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How to Read a Book

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By Monica Wood — Mariner Books, 2024

In Portland, ME, a women’s prison hosts a spirited book club where feisty inmates reveal their hopes and compassion. Harriet, a widowed, retired English teacher, finds purpose in guiding the club and introducing literature to the women. Though her daughters live abroad and she enjoys a secure life, Harriet wrestles with feelings of loneliness and uselessness.

Violet, a young inmate grappling with her manslaughter conviction, masks her remorse behind a tough exterior. Frank, a bookstore handyman mourning the loss of his wife due to Violet’s actions, adds tension to the story. Their paths cross after Violet is released and meets Harriet at Wadsworth Books, a cozy store filled with interesting people and foster cats. Their encounter sets off a chain of events that intertwines their lives, and the bookstore becomes a sanctuary for all three characters. 

The narrative poses a powerful question: Who deserves a second chance? Are we defined by our worst moments or by our potential for redemption? The possibility of goodness and healing through literature is central to this journey, inviting readers to contemplate the complexities of forgiveness and transformation at any age.

Don’t Forget to Write

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By Sarah Goodman Confino — Lake Union Publishing, 2023

Never-married Great Aunt Ada works as a matchmaker in Philadelphia. When Marilyn, her sassy 20-year-old niece, gets kicked out of the house for kissing the rabbi’s son in an embarrassingly public way, 77-year-old Ada takes her in, just as she took in Marilyn’s mother decades ago. Marilyn’s parents hope Ada will find a suitable husband for their daughter while she’s in Ada’s care. Instead, Marilyn realizes newfound freedom and sees firsthand how a woman can support herself and be fulfilled without a man. It’s the ‘60s, and Marilyn doesn’t want to go to college to find a husband—she wants to become an author and is thrilled when Ada gives her a typewriter. Ada herself is a gem—feisty, entrepreneurial, seemingly hard as nails, but with quite a loving heart underneath her tough exterior. The intergenerational bond between Marilyn and Ada deepens over time, filled with moments that are both funny and touching. As Marilyn’s choices become clearer, we wonder right up to the end what she’ll choose, and we’re rooting for her.

Sandwich

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By Catherine Newman—Harper, 2024

Sandwich is an apt title for this heartwarming read. Rocky and Nick are in that place in life where they are sandwiched between grown children and older parents—and this vacationing family eats a lot of sandwiches. For the past two decades, they’ve rented the same Cape Cod cottage for a week each summer. This year, their grown children and Rocky’s aging parents join them. Bringing together three generations of adults (and one bathroom) is quite an ambitious undertaking. Rocky, 54 and menopausal, is overflowing with emotions as she reflects on motherhood, her empty nest, her parents’ mortality and the choices she’s made over the years. Like most beach vacations, this one involves plenty of meaningful conversations and lots of eating. Above all, the story is filled with an abundance of love and is packed with relatable experiences for any of us who are in, or have been in, or might someday be in a similar life stage.

 

The Widsters

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By Becky Andersen – Becky Andersen, 2019 

Widowed sisters (widsters) Cardi Cooper and Tuney Thompson set out on a bus tour of their home state of Iowa in an attempt to cope with the recent loss of their husbands. On the bus, they meet four more widows, all as fun-loving and cheeky as they are. As they explore beautiful, historic, southeast Iowa (reader, you may find yourself longing to visit the area’s American Gothic house, sunken gardens and a haunted hotel), they adventure out of their comfort zones, get into some mischief and face their emotional challenges together. This charming story combines heartache and the bond of sisterhood. It’s not all fun and games for the women as they engage in deep discussions about their respective losses and their fears of reinventing themselves in later life. Their shared experiences offer a relatable, uplifting narrative about finding healing and joy—and the possibility of new beginnings—after loss.

Murder Undeniable: A Gripping Kat and Mouse Murder Mystery

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By Anita Waller — Bloodhound Books, 2018

A brutal crime takes place behind a drugstore in a quiet English village, leaving a man dead and a university student/part-time escort named Beth (nicknamed Mouse) barely alive. When Vicar Kat and her pharmacist husband, Leon, stumble upon Mouse, they get her to the hospital, where Kat takes an interest in her recovery. More suspicious deaths occur in rapid succession. Both Mouse’s and her grandmother Doris’s lives have been threatened; Mouse’s roommates die in an act of arson. Seeking answers, the three women become amateur sleuths. Doris, twice the age of Kat and Mouse, is the brains of the trio, with IT skills, a brown belt in karate, and gun know-how—all, talents in high demand to solve the case. Neither the local police nor Kat’s husband like it that the women have become so invested, but are they concerned for their safety, or because the women may be on to something?

If you’re drawn to a credible plot and strong female characters, you’re in luck—there are three more books in this Kat and Mouse series. 

 

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

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By Olivia Ford – Pamela Dorman Books, 2024

Jenny Quinn is a 77-year-old, happily married, childless woman who feels a sense of incompleteness in her life. She craves a legacy and a chance to step outside her comfort zone. She secretly applies to be a contestant on the hit baking show “Britain Bakes” and is delighted to be chosen for the show, which throws her into the world of competitive baking and reality TV, forcing her to confront her painfully relatable anxieties and consuming self-doubt. Confessing to her husband that she misled him while her application was processing, she feels all the more in love because of his wholehearted support. This should make her feel good, but instead it reminds her of a decades-old secret that could destroy her marriage. 

