I would never have picked up this book had a friend not recommended it to me. I thought it might be self-congratulatory or preachy. But Melissa Gates is neither of those things. Quite the opposite: she is humble and refreshingly honest about how hard it can be to make change in the world. This book…
This book is the first in Ann Cleeves’s new Three Rivers series. Mystery fans know Cleeves from the Vera Stanhope and Shetland books and TV series, and it was exciting to discover her brand-new character, Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. He’s an unassuming, introverted sort who’s pulled into a murder case on the day of his…
Since it’s Halloween this week but I’m too chicken to read horror books, I figured I would cheat and review a not-so-scary book that has “ghosts” in the title! Tuesday Mooney is a “prospect researcher” for a large hospital in Boston — that’s fundraising-speak for someone who pulls together information on wealthy potential donors. At…
In Miracle Creek, a small town in Virginia, the immigrant Yoo family has started a new business: Miracle Submarine, a center for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT. Touted as a treatment for a variety of medical conditions, their HBOT chamber (basically a big pressurized oxygen tank) has drawn clients with cerebral palsy, autism, and infertility.…
In our world, faith is not something we talk about much. Family Sunday mornings are more often built around soccer games or brunches than heading to church. Yet questions of faith and belief still resonate. At some point most of us struggle with the big questions: Does God exist? And if so, why do bad…
