There’s nothing like a book that can transport you to the front row seat of a great show! In case you missed out on some excitement on pages this summer, we have compiled a juicy list of must reads for July. As curated by The South Shore Moms (of Massachusetts), here are some favorites for you to dive right into the rest of the summer. We promise that these romance, drama, and thrillers will keep you wanting more! Happy Reading!
01
The Wife Between Us
For Those Who Adore Suspenseful and Dangerous Love Stories
Marriage, love, betrayal, and second wives, this book will leave you both thrilled and troubled. Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen delve into the battles of marriage, love, friendship and obsession when the husband replaces his ex-wife with a beautiful and younger version. This book taps into the psychology of love and obsession, leaving you with a bang at the end.
02
Every Note Played
A Story of Falling Back into Love with Age
Richard, a renowned concert pianist, battles with ALS until he can no longer play. The lack of feeling in his right hand feels like an ominous death of a best friend, knowing his left hand is next. His ex-wife Karina becomes his caretaker amidst her unfulfilling career as a piano teacher despite having fear of confronting the past. As Richard weakens, he and Karina strive to reconcile the past before he can no longer speak. This book captures the ideal of finding peace and forgiveness.
03
Primates of Park Avenue
For those who loved Gossip Girl but prefer a more professional scope
Wednesday Martin uses her education in anthropology and primatology to dissect the lifestyle of Upper East Siders. She finds that hiding behind Birkin Bags are women searching to find themselves in a social dynamic. Martin finds the behavior of these women to align with tribal migration practices, display rituals, mating practices seen in her studies. Every mother wants the same for her children: safety, happiness, and success but how they get there is environmentally different. Every town has their Upper East Side, see how similar yours may be in this witty and heartfelt read.
04
Loving Frank
The history fanatic who is fascinated by love affairs
In a blend of fact and Fiction, Nancy Horan gives full attention to the gravity of Mamah Borthwick Cheney’s love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright after her and her husband had commissioned him to design their new home. Mamah battles with choosing the role of mother, wife, lover or intellectual and faces the battle of love and responsibility. With years of research, this narrative demonstrates the battle of love and responsibility… why can’t one have both?
05
Bonfire
For small town girls turned big city women
This story follows the life of Abby Williams, a successful and frivolous environmental lawyer in Chicago who erased all roots of her upbringing in Barrens, Indiana. As she beings a case investigating Optimal Plastics, it brings her back to a life she had bid farewell ten years earlier when a huge scandal ended with the popular Kaycee Mitchell disappearing for good. As abbey tries to separate work and her personal agenda, she encounters the truth behind Kaycee’s disappearing: a dark ritual called “The Game.” Bonfire leaves you asking, “Can you ever escape the past?”
06
Anatomy of a Scandal
For the Lovers of Law
What do you do when your husband is accused of a terrible crime but you know he’s innocent? Sophie’s husband is a great father, handsome, and very successful public figure; she knows this crime will rip their precious family apart and she will do anything to defend him. Another bump in the road, everyone including James’ lawyer Kate, believes he did it. A love story that started at Oxford, might be a tragedy after all…
07
Murder In The Bayou
If you prefer, “Based on a True Story”
Based on a true story, this book goes behind the scenes of the eight women murdered in Jennings, Louisiana known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” What was lurking behind these murders? The violent fallout of a horrendous sex and drug trade hiding in the town of Jennings. Ethan Brown wrote this book in summary of a 5 year investigation, including what he found in thousands of pages of unseen homicide files.
08
The Paris Wife
For those searching for an ambitious historic love affair
In this breathtaking story, McLain dives into the 1920’s with Ernest and Hadley Hemingway. It starts at the cusp of their relationship as Hadley at 28 believed there wasn’t anyone for her. As Ernest falls in love, they become the dream couple in their social circle, the “Lost Generation” including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Can love survive in Jazz Age Paris where traditional values are replaced with fast living and heavy drinking?
09
The Book of Lost & Found
For those with Wanderlust
Kate Darling, a young woman, travels from London to Corsica to Paris in search of finding the truth of her late mother, a once famous ballerina in the 1920’s. This desire to find the truth originates from Kate’s sick grandmother giving her a portrait that resembles her mother leading her to seek answers to her questions. This adventurous love story will leave you captivated.
10
The Last Mrs. Parish
For those who thrive on thrillers
This addictive thriller enters the lives of the “fairy-tale couple” as Amber, a local nobody integrates herself into their life of money and power. Daphne, a socialite and philanthropist welcomes Amber with open arms, unaware of her intentions. As the Parrish family travels to Europe, Amber joins and grows closer to Daphne’s mogul husband Jackson. Everything seemed so easy to Amber until her plan doesn’t quite work out due to dark secrets only a perfect family could have.
