Are we grabbing shorts and tanks, or are we still grabbing UGGs and fleeces? This weather has me bouncing back and forth, and I think it’s influencing my book choices. Hopefully, you’ll grab one for the upcoming summer season and let us know what you think!

What I read this month:

If you love(d) the book, Daisy Jones and the Six, or watching shows like American Idol/the Voice…try

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, by Jennifer Weiner

WHO DOESN’T KNOW JENNIFER WEINER?  She’s a literary celebrity, a queen of fun, quick reads, romance in real time, and main characters like us.  When I saw she had a new book on the horizon, I immediately added it to my Boston Public Library request list and was one of the first people to grab it!  (After reading, I would have paid full price for it FYI.)

Even though I read this in spring, my picture-perfect setting would be at the beach in a low chair with a Suncruiser in hand. The story flip-flops between then and now.

Past: with the past taking place as the two sisters (Zoe and Cassie) are found in Philly

Present:  Cassie is living off the grid in Alaska, wanting to forget everything about her famous background and connection to her family.  She’s content with being alone, making a bare living, and spending time with her dog.  Zoe hasn’t spoken about the past either and is too occupied with her new family and figuring out how to be the best suburban mom there is.  However, her daughter carries the musical gene and heads to a music competition without Zoe’s knowledge, leading her on a goose chase to find her Aunt Cassie.  I loved reading the present chapters and seeing how the “girl group” days of the past influenced who they are today.  It’s what I imagine happening to many of the 2000s groups – screaming fans in sold-out arenas, to handing out ice creams at the Little League field.

If you read this, please let me know what you think. This might have been my favorite fun read of 2025 so far.

If you love the TV show, Scandal with Kerry Washington… try

The Art of the Scandal, by Regina Black

Hello.  I’m obsessed with you.  It was the perfect novel I needed with society & relationship drama.  It was part Housewives, part Scandal.  It was fluff with a sprinkle of desperation.  Exactly what I needed in the rainy days of spring.

Let’s just review the start.  Our main character, Rachel, hears her husband, Matt’s, phone go off during his 40th birthday party to find an explicit text from another woman.  She’s ready to slam the door and never return, but after 13 years, she’s not leaving without getting what she’s entitled to.  She makes a deal with Matt for one million dollars and their DC-suburbs home as long as she plays the perfect wife through the election.  However, it’s not easy as she begins to fall for a local and younger artist, Nathan, who has his own set of secrets to get through.

If you’re into drama and romance set against the backdrop of political circles and upper-class family secrets, you’ll love this. I thought it was a quick read, and I read most of it sitting in the hot tubs at Spa Light in Providence.

If you’re obsessed with any and all Netflix crime documentaries… try

This Book Will Bury Me, by Susan Rieger

Is it gross that I read this? If you’ve been here for a bit, you know that I lean towards crime and thrillers, so it makes sense (?) that I’m also obsessed with them in real life.  When the Idaho killings (allegedly by Bryan Kohberger) of the college students in the house, I was glued to social media and the news to hear about the daily findings.

As a college senior, Jane Sharp finds herself lost on the internet after losing her father.  She finds a community in the keyboard detectives on websites similar to Reddit, focusing on serial killers and crime nationwide.  In her world, a crime (mirrored off the Idaho murders) happens, and a small family of enthusiasts band together to figure out who is to blame.  This group finds clues and tracks leads that local police have either ditched or don’t want to follow up, leading to discoveries they can’t ignore.  She travels to the scene, is given access to evidence, and begins to feel like she’s part of something again.   One of the things that the author does is write this story from Jane’s perspective, looking back, and it has us thinking, why can’t we just watch from afar?  Why can’t we just let the police do their job?  Why do we think we can do what they can’t?

It’s graphic, gruesome, and it had me mixing up what I read in this book with the real-life news. There was a bit of distaste (!) reading this book, and I’m not sure if it’s because I fell into a bookstagram hole of others who thought it was offensive or that it was fresh in my mind—but clearly, I didn’t mind that much because I kept going.

Shortest review ever.

The Last Resort, by Clemence Michallon

Grab it.  Loved it.

“Brother” and “Sister” grew up in a cult.

Murder at a fancy wellness resort in Utah.

Also, grab her other one, The Quiet Tenant.

If you love writers or cooking shows… try

Food Person, by Adam Roberts

I received this one as an ARC and as someone who prides herself on watching every reality food show from Top Chef, to Next Level Chef, to Tournament of Champions, to Food Truck Race… and let’s keep going – I knew I wanted to dive right in.

This was a perfect comedy to throw in your Trader Joe’s bag and read on the T.  Isabella has a low-level job but dreams of writing cookbooks and fully outfitted kitchens to make Food Network dishes.  The problem is that no one sees her potential, and she lives in a bit of a shell.  Then one day, an opportunity is plopped on her desk to take the stage and run through a simple dish on camera, which – (not a big spoiler) – she fails.

Isabella desperately needs a new job and is offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a cookbook (!) for one of the gossip mag’s favorites – Molly Babcock.  The problem is that Isabella takes it seriously, and Molly couldn’t care less.  It’s hilarious and heartwarming to see this relationship through its ups and downs, while also annoying when you want to smack some sense into both of them.  You’ll want to tell Isabella to drop it and leave her behind, but other times you want to say to her, “You can use this for your resume,” and “It’ll open doors for you!”   I thought the book would be all about food, but it’s a new take on the relationships that food helps you form.

Loved it!

Could you help me with this one – The Blue Hour, by Paula Hawkins?

I grabbed this book because I saw so many people posting about it, and because she wrote Girl on the Train, an original thriller I loved.  However, if you’ve read this and loved it, please tell me why!?  I wavered between being bored out of my mind and needing to know what happened between Grace and Vanessa.   I felt the author spent so much time building this relationship, and ker-plunk… I was abandoned.  It was a weird, obsessive friendship surrounded on all sides by hidden artwork, an out-of-mind artist (maybe?), and an onlooker that borders on creepy or just regular nosy.  I can’t recommend it… But I can’t not?  I think it’s a specific type of writing or genre that some are really into, and most of the reviews I’ve read shared that if you like her other books, you’d also like this one.  Please let us know what you think if you grabbed it (or will grab it)!

I’m currently finishing:

• Criminal by Karin Slaughter—If you’ve followed the reviews for a bit, you know that Karin is a go-to author if you’re into the Criminal Minds genre, which includes psychological serial killers. I just started this one, so I’m not far enough in to know what’s going to happen; I went into it blind.

• Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall—I’m #2 on the list via the Libby App from the Boston Public Library and am dying to start it. It was super popular among Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Have any of you read it? Let me know. I’ll be reading this one throughout May!

If you got this far, thank you.  Let us know if you’ve read any of these choices or what you’ve got next on your list via the comments on @caughtinsouthie or catch me at @glossinbossin / @josiegl on Instagram.

FYI:  I’ve seen many “newer”  books in the Free Little Libraries around town lately.  Don’t forget to bring one, take one & keep them tidy.  My favorite spots include the ones in the parking lot of Julie’s Learning Center, the Laboure Center,  at the bottom of G/8th Street, at L Street and 5th, by the Tynan School, and the Clock Tavern by the fireplace (take only – not a drop off location).