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• Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Fortune Men

• by Lauren Bufferd

In 1952, a young Somali sailor named Mahmood Mattan was arrested for the murder of a Jewish shopkeeper in Cardiff, Wales, a crime he did not commit but nonetheless was convicted of and hanged for. This true story is the inspiration behind Nadifa Mohameds masterful Booker Prize short-listed novel, The Fortune Men, a powerful evocation of one mans life and a harrowing tale of racial injustice.

In the 1950s, the Tiger Bay area of Cardiff is a multiracial, multilingual community of Somalis, Arabs, Jews, West Indians and West Africans. Its also the home of Mattan, his Welsh wife and their three sons. When Violet Volacki is stabbed in her shop, her sister, Diana, thinks she sees a Somali at the door. A gambler and petty thief, Mattan tries to ignore the tidal wave of suspicion flowing from the police, his landlord, even the men at his mosque. But he grossly underestimates the racism of the local community, which wants to punish not only him but also his wife for marrying an African immigrant. Mattans protestations of innocence and his belief in the British justice system are no match for the prosecutions fabricated testimonies and false witness statements.

Mohamed brilliantly re-creates Tiger Bays bustling world of racetracks, milk bars and rooming houses, filled with diverse characters who range from the bigoted detectives to the sheikh from the local mosque. Part of the novel is told by Diana, whose family immigrated to England to escape antisemitic violence in Russia and who never names Mattan as the man she saw, despite pressure from police. The Fortune Men is a reminder of a particularly egregious example of injustice and prejudice, but by including Dianas point of view, Mohamed suggests that Mattans experience is not an isolated incident but one that was and is repeated wherever systemic racism exists.

In the real-world case, after decades of campaigning by his family and the wider Somali community, Mattan was exonerated. His name was cleared almost 50 years after his death, and the wrongful conviction and execution was the first miscarriage of justice ever rectified by the British courts. But these events happened decades after the action in Mohameds novel. She instead focuses on Mattans childhood in Hargeisa, his globetrotting years with the merchant navy and his final weeks in a Welsh jail, where a renewal of faith leads to a new assessment of life. Mohameds command of both Mattans place in the historical record and the intimate details of his life makes for a remarkable novel.

• Contemporary Romance, Romance

The Love Con

• by Dolly R. Sickles

Kenya Davenport is the ideal contestant for Cosplay or No Way, a reality competition show that follows cosplayers as they construct elaborate ensembles based on their favorite fictional characters. Shes smart and funny, with pop culture savvy, a passion for anime and quips for every situation. Her nerdy interests may not overlap much with those of her engineer parents, but shes fine with that. So is her BFF, Cameron Lassiter. Cams her ride or die, her partner in crime. Hes not into cosplay like Kenya, but he still agrees to pose as her boyfriend r in the final round of the show, where the contestants enlist their real-life partners in the construction of their final costumes. Its both more and less awkward than it should be, because Cams secretly been in love with Kenya for years.

Author Seressia Glass displays a talent for natural dialogue and effortless humor, which shine in the interactions between Cam and Kenya. Cam is particularly lovable: He seamlessly integrates into his role of fake boyfriend and proves time and time again, even outside of the demands of the show, that hes there for Kenya. His steady, unerring support bolsters her inner strength, and he always lets her know that shes remarkable, with or without a costume or mask.

Glass touches on a handful of real-world issues without slowing the forward momentum of the central love story. Yes, Kenya is fat. Yes, Kenya and Cam are an interracial couple. Yes, her parents whittle down her confidence. But Kenya dances to the beat of her own drummer and knows that shes all the better for it. She doesnt expect or want Cam to protect her when the shows judges make snide comments about her weight and physical appearance; shes more than capable of either doing that herself or choosing to ignore these types of slights. Glass constantly strikes the right balance in these moments, acknowledging the problems Kenya would face on reality TV or in her relationship with her parents while maintaining The Love Cons exuberant, hopeful tone.

