Liz French

Jan 15, 2025 | libraryjournal.com | Liz French

George Lichman fights crime and reads it too. In the real world, he’s chief of police in the city of Rocky River, near Cleveland, while in the realm of fiction he reviews crime novels for LJ and does it remarkably well. I was unaware of George’s day job until he sent in a byline for his work on a Q&A with rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Aaron Philip Clark, authors of the novel The Accomplice.

Dec 2, 2024 | libraryjournal.com | Liz French

Bayard, Louis. The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts. Algonquin. ISBN 9781643755304. Bayard recreates (in five acts) Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment for having a same-sex relationship, plus its impact on his wife and children. The first act begins in 1892, when Wilde’s affair with Lord Alfred Douglas is revealed to Oscar’s wife, Constance. She flees to Italy with their two young sons; later chapters detail the tragedies she and they endure, including death and a world war.

Dec 2, 2024 | libraryjournal.com | Liz French |Lesa Holstine

Chambers, Diana R. The Secret War of Julia Child. Sourcebooks Landmark. ISBN 9781464219047. Chambers invites readers on adventures in espionage and romance with Julia Child before she became a beloved TV chef. In 1944, 30-year-old Julia McWilliams works as an intelligence officer for the OSS (precursor to the CIA) in Asia. She convinces her boss to send her on increasingly risky missions, encountering danger, suspected counterspies, and the man who will later become her husband, Paul Child.

Dec 1, 2024 | libraryjournal.com | Jill Cox-Cordova |Liz French |Kevin Howell

Moving memoirs, historical accounts, lively performing arts books, and scientific inquiries number among these real-world reads. Abdurraqib, Hanif. There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. Random. ISBN 9780593448793. CULTURAL & ETHNIC STUDIESAbdurraqib’s unique book incorporates poetry and prose in his reflections about growing up in Columbus, OH, and witnessing LeBron James’s talent, even as a high school basketball player.

Nov 19, 2024 | libraryjournal.com | Jill Cox-Cordova |Liz French

Best Books is almost here! On December 2 we announce our winning titles. To celebrate we are counting down to our big reveal by highlighting some of our 2023 picks, titles we still treasure, reread, and suggest widely. This week, in advance of Thanksgiving, we offer two choices, a van life adventure and a cozy-adjacent crime fiction debut.