Author: Tirzah Price

Becky Farwell is a small town Illinois girl with a talent for math. As she comes of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she often feels alone and out of step with her peers, and obligated to stay close to home to take care of her widowed father. With college being out of reach, Becky gets an entry level position in her town’s finance department. One day, through sheer chance, she spots a painting in a gallery and falls in love with it. It costs $500. When an error in accounting at work puts a $500 check that no one would miss in Becky’s hands, she makes a decision that will change the course of her life.

I picked this book up thinking it would be a crime/thriller, but while it does detail the life and (many, many) nonviolent crimes of Rebecca Farwell, this novel is more literary than mystery. The reader follows Becky through more than three decades of her life, detailing her rough childhood, her discovery of art, her talent for accounting, and her knack for deception. It’s not long before Becky Farwell has transformed herself into Reba Farwell, art collection and connoisseur, with a collection worth millions. Living a double life is as much of a strain on Becky as it thrilling, and that thrill gives her a reason to get out of bed each day. The lengths she goes to in order to keep her secrets has the reader on the edge, wondering how long it can possibly go on and what, if anything, could ever bring her down. Becky is a criminal, there’s no doubt about it, but the way the author writes her made me genuinely have sympathy for her and worry about how deep of a hole she was digging herself in. Don’t expect any major revelations or thrilling twists, but if you want a deep and fascinating dive into the interior life of a woman who manages to lead two very different lives and keep some shocking secrets, this is it.

Bonus: If you liked More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez, then you’ll probably enjoy this one!

Julia Wychwood is one of the wealthiest eligible young ladies in London, but unfortunately for her, she has an anxiety disorder that makes attending balls difficult and her parents are hypochondriacs who submit her to all sorts of horrid treatments when they’re not trying to marry her off to someone who will appease their whims of sickness and ill health. Julia finds escape in two things: novels, and riding her horse each day. Both things bring her in proximity to Jasper Blunt, the scarred and enigmatic war hero about whom the ton loves to gossip. Although intimidated by him at first, Julia soon finds herself intrigued by the man and the gentle soul he seems to be hiding. When dire circumstances make her life at home untenable, Jasper whisks in and saves her, marries her, and then brings her to his country estate, where Julia finds more secrets lurking on the moors.

This book was a great blend of romance, gothic sensibility, and mystery. Fans of Jane Eyre and The Blue Castle will enjoy this literary romance about two people drawn to each other but haunted by the past. I loved reading about Julia’s journey to owning her life, and to stop letting her parents and society dictate her happiness. In a similar way, Jasper also needs to learn to own his decisions, good or bad, and to make peace with his past in order to embrace the future. This book is full of some delicious romance tropes (marriage of necessity, secret past, children from a past relationship, daring rescues) but they never seem to be overdone or half-baked. I think some savvy readers will be able to guess some of the twists (I did) but that doesn’t take away from the absolute pleasure of this book or the romance between Julia and Jasper. It’s a closed door romance, but still very romantic with plenty of swoony scenes.

Technically, this book is the sequel/companion to the equally delightful The Siren of Sussex, but you don’t need to read the first one to enjoy this book. Some characters carry over, which is always fun! The series follows four young society ladies of London who are also equestrians, and I think it’s a great read alike for fans of Evie Dumore’s League of Extraordinary Women series!

When I got into TJR’s books in 2022, everyone told me I needed to do Daisy Jones on audio, so I put myself on the epically long waiting list at my library and I am so glad I did! This is the oral history of the fictitious 1970s rock band The Six, and their collaboration with singer and songwriter Daisy Jones that launched them into stratospheric fame. Although the partnership starts purely as a business decision manipulated by their record label, there’s something magnetic about Daisy Jones and her push and pull relationship with The Six’s lead singer Bully Dunne. But behind the scenes, Daisy is popping pills and losing track of her life while Billy is desperately clinging to his sobriety for the sake of his wife and kids. Told from the point of view of the band members, producers, and various people in their lives years later, this story tries to get at the heart of exactly why a band at the very top suddenly fractured.

