‘Snake Oil’: Social media and murder at women’s wellness startup

Posted on By Jessica Burchard No Comments on ‘Snake Oil’: Social media and murder at women’s wellness startup

Are all wellness products fake, Kelsey Rae Dimberg asks in her aptly titled sophomore novel “Snake Oil.” Dimberg, a former employee of Google and Groupon, anchors her fictional work with real-world allusions to GOOP, Elizabeth Holmes, and other troubled startup founders. She combines interlocking stories of three women employed at the same wellness startup with…

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Book review

‘The Night Guest’: Translated horror story with weird ending

Posted on By Jessica Burchard No Comments on ‘The Night Guest’: Translated horror story with weird ending

As one of the buzziest translated works of 2024, “The Night Guest” by Hildur Knutsdottir brings some Icelandic horror to a wider audience. Translated into sparse English prose by Mary Robinette Kowal, the novella builds tension and intrigue through economic sentences. “The Night Guest” is written exclusively from the perspective of Idunn, a middle management…

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Book review

‘Tell Me Who You Are’: High octane summertime thriller

Posted on By Jessica Burchard No Comments on ‘Tell Me Who You Are’: High octane summertime thriller

In a departure from her Alice Vega detective series, Louisa Luna successfully creates a bingeable pandemic-era thriller with “Tell Me Who You Are.” The narrative offers three points of view across two timelines that come together around a love-to-hate protagonist. “Tell Me Who You Are” centers its narrative on Dr. Caroline Strange’s unofficial investigation into…

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Book review

‘Made for You’: Synthetic heroine investigates husband’s murder

Posted on By Jessica Burchard No Comments on ‘Made for You’: Synthetic heroine investigates husband’s murder

Jenna Satterthwaite explores the concept of monsters with her prescient debut, “Made for You.”  In alternating chapters labeled then and now, synthetic woman Julia Walden’s story unfolds beginning in January 2022. Her husband, Josh LaSala, is missing after planning a one-day camping trip to a park an hour from their home. Julia reports Josh missing…

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Book review

‘The Wedding People’: Witty exploration of love and grief

Posted on By Jessica Burchard No Comments on ‘The Wedding People’: Witty exploration of love and grief

“The Wedding People” by Alison Espach is a near-perfect summer read. Adjunct Professor Phoebe Stone makes for a likable, albeit troubled protagonist, and her plight of being newly divorced and professionally stifled will resonate with many readers. With heart and humor, “The Wedding People” offers different perspectives on the grieving process. Phoebe is grieving her…

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Book review