Case You Missed It: Here’s Sandy’s March reading list from 2019!
A great book can take you on faraway journeys, perhaps even to Oz. The March reading list offers a look at the world through women and female characters.
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts | Historical Fiction
Finding Dorothy is the story behind The Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, told through the voice of the author L. Frank Baum’s wife, Maud. Written as fiction but based on research, it tells the familiar story of Dorothy’s love, loss, inspiration, and perseverance.
That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Letts | Historical Fiction
This is the story of Winston Churchill’s scandalous American mother, Jennie Jerome, one of history’s most remarkable women. The beautiful Lady Randolph Churchill lived an outrageously modern life filled with controversy, passion, tragedy, and triumph.
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber | Nonfiction
For centuries people have suffered pain, guilt, and judgment due to the Christian church’s toxic fixation on sex, the body, and physical pleasure. This Lutheran pastor calls for a new reformation, sharing stories and scriptures powerful enough to heal the ones who have been hurt and those who have done the hurting.
Golden Child by Claire Adam | Fiction
Golden Child is both beautiful and unsettling; a resoundingly human story of aspiration, betrayal, and love. This powerful and thought-provoking novel, set in Trinidad, follows the lives of a family as they navigate impossible choices about scarcity, loyalty, and love.
More Than Words by Jill Santopolo | Fiction
More than Words is a bittersweet, reflective novel of romance, grief, loss, and self-discovery. This tender novel is about a woman at the crossroads after her father’s death and caught between the love of two men and how we choose which life we are meant to live.
The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib | Fiction
This novel chronicles the pain of an anorexia’s distorted thinking and intense fear of food in a riveting diary-like structure. Seven women live at 17 Swann Street, a residential treatment facility, and each chapter is told from the patient’s point of view with alternating chapters.
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin | Fiction | NYT Best Seller
The Last Romantics is a beautifully written tribute to the love between four siblings, a compelling family saga that navigates us through 100 years of ever-changing relationships. Despite the title, this is not a romance novel but is about love in its many different forms.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, you get a free Prime Read each month. Right now, our favorite is The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose.
