Candice

I love this series, and this might be my favorite one so far. The basic premise is ongoing, ie, Anthony Horowitz is an author who follows and documents a private detective, Daniel Hawthorne, in order to give his books a insight and some pizazz. The setting is great in this book--a small island off the coast of England, where they are there for a book festival. This series isn't exactly a cozy by any means--the violence can be graphic, the characters can be pretty awful--but there is a humor and hard-won camaraderie between author and investigator that is kind of heartwarming, in a murder-y sort of way. -Candice

First, this book is beautifully written. Menachem Kaiser's grasp of language to tell a story, illustrate situations, and convey thoughts and emotions is so fluid and engaging. Second, this book is important in many ways, but also very interesting--a real nonfiction win-win. It's a slightly winding story, starting out with particular goals and desired outcomes, but as so often happens when researching and interacting history, the modern world and reality intervene, and make things a lot harder to get hold of and follow. Menachem goes where the story leads him, and the results are so strange, interesting, and profound that you couldn't have imagined some of it. This story is also full of love and learning and respect--for self, for others, for history, and for the stories that survive. -Candice

This tightly-paced narrative follows several characters who all, ultimately, offer reflection upon some very important themes and ideas: love, trauma, the importance of stories, the danger of perceptions (our own, those placed on others), belonging, and safety...just to name a few. The book starts out simply enough, but really picks up pace and intertwines with the different characters so deftly that the reader can really get swept along. The storytelling is energetic here, and the language feels snappy and graceful at the same time. Fresh, timely, important, enjoyable. -Candice

Fascinating. The rumors of a death some 40 years previous instigate a journey of research, sifting through stories, facing and naming some hard-learned truths, and personal reckoning for the author. -Candice

I've been saving this to read over the holiday break...set in 1957, in County Wexford, Ireland. A craggy inspector investigates the murder of a priest in the local aristocratic home of the town's wealthy family. He has to deal to with a family with dark secrets and a small town that doesn't give up much to outsiders, all while battling the winter weather and snow as far as the eye can see. Perfect. -Candice

This was a good, spooky read from a new-to-me author. The crimes and mystery surrounding them are unique and have some genuinely creepy elements to them. The main characters and narrators have compelling stories and voices as well, and parts of this book really shine through in their earnestness and feeling. -Candice

I never thought I would laugh out loud reading a Churchill biography, but leave it to Erik Larson to make that happen. A consummate researcher, he has the inscrutable knack for bringing people and past events to life, and with Churchill being, in some ways, a very unique and peculiar person, laugh I did. Not to make light of the topic of interest, which is the very specific time during World War II where Churchill has just been elected PM, France is just getting ready to capitulate to the Germans, and Germany is just about to bomb England. It's intense and overwhelming and imminent. Larson's book is the Churchill/WWII book for those who might have said they'd never read such a book, who might think it's not interesting or too remote. -Candice

Elaine Sciolino also wrote the wonderful book "The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs" and I feel like she has perfected the blend of awe and love for place, history, anecdote, and commentary. She brings the Seine to life here, it is a character in the past, present, and future of Paris. Full of interesting tales about, and lovely descriptions of, everything and anything related to the great river--architecture, city-scapes, food, people, art, history...it's all here. -Candice

Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is investigating the murder of a woman who turns out to have given herself a new identity years before. Cat realizes that she not only knew the victim--as a young but mature teenager who abruptly left the town they grew up in--but that she's always suspected her own father of having something to do with her disappearance. A slow boil of a mystery with well-developed characters. -Candice

An amazingly thorough guide to all the various monsters and half-human beasties you've heard about in spooky campfire tales or stories about weird, small towns. Thoughtfully organized by state, so it would make an interesting sort of travel guide as well! -Candice

Elaine Sciolino's book is a lovely paean to the Rue des Martrys, a street that runs north-south through the 9th arrondisement of Paris, and into the village of Montmartre. She chronicles the lives and activities of the storefronts and shopkeepers who live and work there, as well as the life and changing nature of the street itself. The assortment of shops--many of them providing fresh foods and personal services--help to create a sense of community among the residents that seems uniquely Parisian, and possibly of a bygone era. -Candice

Stephanie Rosenbloom writes a travel column for the New York Times, and has a breezy, friendly voice. Don't let that fool you, though--she's a thinker. Here she recounts her travels through four different cities, reflecting upon what makes solo travel unique: How does one travel differently when they are alone? How do they experience things? What are the unforeseen benefits? How does travelling alone change somebody? In addition to her own experiences, she references a lot of very current research that relates to the topic. A very interesting and enjoyable book, whether or not you are hitting the road. -Candice

Some may feel that there is an overabundance of books on the history of Rome--what more could there be to say?? I think it's a given; in a city where the physical layers of over two millennia still exist, not to mention the cultural heritage and legacy, it's tempting to try and interpret that history in various ways. It's endlessly fascinating. In this case, Kneale looks at seven pivotal attacks on the city, and how they transformed it. So, not necessarily the story of the always-conquering, expanding, empire-creating Rome, but instead. those who tried (and succeeded, at times) to subdue it. -Candice

This is an engrossing book not just about a fascinating, storied hospital, but also the history of medical practices throughout centuries in a burgeoning city. -Candice

Hampl extols the happiness and contentment that can come from simply being, the up-side of letting things go, taking a look around, going within. She travels far and wide to find others who hit upon this idea in one way or another, at the same time seeking to recover some sort of 'ease' that has missing from her life since the death of her husband. A sweet, quiet book. -Candice

I love all of Sharon (S.J.) Bolton's works, some of which are in the Lacey Flint series, others are standalones. Her books have a modernity, seriousness, and depth that I enjoy, and often some unique element that sets the story apart. This book is no different, from the unusual beginning where a crime is witnessed from a hot air balloon, to the way the intended victim turns the chase around. -Candice

Anthony Doerr (author of All the Light We Cannot See) was a brand-new father of twins when he was granted a sabbatical in Rome. He takes on the Eternal City and the newborns all in one go, and is rewarded for it. A sort of epic love poem to Rome and family, and all there is to be aware of and savor. -Candice

A detailed, and engrossing, recounting of the period of time in Florence, Italy, when the Medici family's control was faltering, and a preacher named Savonarola was beginning to exert power through his foreboding sermons. It didn't go well. -Candice

I love this book, I wish it had more holidays in it! It tells the history behind several of the most popular days of celebration--where and when they started, how they spread, how they've changed. -Candice

Lots of people know about the axe-murders in Villisca, Iowa, but the crime has never been solved...until now? Bill James lays out all the evidence he's found for a serial killer operating at that time. -Candice

Erik Larson does an absolutely amazing job of telling the story of H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who operated during the World's Fair in Chicago, 1896. Not only that, but this is a fantastic story of the city itself, particularly some of the early architects and their works. Will make you want to go visit some of the buildings. -Candice

For those nights where you find yourself wondering why the Christian belief system ended up eclipsing so many others. Full of fantastic history. -Candice

Guinn does a masterful job of drawing in the many elements of Jones' life that, in hindsight, all played some part in making him the person he came to be. I was surprised to find that, at the end of the book, some sort of sense was made of the awful situation. -Candice

A thorough and illuminating look at the consummate Renaissance genius. There are many biographies about Leonardo, and books that are about the things he did, but this one goes deep and gives an amazing amount of insight into how and what he thought, and the events that shaped him -Candice