The Woman On The Ledge by Ruth Mancini

The Woman On The Ledge My Rating: 2.8

A woman falls to her death from a London bank’s twenty-fifth-floor roof terrace.

You're arrested for her murder.

You tell the police that you had only met the victim the previous night at your office party. She was threatening to jump down from the roof, but you had talked her down.

You've got nothing to do with this tragedy. You're clearly being framed.

So why do the police keep picking holes in your story? Even your lawyer doesn't seem to believe you.

It soon becomes obvious that you're keeping secrets.

But who are you trying to protect? And why?

This one just didn't work for me. There were too many twists, and the story required me to suspend reality a little too much. I also didn't care about any of the characters (which says a LOT when you know what happens to some of the characters lol!) I've noticed that my reading tastes have changed since I retired, and I don't seem to enjoy those fun, popcorn-type thrillers the way I once did.

That said, if you love twisty, fast-paced books that keep throwing surprises at you, this may be one to check out. One thing I can definitely say: it's not predictable!

Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

Dissolution My Rating: 4.4

It is 1537, a time of enormous upheaval in England. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, and Thomas Cromwell has sent commissioners throughout the country to investigate the monasteries, setting the stage for their dissolution.

At the monastery of Scarnsea on the Sussex coast, however, something has gone terribly wrong. Cromwell’s commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been brutally murdered—his head severed from his body—and the killing is accompanied by a series of disturbing acts of sacrilege.

Enter Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer and longtime supporter of Reform, who is sent by Cromwell to investigate the murder. What begins as a straightforward assignment soon becomes something far more complicated, forcing Shardlake to question not only what he is being told, but some of his own deeply held beliefs.

I thought this was such a unique premise. The story is set against the very real dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, but Sansom weaves a fictional murder mystery into that fascinating period of Tudor history. Matthew Shardlake’s investigation gives us a way into this world that feels both intimate and suspenseful, while the historical events unfolding around him give the story real weight. A great way to get a history lesson while enjoying a good murder mystery. 

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Mad Mabel My Rating: 4.6

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old and has lived on idyllic Kenny Lane for sixty years—longer than anyone else. She’s a curmudgeon who makes it her business to know everyone else’s business, but few would ever suspect just how much Elsie has worked to keep her own past hidden.

Because when it comes to murder, no one suspects little girls or old ladies.

And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has been both.

Throughout Elsie’s life, people around her have had a strange habit of coming to a foul end. Now, when a talkative, curious, and very nosy little girl moves into the neighborhood and becomes determined to befriend Elsie, the carefully constructed life Elsie has built begins to unravel.

Who was “Mad Mabel” fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a way of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?

Normally, I hate when a book drags out the “what really happened?” mystery until the very end. It can start to feel like the author is deliberately withholding information just to keep you reading.

But Mad Mabel somehow made it work for me.

I think the difference was that I was genuinely immersed in Elsie’s story. I wasn’t simply reading to get to the big reveal—I wanted to keep spending time in this strange little world and find out more about Elsie herself.

She’s certainly not your typical lovable elderly protagonist, which made her all the more interesting. The story kept giving me just enough along the way that I never felt impatient with it, and by the time everything began coming together, I was completely invested.

This was clever, dark, entertaining, and just unusual enough to stand out from the typical mystery/thriller.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

Signal Fires My Rating: 4.5

An ancient oak stands beneath the stars on Division Street. Beneath it sit Ben Wilf, a retired doctor, and ten-year-old Waldo Shenkman, a brilliant and lonely boy pointing out his favorite constellations. Waldo doesn’t realize that he and Ben have met before—or that their lives will cross again and again in ways neither could have imagined.

Division Street is a place filled with secrets. An impulsive lie following a tragic childhood event becomes a secret that will haunt the Wilf family for decades. Years later, the Shenkmans move into the neighborhood carrying secrets of their own.

Spanning fifty years, Signal Fires follows these two families as their lives intersect across generations. It’s a story about family, memory, guilt, love, and the way a single moment can continue to shape our lives long after it has passed.

There was one brief scene in this book that I found extremely disturbing and uncomfortable, and I really wish it had been left out. Thankfully, it was short, but it did affect my overall experience with the book.

Other than that, I really enjoyed Signal Fires.

What stood out most to me were the characters. They felt wonderfully real, particularly the male characters, who seemed to come completely alive on the page. There is so much love in this story, but it isn't sentimental or overly sweet. It's complicated, imperfect, and very human.

I especially loved the way the novel explores how something that happens to us in childhood can follow us for decades, quietly influencing who we become and the choices we make. She also does a wonderful job of blending the timelines where everything feels similar even as you realize it is different. 

This is a thoughtful, moving story about the connections between people and the lasting echoes of the past. Despite that one scene, the characters and emotional depth made this a memorable read for me..

Plum Island by Nelson DeMille

Plum Island My Rating: 4.4

Wounded in the line of duty, NYPD homicide detective John Corey is recuperating in the quiet Long Island town of Southold when a young couple he knows is found murdered on their patio, each shot in the head. The local police chief asks Corey to lend his big-city expertise to the investigation, and what begins as a seemingly straightforward murder case soon leads him into the history, legends, and secrets of Long Island.

Along the way, Corey meets Detective Beth Penrose and Mayflower descendant Emma Whitestone, two women who become entangled in both the investigation and his life.

We listened to Plum Island in the car during our commute between homes, and it definitely kept us entertained. That said, it felt fairly formulaic, and I think we listened to it a little too soon after another Nelson DeMille novel. There were a lot of similarities, and at times it felt like we were listening to variations on the same characters and situations.

Still, DeMille knows how to keep a story moving, and John Corey is entertaining enough that we enjoyed the ride. Despite the sense of déjà vu, this was a solid listen, and we’ll definitely be reading more Nelson DeMille in the future.