The Golden Spoon by Jwessa Maxwell

 aired the week of February 10, 2025

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell is where a locked room mystery meets the Great British Baking Show.  It is time for the annual Bake Week competition at Grafton Manor in Vermont.  Betsy Martin is the show's host.  She has 6 contestants on the show when strange things start happening.  Then someone who is a part of the show ends up dead it is up to everyone to work together to find out who is trying to sabotage the show.  Recommended for fans of Robert Thorogoods Marlow Murder Club series and Colleen Cambridge's American in Paris mystery series.

How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes

aired the week of February 3, 2025

How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes is a love letter to nature. Summer Rayne Oakes set out to write a book about how to better take care of your houseplants and in the process revealed the benefits of plants both indoor and outdoor. In this how-to guide, Oakes writes about what plants need from the microscopic to large scale and how you can go about replicating that in your home. She then explains what plants give you in return. This short book reads like talking to a friend over coffee. It is a beautiful exploration of all things plants from an expert with a lifelong love of nature.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

 aired the week of January 27, 2025

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters follows a family that travels from Nova Scotia to Maine each summer to work in the berry fields.  When the family's youngest child Ruthie disappears the summer she is four it tears the family apart.  Meanwhile Norma is growing up in a very protective smothering family.  She wonders why she looks so different from her parents but gets no good answers.  As she ages Norma starts to uncover a past that leads to many questions and searching for her lost family.  Recommended for fans of Brandon Hobson's The Removed.

The Teacher by Freida McFadden

 aired the week of January 20, 2025

The Teacher by Freida McFadden alternates between math teacher Eve Bennett and high school student Addie.  Addie is falling for Eve's husband Nate who is her English teacher but there is a lot more to this story than what you see on the surface.  Freida McFadden is incredibly popular for her twisty domestic thriller and psychological mysteries.  She is the author of the popular Housemaid series and her books are recommended for fans of Gillian Fynn Mary Kubica and Ruth Ware.

Dear Readers and Riders by Lettie Teague

 aired the week of January 13, 2025

Dear Readers and Riders by Lettie Teague is a biography of one of my favorite childhood authors Marguerite Henry.  Marguerite Henry is the author of Misty of Chincoteague along with 56 other books, most of them about horses.  Find out more about her writing style and the inspiration for her many stories.  A delightful read for fans of horse stories.

Footsteps in the Snow by Charles Lachman

 aired the week of January 6, 2025

 Footsteps in the Snow by Charles Lachman is the story of the coldest case in U.S. history. On December 3, 1957, a seven-year-old named Maria Ridulph was kidnapped while playing outside in the snow. Despite a near-immediate search party, Maria's body wasn't found until the spring. Even with state police cooperating with the FBI, the case had little evidence and few leads, so it went cold until a deathbed confession nearly 50 years later brought new evidence to light. Charles Lachman tells how the Ridulph family finally got justice five decades after the death of Maria in this thrilling true crime novel.

Carrie's Top 10 Books of 2024

 aired the week of December 30, 2024

Of the 70 books I read this past year, these are my 10 favorites.  They are listed in the order in which I read them:

1. Falling by T.J. Newman - thriller

2. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood - general fiction

3. Delphine Jones Takes a Chance by Beth Morrey - women's fiction

4.  The Wishing Game by meg Shaffer - women's fiction

5. Brave the Wild River by Melissa Sevigny - non fiction

6. Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes - mystery

7. Leave No Trace by A.J. Landau - thriller

8. Indigo Isle by T.I. Lowe - inspirational fiction

9. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson - historical fiction

10. The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl - historical fiction

Indigo Isle by T.I. Lowe

 aired the week of December 23, 2024

Indigo Isle by T.I. Lowe is an inspirational southern fiction story.  Sonny Bates works as a location scout for a Hollywood Studio.  She is back in Charleston, SC working on a teen beach movie.  While there she falls in love with a private island owned by a reclusive grump.  Sonny works to try to get to know Hudson Renfro.  As she starts to connect with him her movie studio demands to use the island for a shoot.  This will threaten the fragile friendship between Sunny and Hudson.  Recommended for fans of Karen White, Mary Kay Andrews, Dorothea Benton Frank and Cathleen Armstrong.

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

 aired the week of December 16, 2024

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a slim mystery thriller by perennial popular Unger.  Madeline hates Christmas.  Ten years ago right before Christmas she was attacked, her friend Sam was killed and their other friends the Wallace sisters disappeared.  Now a popular podcaster is snooping around bringing up old memories and pointing out that more young women from the area have disappeared so do they really have the right person in custody?  This may be a not so merry Christmas unless they can find the real killer before it is too late.  Recommended for fans of Erica Spindler, Shari LaPena and Joy Fielding.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

 aired the week of December 9, 2024

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a fluffy locked room Christmas mystery by Ally Carter.  Maggie Chase is an introverted mystery author who finds herself at a large British estate for Christmas.  With her is her nemesis, thriller author Ethan Wyatt.  When Maggie's hostess her beloved favorite author Eleanor Ashley disappears, Maggie and Ethan have to work together to find out what happened to her.  For fans of Christmas stories by Nancy Naigle, Mary Kay Andrews and Sarah Morgan.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

aired the week of December 2, 2024

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is a timeless story that follows a hobbit who inherits  a magic ring, and with it a quest to save all of Middle Earth. Frodo Baggins is given a magic ring by his uncle Bilbo. Unbeknownst to them, this ring belongs to a great evil power named Sauron, who is reemerging in Middle Earth and wants the ring back. Frodo is tasked with smuggling the ring across Middle Earth in hopes of keeping it out of Sauron's clutches. A huge inspiration for modern fantasy as we know it, the Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in the Lord of the Rings series. It is the beginning of an epic adventure that has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations. 