Typically, I do not find myself particularly drawn to novels that deal with Hollywood or the music scene, or the lives of the very famous. However, Taylor Jenkins Reid draws me in every time because her writing is so good, her characters so compelling, and the structure of her stories are unique or interesting enough to get me wondering how she’ll pull it off. This book is no exception, and I like that we see these events filtered through the eyes of the characters when they’re older, wiser, and a bit more honest with themselves than they were in the moment. It’s fun and interesting to read how Daisy and how The Six all got their separate starts and the winding path that brought them together. And like most stories told from memory, with lots of different people involved, there are inconsistencies in each telling and differing recollections of how things really happened. Nonetheless, the author trusts the reader to sift through what’s important and get to the heart of the story. It’s a book about faith and hope, how perilous loving someone can be, wanting what you can’t have, and reckoning with achieving your dreams beyond your wildest imagination…and realizing that you’re still you.

I truly do recommend the audio experience, with narration from Jennifer Beals, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber, Benjamin Bratt, January LaVoy, and a full cast. It really elevates the experience and make it feel like you’re listening to the characters as though they’re real and not fiction. Bonus: The TV show premieres in March, and sneak peeks look amazing!

This is the fascinating double story of a horrific cold case, and how a scientific movement solved it and sent waves through the crime-solving community. Naturally, the book begins with the crime: Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook were young and in love when they decided to run an errand for Jay’s dad by driving to Seattle from Canada. They got a little lost along the way, but they seemed on track to arrive at their destination…but never did. Nearly a week later, their bodies were discovered miles away from each other with their car in yet another location. They’d both been brutally murdered by two different methods.

This case was rigorously investigated and explored, but the problem was that police had no suspects despite having plenty of physical evidence and DNA. And so the case sat for decades until a cold case detective decided to revive it, and was willing to try all sorts of new methods — including forensic genealogy — to try and find his perpetrator. That’s where Humes begins to really dig into the advent of forensic genealogy. He provides an interesting history in how DNA has been used to solve crimes and shows how it applies to this case.

I think this is a book that anyone who is interested in true crime ought to read, not only because Humes does a really great job of exploring the murders of Tanya and Jay, but also for the consideration of DNA and forensic genealogy and how it’s quickly changed the landscape of solving crimes, particularly cold cases. Everyone has likely heard of how this method was first used to crack the Golden State Killer case, but many might not realize that while it took months of research to find that killer using genealogy, finding Jay and Tanya’s murderer only took two hours. Humes provides an interesting and concise history of this methodology, exploring the ethical and legal ramifications, many of which are still playing out today. Forensic genealogy has the potential to do a lot of good, but, as in any crime case that goes to trial, it also has the potential to be picked apart and thrown out of court, and where does that leave the victims and survivors? There are no easy answers, but there can be a certain amount of closure in discovering the truth, even if justice proves to be a bit more elusive.

Millie is an aspiring comedian, sister and daughter, animal lover, and good friend. When she’s asked to babysit for the first time for her next door neighbors, she’s thrilled. Lolo is the cutest baby ever, and her first babysitting gig couldn’t be easier—the parents put the baby down for the night while Millie hangs out and watches TV until they come home a few hours later. But the next morning, Millie receives the devastating news that baby Lolo died in the middle of the night. Now, nothing in her world is humorous and everything is fragile and wrong. As Millie deals with her grief and guilt, she starts seeing a light—Lolo’s light—and becomes determined to ensure that it never goes out.

This is a such a heartbreaking premise for a book, but it’s all too plausible. Although Millie is in no way at fault for Lolo’s death by SIDS, she feels keenly responsible as one of the last people to look after the baby before her passing. This grief, and the heaviness of dealing with a tragedy that defies comprehension, weighs Millie down in a myriad of ways. With a deft hand, the author shows how Millie’s grief manifests in hyper vigilance over a class project involving hatching chicks and a preoccupation with lightness and darkness. She shows Millie receiving, rejecting, and finally accepting support from many sources: her family, her friends, a teacher, a librarian, and a therapist. Scanlon shows young readers that there are no shortcuts when it comes to feeling grief, but there is light and hope if you’re willing to open yourself up to others and move through it. It’s a lesson that will be invaluable to kids, whether they’ve faced a loss of their own or not, and a lovely reminder for older readers as well.

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Helen is a magician who was ostracized for making a deal with a devil in order to save someone she loves. She has ten years of her life left before her debt gets called in, which is unfortunate given that Helen loves Edith and wants to build a future with her. When someone very powerful makes an offer to give Helen her life back in exchange for solving a string of serial murders, Helen can’t say no, even if it means jeopardizing everything she’s built.