What makes this coming-of-(older)-age novel truly special is Jenny’s journey. She discovers new passions, learns the importance of embracing new people and experiences and bakes her way into the hearts of readers. If the heartwarming story and the mouthwatering descriptions of baked goods aren’t enough to entice you, all the recipes are included.

Nosy Neighbors

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By Freya Sampson – Berkley, 2024

The now-shabby Shelley House—a six-flat, historic dwelling outside of London—has seen better days but has survived for 133 years. Pink-haired, 25-year-old Kat Bennett is the newest tenant to call it home—while illegally subletting from Joseph Chambers in Flat 1. Cantankerous Dorothy Darling lives in Flat 2. At 77, she is the self-appointed watchdog who writes down everything that happens at Shelley House, notes all the needed repairs and inserts herself into everyone’s business. She and Kat are sworn enemies. As a matter of fact, for someone so involved in everyone’s lives, Dorothy doesn’t seem to like anyone very much. The other tenants are widower Omar and his daughter, Ayesha; a nameless tenant who blasts music and hosts late-night parties; Tomas and his pit bull, Princess; and Gloria, who continues to date unsuitable men. When the building’s owner announces his plans to evict everyone so he can build a new apartment complex on the site, can this group put their differences aside to save Shelley House? 

The Dinner Lady Detectives

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By Hannah Hendy – Canelo, 2022

Do you enjoy a cozy mystery? In this first book in a series, we meet Margery and Clementine, two women in their 60s who are dinner ladies (or lunch ladies) at the local school in the small, neighborly (read: gossipy) town of Dewstow. When Caroline, the cafeteria manager, is found dead in the freezer, Margery and Clementine are determined to solve the case, even though the (incompetent, lazy) police are convinced it was an accident.

The women are a mismatched pair, but they make a good team. Margery is a former police officer, sharp as a tack, while Clementine, a former office worker, is a more laid-back and eccentric character, often a sourpuss. All of the school employees are suspects—was it the millennial who practices alternative medicine or the coworker arrested for shoplifting a hunk of cheese? With only their intuition and a single earring to go on, the dinner ladies go down several rabbit holes, often at their own peril, before they solve the murder.

The Dinner Lady Detectives is a charming series. We love the resourcefulness of the women, who are always relatable. The novel is full of humor, suspense and heart, leaving us guessing until the end and looking forward to the next installment.

The Night of Many Endings

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By Melissa Payne – Lake Union Publishing, 2021

Bibliophiles everywhere may dream of being snowed in at a library, but that’s not true in the small town of Silver Ridge, CO, where kind-hearted librarian Nora has allowed, even encouraged, the unhoused and unfortunate to spend time in the building. 

Marlene works part time at the library; she’s older, bitter and widowed. She’s there when a snowstorm traps her, along with Nora and three others. Marlene has strong feelings about overly kind people, drug addicts, homeless people, and the younger generation—and here she is, stuck with sweet Nora, troubled teen Jasmine, homeless drug addict Lewis and security guard Vlado. 

Marlene feels she sacrificed throughout her life without question, forfeiting a promising future out of a sense of duty to her parents. Now, after marrying in later life and losing her great love, she finds herself in the cold, dark library realizing how little she knows of her co-workers and neighbors. Despite being convinced she’s too old to change, she hears her late husband, Charlie’s, voice telling her to give people a chance, reminding her to be kind. By the time the snow clears, Marlene has a different outlook on life.

And Then There’s Margaret: The Perfect Laugh Out Loud Dramedy 

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By Carolyn Clarke — Black Rose Writing, 2022

When we meet Allie Montgomery, she’s suffering a midlife crisis: her kids are older, her daughter may drop out of college, her husband is always working and she’s lost her passion for teaching. She’s signing up for a gym membership when she learns that her beloved father-in-law has died. George was her sounding board and confidante. He leaves behind his septuagenarian wife, Margaret, whom Allie finds self-absorbed, selfish, manipulative and controlling. When Margaret moves in “temporarily,” she criticizes everything Allie does, making it abundantly clear that, as far as she’s concerned, Allie is not good enough for her husband, Hank.

Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down: rearranges furniture, commandeers the kitchen and even secretly funds the college daughter’s bad decisions. At wit’s end, Allie has an encounter with Margaret that changes how they interact and Allie sees her path more clearly: she needs to let go of her anger toward Margaret and claim her dreams. Will Margaret support her or thwart her? While Margaret’s behavior is dreadful, and Allie doesn’t set boundaries, there are times when both women are relatable, for better or worse. A family tale that makes us laugh and think about our own relationships.

