This was a delightful story of Helen Gurley Brown, a women who was far ahead of her time. It was amazing that she was able to advance in her life and career while moving along an unconventional life style. Helen lived a long and successful life according to her own terms and was a major factor for the magazine, Cosmopolitan to reach millions of readers. The stories about the women on her staff were often comical but the one that I liked the best was Ursula who decides that she will no longer have a "paper" sister and claim the child as her own. Helen's husband was also an interesting character - very supportive, loving and a perfect match for Helen. I found it surprising that this story was written by a man but apparently John Searles actually worked with Helen. I did enjoy this book and do recommend it.

The story is set on Nantucket Island in the summer time. Courtney, from Kansas City, has a crush on her college roommate's brother, James, and returns to Nantucket to see them for her last summer there. It's an exciting, page-turner. Enjoy!

Another enjoyable read in the Highler Series.

I'm mixed on this book. There was a lot of twists and turns, which is usually good, but many were unnecessary. Guy kills his wife or did he? A million suspects. There were also too many red herrings, so much so, that it was obvious there were just that. The reveal was underwhelming and a bit cliché. The lies, revealed with more lies, made the truth seem insignificant. No real characters too root for, and unsatisfying ending.

THE PROVING GROUND by Michael Connelly 5 stars is not enough. The perfect book to start the Summer Reading program 2026 Some novels are good – The Proving Ground was PERFECTION. I was spellbound.

Super cool design concept! Two anonymous teens write notes to each other in an old science textbook in the school library. They become friends and solve a big town mystery along the way.

I'm a sucker for just about anything cyberpunk so the book that's often credited as having created the genre has naturally been on my TBR list for a while. Even within a genre like cyberpunk that tends to be very cynical and often abrasive, Neuromancer is definitely not for everyone. A friend of mine described it as "thoroughly unwelcoming" and I kinda love that description. Gibson just drops you into his bleakly predictive sci-fi world without bothering to explain how anything works and expects you, the reader, to do the heavy lifting and figure things out. This makes it a very challenging read, no doubt and I'd be lying if I said I understood everything (or even most things) that happened. I don't want to make it sound as if I disliked it though. It's incredibly unique with engaging characters at the center of its heist plot. The worldbuilding is very strong and is undeniably ahead of its time considering how much cyberpunk as a genre relies on ideas this book effectively created. I just find it to be a very difficult book to recommend.

A brother and sister drag their families to a not very resort-like, resort in Wisconsin. Courtney spends a post-sleepover morning with her daughter and her niece, then sends her niece back to her cottage next door. Mae runs back with blood on her hands, so Courtney goes to see what's happened and finds her brother and sister-in-law dead. Their daughter Reese is missing. The story is told from two points of view ; Courtney and Reese. From Courtney's side we get the side-effects of the murder. She is desperate to find Reese. Reese's point of view story starts on the drive and leads up to the murders and tells of her attraction to the older, 24 year old custodian of the resort, Daniel. Hard to guess who did it so theis psychological thriller is a fast page -turner

After an argument with her boyfriend Finn, Layla disappears. Did she run away? Was she taken? No one knows. Twelve years later, Finn is now engaged and living with Layla's sister Ellen. Suddenly Finn is receiving mysterious emails alluding to Layla still being alive. He and Ellen are find little Russian nesting dolls, another clue that Layla is still alive and nearby. Why won't she show herself? What does she want? Twists and turns and a great ending. I really liked this one!

I definitely recommend reading this book! Thirty years ago Sarah Lingate is found murdered on the island of Capri and her murderer is never found. Her husband Richard was always a suspect. Now with the family returning to Capri for vacation, the family’s personal assistant, Lorna, is also found drowned reopening the investigation into Sarah’s murder. Helen, Sarah’s daughter is desperate to escape her family. What lengths would the wealthy and powerful take to cover up all family indiscretions? Read and find out. This story had a lot of unexpected twists and just when you think you have the answer, you find out you were wrong. This was a great read.