The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

 

Author: Kristin Harmel

Narrator: Madeleine Maby

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Release date: June 17, 2025

Hooray it’s Friday! Do you like fiction that mixes history and contemporary timelines and spans decades? If so, Kristin Harmel’s upcoming release, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, is for you. Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC. 

Colette’s mother taught her to be a thief from a very young age. Growing up in Paris during WWII, a teenage Colette and her mother use their skills as jewel thieves to help fund the French Resistance. Then Colette’s mother is arrested and her little sister disappears during the raid along with a priceless bracelet. Decades later, the bracelet turns up in a museum exhibit. If Colette can discover who owns the bracelet, she just may finally find out what happened to her sister 70 decades ago. Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane’s body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette—who has “redistributed” $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations—has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn’t the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she’s forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.

Whew! There is a lot going on in this book. This is the first Harmel book that I’ve ever read, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really enjoyed the book and her writing style. But are her plots always so over the top? My suspension of disbelief had to work overtime right from the jump. A 90 year old Colette still has the quickness and dexterity to be a pickpocket? You go girl! That Colette is a descendent of Robin Hood and generations of her family only stole from cruel and unkind people to give to those in need? Not one greedy person in that family tree? Ok. There are two other major plot points that wrap up with big bows on top. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but my brain was like what are the chances? But the story pulled me in and had me riveted. I really enjoyed the book and will definitely recommend it. I liked the dual timeline and Madeleine Maby’s narration is absolutely terrific. This sweeping mix of historical fiction, mystery, and romance comes out June 17. Don’t miss it! 

Any fun plans for the weekend? The only thing I have going on is my book club meeting on Sunday. 

#thestolenlifeofcolettemarceau #kristinharmel #simonaudio #historicalfiction #WWIIfiction #paris #jewelthief #pickpocket #mysterybooks #multigenrebook 

About the Author

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels including The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Room on Rue Amélie, and The Sweetness of Forgetting. She is published in more than thirty languages and is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series, Friends & Fiction. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

The Retirement Plan

 

Author: Sue Hincenbergs

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Year: 2025

Happy #thrillerthursday! In The Retirement Plan, Pam dreams of the perfect retirement with her bffs and their husbands.  A bad investment derailed that dream. What the ladies didn’t know is that their husbands had their own secret plan- steal millions from the local casino and retire in style. But girls hatch a plan of their own- hire a hitman to kill their husbands and collect the insurance money. How far will the wives and husbands go to fund a comfortable retirement? Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

“Three best friends turn to murder to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies… But the husbands have a plan of their own in this darkly funny debut that will delight readers from the first laugh to the final twist.

After thirty years of friendship, Pam dreams of her perfect retirement with Nancy, Shalisa, Marlene, and their husbands—until their husbands pool their funds for an investment that goes terribly wrong. Suddenly, their golden years are looking as dreary as their marriages.

But when the women discover their husbands have seven-figure life insurance policies, a new dream forms. And this time, they need a hitman.

Meanwhile, their husbands are working on their own secret retirement scheme and when things begin to go sideways, they fear it’s backfired. The husbands scramble to stay alive…but soon realize they may not be quick enough to outmaneuver their wives.”

This is a fun and darkly funny story of friendship, marriage, money, and love.       It’s over the top with harebrained schemes and miscommunication, but it’s very entertaining and sweet at times. This a bubblegum book- a fast and amusing book to just enjoy without thinking too much. It’s ridiculous fun and I enjoyed it very much. 

What does your dream retirement look like? 

#theretirementplan #suehincenbergs #williammorrow #crimefiction #cozymystery #thrillerbooks #mysterybooks #bookstagram #librarybook #debutnovel #2025debut

About the Author

Sue Hincenbergs is a former television producer who has worked on multiple award-winning programs. She lives in Toronto with her (very much alive) husband, her scruffy, middle-aged rescue dog, Kramer, and the rooms full of the stuff her three sons left behind when they moved out. The porch light is always on in case one comes by for a visit. The Retirement Plan is her first novel. 

Great Big Beautiful Life

 

Author: Emily Henry

Narrator: Julia Whelan

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Year: 2025

Happy Wednesday! I’m sure you’ve already seen tons of reviews for Emily Henry’s most recent release Great Big Beautiful Life. So I’m not going to bore you with a long summary and review. I saw the author say it was a departure from her previous books. Nope. I didn’t see a departure at all. It’s an opposites attract and overcome stuff love story. I also saw it’s a thriller. It’s not even close to being thriller-ish. And some people compared it to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I didn’t get that vibe at all. Yes, there’s a Hollywood connection, but nothing like in Evelyn. So, I what do I think it is? It’s a multi generational family story mixed with a love story. I also know I like it a lot. The characters were really good. The romance was a fun mix of sunshine/grump and rivals to lovers tropes.

Spoiler Alert! Stop now if you don’t want to know the big twist! 

Here’s my opinion on the book’s big secret as a person who was adopted as an infant. I didn’t like that Margaret had to come up with the elaborate rouse and pretend competition for writing her biography. That seemed unnecessary. I would want a biological family member to come to me openly and honestly instead of in an underhanded way. I know it’s part of the drama-rama of the story, but it just didn’t sit well with me. That’s just my two cents. 