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

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By Laura Pearson – Boldwood Books, 2023

Mabel Beaumont is an 86-year-old widow who has just lost her husband of 62 years. Arthur was a good man, who loved Mabel unconditionally. And though his wife was not affectionate, their marriage was one of mutual respect. Arthur habitually made lists for everything from shopping to love notes and died with an unfinished list: Find D. Mabel knows he means for her to find her long-lost, best friend, Dot. Mabel starts a list of her own. Soon, and very much out of character, Mabel makes friends of all ages, all of whom appear to have problems Mabel can solve (with a bit of meddling), and thus her list grows. Things rarely go as she hopes, but the women all offer their different skills to help reconnect Mabel and Dot. This relatable novel is told in Mabel’s voice, capturing the emotions, wisdom and regrets of an older woman dealing with loneliness, vulnerability and feelings of invisibility. She must get beyond what’s been holding her back all her life and live with joy, as she’s learned from her new friends. And now, nothing will get in her way. Put this one on your list.

The Librarianist

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By Patrick deWitt – Ecco, 2023

Bob Comet is a retired librarian and lifelong introvert. We meet Bob in his 70s, living a solitary life in Portland, Oregon. He is divorced and has no close friends or family. His only real passion is books and he spends his days reading, rereading and organizing his vast collection.

When Bob encounters a confused older woman, lost in a market, he helps her find her way home, a senior center. Inspired by the sense of community at the center, he begins volunteering there. Through his interactions with the residents, Bob starts to heal from his past and find a new sense of purpose in his life. He also learns the importance of friendship, community and the power of stories.

This is a hopeful story about the power of books to connect us with others and to help us find meaning in our lives.

 

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise

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By Colleen Oakley – Berkeley, 2023

This heartwarming, funny novel tells the intergenerational tale of Tanner Quimby, a 21-year-old, adrift, college dropout struggling to find her place in the world, and 84-year-old Louise Wilt, recently incapacitated after a fall and hiding a secret past. Tanner’s parents ask her to move out at the same time Louise’s adult children realize their mother can’t manage alone. Tanner is hired as Louise’s caretaker, a position neither woman is happy about. Tanner is intelligent, funny and kind but struggles for self-esteem. Louise is a wise, compassionate woman with a snarky streak and criminal history. As they get to know each other—and try to outrun law enforcement in an interstate adventure—they learn they have more in common than they thought. They both regret their pasts and feel the need to tie up some loose ends. Theirs is a story about friendship, forgiveness and second chances, and it will stay with you long after you close the book.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

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By Marianne Cronin – Harper 2021

Lenni and Margot are two terminally ill women who meet in a hospital art therapy class. Lenni is 17 with osteosarcoma, while Margot is 83 with leukemia. Both alone in the world, they realize that together they’ve lived 100 years. They make a pact to paint a series of portraits representing pivotal moments from their lives. These paintings become a way for them to reflect on their pasts, to come to terms with their mortality and to create a lasting legacy. Their story is told in alternating chapters from Lenni’s and Margot’s perspectives. Lenni is full of quirky observations and a gallows sense of humor. Margot’s chapters are more reflective as she shares her memories of a long and eventful life. The novel is packed with wisdom and compassion, reflecting the preciousness of life and the enduring human spirit. The end comes too soon.

 

Old Babes in the Wood

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By Margaret Atwood — Doubleday, 2023

This is a short story collection by the renowned Canadian author and ardent feminist Margaret Atwood—you are likely familiar with her speculative fiction novel, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). These new stories portray a world of unique characters, strange places and unusual situations, often set in the future. But while some may be set in a dystopia, these tales contain relevant themes: cancel culture, state control over women’s bodies, and pandemics, to name a few. 

“The Age of Lead” tells the tale of a young woman named Iris, who is struggling to come to terms with her father’s death. The story is a moving and powerful exploration of grief, loss and the search for meaning. “My Evil Mother” is a dark, funny story about a young woman discovering that her mother is a witch. “The Sea King” is a beautifully written yarn about a woman who falls in love with a sea creature.

Older women narrate; some are widows and one is terminally ill. They explore memory, loss and commitment to family over time. Old Babes in the Wood is a masterful showcase of Atwood’s brilliant writing and storytelling abilities. It’s a must-read for any fan of the author or anyone who enjoys thought-provoking and imaginative fiction.

 

The Vibrant Years

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By Sonali Dev—Mindy’s Book Studio, 2022

This is a tale of three generations of unfulfilled women trying to discover their best selves and earn the respect they deserve. Bindu Desai has come into a million-dollar inheritance, one that threatens to expose a secret past. Nevertheless, the 65-year-old splurges on a fabulous condo and begins stirring up all sorts of mischief with several bachelors and the homeowners association. Bindu is close with her daughter-in-law, Aly, an underappreciated news anchor, who, at age 47, is competing for jobs with younger colleagues. Aly’s daughter, Cullie, is desperately trying to stay in the IT game when she pitches a half-baked idea of a dating app. When she pulls Bindu and Aly into her research, the results are pure comedy. Told by alternating narrators, this novel is life-affirming and fun. You’ll root for each woman to find what she so desires.

 

Killers of a Certain Age

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By Deanna Raybourn – Berkley, 2022

Touted as “Golden Girls meet James Bond,” this thriller opens with four women in their 60s celebrating retirement from The Museum, where they’ve worked for 40 years. Only, The Museum is a euphemism for a covert agency of elite, hired assassins, ridding the world of despicable war criminals, former Nazis, child traffickers and the like. It’s not a job that offers a retirement package, something the ladies—code name, the Sphinxes—realize when they become aware that former coworkers are trying to kill them. 

