On this Memorial Day weekend, you're probably lounging in the backyard or possibly poolside. And, of course, you need something to read!
While browsing the internet yesterday morning, I saw
a Twitter post via a retweet from author Kimberly Brock (of
The River Witch, which I loved) that took me to
a Memorial Day reading list from the blog Great Thoughts. As I browsed the books on the list on Amazon, I noticed that several of them were only $2.99 for the Kindle version. As oft is the case, my browsing took me to one book after another in quick succession, and soon I was shopping with 1-click like it was going out of style.
Here are some of the awesome deals you can find at Amazon right now for your own summer reading, with Amazon's descriptions following (I can't guarantee the prices will remain low -- but as of my writing this on 5/27, they were all correct):
212 by Alafair Burke (this title is currently
free!) -- "When a bodyguard is killed in the Manhattan penthouse owned by his billionaire boss, Sam Sparks, the case gets under Detective Ellie Hatcher’s skin. But she has to set aside this unsolved crime—and her suspicions of Sparks, which land her a contempt charge and a night in jail—to investigate the murder of an NYU coed, who was being harassed online, and her roommate. . . . Up-to-the-minute, action-packed crime fiction from the daughter of James Lee Burke."
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman -- "Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned thirty-five, he’d have everything going for him. Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day. The reality, though, is far different. . . . Tom’s life is crushing his soul, but he’s decided to do something about it. (Really.) Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness—even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way."
Everything We Ever Wanted by Sara Shepard -- "A recently widowed mother of two, Sylvie Bates-McAllister finds her life upended by a late-night phone call from the headmaster of the prestigious private school founded by her grandfather where her adopted son Scott teaches. Allegations of Scott's involvement in a hazing scandal cause a ripple effect, throwing the entire family into chaos. . . . The quest to unravel the truth takes the family on individual journeys across state lines, into hospitals, through the Pennsylvania woods, and face-to-face with the long-dormant question: what if the life you always planned for and dreamed of isn't what you want after all?"
The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry -- "Psychotherapist Zee Finch is dealt a blow when one of her patients, a troubled bipolar housewife named Lilly, leaps off a bridge to her death. The tragedy brings up memories of Zee’s own mother’s suicide, prompting her to go see her father, Finch, in Salem. She is startled to find Finch’s Parkinson’s disease is much more advanced than she’d been led to believe, and that he has kicked his partner, Melville, out of the house. Zee decides to take a leave of absence from her practice to care for Finch. . . . Barry’s second novel features an involving, intricately woven story and vivid descriptions of historic Salem."
The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls -- "Bess Gray is a thirty-five-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, DC. Just as she's about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love. But Rory is a man with a secret, which he confesses to Bess when he asks for her hand: He's been married eight times before. Shocked, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer. . . . Bess sets out on a cross-country journey—unbeknownst to Rory—to seek out and question the wives who came before. What she discovers about her own past is far more than she bargained for."
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett -- "When she arrives at St. Elizabeth's, a home for pregnant girls in Habit, Kentucky, Rose Clinton seems as evasive and deceptive as the other unwed mothers. But Rose is different: she has a husband whom she has deserted. Unlike most St. Elizabeth's visitors, she neither gives up her baby nor leaves the home, staying on as cook while her daughter grows up among expectant mothers fantasizing that they, too, might keep their infants. [Patchett] creates a complex character study of a woman driven by forces she can neither understand nor control."
Return to Sullivans Island by Dorothea Benton Frank -- "New college graduate Beth Hayes must put all her grand ambitions on hold when the family elders elect her to house-sit the Island Gamble, ghosts and all. Instead of conquering new worlds, Beth will rest and rejuvenate while basking in memory and the magic of white clapboards and shimmering blue waters. But there is much about life and her family's past that she does not yet understand—and her simple plans begin unraveling with the intrusion of developer Max Mitchell. Still, everything here happens for a reason—and disappointment, betrayal, even tragedy are more easily handled when surrounded by loving family and loyal friends."
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens -- "On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor."
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski -- "Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections."
