If you’re reading this, it’s safe to guess you’re fond of books, reading, and being transported to different times, places, experiences, and viewpoints. We invite you to check out what others are reading and share your recommendations of favorite titles with us.
A House for Alice
by Diana Evans
Evans’ novel is a sweeping and gorgeously rendered exploration of grief and yearning, following the fracturing of a multinational family in the wake of its patriarch’s death. (2023; Fiction)
Roman Stories
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Rome- metropolis and monument, suspended between past and future, multi-faceted and metaphysical- is the protagonist, not the setting, of these nine stories. A delectable, sun-washed treat . . . the stories have the beating heart of the city itself, a place of magnificent decay and vibrant, varied life. (2023; Fiction)
A Jury of One
by John Warley
In this legal thriller, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Dan Borders appears poised for selection to the state Supreme Court thanks to his controversial proposal for dealing with death penalty cases. But a divorce he entered years earlier for Alana Morgan, a bright, ambitious school teacher, leads to a relationship that puts both of their futures in jeopardy. (2023; Fiction)
End of Story
by A.J. Finn
Invited by a reclusive mystery novelist to help draft his life story, a longtime correspondent and detective fiction expert finds herself in a real whodunnit when she learns the writer’s first wife and son mysteriously vanished. (2024; Fiction)
A Calamity of Souls
by David Baldacci
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongly accused Black defendants. (2024; Fiction)
Poster Girls
by Meredith Ritchie
After an unwanted southern migration, an upside-down world in 1943 offers military wife and mother Maggie Slone a job at Charlotte’s largest wartime employer- the massive and dangerous Shell Assembly Plant. Meanwhile, military wife and Alabama native Kora Bell’s steadfast determination enables her to navigate the challenges she faces as a Black woman seeking employment under Jim Crow. A shared love of literature begins an unlikely friendship between Kora and Maggie, and the two work together to unify the plant’s workforce. (2022; Fiction)
The Paris Novel
by Ruth Reichl
Food critic and novelist Reichl serves up a delectable story of an introverted copy editor’s life-changing visit to Paris in the 1980s. Stella St. Vincent’s quiet New York City routine is turned upside down when she learns her recently deceased mother, Celia, has bequeathed her a ticket to Paris and the means to stay there for six weeks. Celia had spent time in Paris in her early years, and Stella interprets the gesture as an exhortation for her to be more adventurous. While enjoying her first oysters at a restaurant, she attracts the attention of elderly art dealer Jules Delatour. The two become fast friends, and Jules brings her around to the Shakespeare and Company bookshop, where she hobnobs with Allen Ginsberg and other famous visitors. (2024; Fiction)
Think Twice
by Harlan Coben
Three years ago, sports agent Myron Bolitar gave a eulogy at the funeral of his client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing. Myron and Greg had a history: initially as rivals, and later as unexpected business associates. Myron made peace and moved on- until now, when two federal agents walked into his office, demanding to know where Greg Downing is. He has been placed at the scene of a double homicide, making him their main suspect. Shocked, Myron needs answers. Myron and Win, longtime friends and colleagues, set out to find the truth, but the more they discover about Greg, the more dangerous their world becomes. Secrets, lies, and a murderous conspiracy that stretches back into the past churn at the heart of Harlan Coben’s blistering new novel. (2024; Fiction)
The Caretaker
by Ron Rash
A tender examination of male friendship and rivalry as well as a riveting, page-turning novel of familial devotion, this book depicts the human capacity for delusion and destruction all too often justified as acts of love. (2023; Fiction)
The French Ingredient
by Jane Bertch
In this inspiring, poignant, and delicious memoir, the founder of France’s largest nonprofessional culinary institute traces her journey from the American Midwest to Paris, and shares how, through painstaking work, she triumphed over French elitism. Thanks to Jane’s perseverance, La Cuisine Paris opened in 2009. (2024; Nonfiction)
Ain’t No Grave
by Mary Glickman
A Jewish man and a Black woman find love against all odds in this novel set during the Leo Frank trial in the twentieth-century American South. (2024; Fiction)
We look forward to hearing about the books you or your book club recommend.
- Include your name (although it will not be published), the title, and the author of the book you are recommending, and email this to Tidelines at seabrookislandblog@gmail.com. (You may be able to click on the email address to open a new message.)
- For audiobooks, include the name of the narrator.
- Tidelines editors will provide a blurb to tell a little about the book and add the book jacket image.
- Publication is at the discretion of Tidelines editors.
And if you are weeding your bookshelves, consider offering your recent fiction books to The Lake House library. Please drop them off at the library and librarian Cindy Willis will organize them and put them on the shelves.
To see the complete list of books from 2019 through 2023, go to the Tidelines website here and look for the Seabrookers Read tab.
–Tidelines Editors
(Image and bibliographic credit: CMPL.org)