Weekly Words about New Books in Independent Bookstores JUNE 6, 2021

Strong Female Characters Enhance a Domestic Thriller, and A Celebrity Family Throws a Summer Bash Doomed To Failure

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. This mystery about the puzzling disappearance of a woman's husband is enhanced by the characters created by Dave, in particular the two female protagonists. Hannah has been happily married for a year to Owen, and although his teenage daughter Bailey is less than enamored with her new stepmom, life is still good. Then Owen vanishes, but not before leaving Hannah a bagful of cash and a note that reads "protect her." She knows the note refers to Bailey but little else makes sense. Then the FBI arrests Owen's boss, and a US marshal arrives on her doorstep unannounced, leading Hannah to realize her husband isn't who he said he was. And it turns out Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen's true identity - and why he really disappeared. So Hannah and Bailey team up to discover the truth about a man neither of them may have really known. Their search uncovers surprises and dangers, which keeps the plot moving, but equal enjoyment comes from the evolving relationship between Hannah and Bailey. As Owen's secrets are revealed, the pair's shared need for each other leads to mutual trust and caring. In a review for Bookpage, Carole V. Bell said, "Dave pulls off something that feels both new and familiar: a novel of domestic suspense that unnerves, then reassures. This is the antithesis of the way novels like Gone Girl or My Lovely Wife are constructed; in The Last Thing He Told Me, the surface is ugly, the situation disturbing, but almost everyone involved is basically good underneath it all. Dave has given readers what many people crave right now—a thoroughly engrossing yet comforting distraction."

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This family drama set against the backdrop of the Malibu surf culture of the 1980s is another engaging novel from the author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Reid delivers an entertaining cast of believably flawed characters, whose individual stories provide juicy subplots throughout the book. The main plot, set in 1983, revolves around the annual end-of-summer party thrown by Nina Riva, one of four celebrity Riva siblings. In addition to the talented surfer and supermodel Nina, there are brothers Jay and Hud - one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer - and their adored baby sister Kit. The siblings are a source of fascination, not just in Malibu but the world over - especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva. Unfortunately, the party is not a happy occasion for all, particularly as it features four siblings abandoned by their father at a young age and with baggage and secrets galore. Not surprisingly, the festivities will devolve into a total disaster, but not before family secrets rear their heads and the four siblings find their lives changed forever. No need to live in Malibu to read this one - any beach will probably do.

Now in Paperback, Here's a Chance to Deal Yourself a Better Hand in Life The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova. A contributing writer to The New Yorker with a Ph.D. in psychology, Konnikova became curious about the role of chance after a stretch of personal bad luck. Although she had never played the game, she became interested in poker as a way to learn more about what can be controlled in one's life and what can't. She convinced Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars, to be her mentor and was soon down the rabbit hole and into the wild, competitive, overwhelmingly masculine world of high-stakes Texas Hold 'em. The goal was for Konnikova to make it to the annual World series of Poker. But, unexpectedly, under Seidel's guidance, Konnikova began to have many epiphanies about life - including how to read not just her opponents but also herself. She learned how to identify what pushed her into an emotional state that got in the way of good decisions; and how to get to a place where she could accept luck for what it was. But she also began to win. In a little over a year, she made hundreds of thousands of dollars in tournaments. That part is fun to read, but because, in additional to being a good writer, Konnikova is student of human behavior, there are many other lessons to be shared. This is a book that can change how you think about chance, skill, and decision-making. And as the BBC noted in its review, it's not just for poker fans: "The Biggest Bluff feels particularly timely in the current pandemic. As governments design policies based on limited data, and individuals are forced to grapple with the probabilities of contagion - we could all do with the greater understanding of uncertainty, and how to think about it under pressure, that comes with the game."

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