I did love Julia Whelan’s narration. As always, she’s flawless. So if you haven’t read this yet, give it a try on audio. It’s a fun and entertaining book. 

How’s your great big beautiful life going this week? 

#greatbigbeautifullife #emilyhenry #juliawhelan #audiobook #romance #audiobookstagram #penguinaudio #contempararyfiction #romance #contemporaryromance #penguinaudio 

About the Author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Great Big Beautiful Life, Funny Story, Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

2 for Tuesday: rich people behaving badly

 

Happy #twofortuesday! Here’s two audiobooks featuring rich people behaving badly. 

💰Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier. A wealthy couple makes a game out of ruining the lives of their rental tenants- until they run up against a desperate young woman trying to hide a terrible secret. I liked this one and there were lots of twists and turns. It’s told from two POV and both narrators were great. 

☠️ See How They Fall by Rachael Paris. The family of a deceased wealthy patriarch of luxury goods empire gathers for the weekend. Tempers and egos flare. One person ends up dead and a little girl is hospitalized with arsenic poisoning. A hard charging detective disregards her boss to push the investigation further. Meanwhile, the girl’s mother begins to uncover dark family secrets. I’ve seen lots of love for this psychological thriller, but it  just wasn’t for me. I think I’m just tired of the psychological fiction genre. Narrators Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood and Eva Seymour kept me listening. 

Is there a genre, sub genre, or trope you’re over and why are you tired of it? 

#twofortuesday #librarybooks #richpeoplebehavingbadly #crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #psychologicalthrillers #bookstagram #audiobooks #audiobookstagram #goodrichpeople #seehowtheyfall

About the Author

Eliza Jane Brazier is an author, screenwriter, and journalist. She currently lives in California, where she is developing her books for television.

Rachel Paris worked as a commercial lawyer in London and Auckland before writing her debut novel, See How They Fall. She holds a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School and a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Auckland. Rachel currently lives with her family in Auckland. 

Tilt

 

Author: Emma Pattee

Publisher: Simon & Schuster/ Marysue Rucci Books

Year: 2025

Happy Monday! It’s a holiday here in the US. Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. 

Emma Pattee’s debut novel Tilt offers up an emotional exploration of a woman’s life amid the wreckage of a city. Annie, very pregnant, uncomfortable, and frazzled, is at IKEA trying to buy a crib when a massive earthquake devastates her city of Portland. She survives the initial quake, and must try to find a way to get back home.

Annie is surrounded by devastation. She witnesses the best and worst in people and herself during a time of crisis. As she walks for hours, she reflects on her life, struggling marriage, unfulfilled dreams, and anxiety of having a baby. Annie wanted to be a playwright, but life and bills go in the way. She has an unfulfilling office job, while her husband, an aspiring actor, still selfishly chases his dream. 

This book pulled me right in. At just over 200 pages, it’s a quick read. I flew through it and enjoyed it. Pick this one up if you’re looking for a character’s physical and emotional journey. It’s a satisfying survival story wrapped in literary fiction. 

#tilt #emmapattee #literaryfiction #survivalfiction #earthquake #portland #contempararyfiction #bookstagram #booknerd #librarybook #bookreview #alwaysreading #earthquakefiction #portlandoregonfiction 

About the Author

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She lives in Oregon.

Remote: the Six

 

Author: Eric Rickstad

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing 

Year: 2025

In Remote: the Six, a serial killer is murdering families across the country. He arranges the victims in strange scenes before murdering them. FBI Special Agent Lukas Stark has been chasing the killer for months. With no trace evidence or motive, Stark is getting nowhere. Stark is forced to allow Gilles, a strange and mysterious man, to assist the investigation. Gilles claims he has a special ability to “see” things remotely. It’s the same ability as the killer. As the killing sprees escalate, Stark gets entangled in a web a deep government secrets. He’s pushed to the brink trying to find the killer before the next family dies. 

The twist in this story is the killer’s psychic ability to remotely spy on people. It’s a different take on the omnipotent serial killer trope. Stark and Gilles make an odd pair since Stark is so skeptical of Gilles’ ability. Throw in the mad serial killer, a deep dark government program and cover up and you get an entertaining thriller. I liked this one, but didn’t love it. Stark being the only agent investigating an escalating serial killer was too big a plot hole to ignore. I’d still recommend this book, but I doubt I’ll continue reading the series. 

Can you abandon a series or must you absolutely continue it? 

#crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram 

#librarybook #lovemylibrary #sciencefiction

About the Author

Eric Rickstad is the New York Times bestselling author of Lilith, I Am Not Who You Think I Am (named a New York Times Best Thriller of the Year), Reap, What Remains of Her, and the Canaan Crime Trilogy, which has sold more than a half million copies worldwide. He lives in Vermont with his wife, daughter, and son.

5 for Friday: Beach Bag Edition

 

Happy Friday! Since this weekend is the unofficial start of summer, I’m thinking about summer reads. Here are 5 of my must reads this summer. 

