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Showing posts with label Joshilyn Jackson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshilyn Jackson. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 05, 2026
Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Wish Were Still Writing Today (or At Least Writing What I Want Them to Write)
Our TTT prompt this week is a good one, and unique to boot. I don't think I've ever done a list on this topic: Top 10 Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today. (Thanks to Rebecca over at Top 100 Books for suggesting it and, as always, to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting TTT.) As much as I like this topic, I'm having a hard time coming up with ten authors. We'll see if I make it or not!
Top Ten Authors I Wish Were Still Writing Today (or At Least Writing What I Want Them to Write)
- in no particular order -
1. Maeve Binchy—This Irish author is the first one who came to mind for this topic. I've read and loved all of her warm, engaging novels. Unfortunately, Binchy passed away in 2012.
2. Joshilyn Jackson—Don't worry, Jackson isn't dead! She's just turned her writing focus to domestic thrillers instead of the Southern women's fiction for which she used to be known. Although I do enjoy mystery/thrillers, hers just don't entice and enchant me the way her older books do. I hope someday she'll go back to the genre in which she truly shines.
3. Mary Higgins Clark—Since this author's mystery novels were tame enough for teens, my dad got me started on MHC back when I was in junior high. I spent many a night reading way past my bedtime to finish one of her books. She continued writing up until her death in 2020 at 92 years old. Even though her newer books never enthralled me the way her older ones did, the "Queen of Suspense" will always reign as one of my favorite authors.
4. Elizabeth C. Bunce—I'm a huge fan of Bunce's Myrtle Hardcastle historical mystery series for kids. It's tons of fun. It's been three years since the last installment was published and, while that doesn't actually sound like that long now that I'm typing it out, I'm still hankering for a new Myrtle mystery. It looks like Bunce may have turned to pursuits other than writing, but a reader can dream...
5. C.J. Omololu—This YA author died of cancer in 2015 at 49 years old. I enjoyed her novels, and wish she would have had time to write more of them.
6. Agatha Christie—I have a feeling the Queen of Crime is going to be a popular choice today! Truth be told, I've only read a handful of her novels, but I think it would be really interesting to see what she could do with modern mystery themes and tropes.
7. Julia Keller—A Pulitzer Prize-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction, I thought Keller had last published in 2019, when she had two novels come out. After checking her website today, I see that she published a self-help book in 2023, BUT it's still been seven years since a new installment in her Bell Elkins crime series came out. I really enjoyed those books, and would love to see more of them published. It doesn't seem like that will happen, sadly.
8. L.A. Meyer—Meyer started writing his swashbuckling YA series starring the intrepid female pirate "Bloody" Jacky Faber when he was in his 60s. He finished it just before his death at 72 years old in 2014. The series is so fun. I wish he would have had more years to write. It would have been interesting to see what he did after the Blood Jack books.
9. Y.S. Lee—Lee is a multi-talented author who creates in various mediums. I'm currently re-reading her YA historical mystery series starring a teen Chinese-English sleuth in Victorian England. There are only four installments. I wish there were more. I'd also love to see Lee write additional YA novels. Fingers crossed.
10. Lois Duncan—I loved Duncan's mystery/thriller books back in the day. It's been decades since I've read a book by her, but still, there was a time when I could not get enough of her engrossing novels. She passed away in 2016 at 82 years old.
Hey, hey, hey! Look at that, I made it to ten. Have you read any of these authors? Which writers do you wish were still working today, or at least writing what you want them to write? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post, and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, August 01, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: Backlist Books By (Some of) My Favorite Authors That I Haven't Read Yet
I like to think I have a fair amount of self-control when it comes to the shiny and new. My head does get turned by the latest and greatest, but not that much. Although I do get hit by the FOMO bug sometimes, it's not like an epidemic with me. And yet, something keeps stealing my attention away from all the older books sitting on my bookshelves waiting patiently to be read! Today's TTT topic addresses this very subject: Top Ten Forgotten Backlist Titles (Spread love for books that people don't talk about anymore!). I could probably do a Top 500 list for this topic, but I'll try to keep it to ten backlist books by some of my favorite authors that I still need to get to.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog and give her some love.