To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia

 aired the week of November 25, 2024

To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia is set in Iowa City.  Dr. Eve Roth is a physics professor at the University of Iowa.  She has been up in her plane taking atmospheric data readings.  When she arrives home she finds out her husband has disappeared and the police found his car torched in a downpour.  What is going on and what has happened to Matthew?  For fans of Heather Chavez, Alice Blanchard and Erin Young.

The Bookbinder by Pip Williams

 aired the week of November 18, 2024

The Bookbinder by Pip Williams introduces Peggy Jones who along with her twin sister Maude work at the Oxford Bindery in Oxford, England.  The Great War is taking men from work right and left.  Peggy has a chance to move to a different position within the bindery but what she really wants is to study at Somerville College the women's college at Oxford.  Instead she helps tend to the wounded soldiers that are billeted at the college. It is there that she meets Gwen a student at Somerville and Bastion a soldier recovering from wounds.  They help Peggy dream of a different future.  Recommended for fans of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig.

Leave No Trace by A.J. Landau

 aired the week of November 11, 2024

Leave No Trace by A.J. Landau is the first collaboration by authors Jeff Ayers and Jon Land.  This fast paced thriller is set in the National Parks starting with an explosion at the Statue of Liberty.  There is chatter another National Park is targeted and Parks Service Special Agent Michael Walker and FBI Special Agent Gina Delgado will have to put aside departmental differences to work together if they are going to stop who is behind this threat.  Little do they know it may reach all the way to the White House.  For fans of Brad Thor, Marc Cameron and A.J. Tata.

Thorn Hedge by T. Kingfisher

  Aired the week of November 4

 Thorn Hedge by T. Kingfisher is a Sleeping Beauty retelling that asks the question "What if the princess is the villain?" Toadling was taken by fairies as an infant, making her not quite fae and not quite human. Currently, she is guarding a castle surrounded by briar that she enchanted. When one anxious knight shows up to rescue the maiden in the tower, Toadling tries and fails to scare him away. Unfortunately, the knight thinks she is cursed as well and is determined to save her. Toadling needs to deter him from going to the castle. Otherwise, he could unleash the evil that is trapped there in slumber.

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes

 aired the week of October 28, 2024

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes is a tongue in cheek murder mystery that follows Cliff Iverson as he becomes a scholarship student at the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts.  McMasters is a school dedicated solely to helping those attend achieve the goal of getting away with murder.  Cliff would like to end the life of his former boss who has ruined so many other lives and McMasters is just the place to help him accomplish that goal.  But will he be successful in the application of his thesis to end the life of Merrill Fiedler?  Recommended for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Elle Cosimano and Deanna Raybourn.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

 aired the week of October 21, 2024

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell is a fascinating and humorous look into the stories behind three presidential assassinations by historian, author and journalist Sarah Vowell.  Sarah takes the reader along on her trips to museums, libraries and historical sites to learn more about the assassinations of Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley.  Recommended for fans of David Sedaris, Mary Roach and Sloan Crosley.

My Murder by Katie Williams

 aired the week of October 14, 2024

My Murder by Katie Williams is set in the near future where cloning is possible.  Lou was murdered by a serial killer and now she and the rest of his victims are back to continue on with their interrupted lives.  Lou feels disconnected from the old Lou and as she digs into her past she is confronted with a whole new mystery.  Who really wanted her dead?  Recommended for fans of David Bell and Kimberly McCreight.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

 aired the week of October 7, 2024

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney is a locked room mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Daisy Darker's family is gathering at her Nana's cottage by the sea to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday.  Over dinner Nana drops the bomb that she is leaving everything to Daisy's 15-year-old niece.  Overnight family members start to be killed, one by one, but who could be doing it when no one from the outside can get to the house and everyone is in the same room together.  Everyone is hiding many secrets.  For fans of Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, Lucy Foley and B.A. Paris.

Tangled Vines by John Glatt

 *aired the week of September 30

Tangled Vines by John Glatt is a thrilling account of the history and downfall of the Murdaugh family. In 2022, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of first degree murder, after killing his wife and son. In this book, investigative journalist John Glatt researches the history of the family from 1793 when they first arrived in Hampton County, South Carolina to the trial in 2022. Through his investigation, Glatt uncovers a string of drug trafficking, substance abuse, and financial crimes that were covered up by the family for years, explaining how the family came to be known as a legal dynasty that everyone believed to be above the law itself.

Brave the Wild River: the Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa Sevigny

 aired the week of September 23, 2024

Brave the Wild River by Melissa Sevigny is the story of Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter both botanists at the University of Michigan who undertake to catalogue the plants of the Grand Canyon during a 43 day boat journey down the Colorado River in 1938.  This work of narrative non fiction utilizes primary source materials including letters and diaries to bring the two women's story to life.  Recommended for fans of Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson or Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery