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“Haven” by Emma Donoghue

A good novel of historical fiction takes you to an offbeat place and time and makes you care about what happens there.

One of my favorite writers of this genre is Irish author Emma Donaghue. In “Haven,” she transports readers to 7th century Ireland, to a time when ascetic monks were retreating from the world and beginning to create the magnificent illuminated manuscripts. 

“Haven” is the story of an odd, mysterious monk - a living saint - who is called in a dream to recruit two other brothers to help him establish a remote monastery on a barren island where they will be untouched by the sins of the world. 

The novel follows the trio of brothers as their leader descends from faith into fanaticism on an inhospitable skellig off the coast of Ireland. The deprivations of their lives and the increasing madness of their prior casts a sense of foreboding over the tale. I won’t spoil the ending. Just read it.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. And no author is better at it than Maggie O’Farrell. She masterfully dips into an era, plucks out an obscure figure and breathes life into that person.

She’s done it again in her recent best-selling novel.

In The Marriage Portrait O’Farrell poetically tells the tragic tale of the young Duchess Lucretia de Medici, wife of the Duke of Ferrara in 16th Century Italy.

The daughter of the powerful Duke of Florence, she is married off to her sister’s fiancée at age 15 after her sibling met an untimely death. The marriage, idyllic at first, is quickly doomed.

Her husband, a legendary patron of the arts, commissions a portrait of his teenaged bride, to immortalize her beauty. That work of art hangs today in the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

From the first pages of the novel we know Lucretia expects her husband to poison her at any moment. Yet the unexpected twist in the final pages of the tale is where O’Farrell really displays her genius.

You don’t need to know a thing about Italian history - I didn’t - to become enraptured by this gorgeous novel. Read it. Thank me later.

Counterfeit, by Kristin Chen.

Some books were simply meant to get sand between the pages: beach books. Entertaining novels that can be enjoyed from under an umbrella when you’re slathered in sunscreen and dripping salt water.

You wouldn’t take “War and Peace” to the beach. At least I wouldn’t. But I would - and did - take “Counterfeit” by Kirstin Chen.

The plot is simple: An unhappy Asian-American lawyer has left her law practice after the birth of her cranky baby boy. An old roommate from Stanford - a Chinese national - comes back into her life and ensnares her into a high-end purse counterfeiting business. Big money. Big danger. I won’t reveal any spoilers but there are several twists and turns in this fast-paced novel.

The entire narrative takes place in a police interview so you know Ava Wong got caught.

How she got there and what happens next turns this clever story into a great summer page-turner.

Notes on an Execution by Danna Kukafka.

Serial killer Ansel Packer has 12 hours to live. As a reader, you wait with this condemned man as the minutes tick away. But the story is not just his and it’s not overly sympathetic to him, as stories about murderers sometimes are. Instead, it’s the tale of the women around Ansel: His mother, the female detective who doggedly followed him and his sister-in-law.

This is an exquisitely crafted novel that hooks the reader from page one and never lets up. The author refrains from romanticizing the killer and portrays the death penalty as the reward Packer gets for a life filled with bad luck and evil choices.

A page-turner. Take it to the beach!

The Pull Of The Stars, by Emma Donoghue

Don’t you just love Irish writers? Trouble is, there are SO many good ones. One of my favorites - OK, she’s an Irish-Canadian - is Emma Donoghue. Her 2020 novel, “The Pull of the Stars” is brilliant and timely. Set in Dublin during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, the story centers on Julia Power, a midwife on a fever/maternity ward. Julia, her patients and co-workers make for a lyrical and poignant tale. While the novel is fiction, one featured character is historical: Dr. Kathleen Lynn, an Irish revolutionary on the run from the authorities. Lynn went on to found a Dublin clinic to serve the poor.

