Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

 aired the week of April 14, 2025

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris is the story behind a picture of two young boys sitting on a porch with a hand painted sign that reads, "2 children for sale."  The year is 1931 when Philadelphia newspaper reporter Ellis Reed snaps that picture.  The story and picture is picked up nationally.  Ellis had no idea how the fame will affect the children in the picture.  Now he must figure out how to undo the damage done to the family.  Recommended for fans of Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

 aired the week of April 7, 2025

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl introduces Stella who in 1983 has been sent to Paris by her mother's estate after her death. Stella isn't sure why she is there but she makes some really good friends and delves into the mystery behind a painting entitled Olympia by a female artist.  Reichl is the author of Delicious another excellent food centric, historical novel. Recommended for fans of Sarah Jio and Nina George. 

Life After Doom by Brian D. McLaren

aired the week of March 31

 Life After Doom by Brian D. McLaren describes what McLaren calls "the catastrophic failures of religious and political leaders to address the dominant realities of our time: ecological overshoot, economic injustice, and the increasing likelihood of civilizational collapse." McLaren addresses the current climate crisis and his opinions on how individuals can address the global issue without getting overwhelmed. Told in four parts, Life After Doom is a guide to help readers find home and community in a world where it is easy to feel isolated and helpless.

Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton

 aired the week of March 24, 2025

Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton is a debut mystery. Noland Twice is a former police officer who now does freelance detective work.  He has been hired by a high powered law firm to track down the man who cleaned out the offshore accounts of a large south Florida construction firm.  This is all off the books and Noland is authorized to use any means necessary to locate the man and return the money.  Is the payout really worth the headaches brought on by this particular job?  Recommended for fans of Matt Coyle's Rick Cahill series, Al Lamanda's John Bekker mysteries and Steve Hamilton's Nick Mason series.

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

 aired the week of March 17, 2025

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren is a contemporary romance set in the Utah desert.  Lily Wilder runs Wilder Adventures using her father's fortune hunting tricks to help provide a cowboy experience for city dwellers.  When their latest group shows up, Lily is shocked to come face to face with Leo.  Leo is the love of her life who abandoned her at the tender age of nineteen.  How is she going to survive a week with him?  When things go horribly wrong on the outing Lily and Leo will have to decide if they can trust each other long enough to save the rest of their group.  Recommended for fans of love stories by Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry.

Northwoods by Amy Pease

 aired the week of March 10, 2025

Northwoods by Amy Pease introduces Eli North who is working as a sheriff's deputy while his personal life spins out of control.  When he finds the body of a teenage boy in a fishing boat the whole department is on the case.  They then realize there is a teen girl who was with the boy who is now missing.  Drugs are suspected to be involved and  clues keep leading back to an exclusive private country club in the county.  What is happening in this popular vacation spot in Wisconsin's Lake District?  Recommended for fans of Nick Petrie, Ace Atkins and Chris Offutt.

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw

 aired the week of March 3, 2025
The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw Carrie Morgan left her hometown Woodsmoke when she was 18, and had no intention of ever going back. However, when her grandmother leaves her the family cabin, she has to return and face her past, her family's legacy, and the question "does she belong in her hometown?" Rachel Greenlaw writes a beautiful story about the magic of finding your way back home. Recommended for fans of Practical Magic.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

 aired the week of February 24, 2025

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson is set in the British community of Hazelbourne-on-Sea  Constance Haverhill is working as a lady's companion but she knows she will need to make her own way in the world soon.  She meets Poppy who runs a ladies motorcycle taxi and delivery service and pulls Constance into her circle.  Constance realizes she loves the freedom of driving a motorcycle but can she make a life of this?  Recommended for fans of Mary Ann Shaffer, Jennifer Ryan and A.J. Pearce.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

 aired the week of February 17, 2025

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman, Steve is a retired police detective who lives in a small English village.  His daughter-in-law Amy works as a bodyguard for hire.  Amy realizes that someone is trying to frame her for the murders of three social media influencers and now her boss is on the run.  She calls Steve to help her solve this case and track down who is after her, but can they figure it out before she becomes the next victim?  Recommended for fans of Robert Thorogood, Julia Chapman, Anthony Horowitz and Louise Penny.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa 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.