The Sunday Book Club (Los Angeles)

The Widow is a legal thriller by John Grisham about a small-town lawyer, Simon Latch, who takes on a wealthy widow, Eleanor Barnett, as a client, only to find himself framed for her murder and forced to find the real killer to clear his name. The novel is a departure from Grisham's usual courtroom dramas, focusing on a "whodunit" mystery where the protagonist must solve the crime he's accused of committing. It explores themes of greed, small-town life, and a lawyer's moral ambiguity as he navigates a case that becomes a nightmare.

New York Times Bestseller: A climate fiction novel about a family guarding a remote seed bank near Antarctica, who take in a mysterious woman washed ashore, leading to secrets, romance, and a fight for survival as storms and past traumas converge. It's a suspenseful, character-driven story praised for its beautiful writing, exploration of love and loss, and urgent themes of climate change, family, and hope.

This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10054335-rules-of-civility

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215153740-all-the-colors-of-the-dark