Book Club

February Book Club: The Botanist’s Assistant

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All are welcome to join us via zoom in February to discuss Peggy Townsend’s The Botanist’s Assistant.  We’ll meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 22.  Message me for a zoom link.  This was one of my favorite reads of 2025 with it’s mix of quirky heroine and smart sleuthing, with plant facts as a side delight.  Here’s my review:

I could not have loved this utterly charming mystery more.  It’s original, it’s well written, it’s well plotted, and it has a wonderful main character in botanist Margaret Finch.  Much like her name, Margaret resembles a large bird (and she is in fact referred to as Big Bird behind her back), and she values order, cleanliness and science above all else.  In her work as a research assistant in a lab, these qualities serve her well.  It’s people she has trouble with, not plants. read more

January Book Club: Mini Cozy Con

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For our January book club – meeting on Sunday, January 18 at 2 p.m. eastern – we’ll be hosting three outstanding cozy writers who between them have written 80 (yes, that’s 80) books.  We’ll be discussing the past, present and future of the cozy novel as well as talking to some really wonderful women.  This all takes place on zoom, and all are welcome to join.  Message me on facebook or instagram for a zoom link.  Check the website for reviews of many of their novels. read more

Fall Book Clubs: The Stars Turned Inside out and Sarah Stewart Taylor

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Join us for our fall meetings on zoom!  Message me for a zoom link if you’d like to attend, all are welcome.  In October we’ll meet on Sunday, October 19 at 2 p.m. to discuss The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs.  Publisher’s description: Deep beneath the ground outside of Geneva, where CERN’s Large Hadron Collider smashes subatomic particles at breathtaking speeds, a startling discovery is made when the tunnel is down for maintenance: the body of Howard Anderby, a brilliant and recently arrived young physicist, who appears to have been irradiated by the collider. But security shows no evidence of him entering the tunnel, and for all of the lab’s funding, its video surveillance is sorely lacking. read more

September Book Club: Whip Hand

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For September, we’ll be reading Dick Francis’ classic, Whip Hand, which was published in 1979 (and won the Best Novel Edgar in 1980).  It’s a follow up to his first Sid Halley book, Odds Against (1965).  Sid is a steeplechase jockey (like Francis was himself) who has lost his hand and can no longer race.  In Whip Hand Sid now has a prosthetic. Francis’ blend of suspense, a character that readers can pull for, and the details of the racing world really cannot be beat.  To me he remains one of the greatest of all suspense writers. read more

August Book Club: The Murders in Great Diddling

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Join us for our August book club discussion of Katarina Bivald’s award winning The Murders in Great Diddling.  We’ll meet in person on Sunday, August 10 at 2 p.m. and on zoom on Sunday, August 17 also at 2 p.m. All are welcome!  Message me on facebook or email me at store (at) auntagathas.com for an address or zoom link.

Publisher’s description of the book: The small, rundown village of Great Diddling is full of stories—author Berit Gardner can feel it. The way the villagers avoid outsiders, the furtive stares and whispers in the presence of newcomers… Berit can sense the edge of a story waiting to be unraveled, and she’s just the person to do it. In fact, with a book deadline looming over her and no manuscript (not even the idea for a manuscript, truth be told), Berit doesn’t just want this story. She needs it. read more

July Book Club: The Paris Widow

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Join us for our July book club when we discuss Edgar winning The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle.  We’ll meet in person on Sunday, July 13 at 2 p.m. and on zoom on Sunday, July 20 at 2 p.m.  All are welcome!  Message us for a zoom link or the address if you’re in town, or email me at store (at) auntagathas.com.  The Paris Widow won the Edgar for Best Paperback Original.

Description of the book from goodreads: When Stella met Adam, she thought she had finally found a nice, normal guy—a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. But her secure world comes crashing down when Adam goes missing after an explosion in the city square. Unable to reach him, she panics. read more

June Book Club: The Searcher

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Our June book club will meet in person on Sunday, June 8 at 2 p.m. and on zoom Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m.  We’ll be discussing Tana French’s first Cal Hooper novel, The Searcher.  All are welcome – message us on facebook for a zoom link or other info if you’re from Ann Arbor.  Description from goodreads: Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he’s bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever. Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch. Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door. read more

May Book Club: A Traitor in Whitehall

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All are welcome to join our book club discussion in May (we’re skipping April) either in person or on zoom.  Message us on facebook for details.  We’ll be reading Julia Kelly’s wonderful historical mystery, A Traitor in Whitehall, set in London during the blitz.  We’ll meet in person on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. and on zoom on Wednesday, May 7, at 7 p.m.  Books are available at our online store.

This book was a top 10 pick for me the year it came out.  Here’s the publisher’s description: 1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. read more

March Book Club: Reykjavik

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Join us on zoom for our March book club discussion of Ragnar Jonasson’s novel, Reykjavik.  We’ll meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 23rd, and in April, we’ll go back to one in person meeting and one zoom meeting.  Goodreads description of the story: Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lára decides to spend the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. Time passes, and the mystery becomes Iceland‘s most infamous unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there? read more

January and February Book Clubs

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We’ll be meeting on zoom this winter, all are welcome to join us.  Our next meeting is Sunday, January 19 at 2 p.m. (E.A. Poe’s birthday) to discuss Katie Tietjen’s wonderful debut, Death in the Details.  Ms. Tietjen will be joining us.

For February we’ll be reading Kemper Donovan’s humorous and clever The Busy Body, about a ghostwriter working with a Hilary Clinton-esque figure.  The two of them, along with working on a memoir, team up to solve a murder.  This is a delightful first mystery.  Mr. Donovan is the force behind the All About Agatha podcast and a giant devotee of the golden age, especially of Ms. Christie.  His book is a homage to that style of writing.  We’ll be discussing the book on Sunday, February 23 at 2 p.m.  All times Eastern. read more