🔥 King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 

Cosby quickly became one of my favorite authors with his breakout book Blacktop Wasteland. King of Ashes is my most anticipated read this year. Out June 10.

👩‍🚀 Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

So looking forward to this 1980s tale set against the backdrop of the Space Shuttle program. Out June 3. 

🚪The Doorman by Chris Pavone 

An NYC doorman gets caught up in a web of intrigue, robbery, and murder. Out now. 

🏄‍♀️The Surf House by Lucy Clarke 

A woman finds refuge at a an idyllic house for surfers in Morocco. But she quickly gets caught up in a mystery surrounding a missing young woman. Out June 10. 

🧽The Cleaner by Mary Watson

A woman takes a job as a cleaner wealthy families in an exclusive Dublin neighborhood to dig up their dirty secrets and extract revenge. Out  July 29. 

What are your most anticipated upcoming reads? 

#fiveforfriday #fridayfive #summerreading #kingofashes #atmosphere #thedoorman #thesurfhouse #thecleaner #crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bookstagram #reel #beachreading #summerreads 

Not Quite Dead Yet

 

Author: Holly Jackson

Publisher: Bantam

Publication date: July 22, 2025

Thank you Penguin Random House  and NetGalley for the digital review copy! 

Holly Jackson steps away from YA thrillers with her upcoming book Not Quite Dead Yet. It’s set to release July 22. Jackson’s big twist in this one is that the main character, Jet Mason, has a week to solve her own murder before she actually dies. Jet is the victim of a vicious attack that leaves her with a fragment of bone pressing on an artery deep in her brain. The pressure will cause an aneurysm and kill her in a week or she’ll die in surgery if doctors try retrieve the shard. Jet decides to spend the last week of her life finding out who murdered her. 

Jet turns to her childhood bff Billy for help figuring out whodunnit. There’s a long list of suspects from Jet’s older brother to her ex boyfriend to a grieving father who blames the death of his daughter on Jet’s family’s construction business. There’s also a boatload of family drama and secrets. 

I really enjoyed this one. When I was reading the first chapter I thought Jet came off as kind of whiny and bratty. Then I realized she complicated. Her character grew on me as she showed more emotional depth and maturity as the book went on and more of her family drama was revealed. Jackson keeps the pace of the book moving and the tension wretches up as Jet’s days count down. There were enough red herrings to keep me guessing and I really didn’t see the final ending coming. This is a book that I’m going to be recommending all summer and fall. Preorder it or all’s it to your tbr list so you won’t miss out. It’ll be the perfect beach or pool read or to snuggle up with this autumn. 

Let’s play predictive text. Not quite dead yet _____

Not quite dead yet but it is still warm enough for me to sleep. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess I sleep like the dead. 

#notquitedeadyet #hollyjackson #bantam #netgalley #crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #uocomingrelease 

About the Author 

Holly Jackson is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, an international sensation with millions of copies sold worldwide as well as the #1 New York Times bestseller and instant classic, Five Survive, and her forthcoming novel, The Reappearance of Rachel Price. She graduated from the University of Nottingham, where she studied literary linguistics and creative writing, with a master’s degree in English. She enjoys playing video games and watching true-crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. She lives in London.

Marguerite by the Lake

 

Author: Mary Dixie Carter

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication date: May 20, 2025

Out now! Thank you Booksparks and Mary Dixie Carter for the #gifted copy of Marguerite by the Lake for the Summer Reading Challenge #src2025. 

Phoenix loves her job as a gardener. Her pride and joy is the landscaping and gardens at Rosecliff. It’s the home of Marguerite Gray, a gardening and lifestyle icon known for her exquisite taste. Marguerite is also the subject of a famous painting which hangs prominently at Rosecliff. After Phoenix saves Marguerite’s husband, Geoffrey, from being crushed by a tree during a storm, Phoenix and Geoffrey begin having an affair. Not long after the affair starts, Marguerite falls to her death and everything changes. Here’s the summary from the publisher: 

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.

I enjoyed this slow burning and atmospheric novel. There’s definitely gothic vibe running throughout the story. This is a story of longing for love and a life that Phoenix is desperate to have-Marguerite’s life, home and husband. The stress of the continuing police investigation into Marguerite’s death and Marguerite’s indelible presence woven into every facet of Rosecliff, personified by the famous painting, eventually takes its toll on Phoenix. 

This is perfect for readers looking for an emotional and literary psychological thriller.

What’s more chilling to you: a brilliant psychopath or a subtle manipulator?

#margueritebythelake #booksparks #minotaurbooks #src2025 #psychologicalthriller #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bibliofile #reader #readinglife #alwaysreading  #bookrecomendation #bookworm 

#booklover #bookstagram 

About the Author

Mary Dixie Carter is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Photographer. Her writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Sun, The New York Observer, and other print and online publications. She worked atThe Observer for five years, where she served as the publishing director. In addition to writing, she also has a background as a professional actor. Mary Dixie graduated from Harvard with an honors degree in English Literature and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Here’s the “lake” where I took the photo of the book. It’s actually a beaver pond. There’s three beaver lodges around the pond.