I loved the voice of this brassy and determined heroine who has bent the rules and isn’t exactly sorry about it, but is still keen on a chance to win back her soul. The Chicago setting is very evocative, and it left me wanting a lot more—from side streets to diners to hotel suites, the scenes are all very vivid and shine with fascinating historical detail. Helen and Edith are careful not to let on about the true nature of their relationship, given the time period, and Edith has a close connection with the Catholic Church, which offers an interesting twist. I also really enjoyed how Polk plays with the idea of predetermination and explores how you spend your days if you know how and when they’ll end, and the lengths people will go to live on their own terms. Despite the fact that Helen has made some extreme choices that not everyone agrees with, she’s very moral and she follows her own code of honor, seeing her cases through to the bitter end. I enjoyed the turns this one took, and the time period and plot reminded me a lot of Passing Strange by Ellen Klages. Definitely pick it up if you was a sapphic, genre bending novella!

Set in the summer of 2013, Aria Tang West is not at all happy that an incident at the end of her senior year has ruined her plans for the summer. Originally, she was supposed to spend the summer with friends on Martha’s Vineyard before heading off to college at MIT, but instead she’s shipped off to California to live with her grandmother for the summer. But it’s not all bad — her grandmother is the famous artist Joan West, and she has a gardener named Steph whose friendship Aria appreciates. But as the summer slides by and many of Aria’s perceptions about the world and herself are challenged, she soon finds herself falling for Steph, no matter the consequences.

I was very intrigued by this book and the chosen setting of 2013. It’s long enough ago that I think Aria’s general cluelessness about queer issues, despite growing up in a progressive place, feels realistic and yet it’s not so long ago that I am wholly comfortable labeling it at historical fiction. (Mainly because I was not much older than Steph in 2013!) Having lived through it, I thought that Lo did a great job of capturing that particular point in time where queer issues weren’t quite at the forefront and part of the mainstream society, but were definitely heading in that direction. What Lo does so well in Last Night at the Telegraph Club is craft a narrative about a girl realizing that she is queer slowly, through very specific moments and feelings, and she does it yet again here, but in an entirely different time period and context — dyke marches instead of underground dyke clubs, and a circle of queer friends who are out and proud help inform Aria’s journey. Aria is naive, a little self-centered, and curious, and despite her less-than-great choices, I felt myself rooting for her because of her generosity and interest in the world. I loved how Lo played with time here, as well. The prologue starts in 2008, the bulk of the book takes place in 2013, and an epilogue takes place in 2023. It’s not often that you get glimpses of YA characters over those long stretches of time, and I really appreciated that little peek into Aria’s life ten years into he future — not what you expect, but that’s okay!

I will continue to read and love everything that Lo puts out, and this might just be my new favorite book of hers! I highly recommend it, even if you haven’t read Last Night at the Telegraph Club — the connection is small, although it is sweet if you loved that book!

Betty was once an influencer, but now that she’s lost all her money she’s squatting in a dead woman’s house and fervently hoping her successful, rich family members don’t find out. Of course, the ruse becomes impossible to maintain as Christmas approaches and Betty’s not sure how she’s going to get through it until she accidentally drunkenly summons the Holiday Spirit. Hall, for short. Hall is handsome, exuberant, and he loves the holidays. At first Betty thinks his magic is just what she needs in order to convince her family that she’s doing great actually, never been better, but it’s not long before Betty has to admit that the holiday spirit might be growing on her.

I saw this book described on Instagram as “delightfully unhinged” and I can confirm it is indeed that, and much more! This is a romance novel for people who like Schitts’ Creek and enjoy watching Elf every December, and I struggle to remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud as much as this one did. Hall is basically everything you’d expect him to be — over the top, magical, endlessly enthusiastic, and full of quirks. Betty is mostly grumpy and vain to start, but even though most of us would be rolling our eyes at her shallow tendencies, Hogle does a great job of giving readers peeks at the real, vulnerable Betty from the beginning, so you can’t help but want to root for her.

This book also does a great job of packing in a lot of the spirit of the holiday season, which is in fact full of mayhem and angst as well as happiness and cheer. I ended up loving the dysfunctional family, and the plot took some truly wild turns that had me laughing and always wondering what was going to happen next. (The Dancing with the Stars scene undid me.) If you want to laugh and you’re willing to go with a banana-pants Christmas book, then definitely pick this one up!