Kenya and Cams partnership proves that while plenty of things in life are a con, their love isnt one of them. The Love Con is a unique glimpse into the world of cosplay that will lighten your heart and make you smile uncontrollably.

• Historical Romance, Romance

Someone Perfect

• by Keira Soleore

Mary Baloghs fabulous Westcott series boasts some of the most memorable characters in her oeuvre and her latest installment, Someone Perfect, is a fitting addition. Despite coming from very disparate backgrounds, two people connect at an unanticipated and deeply emotional level in this historical romance.

Lady Estelle Lamarr was horrified when her close confidant, Maria, was banished to a smaller estate upon the death of her father and her estranged half-brother, Justin Wiley, inherited his title and property. Maria was brought up to view Justin as a despicable ogre, a thief and a liar by her mother, a reputation Estelle accepts as fact.

Brought up in love as the apple of his parents eyes, Justin was shocked when, after his mother passed away, his beloved father remarried a much younger woman. For reasons Balogh does not at first reveal, Justin left home at the age of 22 and had to earn a living. His accent and background earned him rough words and rougher treatment, but he survived and thrived and made friends for life, with whom he still keeps in touch even after becoming an earl.

When Justin returns to the estate after his stepmothers death and invites Maria to live with him, Estelle accompanies her for companionship. Estelle and Justin come from dissimilar backgrounds: he, a stone quarry laborer; she, a gently reared lady. She finds him huge and intimidating. [Even his dog is huge and intimidating.] He finds her far above his touch. What could they possibly have in common? And out of this, Balogh crafts a masterful romance.

Someone Perfect is a wonderful example of a connection based on trust, fairness and honesty. There is certainly an attraction between Estelle and Justin, but more importantly, there is a meeting of minds. Their relationship develops through frank, heart-to-heart conversations, a good example of which is when, early on in the book, Justin proposes to Estelle, thinking she would make a suitable countess, and she refuses. As their relationship moves along, they open up their hearts to each other, revealing things from their pasts they have never shared with another soul. They want to believe the best of each other, both realizing that kindness and thoughtfulness lie underneath their hard, protective exteriors.

Even beyond its well-drawn main couple, Someone Perfect hums with joy, with the feeling of life unfolding on the page. It is an intimate tale, rich in detail and images, the sort of book to be read in one long, breathless sitting.

• Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

The Witching Tree

• by Lauren Emily Whalen

Everyone loves a legenduntil it ends in murder.

Dont stare too long at the Witching Tree / Defile it not, or cursed you will be. So goes the saying behind the spookiest landmark in Burning Lake, New York, a small town with a dark past and an even darker present. Alice Blanchards The Witching Tree follows detective and lifelong Burning Lake resident Natalie Lockhart through a murder mystery that deftly addresses what happens when personal trauma and professional responsibility collide in a town steeped in complicated history.

The third book in Blanchards award-winning series begins with a horrific awakening. Beloved local Wiccan priestess Veronica Manes awakens from a drugged sleep, dressed in a Halloween-esque witch costume and chained to a railroad track with a freight train quickly approachinga train she is unable to escape in time. At the same time, Natalie is enjoying a cozy morning with her wealthy boyfriend, Hunter Rose. Shes ready to leave cop life behind after working two disturbing cases, including one that involved her own family. When Natalie learns of Veronicas murder, shes as baffled as the rest of Burning Lake, but she knows she cant quit the force until the mystery is solved.

Natalie is a smart, believable heroine. Shes a skilled detective with an admirable sense of duty to the place that has raised her, even though it spectacularly failed her family. Indeed, Blanchards writing shines the brightest when depicting all her characters gray areas. Despite the macabre elements of the murder and setting, the people who populate The Witching Tree are realistically drawn: No townsperson is all good or all bad. Could eccentric Marigold Hutchins, who runs the towns Wiccan shop, be gunning for Veronicas leadership position in the local historic coven? What about the young couple Veronica befriended, who were dealing with drug addiction and dabbling in dark magic before they disappeared completely? Natalie also cant forget the legacy of the town, whose the citizens burned three accused witches at the stake in the 18th century. Blanchard crafts a spectacular sense of place, and though readers may fear Burning Lake, they also wont want to leave.

