The month of May went by so fast, but you’ll turn the pages of these books even faster! It was a really good reading month for me. As per usual I’ve gone down a real murdery path with a selection of thrillers perfect for soaking up some sun this summer. I especially loved I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie. For someone who reads quite a bit of this genre, it stood out to me with originality and juicy drama. And the suspense carries through until the last page. So good!
There’s also a fantastic YA novel in the mix – With Malice by Eileen Cook. I am no stranger to YA fiction, having been a school librarian in my previous life, and I loved this one. I’ll admit that when I ordered it I didn’t even realize I was ordering a YA novel. If you’ve never given YA a chance, try this one out and let me know what you think. It’s a page-turner for sure!
I also added a non-fiction book to the pile this month with How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World’s First Talking Dog by Christina Hunger. I have been following Christina on Instagram (@hunger4words) for some time and have so enjoyed her little dog Stella and her amazing ability to communicate through an AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device. It’s so incredible! Her book takes you through the step-by-step journey it took to teach Stella to talk and is full of heart-warming stories. A must read!
May Reading List
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Sun Down Motel could also be called The Run Down Motel. It’s been welcoming guests since the late 1970s but something isn’t quite right with the place. It’s eerily empty, even on its busiest days, and the pool hasn’t been used in decades. Leaves swirl at the bottom as the whole thing sits behind a derelict chain link fence. It’s a place where people go to hide and where some even disappear. A young woman named Carly Kirk visits the motel in 2017 to look into the disappearance of her aunt Vivian, a young woman who worked at the motel and vanished from there in 1982. Carly is soon experiencing the same strange activity at the motel that her aunt did – disturbing sounds coming from some of the rooms, oddball guests checking in at all hours of the night, and the smell of a freshly lit cigarette but no one is there. The ghosts of The Sun Down Motel’s past are restless and a decades long murder has yet to be solved. This is such a fun read! I don’t usually like stories with too much paranormal activity, but this one is well balanced with real events.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Travel writer Lo Blacklock is on assignment. She will spend a week on a luxury yacht sailing through the Scandinavian fjords with just a handful of other passengers. It’s a professional opportunity she cannot afford to miss. Everything is as it should be – elegant, beautiful, over-the-top luxurious – until one night Lo hears a scream and witnesses what she believes to be a woman thrown overboard. It’s the same woman she spoke to briefly that day. The woman in cabin 10. Convinced that a crime has taken place, she reports the events to the ship’s staff only to find out that every passenger has been accounted for and perhaps she didn’t see what she thought she saw. I know I’m late to the party on this book, but I enjoyed the story. I’d heard so much hype about it that it probably hyped it up too much for me, but overall it’s a very enjoyable and thrilling read. This is a great book to take on a vacation (as long as it’s not a cruise).
With Malice by Eileen Cook
Jill couldn’t wait for her upcoming study abroad trip to Italy. As an eighteen-year-old senior, she was ready to do some serious exploring and have fun with her friends. She’s a great student, super responsible, and has a bright future ahead of her at Yale. Instead of the trip of a lifetime, Jill wakes up in the hospital with no memories of the past six weeks. She cannot remember the trip at all nor can she recall how she ended up so severely injured in the hospital. As doctors work to help get her memories back, her parents and their lawyer are hesitant to share details of the accident. If it even was an accident. The press is hounding the family with questions and accusations. What did Jill do? And was it with malice? This was a very quick and enjoyable story, especially as it’s a work of YA fiction. It brought back so many good memories of traveling throughout Italy and the story was pretty gripping. I recommend this book for readers of all ages.
I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie
It’s been twenty years since the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw experienced a terrible tragedy. Seventeen-year-old Amanda Holmes was found bludgeoned in a boat and no one was ever charged with the crime. Now, the grown children of Mr. and Mrs. MacAllister have returned to the island camp for a reading of their parents’ will and to decide the fate of the camp. Some in the group think it should be kept alive for generations to come while others wish to sell the property and never look back. Camp Macaw has deeply buried secrets that they all wish they could forget. The will stipulates that they must figure out who is to blame for what happened to Amanda before they are able to inherit. Everyone is a suspect. This novel unfolds so spectacularly well giving you just enough of the puzzle at a time to keep turning the page. It’s one of the most enjoyable thrillers I’ve read in some time. Wait until you get to the end!
The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess
It’s the summer of 1987 and Eve Rosen, a young and aspiring writer, leaves her editing job in Manhattan to spend the summer on Cape Cod working for the famed New Yorker writer Henry Grey. She assists him at his home working on the research for his memoir. He’s older, quite charming, and married to Tillie, a woman that Eve can’t quite figure out. It isn’t long before Eve is a bit in over her head. The end of the summer culminates with the Greys’ Book Party, an affair well-known throughout the island as one of the pinnacles of the social scene for writers, artists, and creatives of all kinds. Guests arrive dressed as famous literary characters and a night filled with dancing and drinking ensues. Eve witnesses something at the party between Tillie and another guest that begins to unravel all she thought about the people she’s been so engrossed with all summer. The literary and creative world is not what she thought. I really enjoyed this coming of age tale. It’s not a thriller, but the characters have unique mysteries. I loved all the literary references and the 1980s atmosphere. This is a good book for book lovers!
How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World’s First Talking Dog by Christina Hunger
Before reading this book, I highly recommend checking out Christina Hunger’s Instagram. Stella is a wonder! In the book, Christina takes readers through getting Stella as a puppy and discovering that Stella has a lot to say but just not the right tools to speak. As a trained speech-language pathologist, Christina wondered if Stella could learn to use an AAC device much like the toddlers she works with who have significant speech delays. She ends up teaching Stella to use recordable answer buzzers for things like “walk,” “outside,” “eat,” and more. Stella’s vocabulary grows along with the entire family. It’s such a sweet story and quite inspiring for the dog mom in myself. I’m considering getting some of the buttons for Lola to work with. Do you think I can help Lola talk, too?
While waiting on some new book mail to arrive, I spent my time reading two classic John Grisham books – The Partner and The Firm. I’ve mentioned before how Paul got me a little hooked on his stories, and these were really good!
What are you reading?
You can find my other reading lists here!
Shop my May reading list:
For exclusive off-blog content, subscribe to my newsletter!
xo – Erin
When you shop through my links, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. This helps me to continue to bring you the fun content you love. I really appreciate your support!
May 2021 Reading List appeared first on CathedralsandCafes.com. If you see this content published anywhere else, please email cathedralsandcafes@gmail.com.
You might also like:
