Books

The Cellar By Natasha Preston 

In a sleepy little town outside of London, it is perfectly safe for Summer Robinson to walk a few blocks to meet up with friends. It should be anyway, until she disappears without a trace. She finds herself tossed into a basement with three other girls, all to satisfy their captor’s idea of having a “family.” Several months go by as these girls learn how to survive while Summer’s family never gives up looking for her. This is a YA novel and reads like one, but the suspense will keep you reading to the end.

Hidden Pictures By Jason Rekulak 

21-year-old Mallory lands a summer job as a live-in nanny for 5-year-old Teddy Maxwell. Strange noises and the feeling of being watched aside, she begins to panic when Teddy starts to draw disturbing pictures of a person being dragged into the woods and buried in a hole. Each day Teddy’s drawings become more detailed and sophisticated. Mallory is drawn into a race to find the truth and save Teddy, and herself, before it is too late.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone By Benjamin Stevenson 

Author and self-professed crime connoisseur Ernie Cunningham has been told he must be present at this year’s annual family reunion. The location is an isolated mountain resort with a pending storm. What could go wrong? The following morning the first body appears. Told in a colloquial, conversational manner peppered with deliciously dry, dark humor, this twisted family had more secrets and lies than the long list of suspects. Delightful.

How to Sell a Haunted House By Grady Hendrix 

When Louise gets a call from her brother that their parents have been killed in an accident, she reluctantly flies to her childhood home in Charleston. Creepy dolls and hundreds of puppets her mother made are among the many reasons she wants to get rid of everything and sell the house. But she and her brother start to realize something is off, and the house may just not want to be sold. Hendrix is a master at mixing horror with laugh-out-loud humor and absurd occurrences.

Chasing The Boogeyman By Richard Chizmar 

A brilliant combination of true crime and fiction writing will make you keep checking what is true and what is made up. The author has inserted himself into this story as a bystander searching for a killer in his hometown in Maryland in the late ’80s. Several teenage girls go missing and then turn up mutilated and posed. The entire town is gripped with fear, and rumors are spreading fast. If you love this genre, check out his sequel, Becoming the Boogeyman. 

The Travelling Cat Chronicles By Hiro Arikawa

It’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with this seemingly simple yet profoundly touching story of Satoru and his stray cat, Nana. Narrated from both their perspectives, the duo embarks on a road trip across Japan, visiting three of Satoru’s old friends. What starts as a casual journey for Nana soon reveals itself to be a heartwarming quest where he learns just how deeply he is cherished by his owner. Nana’s voice is captured with delightful authenticity, perfectly embodying how we imagine a pet cat would think and speak. A must-read for cat lovers.

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog By John Grogan

This is a delightful and tear-jerking tale of a rambunctious yellow Labrador named Marley, who constantly tests his owners’ patience—and their marriage—with his chaotic behavior. Marley flunks out of obedience school, chews through walls and even devours sofas. Yet, through the ups and downs of life, including the birth of three children, Marley’s boundless loyalty and devotion make him impossible not to love. Keep a box of tissues nearby for this one.

Horse By Geraldine Brooks

A sweeping saga that transcends time, moving seamlessly between 1850s Kentucky, 1950s New York and 2019 Washington, D.C. This tale intertwines the art world, the legacy of an extraordinary racehorse, a Smithsonian osteologist and the enduring impact of slavery in America. Brooks masterfully weaves real-life and fictional characters into a narrative based on the remarkable story of a thoroughbred named Lexington, creating a novel as fascinating as it is heartbreaking.

Whiskers in the Dark By Rita Mae Brown

In the latest installment of the beloved Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen and her crime-solving cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with their Corgi companion, Tee Tucker, are thrust into another local mystery. After a fierce storm hits, Harry and her cleanup crew stumble upon a murder victim, followed by another body and the discovery of an 18th-century skeleton in the churchyard. It’s up to the sharp-witted pets to crack the case in this cozy, close-to-home mystery.

Local author 

Bite the Dust By Jackie Layton

The first in the Lowcountry Dog Walker Mystery Series, Pawleys Island resident Jackie Layton delivers a charming, cozy mystery set in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The story follows dog walker Andi Grace, who finds herself the prime suspect in a murder investigation after discovering a client’s dead body. With wit and Southern charm, Layton crafts a tale that leaves readers wondering if the police are barking up the wrong tree.

At Loggerheads By Kristen Ness

Set on a barrier island in South Carolina, this novel follows the turtle patrol as they track and worry about the increasing number of false crawls from the nesting Loggerhead turtles. When the director, known as the Turtle Lady, is found murdered, detective Drew Young is plunged into a case that unveils a multi-million dollar scheme involving developers, the turtles, murder and a senator’s run for the White House. This engaging and exciting first novel from Kristen Ness, a South Carolina native, is a must-read.

A Lowcountry Bride By Preslaysa Williams

Maya Jackson is on the rise in the bridal gown industry, working for a famous New York brand. Her career is interrupted when she returns to Charleston to care for her ailing father. She takes a job at a local bridal store, where she meets the widowed owner, Derek, who is struggling to continue his mother’s legacy and provide for his daughter. Together, Maya and Derek form a sweet and lovable couple, if they can learn to accept what’s right in front of them.

Saints at the River By Ron Rash

In the Appalachian foothills on the South Carolina-Georgia border, a 12-year-old girl tragically drowns in the Tamassee River. This captivating and emotional novel explores the ensuing battle between environmentalists who want to protect the river and parents determined to recover their daughter’s body at any cost. Newspaper photographer Maggie finds herself caught in the middle, as political and monetary motives complicate the situation. Born in Chester, Rash masterfully weaves a tale of impossible choices.

Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island By Susan M. Boyer

The first book in Boyer’s new Carolina Tales series introduces private investigator Hadley Cooper, a delightful and eccentric character with a group of quirky friends. After meeting Eugenia during a walk on the beach, Cooper agrees to investigate whether her husband is cheating. When Eugenia turns up dead and her estranged husband has an airtight alibi, the mystery deepens. Expect more adventures with these fun characters in future books. Boyer, who lives in Greenville, crafts a compelling and entertaining mystery.

The Attic on Queen Street By Karen White

In this final book of the Tradd Street series, Melanie Trenholm juggles being a mom of twins, a realtor and dealing with marital issues. Her longtime nemesis proposes shooting a movie at their house to boost her husband’s writing career, but he has ulterior motives involving treasure. Melanie is also trying to solve the murder of her friend’s sister. With good and bad ghosts protecting what they deem sacred, this book concludes the series with a bang. Read all seven books for the full haunted Charleston effect.

Swan Song By Elin Hilderbrand 

This is Hilderbrand’s retirement book, so it is fitting the main character is Nantucket police chief Ed Kapenash, a recurring character in several of her books. Ed is retiring after 35 years, but a series of troubling events force him to take on one more case. A new, flashy couple comes to town, their multi-million dollar summer house burns down, and a girl is missing. Fans of Hilderbrand will find the glamor, drama, food and fun characters she is known for, including the beautiful Island of Nantucket. You will want to read this, but you won’t want it to ever end.

Summers at The Saint By Mary Kay Andrews 

Set on the coast of Georgia, the St. Cecelia is a fictional resort where the haves vacation and the have-nots work. Traci Eddings was an outsider until she married the boss’s son. Years later she is a widow and the CEO of the resort, and she wants to return it to its glory days. Her in-laws are not happy or helpful, and a murder mystery threatens to ruin everything. A great beach read that will keep you turning the pages till the end. Secrets, suspense, murder and romance. Fabulous.

The Berry Pickers 

By Amanda Peters 

July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. When 4-year-old Ruthie goes missing, the tragedy shakes the community and haunts the survivors, especially the girl’s older brother, who was the last to see her. The mystery remains unsolved for nearly 50 years. An amazing story of love and perseverance, this debut from Peters is a historical fiction tale not to be missed.

The House Across the Lake By Riley Sager 

Actress Casey Fletcher is recently widowed and in need of an escape. She retreats to a lake house in Vermont. In her quiet and serene surroundings, she passes the time watching the interesting couple across the lake, Tom and Katherine Royce. When Casey saves Katherine from drowning, they strike up a friendship. Things are not what they seem, and when Katherine disappears, Casey is obsessed with finding the truth. A true psychological suspense that will keep you guessing until the very end.

This Summer will be Different By Carley Fortune 

When Lucy vacations at a beach house on Prince Edward Island, Felix is the fun local who makes her trip delightful, until she learns he is her best friend’s younger brother. Each year she returns for the coastal air and oysters, and each year she attempts to avoid Felix. There are many reasons why they need to stay apart, but a crisis with her friend before her wedding appears to conspire to get them back together.

A Walk In The Woods By Bill Bryson 

Appalachian Trail, 1995. After living abroad for 20 years, Bryson moved to New Hampshire near a section of the Appalachian Trail. He decided to hike the 2,100-mile trail from Georgia to Maine at the age of 44, a bit overweight and out-of-shape, with a friend who was an even less likely candidate to succeed. The result is a humorous, sarcastic, adventurous and sometimes educational account of the preparations and attempt at the trail.

The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho 

Egypt, 1988. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy whose days never change with his flock of sheep. He has a dream that he travels far away and finds a treasure and then sets off to re-enact this dream. His quest will lead him to riches far different than he ever imagined. There is a combination of magic, wisdom and interesting characters along the way. The story is an inspiration to follow one’s dreams, literally.

My Brilliant Friend By Elena Ferrante 

Italy, 1950s and ‘60s. A novel about two women, Elena and Lila, who grow up together in a poor neighborhood in Naples. The story follows the two girls from childhood to early adulthood. The poverty and violence surround both. Lila is much more brilliant and beautiful than Elena, but Elena is able to better her life through education, while Lila is stuck in a shoe store owned by her father. The shocking ending will prompt you to read the next book in the series.

Mission to Paris By Alan Furst 

Paris, 1938. Hollywood star Fredric Stahl is heading to Paris to make a movie for Paramount. Stahl has been targeted by Nazi officials for the likelihood of his drawing the media in France, but they don’t know he has been training as a spy to gather information regarding Germany’s impending plans in Europe that may be useful to the White House. A fast-paced and dangerous game ensues, yet at the center of the novel is the city of Paris, the heart of Europe, and the Parisians who fought to survive during this dark time in history.

Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels 

By Richard Halliburton 

All over the world, 1920s and ‘30s. Halliburton was a professional adventurer who lived from 1900 to 1939, when he died in a storm at sea. He traveled the world and wrote about his travels with great excitement. From the Pyramids to the Panama Canal to Niagara Falls to Iguazu Falls to Mt. Fuji to Nepal to the Taj Mahal to the Louvre, it’s an amazing book that’s just teeming with a sense of wonder about the world and is full of fascinating maps and black-and-white photos.

We Regret to Inform You | By Ariel Kaplan 

Mischa, a dream student on paper, was supposed to get her prize after all the hard work. Top grades, top scores, leadership and clubs, top private school; but when college decision time came around, not one acceptance. A sympathetic and often hilarious tale unfolds with two mysteries: who sabotaged her applications, and, who is she without her Ivy League acceptance? An all-too-real tale of the pressures on today’s high school students.

Ninth House | By Leigh Bardugo 

Galaxy “Alex” Stern dropped out of school early and into a world of drug dealer boyfriends and terrible situations. By age twenty she is the only survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. At her hospital bed she is offered an elusive spot in the freshman class at prestigious Yale University in exchange for monitoring the underworld of the school’s eight secret societies. Is this a dream come true, or are the activities more sinister and deadly than Alex could have ever imagined? 

Freshmen | By Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison 

Phoebe and Luke graduated from the same high school and attend the same college. Their lives become entangled their freshmen year when Phoebe decides to reinvent herself, and Luke breaks up with his girlfriend a week into school. Whether you are strolling down memory lane or getting an eye-opener on college life, you will find plenty of partying, hooking up, walks of shame and even some class time; but also a deeper look at events that can enhance, or completely ruin, a college experience.

Campusland | By Scott Johnston 

English professor Eph Russell, from rural Alabama, is hoping to achieve tenure at the fictional prestigious Devon University in this laugh-out-loud satirical take on cancel culture at college campuses. Russell and other main characters try to navigate the school year around well-intentioned movements taken to the extreme, theatrics and faux-activism. Throw in an over-the-top University president and hyper-agitated students, this gives the vibes of Tom Wolfe’s
The Bonfire of The Vanities. 

The Art of Fielding | By Chad Harbach 

Henry Skrimshander is a young baseball player and college student in Wisconsin. His bible, a beat up book called The Art of Fielding, is full of philosophy and practical pointers on how to become the best player he can be. This book is about baseball and college, but it is also a tremendous character-driven story about five people with intersecting lives who are trying to find fulfillment, some love and perhaps even follow their dreams. Highly entertaining and touching.

The Beach Club By Elin Hilderbrand 

This was Hilderbrand’s very first book. It has set the stage for everything she has written since then about Nantucket Island. The Beach Club is a private club that morphed into a 20-room hotel. It follows the manager and the rest of the staff as they navigate the demands of the summer guests and juggle their own complicated personal lives. The guests have their own set of issues, and a hurricane threatens them all as summer comes to an end. A fun, drama-filled story from the queen of the beach reads.

The Joy Luck Club By Amy Tan 

Set in 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to California, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss and new hope for their daughters’ futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their daughters, who have never heard these stories, don’t feel they are relevant to their American lives – until they realize how similar they are to their mothers’ pasts. Tan’s narrative brilliantly explores the nuances of the Asian-American immigrant experience and the generational tug-of-war over traditions.

Fight Club By Chuck Palahniuk 

The first rule of Fight Club is that you don’t talk about it, so I won’t. However, I will tell you that it is a brilliant satire of life in the modern world, where men, blue-collar or white-collar, go to extremes to escape the daytime grind after hours. The novel skillfully critiques the lengths men are willing to go to in pursuit of feeling alive outside their quotidian struggles, wrapped in a veil of secrecy that defines the club’s first rule: you do not talk about Fight Club.

The Club Dumas By Arturo Pérez-Reverte 

Lucas Corso is a book detective, a mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. So starts a crazy adventure of mystery and intrigue. It’s a tribute to the swashbuckling adventure story, particularly The Three Musketeers-like stories of French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas.

The Pallbearers Club By Paul G. Tremblay 

When an awkward high school student, Art Barbara, starts a club for students to be pallbearers at funerals of those who died alone or homeless, he meets a community college student, Mercy, and they become unlikely friends. Years later, Art attempts to document the club and his friendship with Mercy in a memoir. As the story unfolds, it is clear that Mercy has access to the manuscript and makes her opinions known in the margins. While most memoirs teeter between memory and fiction, this friendship borders on the supernatural in true Tremblay fashion. 

Merlot in Maine  | By Jan Romes 

Four female friends decide to sell everything in Ohio and road trip to Maine to purchase and run a bed & breakfast.  None of them have experience running a bed & breakfast, but no matter. The trip itself is filled with outrageous antics, some danger, doubt and a whole lot of craziness as these women cement their friendships and really learn what it means to have friends you can count on. They must figure out their own individual paths as they navigate running a business together. There are lots of laughs, tears, men and, of course, wine.

The Vineyard  | By Barbara Dellinsky

Olivia Jones is a single mom working in New York at a job about to end. A great opportunity arrives, albeit temporary, at a vineyard in Rhode Island. Natalie Seebring is the successful vineyardist offering Olivia a job. After Natalie loses her husband of 50-plus years, she surprises her children by announcing her engagement to the vineyard manager. She needs Olivia as her assistant and for moral support. A sweet story of second chances, all the way around.

Murder In The Wine Country | By Janet Finsilver  

Kelly Jackson is the manager of a bed & breakfast in Northern California. She is excited to participate in a community event to raise awareness for struggling veterans. There is a culinary competition, and local wineries will host tastings. But when a wine consultant is murdered, everyone appears to be a suspect, from a jealous husband to international poachers of the protected Dudleya succulent. A cozy mystery that will keep you guessing whodunit, and why. 

The Winemaker’s Wife   | By Kristin Harmel 

Alternatively set between 1940 and 2019, a masterful historical fiction about a successful vineyard in the Champagne region of France. When the Germans invade Poland, the owners of a famous winery begin to hide priceless bottles in secret caves under the wine house. Modern day Liv Kent has a visit from her very elderly eccentric grandmother, who insists on a trip to France. The past and present merge as family secrets are revealed and confessed. Beautifully written.

Cork Dork   | By Bianca Bosker 

Part wine book, part biography, journalist Bianca Bosker immerses herself in the world of wine by learning, tasting, judging and studying to become a master sommelier. Her aim is to bring the reader knowledge and in-depth information on vineyards, hunts for big bottles and the science of wine tasting. A must read for serious wine lovers or those who want to learn more about their favorite beverage. Funny, juicy and informative.

The Smoke Jumper  | By Nicholas Evans 

British author Evans is better known for his first novel, The Horse Whisperer, but this story is worth the read. Set in Montana and Africa, it introduces you to the dangerous life of smoke jumpers, firefighters who drop from the sky to battle forest fires. Evans has a way of making the scenery its own character, and his descriptions will make you want to plan a trip or two. 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry  | By Gabrielle Zevin 

Perhaps you recognize Zevin as the author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the 2022 bestseller. But if you have not delved into the life of Mr. Fikry, you are in for a treat. This is such a sweet story and a must for book lovers. You will see Fikry transform from a lonely curmudgeon whose bookstore is failing to a man who experiences a second chance with his livelihood, love and his life. It will affirm for you why books are so magical in the first place.

