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Bookreporter.com Bets On...

With thousands of books published each year and much attention paid to the works of bestselling and well-known authors, it is inevitable that some titles worthy of praise and discussion may not get the attention we think they deserve. Thus throughout the year, we will continue this feature that we started in 2009, to spotlight books that immediately struck a chord with us and made us say “just read this.” We will alert our readers about these titles as soon as they’re released so you can discover them for yourselves and recommend them to your family and friends.

Below are all of our selections thus far. For future "Bets On" titles that we will announce shortly after their release dates, please visit this page.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

September 2020

I confess to knowing nothing about the penal colonies in Australia before reading THE EXILES. In it, Christina Baker Kline takes us to Australia in the mid-1800s when the country was being populated with convicts from the UK, who were sent there by ship, in droves. She tells the story through the eyes of three young women: one from England, one from Wales and one from Tasmania. She gives us such a strong sense of the country, which was so primitive.

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The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

August 2020

THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE is the fifth Fiona Davis book that I have selected as a Bets On. It is set at the New York Public Library with two time frames, 1913 and 1993. The first revolves around a young family that lives in a seven-room apartment at the library. While I have spent many hours in the library, I confess to never knowing about this tidbit of history.

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Brontë’s Mistress by Finola Austin

August 2020

BRONTË’S MISTRESS is a brilliantly strong debut from an author you will want to keep an eye on. I confess to knowing much less about the Brontës than I feel that I should. Finola Austin’s novel was captivating from the opening pages.

It’s Yorkshire in 1843, and Lydia Robinson lives with her family in Thorp Green Hall. She’s dealing with two personal losses --- her mother and her daughter --- and a husband who has turned cold towards her. It’s not surprising that her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, catches her eye --- and suddenly she is wrapped up in an affair with a man who has a lot of baggage. It’s blissful for a while until things get out of control, and her regimented life is upended.

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The End of Her by Shari Lapena

August 2020

Reading Shari Lapena’s new thriller, THE END OF HER, meant that I spent a day where nothing else got done! Her books are ones that I literally inhale. I interviewed her last year, and we talked about how she carefully works to make her novels addictive --- from the overall setup to the brisk writing and the unstoppable chapter endings.

In THE END OF HER, Patrick and Stephanie Kilgour are new parents coping with twin infant girls who are colicky. Each night they walk the floors with their inconsolable girls, and then they trip through their days bleary-eyed. Stephanie is a stay-at-home mom, while Patrick is a partner in an architecture firm. While their lives are exhausting, they are happy.

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His & Hers by Alice Feeney

August 2020

A couple of years ago, I read SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney. I loved it, and it quickly became a Bets On selection. Alice is back with HIS & HERS…and wow, this is one twisty novel.

It has dueling multiple narrators who tell their sides of the same story of a murder case where the suspect could be them, or anyone. She is Anna Andrews, a television correspondent who has experienced a loss that she is drinking her way back from. Alice worked for the BBC for years and knows the television business from the inside, so she nails those details. He is a detective assigned to the case who becomes a suspect himself very early in the game. And then there is an anonymous narrator who can be either of them, or someone else. Someone is always lying, but who is it?

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Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

July 2020

FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER by Rachel Beanland is a wonderful treasure of a novel. It takes place during the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City and is inspired by a secret that was kept by Rachel’s own family.

As it opens, Florence is training to swim the English Channel, and her loved ones are rallying behind her. However, fate steps in, and suddenly the Adler family is thrown in a completely different direction, which will test them all.

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The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

June 2020

THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS by Megan Miranda is a brisk suspense/thriller. In it, Arden Maynor was six years old when she sleepwalked away from her house, fell into a river and was swept away in a rainstorm. Days later, she was found alive and became a celebrity for it. But that celebrity was too much for her. She has changed her name and tried to move on from her unwanted “fame.”

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The Last Flight by Julie Clark

June 2020

THE LAST FLIGHT is a tautly plotted thriller that I wanted to read from the moment I heard Julie Clark tell me about it back in January at a publisher preview event. And it completely delivered.

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What's Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott

June 2020

WHAT'S LEFT OF ME IS YOURS by Stephanie Scott is a brilliant debut novel set in modern-day Japan. It revolves around the tradition of “wakaresaseya,” where one person is hired by another to seduce a spouse and break up a marriage, with a goal that this will bring a better settlement in a divorce.

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Two Truths and a Lie by Meg Mitchell Moore

June 2020

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE is a brisk read set in the beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, which is where author Meg Mitchell Moore lives. She made me want to visit there.

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