MY SELECTION OF BEST BOOKS IN 2021! WHAT A GREAT YEAR IN WRITING AND PUBLISHING!

2021 has been a great year in publishing. Here are some of our favs! 

DAMNATION SPRING (Scribner) by Ash Davidson

DAMNATION SPRING is not about trees, fish or clouds. But it's perfect for those who do and don't believe we have the power to destroy our environment. It's also about love, family, marriage and a community facing changes that will uproot their lives. 

FALLING (AvidReaderPress)  by T.J. Newman

You're flying in an airplane at thirty-seven thousand feet and learn you're going to crash. Wonder what's going through the minds of the passengers? They're terrified, as well as the pilot.

THE FAMILY SHIP (LakeUnionPublishing) by Sonja Yoerg

Yoerg's novel explores controlling relationships and whether or not a family can withstand trauma. Usually, they either become stronger or fall apart. The chapters alternate between the many characters. What Sonja does best is dig inside each character and reveals their positive characteristics and flaws. We readers can't help but recognize ourselves. 

THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS (GalleryBooks) by Kristin Harmel

Set during WWII, a group of Jews face the odds to stay alive in the middle of the forest. The Nazis are hunting them down for slaughter. Based on a true story, they enter a world unknown to them that saves their lives.

THE GUIDE (Knopf) by Peter Heller

What could be better than this? It's Jack's go to phrase that helps soothe some of the awful loss which has filled his young life. He hopes to find time for reflection when he's hired as a fishing guide for rich people at The Kingfisher Lodge, known by locals as "Billionaires Mile." But danger lurks - ranch workers are doing more than fly-fishing.

THE JIGSAW MAN (Harlequin) by Nadine Matheson

Debut author, Nadine Matheson kills in her fast paced thriller series, THE JIG SAW MAN. Detective Inspector Angela Henley and a serial killer play a classic but gory game of cat and mouse. This is book one of a trilogy. Can't wait for book two!

NEW YORK, MY VILLAGE (W.W.Norton) by Uwen Akpan

Nigerian editor, Ekong Udousoro wins a prestigious fellowship which takes him to NYC to edit an anthology of stories about his country's 1960s Biafran War. Ekong searches for meaning and connection in defiance of the indignities and denseness he faces from those he comes in contact with.

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN (Berkley) by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

From the very beginning, Belle has a secret. It's a secret that if discovered would crumble down and destroy her entire family who she provides for. I'm not going to give away the secret, but the whole story is true, with some literary license. Truly amazing.

SUNSET ROUTE (DialPress) by CarrotQuinn

THE SUNSET ROUTE has a running theme of loneliness, isolation and grief. Quinn believes she is "unlovable trash" and is constantly trying to connect with another human. When she does, it is short lived and she ends up disappointed. Her description of hopping trains, meeting other hobos, living an alternative lifestyle is all interesting, but unsettling at best.

WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM ((Atria) by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Feels like a story ripped from the headlines. Friendship between a black and a white women is tested, when tragedy strikes. They get to see how different races experience the world around them when immersed in racial divide and tragedy.

WE ARE THE BRENNANS (Celedon) Tracey Lange

Tracey Lange's debut novel, WE ARE THE BRENNANS features the fallout from an American Irish Catholic family hiding shameful secrets from those who matter most. 

THE WOMAN WITH THE BLUE STAR ((ParkRowBooks) by Pam Jenoff

As the Germans plow through Poland, Sadie Gault and her mother and father are forced to leave their home in the Krakow ghetto, where the Nazis have gathered up all the Jewish people. A simple man her father respected, a sewer worker takes it upon himself to gather the Gault's, two other Jewish families and take them into the Krakow sewer system to hide.

2022 is only going to be more exciting! Stay tuned!