Skin and Bones by Paul Doiron

Skin and Bones collects the short stories Paul Doiron has written about Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. There's "The Bear Trap", where Mike's mentor Charley Stevens regales him with a tale about capturing a hermit years ago. In "Snakebit", someone has been releasing rattlesnakes into the wild with dangerous consequences. While the last story, "Sheep's Clothing," takes place after the last Mike Bowditch mystery, Pitch Dark and is about a couple who died by murder-suicide--or did they? An enjoyable collection that is as solid as any of the other books in the series.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

Friends Pam, Nancy, Shalisa, and Marlene are still working in their sixties, with retirement just a dream. Their husbands lost all their money in an investment that Hank, Pam's husband, suggested they participate in. When one of the husbands dies, it sets in a motion a plan that involves the women hiring a hitman to kill their husbands. In turn, the men have secrets of their own that they've been hiding. The Retirement Plan is a lighthearted novel focused on who can come out on top to grab all the riches--and stay alive.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige

When Valerie Gillis disappears while hiking the Appalachian Trail, Maine game warden Beverly Miller is put in charge of the case. Valerie failed to show up to meet her husband, Gregory, who was supporting Valerie throughout her journey by bringing her food and gear. Valerie was last seen two days before by some fellow hikers. Heartwood explores three women's stories--Valerie's while she's missing on the trail, Bev's as she leads the investigation, and that of Lena, who lives in a retirement community in Connecticut and spends her days birdwatching and foraging the surrounding land. A leisurely-paced novel exploring the women's lives and how they intersect.

The Names by Florence Knapp

When Cora goes to register the birth of her son, she decides to name him Bear, at the suggestion of her nine-year-old daughter, Maia. Her husband, Gordon, who physically abuses her, wants the baby to be named after him,while Cora would have liked Julian. The Names cleverly follows the next thirty-five years in the family's life, with three branching storylines of how Cora's, Maia's, and the child's lives evolved based on the name that the baby was given-Bear, Julian, or Gordon. A novel about fate, chance, and family relationships that gives the reader much to ponder.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Sybil, in her seventies, lives in Maryland, where she tends to her garden and writes letters to the people in her life, such as her younger brother Felix in Paris and her best friend since childhood, Rosalie. Rosalie and Sybil actually married Belgian brothers, Lars and Daan (Sybil and Daan divorced many years ago). Sybil also corresponds with a teenager named Harry, the son of a judge she knew when she was a lawyer. The novel spans seven years in Sybil's life, as the reader meets the people in Sybil's circle through her letters. A book to ponder and savor with a memorable main character. A great read-alike for Meet Me at the Museum and The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett.

Hard Town by Adam Plantinga

Ex-cop Kurt Argento is housesitting for an old friend in Braylo, Arizona when a woman named Kristin Reed asks for help in finding her husband, Warren. He went missing in a town named Fenton, which is about 40 miles from Braylo. Kurt declines to help her, but when Kristin and her young son, Ethan, disappear, Argento decides he must get involved, because something very weird is going on in Fenton. In a town of about 1,000 residents, there are eleven men in the town's public safety department. They are not policeman and act more like soldiers. The men also very concerned with watching visitors to the town, like Argento and others who are passing through. In this second book in the Kurt Argento series, Plantinga writes a page turner that is a read-alike for Lee Child and Nick Petrie.

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean

Twenty-five years ago, a serial killer terrorized south London, including breaking into Isabel's and Edward's house and leaving their lives in a shambles. He has just been caught, has pleaded guilty, and is about to be sentenced. Now divorced, Isabel asks Edward to accompany her to the court and he agrees, even though they haven't be in touch in several years. The Death of Us tells the current story, along with that of Isabel's and Edward's lives in the time before they were victimized--as they meet and marry, then how the trauma of the event affects their relationship with each other. A leisurely-paced read that deeply explores how violence damages people's lives, with complex characters and a story that keep you turning the pages.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

In 1963, Margaret lives with her husband Walt and three children in Concordia, a Virginia suburb. She wants to get back to writing and decides to start a book club, with the first book being The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.  Her friends that join the group are Bitsy, Viv, and Charlotte. All feel unfulfilled and that there is something missing in their lives. Bitsy is married to King, a veterinarian who is almost twenty years her senior. Viv, who served as a nurse in World War II, is happily married to Tony and has six children. Charlotte, an aspiring painter, is in an unhappy marriage with Howard. The Book Club for Troublesome Women recounts the lives of the four women throughout that year as they support each other as each strikes out to have a life outside of the home. A great read-alike for Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society and Lorna Landvik's Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons.

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

In 1920's Yorkshire, men hang over the cliffs to steal eggs from bird's nests, for which collectors pay good money. A young girl named Celie lives on Metland Farm with her family and plucks a red egg from a nest. Over almost thirty years, she is able to get this special-colored egg once annually. Her finds change the fortunes of her family. In present time, Nick and his friend Patrick, attempt to recover an egg in a wooden box that was stolen from Nick. This egg belonged to Nick's father, who left it behind in the attic when he left the family. The Impossible Thing recounts the stories of Celie, Nick and Patrick, the collectors, and two men now who possibly could be the thieves who took Nick's egg. Bauer fills the novel--based on the true story of egg collectors and the Metland Egg--with vivid characters. Very similar in style to Bauer's last novel, Exit.