You're Watching "Traitors"
Need a new mystery series or have been following the TikTok ban saga
Hi friends,
The other day, I heard a little girl in the grocery store say to her mom, “It’s STILL January?” I have never identified so much with a random small child.
And, now, what to read if…
You’re All in on “Traitors”
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl
I should perhaps be embarrassed to admit this, but I adore “Traitors,” NBC/Peacock’s Emmy-winning reality competition show. If you haven’t seen it, “Traitors” features a bunch of B-list reality TV stars playing werewolf/mafia in a Scottish castle presided over by a dapperly dressed Alan Cumming. It’s bonkers, hilarious and perfect viewing for a drab January (I unironically gasped twice in the latest episode).
Are you watching “Traitors”? Give me all your hot takes. Or even your lukewarm ones.
If you want something with a similar reality-show-chaos feel, grab a copy of The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey, a delicious satire of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise. When Hope Bennett, a dreamy native Californian, marries proud Italian Jersey boy Leo Fontana, she doesn’t just join a new family. She also becomes the latest cast member on “Garden State Goddesses,” a docusoap following a group of wealthy women in a New Jersey suburb. The show’s producer, Eden, correctly guesses that Hope’s arrival will stir up drama. But when the antics go well beyond table-flipping and a cast member dies, she’s forced to consider the true cost of higher ratings.
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is good, frothy fun that kept me turning pages even when I knew I should go to bed. “Astrid Dahl” is the pen name of Anna Dorn, author of Perfume and Pain, which stars Astrid Dahl, an aspiring novelist, as its main character. Given how much of “Real Housewives” is about performance vs. reality, the author’s identity adds a layer to the book. Regardless, Dahl/Dorn has written a darkly hilarious book that reality TV fans won’t want to miss.
You’re Looking to Binge a Mystery Series
The Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry Thomas1
Last week, as I was thinking about how much I love Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series, a friend texted me to say she was reading one of the author’s romances. I took it as a sign to highlight the mystery series again. I find winter is the perfect time to fall into a new series. It’s dark and cold, so grab a blanket and a big stack of these books, and treat yourself to extended time with some lovable characters.
As I’ve written before: “A Study in Scarlet Women opens with Lady Charlotte Holmes fleeing her family and London high society after she causes a scandal. To survive, Charlotte relies on her brilliant mind, a keen sense of observation and her new friend Mrs. John Watson, a wealthy widow.” Charlotte and Mrs. Watson establish a consulting detective agency, hiding behind a fake male investigator, obviously named Sherlock Holmes, who they claim is bed-bound to prospective clients.
Over the eight books in the series, I’ve grown to love these characters so much. From the sweets-obsessed Charlotte to her childhood friend and love interest Lord Ingram, spending time with them in each book is a joy. I’ve listened to the series multiple times. Thomas excels at putting a feminist spin on the classic Holmes stories and other beloved mystery tropes, depicting heists, a country house murder and a locked-room mystery. In the latest book, A Ruse of Shadows, Charlotte becomes a suspect in her rival’s murder and is forced to clear her own name. Quick note: This series must be read in order.
You’re Wondering What’s Next with TikTok
Losing the Signal by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff
As I write this, the future of TikTok, the popular video app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is … unclear. The Supreme Court upheld Congress’s ban and the app’s servers were shut down for a little over twelve hours, but as of Sunday night it’s back online for at least a bit. Watching the saga play out in real time reminded me of Losing the Signal. In it, journalists Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff document how another company — Research in Motion, known for its Blackberry — went from being the next big thing to an afterthought seemingly overnight.
From a small town in Canada, idealistic engineer Mike Lazaridis and caustic Harvard Business School grad Jim Balsillie built a $3-billion business and introduced the world to the smartphone. After years of late nights and early mornings in the office, the pair were riding high as everyone from Bill Gates to Michael Dell relied on Blackberry phones. ThenPresident Obama even refused to give his up, despite concerns from the National Security Agency. But, a combination of factors — significant legal issues, investigations into stock distribution practices and a breakdown in company communications — left Lazaridis and Balsillie unprepared for the iPhone.
Losing the Signal is a fascinating examination of how seemingly sure things can quickly collapse. McNish and Silcoff do a great job bringing the people behind the Blackberry to life and explaining the complex tech that makes carrying a computer in our pockets possible. This book was the basis for the 2024 movie BlackBerry, which I haven’t seen but have heard good things.
I’m excited to have a guest recommendation from
, author of Modern Friendship:Here For It is a riotously funny memoir. Thomas talks about growing up in Baltimore and navigating his way through adulthood. His writing is effortlessly hilarious and fresh. If you love David Sedaris and Fran Lebowitz, R. Eric Thomas would be right up your alley. I'm lucky enough to be IRL friends with Eric, and I can confirm that being in his presence is pure, unmitigated joy.
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Longtime subscribers may remember seeing it twice, once in 2020 and then again in 2023. What can I say? I really love these books.
absolutely no shame in the Traitors — it is the only thing getting me through the winter tbh!
Wow, all of these books are exactly what I wanted to read right now, but somehow didn't know?! So excited to pick up The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey for when I can't needle my partner into watching the next episode of The Traitors right away!