Left Neglected | By Lisa Genova 

Of course you have read, seen or heard of Still Alice, the blockbuster fictional story about living with Alzheimer’s disease. Genova is a national treasure, creating her own genre of fiction that teaches about neurological disorders better than a textbook. Sarah is an over-scheduled overachiever, whose life changes in a moment when a car accident leads to a traumatic brain injury. A touching story that is also entertaining and amazingly educational.

Body Surfing  | By Anita Shreve 

Most have heard of The Pilot’s Wife, but Shreve has written many other great books. Just ask me about them, because I have read them all. It’s the story of 29-year-old Sydney, who takes a tutoring job at a beach house in New Hampshire. She is trying to figure out her life after being divorced and widowed. Shreve is the master of a slow burn, with deep insight into emotions, love, wit and brilliant, expressive language.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks  | By E. Lockhart 

Fans of We Were Liars might love this book, or they may not. They are very different stories, but I recommend both to any YA fan. It’s about a fancy private school, an underestimated girl (Frankie), arrogant boys, secret societies, over-the-top pranks, strong female supporting characters, laugh-out-loud humor and a girl who is not content with just looking pretty, who does not feel superior but wants to feel equal. Empowering.

The Heiress | By Rachel Hawkins. 

Widower Ruby McTavish is the wealthiest woman in North Carolina. When she dies, she leaves her fortune to her adopted son, Camden. He wants nothing to do with the money or the family, but years later he and his wife get pulled back in. Nothing is as it seems, and questions arise about his mother’s notorious kidnapping as a child and the mysterious deaths of her four husbands. Release date: January 9

Only If You’re Lucky | By Stacy Willingham. 

Margot is a college student in SC. She is introverted and withdrawn, mourning the death of her high school best friend right after graduation. When she meets Lucy, an out-going girl the opposite of her, they become close friends and move into an off-campus house with two other girls. Things seem to be better for Margot until Lucy goes missing and a fraternity boy from the house next door is savagely murdered. A story full of surprises from this Charleston author. Release date: January 16

The Teacher | By Freida McFadden 

McFadden’s books are full of twists and turns. As soon as you think you know what is happening, a new plot path appears. Eve and her husband, Nate, are high school teachers. Life is good until Eve finds that a girl who was in the center of a scandal the previous year is now in her class. Addie is a dangerous student who can’t be trusted. Or is she? What is the real story? Release date: February 6

The Women | By Kristen Hannah

In 1965 twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath felt a pull to join the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam after her brother shipped out. She is changed by what she sees and unprepared for the political climate when she returns home. This is Frankie’s story but also a story of all women who have put themselves in harm’s way for their country or to help others. Release date: February 6

The New Couple in 5B | By Lisa Unger

Rosie and Chad Lowan are struggling financially when Chad inherits his uncle’s luxury NYC apartment in beautiful Murray Hill. It seems like a dream come true until the building’s mysterious past starts to surface. Creepy things happen, but when one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie is desperate not to fall victim to this haunted building. Release date: March 5

Becoming Madam Secretary | By Stephanie Dray

A captivating novel about American heroine Frances Perkins, who pulled the nation out of the Great Depression as the U.S. Secretary of Labor. As a young activist, she met lawyer Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Over the next 20 years they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House, all while balancing the demands of marriage and motherhood. Release date: March 12

Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green | By Jonathan Green 

If you are not lucky enough to have a Johanthan Green hanging on your wall, one of his beautiful coffee table books is the next best thing. Bright, bold depictions of Gullah daily life among the marshes in the Lowcountry show off these 179 newer paintings by Green. See more of his work at The Red Piano Art Gallery in Bluffton.

Edisto River | By Larry Price 

Naturalist photographer Larry Price has documented this 250- plus-mile river with over 300 photographs. Edisto is one of the most important rivers in North America with 87 freshwater and 120 saltwater species of fish identified in its basin.

Beholding Nature | By Eric Horan 

Eric Horan is a global environmental and commercial photographer and certified master naturalist. Honestly, just flipping through this book and seeing these extraordinary photos is enough to make you get outside and refocus on the beauty of the Lowcountry. Awe-inspiring.

100 years of Making Marines | By the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

This fascinating and richly researched historical masterpiece is a must for military buffs and fans of Beaufort history. Plenty of photographs and newspaper clippings of the changes, celebrations and scandals that took place on Parris island over its 100-year history.

Art of Acadia | By David Little and Carl Little 

Get a taste of Coastal Maine. The stunning area of Mount Desert Island and the Acadia area is depicted in various art forms from the early 1900s to present day, including beautiful oils by Charles E. Kinkead and Jennifer Holmes.

Lessons in Chemistry | By Bonnie Garmus

Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist who falls in love with Calvin Evans, an equally brilliant co-worker who teaches her, of all things, to row.  It is hard for her to get her male professors or bosses to take her seriously as a scientist in the early 1960s, so she reluctantly ends up on a cooking show called Supper at Six. Preferring a lab coat to an apron, she instructs women that cooking is chemistry, and they are capable of anything because they already do everything. It is as funny as it is infuriating, with fantastic characters from a meddling neighbor to a dog named 6:30. I loved it.

Pearl | By Siân Hughes 

A beautifully written saga on grief and how it can follow and affect someone throughout their life. When Marianne was 8, her mother disappeared in a mysterious way, leaving her father to raise her and her baby brother. Mourning her mother never ends, due to the looming question of her disappearance. It remains stubbornly in the forefront of Marianne’s life, even after she has her own daughter. Told with compassion and humor, Hughes lets the story unfold while reminding you this one event has the ability to forge its own path if you let it. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | By Gail Honeyman 

This story is as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. Eleanor is an odd woman who works an average office job and is quite FINE with just existing. Her time away from work consists of frozen meals, chats with Mummy and being alone. Until by chance she and her co-worker, Raymond, happen to help an elderly man who has fallen on the sidewalk. The three form an unusual bond, and slowly the reader learns the traumatic events of Eleanor’s childhood. Raymond’s persistence in being a good friend, together with a rescued cat, not only bring Eleanor out of her shell, but saves her life.  

