Heartbreaking

Author Natasha tells the riveting but horrifying story of her mom's abuse, and finally, murder at the hands of her second husband. The constant stress this mom and daughter suffered under his tyranny are well-portrayed, requiring me to read another book alongside this one so I could sleep at night. I can't imagine what it was like to actually live that nightmare. Part catharsis and part homage, you find yourself crying for this giving, articulate, brilliant woman and the life she could have lived, and the daughter who would have loved to share it with her.

Hiding in Plain Sight

This book starts out with a bang, or a flame, and we learn right away who the arsonist is in a rural Virginia firebug spree. That worried me. I assumed that without the mystery of discovery, I would be unmotivated to continue. Wrong-oh. Somehow, the author manages to keep things at a thriller pace, through the myriad and proverbial stones that were definitely turned, the multiple clues tracked unsuccessfully, and the countless dead ends. Gripping, sad, mystifying--should be a movie.

But Maybe They Are . . .

A Brooklyn neighborhood finds itself becoming whiter and whiter, while suspicious things keep occurring. Sydney, a born and bred, deep-rooted member of her community, has seen too much to ignore, so she starts digging. And digging. An unlikely co-conspirator, Theo, is helping her--or is he? While this story has a hefty dose of "Get Out" vibe (a crazy movie, but was it, really?), I will never, ever see gentrification in the same way. Who's to say these things don't happen? Do you really know?