You’re Looking for an Escape

Own a knock-off handbag, want a cozy mystery or are dreaming of Greece

Hi friends,

I hope you’re hanging in there. The world is a lot right now, so I’ve decided to spotlight three escapist reads this week. These books will let you take a breather, rest and recharge.

Before we dive in, a quick Bingo update: We have new prizes. The University of Georgia Press has generously donated Divine Fire by David Woo, Marilyn Tan’s Gaze Back and two copies of its lit journal, The Georgia Review. I also now have a copy of three of my recent favorites — Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering, Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett, and Sarah Hogle’s You Deserve Each Other — as prizes for three lucky winners.

If the new prizes have you thinking you might want to play, you can always find the Summer Reading Bingo Card and instructions on how to submit your completed card here. 

And, now, what to read if …

You’ve Ever Bought a Knock-Off Purse

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen

I devoured the audiobook* of Counterfeit this week, stealing minutes to listen here and there. It’s a rollicking ride of a novel about two Asian American women who build a multimillion-dollar counterfeit handbag ring. 

At the novel’s beginning, Ava Wong, a corporate-lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mom struggling to manage her toddler’s tantrums, reunites with Winnie Fang, her former roommate at Stanford. Winnie dropped out before finishing her first semester, caught up in a scandal of Chinese students paying others to boost their SAT scores. Now, she has a new scheme. She purchases luxury bags at boutiques and department stores and then returns perfectly made replicas, pocketing the refund. On top of that, she sells the original, authentic bags. Ava, lost and floundering, tepidly joins her ring and eventually becomes Winnie’s deputy.

As Camille Peri noted in her New York Times review, “Make no mistake, Counterfeit is an entertaining, luxurious read — but beneath its glitz and flash, it is also a shrewd deconstruction of the American dream and the myth of the model minority.” It’s the kind of brilliant, frothy book that tricks you into thinking and will stick with you long after you read it. A perfect pick for fans of the movie “Hustlers.” 

Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Read a book based on the cover (I love the cover)

You’re Looking for the Coziest of Mysteries 

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nage, writing under the pen name Juneau Black, put a fresh spin on the traditional village mystery by setting Shady Hollow in a community of animals. 

I know it’s a weird concept, but it works. In the village of Shady Hollow, foxes, mice, moose and owls all live happily together. They visit the coffee shop owned by kindly moose Joe and work at Reginald von Beaverpelt’s sawmill. That is, until Otto Sumpf, a crotchety toad, is found dead. Vera Vixen, a fox who works as a reporter, fears the police department isn’t up to solving the case and sets out to find the murderer herself.

Both the village of Shady Hollow and the book that shares its name are charming and cozy, perfect for a visit. Vera is a sharp, fun heroine with a delightful cast of characters supporting her. I have the second book in the series on hold from the library and am looking forward to returning to this animals-only town. 

Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: First in a series

You’re Dreaming of Greece

Honestly, We Meant Well by Grant Ginder

Emma Straub describes Honestly, We Meant Well perfectly in her blurb: “This rollicking book has it all: sex, lies, and scenery. Grant Ginder weaves a wonderful, engrossing multi-generational family story, with the Greek isles as a backdrop so beautiful that the reader will want to dive in.” This is all to say, it’s the perfect summer book. 

Honestly, We Met Well follows the Wright family: Sue Ellen, a renowned classics professor, her husband Dean, a philandering best-selling novelist, and their son, Will, a recent graduate from Berkeley. The trio flees California to Greece for the summer, where Sue Ellen is giving lectures to senior citizens on an educational cruise as part of an effort to move past Dean’s adultery. While there, long-kept secrets rise to the surface and the Wrights are forced to reckon with their plans for the future.

Honestly, We Meant Well is a juicy, propulsive read with a gorgeous setting that jumps off the page. It’s filled with beautiful descriptions of ancient ruins, clear water and sandy beaches. 

Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book set outside the U.S., book with multiple narrators 

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Thanks for reading! I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday with a Q&A featuring Anne Trubek, founder of Belt Publishing.

One programming note: Due to the 4th of July, next week’s newsletter will be in your inboxes on Tuesday.  

*I received a free copy of the audiobook from Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.

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