Remarkably Bright Creatures | By Shelby Van Pelt 

Marcellus is an octopus that lives in the Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington state. He narrates directly to the reader his thoughts on being held captive. Amazingly he forms a friendship with the widowed cleaning lady, Tova, who enjoys his company while she works. She lost her son in a boating incident when he was 18, and her sadness is palpable. Through his brilliant deductions, Marcellus sets about solving the 30-year mystery of her son’s death and brings an unexpected joy to her future she never dreamed possible. 

The Push | By Ashley Audrain 

Fans of chilling family drama will love this debut by Audrain. Blythe and her husband are expecting their first child. Blythe is nervous about being a good mother: we see in flashbacks how her mother and grandmother were dysfunctional and withholding of love. When Violet is born, she is convinced there is something really wrong with her behavior. Her husband and in-laws think she is being dramatic. The less she is believed, the more she doubts her own sanity. She has a completely different experience with her second child, Sam, which leads to more confusion of reality. A fast-paced, emotional roller-coaster that is hard to put down. 

Christine | By Stephen King

It would be difficult to assemble a list of books that feature cars without this well-known favorite. Set in the late ’70s, a nerdy teen, Arnie, and his friend, Dennis, notice a beat-up 1958 Plymouth Fury in a junkyard. After Arnie buys it and stores it in a you-fix-it garage, he notices the car has unusual powers. It begins to restore itself, and Arnie begins to physically change also. After a number of suspicious deaths, it’s clear the car has a murderous side and will stop at nothing to preserve itself and the spirit of its previous owner. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain | By Garth Stein

A heartwarming and adorable story about a dog named Enzo who loves car racing almost as much as his race car-driving owner, Denny. Denny eventually marries (Eve) and has a daughter (Zoe), and Enzo is there to narrate the entire story.  They are a wonderful little family until Zoe gets very sick and Eve’s parents intervene to try to get custody of Zoe. Denny and Enzo fight for what they love the most: their family and car racing. The perspective from Enzo is unique and endearing.

The Lincoln Highway | By Amor Towles 

Set in 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson arrives home after time in juvenile detention. He collects his little brother and heads off for a fresh start. Much to his surprise, two boys he met in detention have latched onto his trip, and the four set off on an action-packed road trip across the U.S. over a 10-day period. Along the way they meet mischief and mercy, kindness and trouble. It is an adventure you will be happy to join. The cast of characters are well-developed and memorable.  A delightful read.

The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby | By Tom Wolfe 

In his first book, and an introduction to his unique writing style, Wolfe wrote a series of essays that focused on the American car and its link to pop culture in the ‘60s. The book takes a satirical look at the trends, customization, crazy car-as-art in California as well as the down-and-dirty stock-car racing in the South. He pokes fun at the well-off and celebrities, and his banter is as entertaining now as it was when published in 1964: the car book you didn’t know you needed to read.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead | By Olga Tokarczuk 

A departure from typical car narratives, this novel offers a deep dive into the human psyche, set against a backdrop of a remote Polish village. The protagonist, Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman, is a firm believer in astrology and interprets the world around her using this belief. When a series of mysterious deaths hit the village, all linked with a local hunting club, Janina is convinced she knows the culprits and dives deep into an investigation of her own. Though not a typical car story, vehicles and movement are instrumental to the tale, serving as metaphors for life’s journeys and the paths we choose.

Home Before Dark 
By Riley Sager

When her parents bought Baneberry Hall, an imposing estate in a small Vermont town, Maggie Holt was 5 years old. Twenty days after moving in they fled in the middle of the night. Her dad then wrote a best-selling book about their experience, detailing the ghost story that drove them away. Twenty-five years later, Maggie returns to the house to renovate and sell it. Maggie does not believe in ghosts and thinks her parents are liars. However, the house has a past that is unwilling to move on so quickly. Do not read this book in the dark!

Dark Places
By Gillian Flynn

When Libby Day was 7, her mom and two sisters were murdered in their home in the middle of the night. She ran from the house and hid. Her testimony put her 15-year-old brother, Ben, behind bars. Twenty-four years later she is contacted by a true crime group that thinks her brother is innocent. As Libby starts to consider her brother’s innocence, a list forms of suspects who had a motive. Will the truth set Ben free or place Libby in danger? This book is not for the squeamish but is full of twists that will keep you reading ’til the final shocking end. 

Dark Matter
 By Blake Crouch

Jason Dessen, a college physics professor, was living a normal, happy life when he was abducted and knocked out. When he comes to, he is himself, but his life is different. He has no son, he has a different wife, and he is a celebrated scientific genius. Part thriller, part science fiction, the questions arise; what would your life be like if you chose a different path? Which is the better life? What would you sacrifice to have the life you want? An amazing read that will surprise you at every turn.

I’ll Be Gone in The Dark 
By Michelle McNamara

From the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s a violent, unknown predator terrorized Northern California with a series of rapes, then murders, carried out by home invasions and a ski mask. He was never caught. Thirty years later McNamara began relentless research on the serial rapist/murderer she named the Golden State Killer. She wrote in-depth about the relentless police work and attempts to find this person, including the later discovery of DNA fingerprinting and how it connected the predator to over 50 crimes, science that was not available in the ’70s. If you are a fan of true crime, you don’t want to miss this obsessive journey to identify a killer.

The Silent Patient
By Alex Michaelides

Alicia Berenson is a successful painter, and she lives in a luxurious house in London with her husband, Gabriel. Alicia’s world shatters when Gabriel is found dead with multiple gunshot wounds, and beside him is Alicia, covered in his blood, holding the gun. She doesn’t speak another word after that incident. Instead she communicates her side of the story through a haunting self-portrait, which she titles “Alcestis.” Alicia is admitted to The Grove, a secure psychiatric facility, where she remains mute. Sleep with the lights on after this one!

Local spotlight: 

All Is Now Lost
By Laura Elizabeth

The first book of The Island Mysteries Series, All Is Now Lost takes place on fictional Mongin Island, which, after a few pages in, any local will recognize as Daufuskie. Carr Jepson has recently moved to Mongin after the sudden death of her husband. She decides to open a book store that will serve as a gathering place for locals and visitors alike to meet, sit, read and come together over their love of the island. When a beloved local realtor turns up dead, Carr and her friends start sleuthing to find the killer and protect the locals.

