Holiday Stories for Everyone

Meet the Benedettos by Katie Cotugno is exactly as the cover promotes – The Kardashians meets Pride and Prejudice. Five famous sisters, famous for being famous, are living in a crumbling mansion when the man (or men) of their dreams moves in next door. It’s light, it’s funny.

Lost Hours is Paige Shelton’s latest mystery. Beth, a writer of thrillers, is recovering from her own traumatic kidnapping when another victim of a kidnapping escapes. Covered in blood the woman doesn’t remember what happened, beyond a bear killed her captor. When Beth and the police investigate, it appears the woman’s story isn’t quite true. The man was stabbed to death. Set in the wilds of Alaska, you mystery lovers will love this one.

For the YA reader, Stanislava Buevich has a marvelous story in Clearlake. Thirteen-year-old Moon is very sick. Instead of taking her to a doctor, her mother takes her to a mysterious Scottish Institute run by evil beings who seemingly have been around for a long time. This one is suspenseful as Moon fights to survive before she becomes just another child who vanishes in the night.

For the history buffs, Jack Kelly’s God Save Benedict Arnold is an insightful look at the good Arnold accomplished before he turned traitor. A great piece of history, the foreshadowing of Arnold’s sensitive and prickly personality set him on a collision course with Congress who refused to validate or recognize his successful war maneuvers. 

The Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is an almost minute-by-minute recounting of the twin tragedies that struck. Author Matthew J. Davenport follows numerous characters from different parts of the stricken city as they fight to put out the blaze consuming neighborhood after neighborhood. 

Feminists and those fascinated by the witch hunting of the past will be equally fascinated and horrified by Margaret Meyer’s The Witching Tale. Set in England in 1645, it is inspired by real tales of women rounded up and accused of witchcraft. Martha is a simple servant, a healer, in her 40s when she is called upon to help denounce the many women recently jailed, including two from her own household. Beautifully written and harrowing.

Agatha Christie lovers will rejoice at Darby Kane’s The Engagement Party is patterned after Christie’s And Then There Were None. It is an engagement celebration where from the start, bodies start turning up. A group of college graduates reunited 10 years on for a celebration of one of their friends. Besides the dead bodies, there are secrets that are revealed in this taunt, modern thriller.

Possibly my favorite book is Kobi Yamada’s Maybe. This award-winning illustrated book will make a beautiful gift not only for children (its intended audience) but for those needing a little magic in these often-dark days. It is the beautifully illustrated story about a young person, and her sidekick pig, and the endless potential we all have. It is for the dreamers, the doers, reminding us of the possibilities in all of us.