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie are exceedingly wise women who know too much, and The Museum leadership wants company secrets to die with these assassins. Naturally, the Sphinxes are not about to put down their weapons and go quietly into the night.

The story does an excellent job of showing how older women can be invisible, underestimated and often disrespected in the workplace. Having only each other and their experience to rely on, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie are about to show The Museum that they’ve messed with the wrong retirees. 

 

We Spread

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By Iain Reid – Gallery/Scout Press, 2022

Penny is an uninspired artist who has lived in the same apartment for decades. It’s full of her memories and collections. One day, to her surprise, she is moved to a long term care facility by her building manager after she suffers a few “incidents” attributed to her advanced years. She resists the idea that she and her late, longtime partner decided together to move there if one of them passed before the other. The facility is a private dwelling converted to accommodate six older residents in a family-like setting. At first, it is comforting, down to the chairs, bed and bedding, and the atmosphere inspires Penny to work. But she begins to sense that all is not right here: Can she trust the staff? Is she being drugged? As she begins to lose her grip on reality—why can’t she go outside or bathe alone?—Penny is left to wonder if what she is experiencing is just the result of aging or something far more nefarious. Her internal dialogue makes her so relatable. Who among us hasn’t been afraid that we’re losing our mind? Playing on our fears about death and dying, dementia and loss of control, the care home itself becomes villainous in its mystery. This is a psychological thriller that will pull you in.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

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By Shelby Van Pelt — Ecco, 2022

Tova is a widow in her 70s, coping with the mysterious loss of her teen son, Erik. To distract herself from her losses, Tova takes a job as a cleaner in the local aquarium, where she communes with the creatures housed there. She becomes particularly fond of Marcellus, an aging, giant Pacific octopus, rescued and rehabilitated there. She knows he escapes and visits the other tanks, sometimes for a social call and other times for a snack. Tova keeps his secrets; Marcellus is grateful. When 30-year-old Cameron arrives, looking for the father he never knew, he takes a part-time job at the aquarium, where Tova makes him into a passable employee. While Cam settles into what feels like home for the first time, the intelligent and erudite Marcellus pieces together what happened to Tova’s son. Can the old octopus give Tova the peace she seeks before he dies? Narrated by both Marcellus and Tova, this charming story will have you longing for a trip to the nearest aquarium. 

Everything Must Go

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By Camille Pagán — Lake Union Publishing, 2022

Laine Francis is a professional organizer who, since childhood, has wanted to put things in order. When Laine’s own life becomes her next organizing challenge, she faces it head-on. She returns to her family home in Brooklyn from Michigan. The timing is right; she feels she can no longer stay with the baby-averse husband adored by her family; she just bade farewell to her beloved dog. Both of Laine’s sisters confide that they’ve become concerned that their mother, Sally, is slipping into dementia. Sally’s been seen going to the store in a negligee, frequently forgetting significant things, making excuses and denying her decline. The sisters confront the possibility of losing their mother to Alzheimer’s and the immense, complex care that she’ll need going forward. It’s these heartfelt conversations that make the Francis sisters endearing. They are credible characters: kind, loving and afraid for their mother’s future. Sally enjoys having Laine nearby; this closeness brings significant unburdening between mother and daughter. Sally tells Laine the truth about her marriage, and Laine realizes she had made an incorrect assumption that she held against her mother for decades. Knowing the truth allows Laine to see her mother in a positive light. When Sally finally accepts that she’ll need help, it’s another successful outcome for our organizer.

The Old Woman with the Knife: A Novel

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By Gu Byeong-mo — Hanover Square Press, 2022

It seems ageism in the workplace is rampant, even for contract killers like Horn Claw. At 65, Horn Claw knows she’s not as spry as she once was, but she still gets the job done, even as her co-workers dismiss or even bully her. Born in a small town in South Korea, then abandoned by her birth family, who couldn’t afford another child to raise, Horn Claw has little opportunity to earn a legal income, and she struggles to survive in a society that is cruel to the poor and female. When we meet her, she calls herself a “disease control specialist,” but the vermin she eliminates aren’t rats but unlucky humans, dispatched with a poison-tipped knife. She has lost a hand due to the job but keeps working; she has no friends or social life. Her work is all she knows. With her advancing years, she’s slowing down, is less accurate and is softening. An uncharacteristic sentimental act is a mistake that could prove fatal to this assassin. Will she prevail? We hope so. Gu Byeong-mo is an award-winning, South Korean author. Old Woman with the Knife is her first novel translated into English.