Top Ten Backlist Books By (Some of) My Favorite Authors That I Haven't Read Yet
1. The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong (2015)—I've been on a big Armstrong bend this year, but I haven't read this thriller yet. It's about two teens who are unenthusiastically attending a weekend therapy camp when it's raided by three masked men. As their captors get more violent, Riley and Max have to figure out how to get the whole group out of a terrifying and increasingly deadly situation.
2. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (2006)—I adore Raybourn's Veronical Speedwell mystery series, so I'm sure I'll love her Lady Julia Gray one as well. This series opener begins with the death of Sir Edward Gray, a popular figure among London's elite. When his private inquiry agent suggests to Edward's wife, Julia, that her husband's death was murder instead of the result of a long-standing illness, she's shocked. Determined to find out the truth, she persuades the inquiry agent to help her investigate.
3. Snowbound by Blake Crouch (2010)—On a deserted highway during a violent electrical storm, a woman disappears. Falsely accused of doing his wife harm, her husband takes their daughter and runs. When an FBI agent shows up at their door, claiming to have an idea about what really happened to the missing woman, the distraught husband jumps at the chance to discover the truth and clear his name.
4. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (2008)—I've loved Hannah's recent books, but I haven't read many of her older ones. This popular novel stars Kate and Tully, two girls who are each other's opposites as well as each other's very best friend. Vowing to be close always, they're unprepared for the choices and events that tear them apart after three decades of close friendship.
5. The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee (2016)—Lee is one of my favorite writers of YA historical fiction. Besides her newest book—Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies—this is the only one of Lee's novels I haven't read yet. It's a romance about a 16-year-old girl who's one of the last two aromateurs on the planet. She knows her destiny is to use her special gift with aromas to help others fall in love, never experiencing the sensation for herself lest she lose her abilities. Enter a handsome soccer star. Suddenly, Mim's in real danger of falling hard. What's a twitterpated aromateur to do?
6. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson (2013)—Jackson's Southern women's fiction is always top notch. I mentioned this novel in a recent TTT list. It stars Laurel Hawthorne, a woman who is awakened in the night by the ghost of her teenage neighbor. When the girl's body is found floating in her swimming pool the next day, the town assumes it was nothing more than a tragic accident. Laurel isn't so sure. Why would the girl's ghost appear to her unless the apparition was pleading for help? Laurel's determined to get to the bottom of the suspicious death.
7. Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds (2019)—This middle grade book is a novel told in ten parts, from ten different perspectives. I'm not entirely sure what the plot is, but it's Reynolds, so it doesn't matter. I'm reading it.
8. In the Shadow of the Moon by Karen White (2000)—White's debut is a time slip novel about a woman who's transported back to Civil War Georgia, where she finds herself fighting for her life—and for her heart.
9. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan (2017)—I've read all of Ryan's novels but this one. It's about a group of English women during World War II who defy their vicar's order to shut down their church choir. Instead, they band together to sing, support each other, and face a bleak-looking future with optimism and courage.
10. O' Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor (2003)—Taylor's Maggie D'Arcy crime series is one of my favorites. This book, her debut and the first in an earlier mystery series, revolves around a college professor with an interest in cemetry art. When she encounters a strange graveyard carving that hints at an old murder, she's intrigued. Investigating in the isolated community where the statue resides, she discovers even more secrets and mysteries.
There you are, ten backlist books by some of my favorite authors that I still need to read. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which backlist books are on your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Wednesday, June 07, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: Summer-y, Water-y Reads
What is it that really gives you those lazy days of summer vibes? Lounging on a sandy beach with an ice-cold drink in your hand? The tantalizing smells of a backyard barbecue wafting through the air? Roasting marshmallows over a smoldering campfire in the woods? Licking ice cream out of a sugar cone while it slowly melts down your arm? This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about those sights, smells, and activities that just scream summer and how they're portrayed in and on books.
The thing I probably most associate with summer is immersing myself in cool, refreshing water. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest's scenic Columbia River Gorge. As a family, we'd often head to the river (or one of the area's many lakes) and spend the day picnicking on the grassy bank and frolicking in the water. In the Arizona desert, backyard swimming pools are plentiful. Here, summer means the scents of chlorine and sunscreen, the sound of happy kids splashing in the water echoing throughout the neighborhood, and the sweet relief of soaking your hot, sweat-slicked body in a pool's chilly depths. Since water was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this prompt, I decided to center my list around books that take place in, on, or around the water. Because I'm me, none of the books on my list are the kind of light, frothy stories that are most often associated with easy, breezy summer reading. Most of them have a sinister bent, but that's what you get from a mystery/thriller lover like me!
First, though, be sure to head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess some love. While you're there, you can get all the details about TTT and check out dozens of fun lists about the Top Ten Books or Covers That Feel/Look Like Summer.
Top Ten Books on My TBR List That Feel/Look Like Summer
(mostly because they take place in, on, or around the water)
1. Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith (available July 11, 2023)—I don't read a lot of horror and when I do, it has to be horror lite or else I won't be able to sleep. This YA novel seems to qualify. It's about a group of students who are chosen to spend a semester at sea aboard a luxury cruise ship. Liv's thrilled with the opportunity, but her enthusiasm dims when she learns she's only there because another girl disappeared mysteriously. When The Eos gets underway and more people vanish, Liv realizes there's something very sinister, even otherworldly, going on...and she's trapped.
2. Under a Dark Summer Sky by Vanessa Lafaye—Billed as The Help meets The Perfect Storm, this 2015 novel is set in the Florida Keys in 1935. As the sun bakes the town of Huron Key, a shocking act of violence rips through the small community. With tension already tearing the place apart, a vicious storm is brewing in the skies. Will anyone survive the impact when the fury of the oncoming storm meets the broiling anger on the ground?
3. Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison—This is the first installment in a cozy mystery series featuring a woman who inherits a dilapidated hotel on an island off the coast of Cornwall. Along with her sister, she removes to the location permanently—only to find all is not as it seems. When someone is killed at the hotel and another follows, the situation gets even more complicated as the sisters find themselves being accused of murder.
4. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune—It seems as if everyone has been talking about this second chance romance. It does sound fun. The story revolves around 32-year-old Fern, who has reluctantly returned to her hometown to try to save her family's disintegrating lakeside resort business. Everything's a mess until Fern's summer fling from over a decade ago comes walking in to help. Will's not the same guy he was back then. What's he hiding? And what effect will his presence have on Fern and the business she's trying to save?
5. The Last One by Will Dean (available August 8, 2023)—This thriller has a simple, but terrifying premise. Caz and her boyfriend board a luxurious cruise ship, ready to have the time of their lives enjoying all the vessel's many amenities. And they do. For one night. The next morning when Caz wakes up, her boyfriend is gone—along with everyone else. Caz is alone on a giant ship in the middle of the Atlantic. What happened to the ship's passengers and crew? Why is Caz the only one left? And what in the world is she going to do now?
6. A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams—Like #2, this historical novel is set in a beach town in the 1930s. This time, it's Rhode Island, where socialite Lily Dane is looking forward to her annual summer stay at the shore. She gets a nasty shock when her former best friend arrives in town along with her husband, Lily's one-time fiancé. Along with all the drama the situation brings up between the former friends, there's also a hurricane barreling their way. Will any of them escape unscathed by a summer that's sure to be unforgettable?
7. Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm—It's the summer of 1953 and 11-year-old Penny is determined to spend it well by playing baseball and swimming in the city pool. Only her mother forbids her from going to the pool, terrified she'll catch polio. Growing family drama makes everything that much worse. How can Penny salvage her summer, which is turning out to be the worst one she's ever experienced?
8. A Stranger On Board by Cameron Ward—And Then There Were None on a luxury cruise liner? Yes, please! That's what this thriller sounds like to me. It stars Sarah French, an ex-Marine who takes a job as a security officer onboard a superyacht. Someone goes missing as they head out to sea and Sarah soon realizes there's a killer on the vessel. Can she catch them before they pick off the passengers and crew one by one?
9. Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong—After a bitter divorce, Laney Kilpatrick is left with nothing. Almost. The one thing she does have is an island house that she rents out for the money she so desperately needs. After a series of strange and sinister incidents on her property, Laney goes to the island to investigate. Another small group arrives unexpectedly at the same time. When a dead body turns up and the group's only means of transportation disappears, it becomes obvious that something has gone horribly wrong on the island.
10. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson—I love Jackson's Southern novels and I've still yet to read this one. The story revolves around Thalia, a woman who is visited in the night by what appears to be the ghost of her 14-year-old neighbor. The next day, the girl's dead body is found floating in her pool. Although everyone in town thinks it was suicide, Thalia believes the apparation was trying to tell her what really happened—and she won't rest until she finds the truth.
There you go, ten summery (ish) books that take place in, on, or around the water. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What titles did you pick for your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here at BBB.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Top Ten Tuesday: Got It In One
Have you ever gotten so caught up in a book that you end up racing through it in one sitting, hardly daring to breathe, let alone get up and go to the bathroom? What kinds of reads are most likely to have that effect on you? I've zipped through plenty of books in one go, even taking my book with me to the bathroom, the kitchen table (I always read when I eat alone anyway), and to a college football game that I'm told was pretty exciting. Usually, the books I literally can't put down are in the mystery/thriller genre. Not always, as you'll see from the list below, but most of the time. The way they're written—usually with short chapters, lots of action, snappy dialogue, and cliffhangers all over the dang place—makes them ideal for whipping through in one sitting. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about these kinds of reads. I looked through my recent reading notes to find the last ten books that I sped through in one go (more or less). Since I love me a good page-turner, I'm excited to see everyone's answers.
If you want to jump on the TTT train (and you do!), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Top Ten Most Recent Books I Read in One Sitting
1. The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm—Middle-grade books are easy to read in one sitting since they're generally short and written with kid-sized attention spans in mind. This one, the first I had read by Holm, charmed me with its warmth and feel-good story. I loved it so much that I proceeded to zoom through three more of the author's books. I'm currently listening to another of hers.
2. The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson—I'm a big fan of Jackson's warm-hearted Southern family dramas/sagas. I somehow missed reading this one, which came out in 2016. It tells a compelling story about a woman seeking answers about her estranged mother—and the surprise she left behind when she died.
3. The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton—Although this mystery/thriller—about a mother and daughter traveling through the Alaskan wilderness in search of their missing husband and father—is a pretty tense read, I'm not sure I would have buzzed through it in one sitting if it weren't for the fact that I needed something to entertain me while my daughter got her hair done. Getting a silk press, then having your very thick, curly hair straightened is not a quick process. Needless to say, I got a lot of reading done during that appointment!
4. The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman—I've read all of Steadman's thrillers, so I knew this one—her newest—would have me flying through the pages. It did. The story is about a British actress who comes to Hollywood during the chaotic pilot season. She meets an enigmatic American actress, who later disappears. At least it seems like she did. Did she really vanish? Or is the Brit going crazy?
5. The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian—This debut Southern mystery kept me totally riveted. It's about an impoverished, abused young woman whose life changes irrevocably when her father is killed in a very unexpected way. Suddenly, she finds herself in an unlikely partnership with a stranger, who has her own stake in covering up the man's death.
6. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny—The Inspector Gamache books are more about the characters than the mysteries at their centers, so I don't generally buzz through them in one sitting. However, since I took this one on a trip with me, I spent a lot of time with it in airports and on airplanes. It's another compelling installment in a series that I love.
7. Shiver by Allie Reynolds—Despite the fact that this thriller is filled with unlikable characters, it's still a gripping read that had me burning through the pages with bated breath. It's a locked-room mystery set in an isolated ski lodge with a storm bearing down on a group of acquaintances who are already feeling uneasy in each other's presence.
8. Atomic Habits by James Clear—I don't read a lot of self-help books, but I found this one so engaging and inspiring that I read it in a matter of hours. It gives some excellent advice on how to break damaging habits and create healthy new ones.