Hotel Laguna
By Nicola Harrison

Hazel Francis is helping the war effort by building planes in her “Rosie the Riveter” job. She is quite talented at it and is promoted up the ranks until the war ends and men return to reclaim their jobs. With nowhere to return to in her hometown in Kansas, she lands in Laguna Beach and quickly secures a job with an eclectic but famous artist as his assistant. She involves herself with the town’s production of the Pageant of the Masters (a real event that still occurs) where works of art are recreated using real people as living pictures. A historical fiction that involves scandal and love, art and planes. Definitely worth a beach read.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
By Colleen Oakley

Tanner, a college drop-out who only really wants to play video games, needs a job and a place to live. Louise Wilt’s daughter thinks she needs a caregiver after a slip on a rug. The 21-year-old and 84-year-old live together in equal discomfort. Then one day on the news, Tanner sees a computer-generated image of a jewel thief that looks remarkably like Louise. When Louise insists on a road trip, fun and friendship begin. This adorable book will restore your faith in age being just a number when it comes to adventure.

Flying Solo
By Linda Holmes

Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown after her wedding is called off. She busies herself by handling the estate of her great-aunt, Dot, who was 93 and never married. Hidden among her things, Laurie finds a wooden duck with a love letter attached. It seems worthless, until it suspiciously disappears. She becomes embroiled in the secrets of Dot’s life and the search for the duck. She becomes quite the sleuth, both for diving into the mystery and also for learning from Dot that she can have love and happiness without marriage and a family.

On Gin Lane 
By Brooke Lea Foster

It’s the summer of 1957, and New York socialite Everleigh Farrows has finally satisfied her parents by finding a handsome fiancé willing to marry her after her last failed engagement. He has a delightful surprise for her in Southampton, a beach-side hotel named after her and a leisurely summer spent poolside with other Manhattanites. Yet when the hotel burns down opening weekend, Everleigh fills her time working for a famous photographer while the investigation drags on to find who is responsible. Everyone appears to be a suspect, including Everleigh, who is slowly pulling away from the life she was born into and attempts to discover the life she really wants to live. 

Wingwalkers
By Taylor Brown

Zeno, a former WWI ace pilot, and Della, his wing-walking wife, travel around the U.S. performing acts of daring aerial feats. This romantic couple works their way across the South in order to fund travels to California during the Depression. Along the way they meet many people and sometimes have altercations on the ground and in the air. Alternately, the story is told of William Faulkner’s passion for aviation and attempts to become a pilot, until the author and the dare-devil couple have a chance encounter in New Orleans. Part American history and part love story, Brown, a coastal Georgia native, has produced a historical fiction that is hard to put down.

As I Lay Dying
By William Faulkner

Written in the 1930s, this is a story of a poor, rural family attempting to honor the last wish of matriarch Addie Bundren, to be buried in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. The book is narrated by 15 different characters, including her husband, children and sometimes Addie herself. The book begins with an ill Addie watching out a window as her son builds her coffin. The trek by wagon includes the corpse in the coffin, the husband, five children and some mules. There are ill-fated river crossings, an accidental barn-burning, a broken leg and a series of unfortunate setbacks and difficulties. Faulkner’s prose is not for everyone, but his Southern Gothic is exemplary and was an inspiration for the likes of Cormac McCarthy.

No Country for Old Men
By Cormac McCarthy

While out hunting near the Texas-Mexico border, Vietnam vet Llewellyn Moss comes across several dead bodies surrounding a pickup truck with heroin and $2 million in it. Moss cannot resist the money, thereby setting off a series of events that lead to horrific violence and being pursued by a mysterious psychopath. The sheriff, Ed Tom Bell, does his best to investigate the trail of crimes that result from Moss’s decision but ultimately feels outmatched by the senseless deaths. Not many can write pure violence like McCarthy.

The Little Friend
By Donna Tartt

In a sleepy town in Mississippi, a young boy, Robin, was found hanging from a tree in his own yard on Mother’s Day. Twelve years later his murder is still a mystery. Robin’s 12 1/2-year-old sister, Harriet, a voracious reader and determined soul, sets out to find the killer. Yet this is not a murder mystery. It is a skillfully told story of class in the South, of race also, but more of lives that end up where they are because of the families they were born to or what they’ve endured, such as the death of a child. The ending may make you smile, confust you or anger you, but it will evoke a strong reaction nevertheless. I think you either greatly appreciate the brilliant writing of Tartt or you don’t. For me, I’m a huge fan.

The Violent Bear It Away 
By Flannery O’Connor 

At a young age Francis Tarwater was an orphan left in his uncle, Rayber’s, care. He is soon kidnapped by his great-uncle, Mason, and raised in the isolated backwoods of Tennessee making moonshine and being brainwashed to become a prophet. When Mason dies, Francis, now 14, makes his way back to Rayber. Rayber was also kidnapped as a child by Mason, and the result is Francis and Rayber struggling with their extreme fundamentalist upbringing and the desire to resist the crazy teachings of Mason. The result is brutal: digging into mental illness, religious fanaticism and sheer violence. O’Connor is the definition of Southern Gothic.

Sing, Unburied, Sing
By Jesmyn Ward

Thirteen-year-old Jojo and his 3-year-old sister live with their grandparents on the Gulf of Mississippi. Their dad is in prison, and their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, is in and out of their lives. Jojo is more a parent to his sister than either his mom or dad, and he accepts this with quiet defeat. When Leonie is high, she is visited by the ghost of her brother, who was shot by a white man in an alleged hunting accident. When the dad is released from prison, Leonie packs up her children and a friend and drives across the state to retrieve him in an attempt to make her family whole again. The trip is filled with hope and promise, but also misery and resignation. Ward is brilliant at creating sympathy for people who do bad things and for portraying the complexities of the South in all its splendor and misery.  