“A Time For Mercy,” by John Grisham

Guess who’s back? Jake Brigance, the Mississippi lawyer who got an acquittal for Carl Lee Hailey, a black man who killed two white rapists in the 1989 best seller, “A Time To Kill.” In John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, Brigance faces another daunting challenge: How to keep a teenaged boy out of the gas chamber after the kid shot a sleeping deputy in the head. It’s a Grisham novel, filled with memorable characters and a terrific plot. There’s a time to read the great works of literature and there’s a time when nothing satisfies more than a great page turner. Put “A Time For Mercy” near the top of you pandemic reading list.

“Hamnet,” by Maggie O’Farrell

You don’t have to be a Shakespeare scholar or a fan to enjoy “Hamnet,” an elegant historical novel that details the life of Shakespeare’s wife - about whom little is known - and the death of their 11-year-old son that seared her soul. 

The story is timely. It’s set in the 16th century, during the time of the bubonic plague and there are uncanny parallels to modern-day attempts to control a relentless disease. 

This is one of the most beautifully written novels I’ve ever read. The language is lush, the pain is achingly real. And in this work, William Shakespeare is just a bit player

“Camino Island,” John Grisham.

There is a time to read the great books of English literature and there is a time for guilty pleasure: You know, delicious page turners that beg to be read with your feet in the sand.

If ever we needed some pure escapism, now is that time.

I can’t think of a better novel to stick in your beach bag than John Grisham’s “Camino Island.” This is not another Grisham legal thriller. Instead, the author delves into the murky world of rare book collectors and sets his story on a fictitious island off the coast of Florida. The plot unfolds when a set of priceless F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts are stolen from Princeton University. Investigators come to believe that the contraband is hidden on Camino Island and they recruit a local novelist to help them solve the crime. As always with this author, the book is peppered with colorful characters and a snappy narrative. When you finish “Camino Island” - and you’ll rip through it quickly - read the sequel, “Camino Winds,” set on the same lovely island with some of the same characters. This time the islanders discover a murder that was committed under cover of a hurricane. In this offering, Grisham provides floods, floozies and most of all, fun.

“The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek,” by Kim Michele Richardson

Some books stay with you long after you read the final page. “The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek” is that kind of novel. Set in rural Kentucky in the 1930s, this is the story of Cussy Mary Carter, one of the packhorse librarians who - as a part of FDR’s Work Progress Administration - delivered books to Appalachia. Carter rides a mule to bring literacy to the hill people. She’s a coal miner’s daughter and one of Kentucky’s curious  “blue” people. I loved this story.

“The Cactus League,” Emily Nemens

Missing baseball this spring? This’ll help. Here’s a quirky, delightful, amusing baseball novel set in Arizona during spring practice, 2011. The cast of characters is crazy: a coach, an agent, a superstar left-fielder with a gambling problem, a pitcher with a bum elbow, a rookie with a fat signing bonus, baseball wives, ex-wives, girlfriends and “cleat chasers.” This has been described as nine short stories strung together. Whatever it is, it’s a fun read and it’ll give baseball fans something to do till the 2020 season starts. 

“In Extremis: The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin” by Lindsey Hilsum

You may not know who Marie Colvin is, but you should. In fact, if you followed conflicts around the world for the past 40 years much of your information came from this fearless war correspondent. Until 2012, that is, when she was killed by a rocket blast in Syria. This unblinking look at an American-born writer for The London Times reveals her brilliance, her bravery and her many, many frailties. From Libya to Kosovo to Sri Lanka (where she lost an eye from grenade shrapnel) to Chechnya, Colvin felt compelled to “bear witness” to the horrors of war - even as her obsession wrecked many of her relationships. This is a compelling story. Colvin should not be forgotten.

“The Dutch House,” by Ann Patchett

If you read “Bel Canto,” “The Magician’s Assistant” or “Commonwealth” you’re no doubt already an Ann Patchett fan. She’s a terrific storyteller and her latest novel is a wonderful read. It’s the tale of a brother and sister who form an almost mystical attachment to their childhood home after they’re banished from it by their stepmother. This is a powerful account of the bond between siblings and the longing for home.

I should confess that I didn’t actually READ this fabulous novel. I listened to it. The narrator was Tom Hanks, who was an absolutely inspired choice. 

“Lady in the Lake,” by Laura Lippman.

