Here’s to the beauty of fall in Rhode Island. As I write this, I’m looking at Watch Hill Lighthouse on a sunny summer day, but autumn is just around the corner and with it comes a host of great books. Here is a list of enticing mysteries, one by a Rhode Island author and two by authors who will be part of the Ocean House Author Series.
Rhode Island’s own Juliet Grames released The Lost Boys of Santa Chionia on July 23. In a remote Italian village – with no running water, doctor, electricity, or even mail delivery due to a recent flood – an unidentified skeleton turns up, three men go missing, the villagers hold secrets, and a young American turns amateur detective. Grames, along with Liv Constantine, Sara DiVello, Elise Hart Kipness, Jean Kwok, and Luanne Rice will join the Ocean House Author Series Thriller Panel on Sunday, October 27.
For fans of Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies) – and who isn’t? – her newest twisty tale, Here One Moment, comes out on September 10. If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? When a group of passengers on an ordinary flight are each informed of the exact moments of their coming deaths, how do they react? How would you? These are the questions posed in this deft exploration of free will and destiny, grief, and love. It is fresh, original, and surprising.
The thrills keep coming when September 17 brings The Night We Lost Him by New York Times bestselling novelist, Laura Dave. Liam Noone, a hotel magnate with three ex-wives, falls to his death on the California coast. The authorities ruled it an accident. But is it? His adult children Nora and Sam overcome their estrangement to solve the mystery of their father’s death. But along the way, they uncover a family secret that threatens to change everything.
I am a serious fan of Alfred Hitchcock, the British film director known as the “master of suspense,” and I am very excited for the release of The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel on September 24. In it, a fan with an ulterior motive invites friends for the weekend at his remote themed hotel in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The agenda is all Hitchcock, all the time with screenings, props, and memorabilia at every turn. There’s even an aviary filled with crows. What could possibly go wrong?
Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White team up again on The Author’s Guide to Murder (November 5), a locked-room mystery (and literary satire) set in Scotland. Kat, Cassie, and Emma – writers who share little affection – are thrust together at Castle Kinloch. The owner, literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley, is murdered. Suspicion falls on each author as the investigation ensues. Join me and Team W for our special holiday event at the Ocean House Author Series on Thursday, December 12.
In another type of mystery, Lili Anolik examines the complicated friendship of Joan Didion and Eve Babitz in Didion and Babitz (November 12). Didion rose to the pinnacle of literary success throughout her life; Babitz, in contrast, was found dead amidst the ruin and filth of her apartment. But a sealed box was also found, packed by Babitz’s mother years before, of her insightful and incisive letters revealing more of Didion than she herself had ever done.
Deborah Goodrich Royce’s thrillers examine puzzles of identity. Reef Road, a national bestseller, was named one of the best books of 2023 by Kirkus Reviews and an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association. Ruby Falls won the Zibby Award for Best Plot Twist, and Finding Mrs. Ford was hailed by Forbes, Book Riot, and Good Morning America. Royce began as an actress on All My Children and in multiple films, before transitioning to the role of story editor at Miramax Films. With her husband, Chuck, the couple restored the Ocean House, United Theatre, Martin House Books, and numerous Main Street revitalization projects in Rhode Island and the Catskills. She serves on multiple governing and advisory boards. Learn more at DeborahGoodrichRoyce.com
The Ocean House Author Series – a salon-style conversation that Royce hosts in partnership with Bank Square Books – brings world-class authors to the seaside location of Watch Hill. It has featured a wide range of fiction and non-fiction writers including Chris Bohjalian, Katie Couric, Emma Straub, and many more. The OHAS also airs on WCRI, Rhode Island’s classical music station. Upcoming events include the Thriller Panel and Brunch on October 27 at11:30am and The Author’s Guide to Murder Holiday Event December 12 at 6pm. Learn more at OceanHouseEvents.com.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here