The Heirloom Garden
By Viola Shipman 

In 1944 while working in her Victory Garden, Iris Maynard receives the news no wife wants to hear: her husband has been killed in the war. Forward to 2003, and Abby Peterson has moved into a rented house in Highland Park, Michigan. Her husband suffers from PTSD from the Iraq war, and she is struggling as a working mom and trying to get her husband the help he needs. Iris does not want to like, never mind interact, with her new renters, but she strikes up a friendship with their daughter, Lily, and is intrigued. She and Abby are drawn together over her beautiful garden, and they help each other survive the trauma of war while finding hope and promise in flowers.

Lilac Girls 
By Martha Hall Kelly 

Based on a true story of a group of Polish women who were together in a concentration camp and were used as experimental ‘rabbits’ to study medical treatments for soldiers. The story follows three women. New York City socialite Caroline Ferriday befriends this group and brings them to the U.S. after World War II for medical treatment. Herta Oberheuse was the only female Nazi doctor at Ravensbrück, and Kasia is a composite character based on several of the Polish “rabbits.” A very ambitious first novel of a little-known amazing story. Beautifully written.

The Language of Flowers
By Vanessa Diffenbaugh 

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, sweet peas for goodbye, red roses for love. Victoria Jones has spent her childhood in the foster-care system and has trouble trusting anyone. At eighteen she prefers homelessness in a park to people. She eventually uses her knowledge of flowers to help others and start her own business. Victoria is not always likable and makes self-destructive choices, but her transformation from “root-less moss” to “I surmount all obstacles mistletoe” is beautiful to witness. With each bad choice, you continue to root for her eventual re-growth.

The Magnolia Palace 
By Fiona Davis 

After losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, highly sought-after artists’ model Lillian is struggling and in need of stable work. She takes a job as a private secretary for Helen Frick in her New York City mansion. There she is pulled into a web of deceit and family drama. Fifty years later the Frick Manson has been converted to a beautiful museum. Veronica, a model doing a shoot in the museum, happens upon hidden messages that lead her and the museum curator to clues about stolen jewels and a Frick family murder that was never solved. A masterful historical thriller.

The Last Garden In England
By Julia Kelly

A masterfully woven tale of five women living during different time periods who are connected by a single garden. In1904 talented Venetia Smith is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House in England. This will ultimately alter her life. Forty years later the mistress of the house is trying to hold on to her life before the war as her home is converted to a hospital for wounded soldiers. Her cook is desperate to get out and pursue her dreams, while the land girl, Beth, embraces the hard work and house. These three get drawn into a secret that endures for decades. Present day; designer Emma Lovett has been given a great opportunity to restore the Highbury House gardens back to their 1907 glory. She uncovers the long-lost secrets that the gardens have been keeping.

The Carolina Wren and Other South Carolina Birds
By Beth G. Causey 

See other facts and pictures from this hardcover in Beaufort County libraries. Here are some interesting facts about the South Carolina state bird, the Carolina wren:

• It was adopted as the state bird in 1948, replacing the mockingbird.
• It lives year-round in South Carolina but can be found along the East Coast from Canada to Florida and west to Texas.
• A female lays up to three sets of eggs per year. They take 14-16 days to hatch. The hatchlings leave the nest within two weeks, but the parents continue to visit them and feed them for a month.
• There are many wrens, but the Carolina wren male is the only one who sings loudly to attract a mate (rather than the female). 
• The wren parents build a nest together, and they remain together for life.
• It sings a high-pitched song that sounds like a fast-whistled “tea-kettle-tea-kettle-tea-kettle-tea.”

The Legend of Bagger Vance
By Steven Pressfield 

Set during the Depression era in 1931, two golf legends agree to a match-play event in an effort to revive the area of Georgia on Krewe Island outside of Savannah. Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen meet for a 36-hole showdown and are joined by Savannah local and war hero Rannulph Junah. His caddy, Bagger Vance, takes on an angel-like role for all players involved in their pursuits of golf, and in life. In the movie, made in 2000, locals will recognize the Lucas Theatre and Forsyth Park in Savannah, The Jekyll Island Club Hotel and the Pete Dye course at Colleton River Club, which acts as the fictional Krewe Island.

Birds of Coastal South Carolina
By Roger S. Everett 

Author and photographer Everett has captured beautiful images of the many bird species that live in and migrate through the South Carolina coast. The book is divided by habitats, so you can see which birds you are most likely to find in your backyard, during a walk in the woods or along the beach. The author’s captions are concise and informative and will open your eyes to the more common species of wrens, chickadees and cardinals, as well as the abundant but spectacular great egret, great blue heron, osprey and red-tailed hawk. The rarer birds include the yellow-headed blackbird, Caspian tern and golden-crowned kinglet.

A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour 
By John Feinstein 

An oldie but goodie. The author traveled with PGA TOUR golfers for a year in the mid-‘90s. It features golfing greats and newcomers who are struggling to make a go of the tour. Read about Nick Price, Paul Azinger, Ernie Els, Davis Love III and wild-card John Daly as well as young up-comers Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. There are insights from players on family life while on the road and issues such as divorce, cancer, injuries and the pressures of Q-school, all in the pursuit of winning. An interesting read to compare how golf was then and how much the tour has changed.

Gift From The Sea
By Ann Morrow 

Ann Morrow, writer, poet, pilot and wife of Charles Lindbergh, went to a cottage on Captiva Island in Florida and wrote this delightful reflection of life as a woman, comparing herself to the various shells she finds on the beach. The shells represent the stages of relationships, marriage, motherhood and then an empty house again. She explores ways to find a more natural rhythm in day-to-day life and a way to deepen relationships with a spouse or siblings.

The Light Between Oceans
By M.L. Stedman

A young couple agrees to be lighthouse keepers on a remote island off the Australian coast in the 1930s. They live in blissful isolation with a supply boat visiting every few months. After several years of failed attempts of trying to have children, a rowboat washes up with a dead man and a live baby that they raise as their own. A wonderful debut novel that poses impossible choices and moral dilemmas that have heart-breaking consequences. 

The Island of Sea Women
By Lisa See 

The culture of Haenyeo, where female Korean divers supported their families by harvesting from the ocean floors, was strong on the island of Jeju for many centuries. See tells the story of two best friends who are destined to follow the path of the Haenyeo like the elders before them. The girls witness colonialism by Japan, WW II, the Korean War, as well as the danger and hardship of their trade. The story travels between their younger years and present day and the forces that affected the women divers.

Sea Wife
By Amity Gaige

A beautifully written book about a family, marriage and second chances. When Michael quits his job and buys a sailboat for his family to live on for a year, his wife, Juliet, is shocked. He wants to sail around the world with a 7- and a 2-year-old? Yet they leave their home in Connecticut and head to Panama to start their adventure. The trip reveals some truths about themselves, their marriage and the greater world around them. You will feel like you also are at sea in this novel

Cottage by the Sea
By Debbie Macomber 

A young professional who suffers a traumatic loss returns to the seaside house her family rented every summer when she was a child. She finds a cure for her sadness in this quirky town of misfits. She is drawn to a quiet, gentle soul who helps her fix up her cottage. It’s a wonderful tale of grief and kindness, choices between happiness and career and, most importantly, the healing properties of the sea.

Daufuskie Island, 25th Anniversary Edition
By Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Photographer Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe took a series of pictures from 1977 to 1981 during several trips to Daufuskie Island. They depict the landscape, buildings and people in everyday settings of work, play, school and traditions in a bygone era of the Gullah culture. Her pictures tell a story of the isolated African-American community that today, altered by development and rising property values, no longer exists. The 25th Anniversary Edition contains photos previously left out, which now serve as historical documentation. Moutoussamy-Ashe is the widow of Arthur Ashe, who often traveled with her to Daufuskie Island.

Letters and Diary of Laura M. Towne 1862-1884
By Laura M. Towne

A delightful look into the past told through diary entries and the written letters of the author, Towne traveled from Philadelphia to the island of Port Royal in 1862. She and her friend, Ellen Murray, created the Penn Center School on St. Helena Island, which was the first school developed in the U.S. for freed slaves. Towne’s work travels through Emancipation and Reconstruction in Beaufort County. The Penn Center is a historic landmark that you may tour and visit on St. Helena Island. 

Fripp Island: A History
By Page Putnam Miller 

Fripp Island, a barrier island to the barrier island of St. Helena, has a long and storied history dating back to the first records of being referred to as “Fripp Island” in 1734 when it was owned by John Fripp. Yet before that there is evidence of Native Americans visiting the island for hunting and fishing, and Spanish explorers began visiting in 1521. This book digs up records for the island and chronicles the ebb and flow of development for residents and visitors alike. It spans to 2006, when the year-round residency was about 500. Fripp is often looked at as the smaller, more protected resort island compared to Hilton Head Island.

The Way Home
By Kardea Brown 

A true celebration of the love of cooking and eating, Brown pulls from deep within her Gullah upbringing and her many handed-down family recipes to share her love of food. Her stories allow you to peek into a childhood growing up on the Sea Islands, and her recipes express the tradition of local, fresh and made with love. Among the many delights are She-Crab Soup, Lowcountry Spaghetti, Cornbread with Molasses Butter, Seafood Mac and Cheese, Salmon Cakes, Edisto Lemon Pie and so much more.

Dataw: No Ordinary Place
By The Dataw Historic Foundation

Part photography coffee table book and part historical record, this beautiful book documents the original name (Datha, after a Native American King legend) and various settlers, including the Sams family, who owned the Island before the Civil War and had “summer houses” in Beaufort. In 1990 the Dataw Marina opened, and development continued. In the ’90s various projects started to preserve the Island’s history and beauty, as well as the tabby ruins from the Sams Plantation complex. This book is a must for fans of this pristine little island nestled between Lady’s Island and St. Helena Island.

Such a Fun Age 
By Kiley Reid 

A bold debut about the complicated layers of privilege and race. Twenty-five-year-old Emira Tucker babysits as a second job for a well-off family in Philadelphia. One night in a grocery store, Emira is racially profiled by a security guard and accused of kidnapping her 3-year-old charge, Briar. Her employer, Alix Chamberlain, bends over backwards to try to right the situation. Reid expertly portrays the awkward feelings and invisible walls that persevere when there are differences in income, race and perspective. 

Black Cake 
By Charmaine Wilkerson

Byron and Benny Bennett have not spoken or seen each other in years, but they are together now to hear from their mother’s lawyer after her death. Their mother recorded a message to them that is several hours long, and, boy does she have a story to tell — one that will make them question everything they thought they knew about their parents, themselves and each other. Also, a black cake that will bring the most important people in their lives together where they belong.

Becoming 
By Michelle Obama

Read by the author, this book is wonderful on audio. It explores the childhood and upbringing of Michelle Robinson on the Southside of Chicago and her subsequent path through college, law school, and meeting her future husband, Barack Obama. Her story is fascinating even if she never had become First Lady. Her inside view of the White House for eight years only adds to the intrigue. My absolute favorite character in her story? Her mom.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 
By Rebecca Skloot 

A fascinating account of scientific discovery as well as the human toll. Henrietta Lacks, a patient at Johns Hopkins, had an aggressive form of cervical cancer. A research study at the time was comparing cancerous and healthy cells. Cells do not live long in a lab, but Lacks’ cells did and were found to be immortal. Her cells went on to help develop the polio vaccine and other breakthrough advances in medicine. Skloot’s extensive research brings to light the ethical question of cell ownership and consent as well as the history of experimentation on African Americans in the U.S.

My Sister, the Serial Killer 
By Oyinkan Braithwaite 

Korede, a kind and law-abiding nurse, dreads the phone call from her sister asking for help with yet another dead boyfriend, killed in “self-defense.” What is a sister to do? Call the police, or bring her cleaning supplies? Dark and hilariously told, a love story of sorts, (just not for the dead boyfriends) but also a testimony of sibling loyalty and just how far one will go to protect those they love