Fall Reads

Liddy James is a divorce attorney in New York City who is also well known for her divorced parenting books. The woman is classy, powerful and formidable. Liddy's ex-husband's partner Rose is scared and in awe of the woman who "broke her husband's heart". Liddy has it all and she let's nothing stand in her way. Until it does. Rose is on bed-rest with a risky pregnancy. Her teenage son is surly. Her nanny quits. And suddenly, Liddy has to juggle more roles and find her true self, yet again.

The Real Liddy James by Anne-Marie Casey is witty and fun and I enjoy it more than I expected to. I got a kick out of the characters who are flawed and full of inner worries that they desperately try to hide behind their outer shiny, veneer of perfection. It's hard to be a woman and keep up with all the demands and expectation from ourselves and from others. Liddy James does her best to be the woman she has always wanted to be. I enjoyed watching her struggles, her triumphs and her metamorphosis.

The Real Liddy James by Anne-Marie Casey is published by Putnam and released on September 20, 2016.

Clara Lawson is taken from her home by armed men and held in a barren room where is she is questioned repeatedly. As she was being forcibly removed from her husband and daughters, her husband shouted not to tell them anything and Clara is determined to keep her mouth shut. But the longer she is held, Clara begins to think about her past and wonder if anything she knew was the truth.

The Girl Before by Rena Olsen was very compelling and terribly disturbing. It might be one of the most distressing novels I've read in a long while. Though not exactly mysterious, The Girl Before takes the reader inside the mind of a woman who is a victim but not exactly innocent. I couldn't put it down but I read the entire novel with that sick knot in my stomach. It will make you think and make you shudder as Olsen exposes the horrors of human trafficking.

The Girl Before by Rena Olsen is published by Putnam and released on August 9, 2016.