Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and other readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“Kala,” by Colin Walsh (Doubleday, 2023)
What do we owe to the friends of our youth? Helen, Mush, Joe, Aoife, Aidan and Kala as teenagers are tight friends in the Irish seaside tourist village of Kinlough. Then Kala disappears. Fifteen years later, three of the pals relive the past in events of the present. None of the three has matured into a successful adulthood, due to their trauma. In rotating chapters, Walsh gives each an authentic, unique voice, two in first person and one — intriguingly — in second. Walsh drew my interest slowly, then kept me wondering, as pieces almost reluctantly clicked into place. This is not a standard mystery, but the suspense crackles. The tone reminds me very much of author Tana French. There is violence, including scenes I had to skim through. But the writing is strong, and after about 80 pages I knew I had to read to the end and know the truth. — 3 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“The Lost Bookshop,” by Evie Woods (HarperCollins, 2023)
How many of you have finished reading a wonderful book and mourned that it was over and you longed for more? That will likely happen with “The Lost Bookshop.” Set in Dublin, it is a lively read full of mystery, magic and romance. Alternating chapters slowly entwine the lives of Opal, Martha and Henry, resulting in a satisfying ending but leaving the reader wishing for more. When you enter this “bookshop,” you’ll never want to leave. — 3 stars (out of 4); Janice Volz Schefcik, Centennial
“The Bee Sting,” by Paul Murray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023)
An engaging story about family, the secrets we keep from family, and how we confront (or not) the challenges life throws at us. The eponymous bee sting is more than meets the eye, so stick with this one all the way to the end. (This novel was on the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist.) — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Poetry 180,” by Billy Collins Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003)
Inspired by the Library of Congress’s poem-a-day program, headed by then-poet laureate Billy Collins, the volume will change your mind about the readability and value of poetry. It presents short, understandable, amusing or thoughtful pieces by contemporary poets. Nothing scary or incomprehensible here! Readers of all ages will enjoy the richness and diversity of the form. Dip in at any page or read from front to back, to discover new poems and voices to cherish. Start with the flippant “Introduction to Poetry.” (The book is free online through the Library of Congress.) — 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, bonniemccune.com
“The Collector,” by Daniel Silva (Harper, 2023)
No. 23 in the author’s Gabriel Allon espionage series, “The Collector” involves art theft, international spycraft, internal Mossad intrigue and Russian kleptocracy at the highest levels. This would be a page-turner in normal times, but today’s international wars and unrest cast a questionable shadow over the motives and intent of some of the characters. (I can also recommend Nos. 1-22 in the series.) – 2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