 

Oh William!: A Novel

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By Elizabeth Strout—Random House, 2021 

Elizabeth Strout is a favorite of ours. We loved Olive Kitteridge (2008) and My Name is Lucy Barton (2016); now we rejoin Lucy in Oh William!. Newly widowed and a successful writer in her 60s, Lucy has retained an amicable relationship with her first husband, the father of her two daughters. She accepts him now, warts and all, and the warts are not insignificant. But despite Lucy’s investigative nature, she’s yet to fully understand what makes WIlliam tick. The story develops from a newlyweds’ love through Lucy and WIlliam’s divorce over his serial philandering, to Lucy’s satisfying marriage to her second husband, while WIlliam is married and divorced twice more. Yet it’s Lucy whom William asks to join him on a road trip to Maine to investigate his vague ancestry. On the road together, both feeling vulnerable and alone, they have a chance to understand each other on new levels. Their journey is the heart of the novel—a story of regret, reflection, revelation of some surprising family secrets and, ultimately, the way love matures over time.

The Reading List

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By Sara Nisha Adams–WIlliam Morrow, 2021

Aleisha is a disaffected 17-year-old, whose life consists of caring for her mentally ill mother and working at a small library, even though she’s never been much of a reader herself. When she happens upon a scrap of paper listing book titles, “just in case you need it,” she decides to work her way through the suggestions. Weighed down by her own issues, Aleisha is rude to a library patron, Mukesh Patel, a lonely widower living in a London suburb, simply going through the motions of daily life. A dressing down by her supervisor propels Aleisha to apologize to Mukesh and make a recommendation from this secret list. The books’ magic sparks a friendship. Mukesh shares his concerns about his granddaughter Priya’s solitary life, so Aleisha suggests ways for the two to bond, including sharing the book list. But when tragedy strikes Aleisha’s family, she pulls away from the Patels and from reading altogether. Can Mukesh use the life lessons gleaned in the shared pages to bring Aleisha back from despair? The Reading List is a true, book-lover’s book. 

Good Eggs: A Novel

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By Rebecca Hardiman—Atria Books, 2021

Reading Good Eggs felt like listening to an Irish auntie spin a story: a bit of blarney, with the facts sometimes lost in the details. Since her husband died, 83-year-old Millie Gogarty has been living alone. She relies heavily on her unemployed son, Kevin, who is adjusting to being a stay-at-home dad to his four active children, one a real handful. A phone call from the local police interrupts Kevin’s rare escape to the pub; could it be his rebellious teen, AIdeen? No, Millie’s been caught shoplifting—again. Millie’s release is contingent on her accepting the help of a part-time caregiver, something she’s fought tooth and nail. The story takes unexpected, often hilarious turns as these characters hope for second chances. Millie is a spunky piece of work, for certain, but she’s smart, strong-willed and cunning. This is a feel-good story to curl up with. You’ll end up rooting for the whole Gogarty family.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

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By Helene Tursten – Soho Crime, 2021 

Add Swedish crime novelist Helene Tursten to your list of go-to Scandinavian authors alongside Fredrik Backman and Jonas Jonasson, both of whom have written books recommended in our reviews. The eponymous elderly lady is our old friend Maud, whom we met in An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (2018). Maud’s simple desire is to live her life her way, in peace. Surely, at 88, she’s earned that. Yet Maud, known to resolve disputes by eliminating her adversaries, is followed by misfortune—and the body count around her continues to rise. One simply should not cross Maud, nor underestimate her, nor make assumptions based on her advanced years. Is she really hard of hearing and confused, or is it part of an act to evade the police? That walking stick? It may seem to aid her mobility, but she uses it to bash anyone who gets in her way, which they continually do, at their peril. In this book, Maud is avoiding the police as she heads off on a luxury vacation to South Africa. Her vigilante spirit is revived when she witnesses the assault of a young girl in an alley. Her actions play out in six connected, comical vignettes that expose Maud as a serial killer with a diabolical mind, who will leave you asking yourself if it’s so wrong to root for the bad guy. 

 

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman: A Novel

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By Julietta Henderson—MIRA, 2021

There’s so very much to love about this uplifting, character-driven tale. Norman, age 12, has lost his best friend, Jax, who has died. His adoring mother, Sadie, and her coworker, Leonard, embark on a quest to help Norman fulfill his and Jax’s dream to compete at the country’s premier comedy competition, the Edinburgh Fringe. Friendless without Jax, Norman also decides he needs to find the father he never knew—but his mom isn’t even sure who he is. Sadie, a wounded soul with her own grief, is determined to help Norman process his monumental loss, but it’s only when 80-something Leonard agrees to join the quest that the threesome heads off. Leonard is the brains behind the trip; he brings the common sense, the computer savvy and a lifetime of useful skills, upon which Sadie and Norman draw time and time again. Leonard is the reason we recommend this book; he works as a custodian and bore the brunt of every ageist joke the boss could spew. There’s more to Leonard than meets the eye, but can he find a missing father? Nothing goes strictly according to plan, but throughout the odyssey, Norman Foreman, the “Little Big Man of Comedy,” gets a chance to shine.

Should We Stay or Should We Go: A Novel

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By Lionel Shriver – Harper, 2021

In their 50s, Kay and Cyril both work in health care and have just watched the decade-long, agonizing demise of Kay’s once-brilliant father to Alzheimer’s. With firsthand professional and personal experience of the indignities of aging, they know the sacrifices families make as they stand by helplessly and watch a person die slowly. They make a pact to end their lives, together, at the age of 80. The next three decades pass and, lo, they’re at their use-by date. What happens next is revealed in a dozen different possibilities, brilliantly thought out. In one alternate universe, they end up in residential care where they’re neglected and forgotten; in another, at a posh facility where they’re treated like royalty. In yet another scenario, they choose cryogenics with return when they would be free of disease. But this is not a morbid collection of “what ifs.” It’s a thought-provoking, often humorous read on how we approach death and the choices we make. In other words, perfect for your book club.