While its the third in a series, The Witching Tree offers sufficient background information for new readers and a town full of complex, dynamic characters, making it an enjoyable novel that stands easily on its own.

• Mystery & Suspense, Thriller

Nanny Dearest

• by Elyse Discher

Conflicting memories of the past converge like a fever dream in Flora Collins riveting debut thriller, Nanny Dearest.

Though only in her mid-20s, Sue Keller is an orphan. Her mother died when she was a child, and after the loss of her father, Sue descends into a depressive funk. She struggles to leave the house, relying on delivery and work from home options. On a rare outing she meets a woman named Annie, who recognizes Sue and claims to have been her childhood nannybut Sue has no memory of her at all. Craving a connection to her lost parents, Sue continues to meet with Annie, desperate for stories about a period of her childhood her mind has mysteriously blacked out.

Toggling between Sues present and Annies past, Nanny Dearest explores how the need for family and connection can become toxic, even deadly. Annie longs to escape her abusive father, so a live-in nanny position with the Keller family seems like the perfect escape. Mr. Keller is a successful novelist, sequestered away as he works on his latest book, and Mrs. Keller is focused on a career of her own, as well as her position as a socialite. So Annie and young Sue are left largely to themselves, leading Annie to bond immediately with her young charge, to the extent that she will do anything to remain with the Kellers indefinitely.

Decades later, Sue cant figure out why she has no memory of Annie. Her former nannys photographs and stories confirm she was Sues caregiver, but Sue obviously cant ask her late parents why Annie left almost immediately after Mrs. Kellers death or why her father never talked about Annie in the years after her mothers death. When Annies grasp on Sues life begins to feel suffocating, Sue launches to research her past in a desperate search for answers.Collins, a lifelong New Yorker who based her story partially on her own experience with a childhood babysitter, leans on the intense psychological drama of the caregiver-child relationship to keep the reader turning pages, never depicting violence on the page. The perfect choice for those who want thrills without the gore, Nanny Dearest is as compelling as it is unnerving.

• Fiction, Literary Fiction

The Ballerinas

• by Elyse Discher

Rachel Kapelke-Dale tackles everything from abortion to sexual abuse in The Ballerinas, an unflinching, unapologetically feminist glimpse into the world of professional ballet.

The daughter of a famous ballerina, Delphine studied ballet intensively for most of her life at the famous Paris Opera Ballet. Along with her friends Lindsay and Margaux, she was poised to become a staruntil she suddenly left France for Russia and gave up performing in favor of choreography.

Now Delphine is 36 and has returned to Paris to stage a ballet of her own creation with Lindsay as its star. Delphine feels she and Margaux wronged Lindsay somehow, and flashbacks to their teenage years reveal how these three young women were stretched to the breaking point by a demand for perfection from their teachers, peers and, in Delphines case, her mother.

Kapelke-Dale, who studied ballet herself, grants readers rare insight into a grueling world that, despite being largely female, is still dominated by men. Male teachers, choreographers and dancers hold power over their female counterparts, and gendered violence is embedded in the culture. Ballet is portrayed as an institution that fails the women it supposedly celebrates. For example, Delphine is betrayed at one point by a fellow dancer in a particularly horrific way, and he is immediately protected by the institution.

The patriarchal structure of ballet prizes youth and beauty, which affects Delphine, Lindsay and Margaux in new ways in their mid-30s. Lindsay is nearing an age at which she will have to retire from performing to make way for the teenagers coming onto the scene. Kapelke-Dale shows how these womens bodies are breaking down due to years of demanding dance training, making the pressure to appear thin, glowing and youthful feel even more cruelly ironic.

Despite all of this, The Ballerinas is not a bleak novel. Delphine, Lindsay and Margaux begin to push back against the system that has oppressed them, coming to terms with their past and moving forward into a world in which they have agency over their bodies and careers. It is to Kapelke-Dales credit that this empowering ending feels earned, rather than naively optimistic.