Tag: reading

Come With Me by Erin Flanagan

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Cover of Come With Me showing two girls with their backs to each other
Good book alert! Coming August 22nd.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy of this book.

COME WITH ME opens with two young women, Gwen and Nicola, who are in their final year of college and meet as interns. We find Gwen daydreaming about her wedding as the more intense Nicola lists out her rules for career success. Upon graduation, the two lose touch once Gwen leaves the company to get married, but ten years later when Gwen’s husband dies and leaves her drowning in debt, she finds herself back in the job market. With no work history, Gwen is desperate for a reference and calls up Nicola, who is all too ready to help. Although they weren’t close during their internship, the posh and charismatic Nicola happens to be in search of a new best friend since her last one vanished (hmm, red flag?). Before long, the two are nearly inseparable, and Gwen begins to wonder if that’s a good thing. However, she’s let Nicola so far into her life and feels so indebted to her that she finds herself reluctant to take a stand. Have you ever had a frenemy you didn’t know quite how to deal with? Let’s just say that you’ll relate to this story!  

Reader Takeaway: A few chapters in, I had a hard time putting this book down. Flanagan portrays Gwen as having enough concerns about Nicola that I couldn’t help but feel suspicious, yet I could also totally relate to Gwen’s doubts about her own perceptions. Was she misinterpreting a look or a comment? Being too sensitive? Flanagan does a great job of portraying Gwen as someone who is smart and determined but struggling with confidence as she recovers from a huge life change. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good character-driven psychological thriller.

Writer Takeaway: Flanagan is a master of character development! As in her other novels, she puts the reader inside her characters’ heads with skillful internals and the perfect amount of backstory. This novel is also a great example of how to effectively intersperse flashbacks that round out characters while still moving the plot forward. The short flashback chapters throughout the book give us insight into the protagonist and antagonist and build up to a powerful twist near the end. (I can reveal no more; get the book!)

Deer Season by Erin Flanagan

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Cover of murder mystery book Deer Season by Erin Flanagan

Erin Flanagan set her Edgar-winning debut mystery DEER SEASON in the 1980’s in Gunthrum, Nebraska. The story follows the disappearance of teenager Peggy Ahren, but much of the story centers on Alma Costagan and intellectually disabled farmhand, Hal Bullard, who has become like a son to her over the years. When Hal becomes an easy target for suspicion, Alma and Milo (Peggy’s brother) are among the few people left still searching for answers.  

Reader Takeaway: As someone who grew up in the rural Midwest, I loved the setting of this novel. It felt true to my experiences growing up in a similar place and time–from the network of small-town gossip to basement rec rooms and what it takes to keep a farm running. What I most appreciated was that it portrayed rural Midwesterners not as caricatures but as intelligent, complex individuals; in fact, what set the novel apart for me were the poignant insights into each character, particularly Alma and Milo. Flanagan shows us how Alma’s life has not turned out as she expected and how disappointments have begun to turn her bitter. This is a quiet, slow burn of a mystery that takes its time to fully build a world and make you care about the characters.

Writer Takeaway: I set my debut mystery HIDDEN ROOMS in rural Ohio, and although I hadn’t read DEER SEASON when I drafted it, so much of what Flanagan achieved in her this novel is exactly what I hoped to capture myself. Flanagan demonstrated how to set a riveting mystery in a “flyover” farm town by capturing the complex layers of tension between those who have lived in a place their whole lives, those who are new to town, and those who want to leave one day. I recommend this (and Flanagan’s other work) for any writer who wants to capture the overlooked depths and nuances of an under-represented place.

The Finalist by Joan Long

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THE FINALIST by Joan Long follows a group of crime writers who travel to a secluded tropical island to complete a famous novelist’s final unfinished manuscript. The main character, Risa, is a single mom who has suffered her own recent tragedies over the past year. After less than twenty-four hours on the island, one of the authors is dead and the writers realize that they might have a real-life mystery on their hands. 

Reader Takeaway: I found a lot to like about this novel, from the premise and plot to the setting and characters. I loved how the small cast of characters and the remote setting give the novel the feel of a classic locked room mystery but in a completely different type of environment. Risa comes across as a capable, sympathetic protagonist, and there are lots of good twists and red herrings that kept me guessing throughout the book. I can see why the book received an Agatha Award nomination for Best First Mystery.

Writer Takeaway: I learned a lot from the ways in which Long gradually layered in Risa’s backstory throughout the novel. Early breadcrumbs hinted at a significant past event but kept readers in suspense. This gradual reveal helped establish the novel’s pace while still giving enough details to develop a main character whose backstory drives her actions and decisions.

The Murder of Madison Garcia by Marcy McCreary

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The Murder of Madison Garcia book cover

I enjoyed Marcy McCreary’s first Susan Ford mystery, The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon, and was excited to read the second book in the series, The Murder of Madison Garcia. I was happy to see that this book features another collaboration between Detective Ford and her father, a retired police officer. This time around, the pair investigate the death of Madison Garcia, who happens to be the daughter of a family friend and who placed a call to Detective Ford on the night of her murder. One of the many joys of this book is the depiction of Detective Ford’s relationship with her parents. McCreary lovingly captures the mix of affection, squabbles, and humor between Ford and her aging parents. Themes of family and friendship were also woven throughout this mystery and raised interesting questions about the people we trust (or simply tolerate) and why. As in the first book, McCreary nails the investigatory details that make for an engrossing police procedural. 

Reader Takeaway: The Murder of Madison Garcia is another engrossing, page-turning mystery from McCreary. This book kept me guessing up to the very end with an interesting ensemble of suspects, all of whom have their secrets. I suspected just about every character at one point or another! Of course, I stayed up way too late finishing this book, and now I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Writer Takeaway: I’m currently outlining my second book in a series, so I was especially struck by how skillfully McCreary carried over characters and events from her first novel into her second. I’m sure we have all encountered a series where each book has an info dump to catch readers up on what they may have missed. Those who have followed the series over time might just skim over this type of ‘housekeeping’ summary. McCreary shows authors how to avoid this and, instead, capitalize on the complexity of recurring characters. Nothing felt repetitive in McCreary’s second book—instead, McCreary built on the foundations from her first novel while including just the right amount of information for new readers. The Murder of Madison Garcia offers a great example for those of us who might want to write a series by showing how recurring characters and places can grow cumulatively richer with each book.