The Book of Two Ways: A Novel

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By Jodi Picoult – Ballantine Books, 2020

Death has always been a part of Dawn Edelstein’s life. It began with an early fascination with how ancient Egyptians embraced dying as a part of living. As a grad student in Egyptology, she met Wyatt Armstrong. They shared a passion for The Book of Two Ways, a series of hieroglyphics inscribed inside certain Egyptian coffins that mapped the path of the afterlife. That fervor brought them together romantically, and Dawn felt her life was becoming what it was meant to be. But when she was called to her mother’s death bed, Dawn abruptly found herself taking a different path. 

Fifteen years later, she is married to a quantum physicist named Brian, raising a teenage daughter and working as a death doula. She guides clients through the process of dying, easing the transition from life, helping with everything from physical care to last wishes. She loves the work and she loves her family, but a strong connection with a new client stirs up buried memories and desires. She is torn between “what is” and “what if.” What if, after her mother’s death, she’d found a way to rejoin Wyatt in Egypt and resume both her career and their love affair?

The book begins with Dawn surviving a plane crash and questioning her mortality. She knows so much about dying—she just isn’t sure she’s an expert on living, and the time has come to take a good, long look at what is most important in her world. Sprinkled with snippets about Egyptian hieroglyphs and history, this novel will take you deep into the burial chambers of ancient kings and up into the mysteries of death. It will make you think about the path you are on now, and how you’ll feel about your choices when you face the inevitable.

Exit

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By Belinda Bauer – Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020

Death is usually a grim subject, but Belinda Bauer’s new mystery is quite funny. Felix Pink, the protagonist of Exit (2020), volunteers as an Exiteer: he’s part of an underground organization that supports people who are terminally ill and have decided to take their own lives. Strictly speaking, nothing Felix does is illegal. He simply sits with clients as they wait to die. They use a painless method suggested by his organization, and he keeps them company so their families will know they’re not alone. Once they’re gone, he spirits away the evidence of suicide. Felix is a 75-year-old widower. He’s kind, conscientious, a neatnik and rule-follower. Most readers will be completely on his side as he goes on one of his missions, only to discover afterward that he’s sat with the wrong person and is implicated in a death that may be a mistake—or a murder. Bauer’s typically twisty mystery provokes lots of chuckles, thanks to her delightfully skewed point of view. And as older readers become privy to Felix’s thoughts about aging, they may wonder if Bauer has been reading their minds. 

The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel 

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By Richard Osman – Pamela Dorman Books, 2020

Every Thursday, four amateur sleuths meet to rehash unsolved crimes. They are an unlikely and quirky foursome: a nurse, a spy, a psychiatrist and a union activist, all residents of the Coopers Chase Retirement Village. Their differences are the strengths they bring to their detective work. To their utter delight, someone is murdered in their midst, a contractor with designs on expanding the community. The Murder Club has a real case! The police underestimate them and, careless about sharing their own knowledge of the crime, are bested by the club members at every turn. This witty whodunnit’s author—a British television celebrity—has depicted the protagonists, all 80 or nearing so, as intelligent and credible, not a feeble, frail or pitiable one among them. This story closes with plenty of room for the Thursday Murder Club to return. Let’s hope someone else gets killed. 

The Big Finish

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By Brooke Fossey – Penguin Random House, 2020

In a complete reversal of the grandparent-escapes-care-facility theme, 19-year-old Josie breaks into Centennial, the assisted living facility where her grandfather, Carl, resides. No one is more surprised than his roommate, Duffy, a self-proclaimed “ass,” who believed he and Carl had no secrets. Except for a daughter and now a granddaughter living nearby? But there are more secrets, and Josie needs the help of these octogenarians. Josie arrives shoeless and reeking of alcohol, with only the clothes on her back and a black eye. She wants them to hide her for a week while she sorts things out. After years of stuffing his feelings of guilt and shame, Carl is willing to do anything to win Josie over, but Duffy knows they run the risk of getting caught and evicted to the dreadful nursing home down the street. As a recovered alcoholic himself, he’s been in Josie’s shoes—out of friends, out of options. With Duffy as reluctant leader, some of Centennial’s residents and staff conspire to detox Josie and give her recently departed mother a proper funeral. This is a big-hearted story of hijinks, unlikely friendships and the realization that we must face our truths and right our wrongs, no matter our age.   

All Adults Here: A Novel

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By Emma Straub – Riverhead Books, 2020

In this saga of a family laden with secrets, Astrid, a 68-year-old widow, is the matriarch, living in the idyllic, upscale town of Clapham, NY. She’s opinionated and self-centered, but as she ages, she’s softening. Astrid witnesses a neighbor (she admits she never liked her) accidentally struck down and killed by a bus. The event dislodges a long-suppressed memory, which kick-starts her desire to come clean on a secret she’s been keeping from her three grown children. In Astrid’s wildly chaotic life, the secrets revealed are what make Astrid more fully actualized as a human being, not “simply” a wife, widow and mother. The siblings believe themselves to be close, but when secrets are confessed, one son reveals he felt he never measured up to Astrid’s expectations. The other son feels ill-equipped to raise his 13-year-old daughter after an incident at school and so sends her to live with Astrid. And the adult daughter, who raises goats nearby, is hiding the fact that she is pregnant by a donor. The truths make them come together as a more authentic version of their family. This is a delightful read, a reminder that it’s OK to become an adult in later life.

Allie and Bea: A Novel

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By Catherine Ryan Hyde – Lake Union Publishing, 2017

This is the story of a friendship. Allie is a 15-year-old whose parents have just been jailed for tax fraud. Bea is an aging-into-poverty widow who’s lost what little she had left to a telephone scam. Bea is running scams of her own now just to stay afloat financially and keep gas in the van where she lives with her cat, and Allie runs away from a group home, only to find she is woefully unprepared to live outside the life of privilege she once knew. When their paths cross, trust is nonexistent, but they each have something to teach the other. As they travel the Pacific Coast Highway in the van, they use their street smarts to navigate the journey. As the kind people they meet along the way restore their faith in humanity, Allie and Bea forge a new sense of family. This novel would be a wonderful choice for a mother-daughter book club. 

The Last Trial

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By Scott Turow – Grand Central Publishing, 2020

Loyal fans of Scott Turow will remember meeting attorney Sandy Stern 34 years ago in Presumed Innocent (1986), a novel that launched Turow’s career and, some claim, created the genre that we now call “legal thrillers.” 

Alejandro “Sandy” Stern, now 85, has decided to retire. For his final case, his client is a long-time friend, Kiril Pafko, a 78-year-old, Nobel Prize-winning doctor who discovered the very drug, g-Livia, that put Stern’s own cancer in remission. But some patients developed a fatal reaction, and the Feds accused Pafko of a range of crimes, from insider trading to murder.

Turow, 71,  a practicing attorney who takes mostly pro bono cases himself, explains the courtroom drama for laymen, but in The Last Trial what he does best is show a character who was once in total command of the courtroom accepting both the good and bad of his own aging. Stern has an occasional blip of memory loss and a fatigue that isn’t about sleep. He works alongside his accomplished daughter, Marta. Recognizing her father’s shortcomings, she silently signals him if he’s veering off the mark. Marta decides this will be her last trial as well, which likely makes it a little easier for her father, although they both want to retire with a win. 

Readers are introduced to another family member. Despite a prolonged and confounding adolescence, Stern’s granddaughter, Pinky, shows real promise as a private investigator, leaving us to think court may not be adjourned after all.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael

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By Beth Morrey – G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020

Millicent “Missy” Carmichael is struggling with loneliness and lacks a sense of self-worth. She wasn’t always so glum; she earned an underutilized degree in Classics from Cambridge, married an academic revered in his field and raised two children. She lives alone at 79, estranged from her daughter for an argument she now regrets, and her son and beloved grandchild live a continent away. She rarely leaves her big, bland house—she’s got her books and her sherry, after all. But she forces herself to a daily walk in the park near her home and is surprised to find she’s soon recognized by some of the regulars. Her cynicism for life is overpowered by the kindness shown by a woman with a child the same age as her grandson, and Missy is embraced by the woman’s park friends. This is further enhanced when Missy reluctantly agrees to foster a mongrel named Bobby. Beyond simple companionship (Bobby is a good listener), Missy is forced to go out regularly to walk and finds the dog to be a social lubricant, if only to explain why a female dog was named Bobby in the first place. Each of the characters plays a role in making Missy see her true value as a human being and gives her a sense of purpose and belonging long absent from her life. Filled with wry laughter and deep insights, The Love Story of Missy Carmichael is a story that shows us it’s never too late to forgive yourself and, just as important, that we should never discount the power of community.

 

How the Penguins Saved Veronica

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By Hazel Prior – Berkley, 2020

Veronica McCreedy is a fussy, opinionated, 85-year-old woman living in Scotland in a multimillion-dollar home with her carer, Eileen. She’s convinced herself she likes the solitude when, in fact, she’s quite lonely. One of her few escapes is television documentaries, particularly one about a colony of penguins and their researchers in Antarctica. As Veronica obsesses, Eileen finds a box of nearly forgotten diaries that remind Veronica of the secrets she has kept locked away for most of her adult life—not the least of which is that she had a son, who, in turn, had a son. Eileen helps Veronica find and meet grandson Patrick, who never knew his grandmother existed.

Still, Veronica is much more interested in the penguins than in Patrick; she informs the research crew (buttering them up with promises of inheritance) that she’s coming to stay with them. Once on the ice, she becomes keenly aware of not only the penguins but of the environmental impact of climate change on their habitat. After reading Veronica’s diaries, Patrick joins her in Antarctica. Through their shared history and time spent together with the penguins, the pair finally forge a relationship and a possible future as a family.

