You’ve Gotten Really into the Tour de France
Are considering seeing “Where the Crawdads Sing” or watched a lot of Wimbledon
Hi friends,
I hope you had a nice weekend. My book club celebrated Christmas in July with a discussion of Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze, a book best described as “Groundhog Day” meets Hallmark Christmas movie.
Speaking of Christmas in July, I teamed up with Poisoned Pen Press for a giveaway of three holiday-themed mysteries. One lucky winner will receive The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict, Ada Moncrieff’s Murder Most Festive and a collection of short stories titled A Surprise for Christmas.
To enter, leave a comment with your favorite book that takes place over a holiday (please don’t limit yourself to winter holidays — give me your favorite Arbor Day books). And remember, sharing a recommendation is an easy way to cross off a Bingo box.
Before getting to this week’s recommendations, a few Bingo reminders:
I’m hosting a discussion thread on Friday to mark the mid-point of our game. If you need help finding a book for one of the squares or just want the perfect summer book, let me know.
You can submit your card when you have five-in-a-row for one raffle entry or when you’ve filled the entire thing for two chances to win.
And, now, what to read if …
You’re Watching the Tour de France
The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda Patterson, translated by Achy Obejas
Before I read The Black Jersey, a mystery set at the iconic bike race, the only things I knew about the Tour de France were Lance Armstrong, doping and what I gleaned from “Tour de Pharmacy,” Andy Samberg’s movie satirizing cycling. Now, though, I recognize the competition as requiring shrewd strategy and brute strength. And, as a bonus, the book is a great, tightly plotted mystery.
Marc Moreau, a former military police officer, is now the second in command on the world’s top-ranked cycling team. His one job during the Tour is to ensure his team’s lead, Steve Panata, an Armstrong-type figure, wins the race. Marc rides in front of Steve, his best friend, to shield him from the wind, and if the lead’s bike breaks, he’s supposed to give up his own. But, when multiple riders are involved in suspicious accidents, the French police ask Marc to investigate his competitors as he rides thousands of grueling miles.
The Black Jersey is a gripping, suspenseful read. The Tour de France is a brilliant setting for a mystery. Each of the competitors has a motive to undermine other cyclists. The suspects are stuck together all day for weeks on end and the opportunities for sabotage are nearly infinite. If you’re a mystery fan — or a cycling obsessive — this book is for you.
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book in translation, book set outside the U.S., book that teaches you something new (if you, like me, don’t know much about cycling)
You’re Debating Going to See “Where the Crawdads Sing”
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
“Where the Crawdads Sing,” the movie based on Delia Owens’ 2018 hit novel of the same name, opened in theaters last week. At the same time, reporter Jeffrey Goldberg published a follow-up to his 2010 investigation arguing Owens was involved in the murderer of a poacher in Zambia. In his new piece, Goldberg explores the echoes of Owens’ experience in Zambia — including murder — in Where the Crawdads Sing. If the allegations have you feeling iffy about seeing the movie, but you still want a haunting, moving book set in the South, consider Karen Russell’s Swamplandia!
The novel’s title comes from an alligator wrestling tourist attraction the Bigtree family runs on the isolated Florida island where they also live. As the book opens, both the family and their business are flailing. Their family patriarch Sawtooth Bigtree, suffering from dementia, is newly confined to a nursing home. Sawtooth’s daughter-in-law, a renowned alligator wrestler, died of cancer. Her loss and the competition from a new theme park on the mainland are leaving fewer visitors for Swamplandia.
Each Bigtree responds to the challenge differently. The oldest son, Kiwi, leaves to get a job on the mainland. The middle daughter runs away to marry a ghost and the youngest, Ava, sets out to save her family.
Russell’s novel is one of those books that sneaks up on you. As Emma Donoghue, author of Room, wrote in The New York Times, “The plot of Swamplandia! is nothing special — dysfunctional family pull apart, then pull together — but the execution is. This family, wrestling with their desires and demons, will neither succumb nor triumph, but survive in their scarred way, and will lodge in the memories of anyone lucky enough to read Swamplandia!”
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book with multiple narrators
If you hit the little heart at the top or bottom of this email each week, it makes it easier for people to find What To Read If.
You’re Not Sure What to Do Now that Wimbledon is Over
40-Love by Olivia Dade
After a month of world-class tennis and royal spotting, the annual Wimbledon tournament is over. If your first week without matches was a bummer, consider grabbing 40-Love, a warm, funny book from romance writer extraordinaire Olivia Dade.
Assistant principal Tess Dunn and tennis-pro-turned-instructor Lucas Karlsson have an epic meet cute: He saves her from exposing herself to a beach full of children when her bikini top falls off in the ocean. Spurred on by her best friend, the educator begins to take tennis lessons from Lucas while vacationing at the resort where he works. Despite knowing all the reasons their relationship won’t work — a sizeable age difference, living hundreds of miles apart and dramatically different careers — Tess catches feelings.
Long-time subscribers know I’m a huge Dade fan. She writes big-hearted books about good people trying to work through their baggage and form lasting relationships. Her books are the equivalent of a hug from a good friend.
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Read a book based on the cover
Thanks for reading! If you missed them, here are last week’s recs and my Q&A with author Bianca Marais.
I’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday.
What to Read If is a free weekly book recommendation newsletter. Need a rec? Want to gush about a book? Reply to this email, leave a comment or find me on Twitter @elizabethheld.
If you’re reading this on Substack or were forwarded this email, and you’d like to subscribe, click the button below.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
I really enjoyed The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer!
Swamplandia! One of my favorites. Karen Russell is such a good writer.