Yes, Laura Lippman is one of my favorite authors. Whether that’s because of her prose or her history - she’s a former Baltimore Sun reporter - I don’t know. I do like her style. And her latest piece of fiction is one of her best. In an interview, Lippman said she never intended to write a newspaper novel, but that’s just how this one evolved. There’s a murder, of course. There always is. And a woman who becomes an accidental newspaper reporter. Set in the Baltimore of the 1960s and the author captures that era beautifully.

“Blackwater” by Michael McDowell

How is it possible that I never before heard of this astonishing author or the mesmerizing book he wrote as a six-part series back in 1983? That’s what I kept asking myself as I dove into this novel that’s described as Southern Gothic, but is so much more. It’s part horror/part family saga, part Stephen King/part Carson McCullers. The novel opens with a flood on Easter morning in 1919 and from the first page, you’ll be swept away by the mysterious waters of the Perdido River in Alabama. If you’re an audiobook fan, you’re in luck. The narrator is superb.

“A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts” by Therese Anne Fowler

OK, I admit it, I’m reading a lot of historical novels these days. And this is among the best. The well-behaved woman in the title is Alva Vanderbilt, who - during the Gilded Age - entered into a loveless marriage to one of Commodore Vanderbilt’s unimaginably rich grandsons. But her life did not follow the usual track. She became a suffragette, a civil rights leader and an amateur architect during her fascinating life at the heart of American high society.

“My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton,” by Laurie Kamoie and Stephanie Dray

As an accurate biography, this historical novel comes up short. Much about the life and thoughts of Eliza Hamilton, wife of Alexander, is pure conjecture. Still, it’s an interesting read, rich in American history and infused with the courtly language of the early 19th century. A few years ago I read “America’s First Daughter,” by the same authors, a biography of Patsy Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. They had more source material and it was a lovely novel. Then again, I adore Mr. Jefferson. Hamilton? Not so much.

“The Miniaturist,” by Jessie Burton

Reviews of this novel have been mixed and I didn’t expect to enjoy it when my book club settled on The Miniaturist for May. Once I jumped in, though, I found a fascinating story set in 17th century Amsterdam, a city bustling with merchants and craftsmen capitalizing on raw materials from the Dutch colonies. (A reminder that this little country was once a player on the world stage.) The tale is infused with Alice Hoffman-like mysticism, which means readers must be willing to suspend their disbelief. Predictable, yes. But mesmerizing, too.

“The Witch Elm,” by Tana French

Tana French is Ireland’s gift to the world of crime novelists. I’ve read several of her Dublin Murder Squad novels, but “The Witch Elm” is something different. It’s a leisurely, layered psychological mystery told from the point of view of a mildly brain-damaged crime victim. After he’s beaten almost to death for no apparent reason, Toby Hennessy loses chunks of his memory. That complicates matters when he’s implicated in a 10-year-old murder. The pace of this book is slow compared to others by this novelist. But I liked it. A lot.

“Educated: A Memoir,” by Tara Westover

Don’t start this stunning book unless you have hours to spare. You’ll sink into this unbelievable tale and won’t be able to breathe until it’s over. Tara Westover’s lyrical account of growing up in a survivalist Mormon family in rural Idaho - around the time of the siege at Ruby Ridge - reads like fiction. That fact that it’s not makes the story, which centers around her father’s descent into mental illness and the dangers it posed to his isolated family, absolutely harrowing. The New York Times Book Review put it on it’s Ten Best Books of 2018. For once, I agree with the Times.

“Milkman,” by Anna Burns

Finished this novel today and I’m blown away by it. The language, the cadence, the humor. No wonder it won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for fiction. Maybe I loved “Milkman” because I lived in Ireland for three years during The Troubles. Maybe I enjoyed “Milkman” because it was so unique. Then again, maybe I never wanted “Milkman” to end because Anna Burns is a helluva gifted writer. Note: I listened to this stream-of-consciousness work on Audible. The narrator was fabulous. Highly recommended.

“Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine,” by Gail Honeyman

If you’re in a book club, you’ve probably read “Eleanor” already. If you’re not and you haven’t, you should. Read it, that is. Eleanor Oliphant is a 30 year-old single Glasgow woman, living alone and she is definitely NOT fine. While Honeyman has penned a memorable novel - witty and warm with acerbic observations on modern life - this is truly a treatise about loneliness. In an uplifting way. Read it before the movie comes out later this year.

“Where The Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens

Delia Owens didn’t set out to be a best-selling author. She’s a PhD who spent decades in Africa studying wildlife before turning to fiction. Yet her highly acclaimed first novel, “Where The Crawdads Sing,” is compelling and lyrical. It’s the story of Kya, a feral girl abandoned by her family and surviving in the marshlands of North Carolina. The determined child learns to read and write and becomes an acclaimed naturalist despite crippling social anxiety. Oh, and there’s a murder. I never wanted this book to end.

The Romanov Sisters, by Helen Rappaport

Maybe it’s all this talk about Russia or my sudden taste for Moscow mules, but lately I find myself drawn to books about this country and its strange, rich history. The four daughters of Czar Nicholas have been described as the Kardashians of their time. This quartet of beautiful royal sisters was the subject of much speculation as they approached marriageable ages in the years leading up to the Russian revolution. Alas, there is no happy ending to their story.

American Fire, by Monica Hesse

If you’ve ever zipped down Virginia’s Eastern Shore and wondered what it would be like to live there, you owe it to yourself to read this non-fiction work. While it’s centered on the curious story of Tonya Bundick and Charlie Smith - the Eastern Shore Arsonists, who nearly burned down Accomack County about six years ago - it’s so much more than that. A poetic and poignant look at Virginia’s forgotten finger.

A Gentleman In Moscow, by Amor Towles

Have I mentioned that I belong to a book club that reads only women authors? Thought so. Yet, like most bibliophiles, we consume lots of literature that isn’t on the menu at our monthly meeting. At our last get together someone mentioned “A Gentleman in Moscow” and we all began gushing at once about this marvelous, breathtaking novel. Written by Amor Towles - a man! - this is the best book I’ve read. In years. Enjoy! 

An Innocent Client, by Scott Pratt

Because I live at the beach, I find my reading tastes change with the seasons. Don’t tell my brainy book club, but in summer, I want to read fun, engrossing novels that will eventually wind up on my book shelves with sand between the pages.

My 2018 beach reading kicked off with “An Innocent Client,” by Scott Pratt. I immediately began working my way through the rest of his addictive Joe Dillard series. Pratt, who has a BA in English and a law degree from the University of Tennessee, writes legal thrillers set in eastern Tennessee. His main character, Dillard, is a career switcher. In this novel, he’s a disillusioned criminal defense lawyer. In the later books he’s the DA. 

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Pratt said he wrote the series in a way that the reader could start with any novel and that's true. I’m on my third.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman

I love reading Alice Hoffman. She’s an elegant and quirky writer and when she turns to historical fiction, she’s both mesmerizing and meticulous. “The Museum of Extraordinary Things” is set in 1911 New York. The year of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and a time when wolves and deer roamed remote parts of Manhattan. Read this. You’ll love the prose and you’ll learn something.

Sunburn, by Laura Lippman

Former Baltimore Sun newspaper reporter Laura Lippman is one of my favorite authors. Her crime novels are always compelling, often based on real cases. “Sunburn” is something a bit different. A psychodrama with lots of twists. Enjoy!

Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate

The Tennessee Children’s Home Society was an unscrupulous adoption agency based in Memphis during the first half of the 20th century. The owners were able to kidnap poor children and place them with wealthy families for decades before they were exposed. “Before We Were Yours” is a mystery novel based on these horrific real-life events. A great read.

News Of The World, by Paulette Jiles

“News of the World” is one of those novels that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. It’s the story of a little girl held captive by the Kiowa tribe for four years and the 70-year-old Army captain who’s taking her back to her kinfolk in San Antonio. Sweeping story set in North Texas just after the Civil War. Read this. You can thank me later.