This is the story of a woman who chases her sense of purpose and her family ties while never misplacing her independence or her personal desire to leave the world a better place. We need more Veronicas right now.

Have You Seen Luis Velez?

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By Catherine Ryan Hyde – Lake Union Publishing, 2019

Raymond is an untethered, lonely 16-year-old. His parents divorced and each remarried, leaving him feeling like an outsider. He’s biracial and feels neither Black enough nor white enough. His only friend from school has moved, and the feral cat he sees on the streets is unreliable. One day a neighbor he has seen but doesn’t know emerges from her apartment and forlornly asks, “Have you seen Luis Velez?” This neighbor is Mildred Gutterman, who is 92 and blind. She lives alone and has been relying on the kindness of Luis Velez to keep her living in her apartment. Now Luis has stopped coming around and Mildred is down to her last meal.

Mildred and Raymond start a conversation that leads to a most unusual friendship. Raymond gingerly steps into the role of helpmate and decides to find Luis Velez for Mildred, a choice so out of his comfort zone that it challenges not only his shyness but his belief that people are unkind and unsympathetic. The lovely, intergenerational friendship between the pair is bolstered by how Raymond learns to see what Mildred sees despite her blindness. This is a feel-good story, simple yet deep, and just the uplift we all need right now.

Akin

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By Emma Donoghue – Little, Brown and Company, 2019

Emma Donoghue follows her best seller Room (2011) with this absolute gem. Approaching his 80th birthday, widower Noah is preparing for a trip to France when a telephone call changes everything. Noah learns he’s the closest relative of Michael, his 11-year-old great-nephew whom he has never met, and who is in immediate need of a place to live to stay out of foster care. Life with a tween is as foreign to Noah as the South of France is to Michael. The two have lives so far removed from one another’s that it’s hard to imagine the gap can be bridged. We’re drawn to Noah and his struggle to do the right thing; he decides to take Michael to Nice. Noah’s internal dialogue is touching and real; his consultations with his late wife are bittersweet. Michael, displaced and now grieving multiple losses, can be exasperating. At times, Noah’s patience seems downright heroic, but it’s when he loses his composure with this troubled boy that he’s most relatable. They need to learn to trust each other to get to a place of acceptance. It’s not a straight line, but it’s a helluva trip, and we readers love traveling along with them. 

 

Olive, Again

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By Elizabeth Strout – Random House, 2019

Welcome back, Olive Kitteridge! It’s been over a decade since Elizabeth Strout introduced us to the most incorrigible resident of Crosby, Maine. Olive Kitteridge (2008) won the Pulitzer Prize, became a New York Times bestseller and was later adapted for an HBO miniseries. Yet Strout tells the New Yorker that she never intended to bring Olive back, saying she believed, “I was done with her, and she with me.” We are so glad that didn’t stick. 

We rejoin Olive at age 73. She’s widowed now, lonely but still acerbic and off-putting to those she encounters. She finds neighbor Jack Kennison—a retired professor she and her husband felt was entitled and arrogant—incapacitated on a path, helps him up and learns they are both widowed and are somewhat estranged from their only children. Soon, Olive and Jack are married, and neither of their adult children understands it. And so it goes, each chapter a vignette that reveals Olive evolving. In some ways so dreadful, Olive becomes a woman we believe redeemable. She holds onto old ideas but starts to make room for the possibility there could be another way to see the truth. It’s inspiring to see the retired teacher become the student, and empathy takes hold of her, if transiently. Gradually, she becomes the person we hope to be in later life when confronted with the grow-or-die circumstances life throws at us. You don’t have to read the original Olive Kitteridge to enjoy Olive, Again, but I think you’ll want to. We’re so glad Strout brought Olive back and we join the fans hoping for a prequel: Olive, Before?

 

When All is Said: Five Toasts, Five people, One Lifetime

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By Anne Griffin – Thomas Dunne Books, 2019

In something like a farewell address to his son, 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan sits by himself in a hotel bar, recalling his personal history, with a toast to each of the five most important people in his long and successful, if imperfect, life. In five distinct stories, he tells his son, Kevin, how his experiences and relationships made him the man he is at the later end of his life. He admits he still longs for the reassurance of his older brother, long deceased, and that the spirit of his stillborn baby daughter remains throughout his adult life. He drinks to his late sister-in-law and what he learned from his relationship with this fragile woman. He drinks to his son, examining his own shortcomings as a father who didn’t understand Kevin’s need for separateness. Finally, he toasts his late wife, whom he adored, but who was often a target for his frustrations. With each drink, more of Maurice is revealed. His grief is palpable; his candor, remarkable. He’s owning, without excusing, his failures as a husband and father. Now, he’s left with wealth and little more, and he wants to set the record straight in a way that might right the wrongs, old and new. 

We come to understand that Maurice plans to join his recently departed wife in the ever-after later that night, but the story isn’t grim. Rather, his disclosures leave you thinking about the people in your own life who’ve made all the difference. If you’re a sucker for an Irish brogue, you’ll be absolutely mesmerized by the audio version of this novel. We can only assume it’s equally good to read. Either way, this debut novel is worth every second of your time.