9. The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher—This one has such a crazy, can't-look-away premise that I just...didn't. I don't want to say too much about the story because the less you know going into it, the better, I think.
10. We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin—Gritty and atmospheric, this thriller was so absorbing that I read it pretty much in one go. It's about a haunted detective who's desperate to solve two different, but seemingly connected, cases in her small Texas town.
There you have it, ten books that I read in one sitting. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Which books kept you glued to your seat? Which are your go-to authors for riveting, one-sitting reads? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
A Splishy-Splashy Top Ten Tuesday List
Top Ten Tuesday is my hands-down favorite meme and the only one I really participate in. However, some weeks I'm just not feeling the topic. I usually find a way to twist it to suit me better, but today's has me stumped. The topic du jour is: Top Ten Book Events/Festivals I'd Love to Go To Someday (real or fictional). As much as I love to read, I don't love crowds so I usually avoid these kinds of shindigs. So, I went totally rogue today and came up with my own topic.
Another thing I try to avoid is the heat. I live in Arizona (not by choice), so it's not easy! Luckily, I have a backyard pool to cool off in. All the pool time my family and I have been enjoying lately makes me think of book covers featuring swimming pools. So, my topic of choice today has to do with that.
Before we get to my list, though, I need to give a shout-out to our lovely Top Ten Tuesday host. Be sure and check Jana out at That Artsy Reader Girl. All the TTT deets are on her blog.
Top Ten Books I Want to Read That Feature Swimming Pools on Their Covers
1. Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm—This MG Newberry Honor book revolves around a young Italian-American girl living in New York City. Set right after World War II, it deals with prejudice against Italians, fear of polio, and the coming-of-age of our heroine.
2. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson—I've loved several of Jackson's novels, but I haven't read this one yet. This Southern family drama concerns a woman who is visited by the ghost of her 13-year-old neighbor. The apparition leads her to a dead body and a mystery that will reveal shocking truths about her family's past.
3. The Safe Place by Anna Downes—This thriller concerns a young woman who's in desperate need of a lucky break. When a wealthy couple offers her a lucrative housekeeping job at their remote French estate, she jumps at the chance. All is not perfect in paradise, however, as she soon finds out ...
4. The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish—Another thriller, this one is about Natalie, a woman whose routine wife/mother/teacher life is shaken up when she meets wealthy, charismatic Lara who pulls her into a lavish lifestyle unlike any she's ever known. Who is Lara, really? And what is Natalie getting herself into?
5. Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster—Like The Safe Place, this novel is about a down-on-her-luck young woman who takes a glamorous job in Martha's Vineyard as a nanny for a wealthy couple. As she tries to fit in with the upper crust, she discovers that nothing in that glittering world is quite what it seems ...
6. The Vacation by T.M. Logan—The teaser says it all: Seven Days. Three Families. One Killer.
7. The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis—The plot summary on this one doesn't reveal a ton. Apparently, it involves two frenemies who need to let go of the past in order to secure a happy, successful future.
8. Swimming Between Worlds by Elaine Neil Orr—This historical concerns three very different people whose lives converge in tumultuous North Carolina during the Civil Rights Movement.
9. Up For Air by Laurie Morrison—This MG novel stars Annabelle Wilner, a 13-year-old who excels at swimming. When she's invited to join the high school swim team, she becomes desperate to impress an older boy who's paying her a surprising amount of attention. Her ploys, however, might just cost her everything that means anything to her, including friendships, family relationships, and a swimming scholarship. Is her crush really worth it?
10. For the Best by Vanessa Lillie (available September 8, 2020)—When her wallet is found next to a freshly-killed corpse, Jules Worthington-Smith becomes the chief suspect in the man's murder. Despite the fact that she was drunk out of her mind on the night of the murder, Jules is sure she had nothing to do with it. Now, she just has to prove her innocence ...
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a dip in the pool! What do you think of my "splashy" list? Can you think of any other books with swimming pools on the cover? What's on your TTT list today?
Happy TTT!
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