The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright by Casey Sherman

In 1914, at Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin estate, one of the servants set the home ablaze and murdered several people inside. The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright recounts the life of Frank Lloyd Wright through the lens of his romantic relationships, most notably Mamah Borthwick. Frank and Mamah were both married to other people when they started their affair, but were soulmates. They were starting to build a life together, but the tragedy at Taliesin cut their dreams short. While the book is a work of narrative non-fiction and moves quickly, I would have loved more pictures of Wright's architectural works that are mentioned and the people involved in the story. The book also heavily relies upon Frank Lloyd Wright's autobiography and newspaper articles of the time as source materials, because that's all that is available. While that's not the author's fault, the book feels slight and at times overdramatized.

But For the Grace by Peter Grainger

In this second book of the DC Smith series, Smith is the lead investigator in the death of Joan Riley who lived at Rosemary House, a retirement community. Did Joan die by her own hand or was someone else involved? Joan was part of a quartet of friends, and another of the friends, Elspeth, died a few months ago. Could Elspeth's death be considered suspicious also? But For the Grace is another solid police procedural from author Peter Grainger.

An Accidental Death by Peter Grainger

DS Smith is asked to look into the death of Wayne Fletcher, who drowned in a local river. The case has been marked as an accidental death, but DI Reeve doesn't feel that's the case. Joined by newbie DC Chris Waters, Smith agrees with Reeve's assessment and soon finds that the case has its roots in the Yugoslav Wars. In this first book of the long running series that has just been published in the U.S., Smith writes a mystery that will appeal to fans of Peter Robinson and Ann Cleeves.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

Dolly and her teenage son Gus are spending the summer with her dad and her younger brother Christopher to help with the cleanup after a fire in her childhood home. Located in the oceanside small town of Whitfield, Rhode Island, Dolly's family has owned Brick Fish House for four generations. Dolly plans on working there, but longs to expand the business with all the baked goods she makes. In a chance encounter, she meets wealthy Stewart Whitfield, who wants her to pose as his girlfriend for the summer after his fiancee cheats on him. Dolly agrees, since Stewart will be paying her enough money to replace the roof on her father's house. Their arrangement soon becomes personal as they develop feelings for one another. In her fifth novel, Monaghan writes another great beach read with in-depth characters that you really root for.

Dog Person by Camille Pagan

Miguel is the owner of Lakeside Books, which sits in a tourist town on Lake Michigan. He hasn't been the same since his wife Amelia (a romance author) died more than a year ago. In fact, the bookstore is now in danger of closing after bestselling author Jonathan Middleton-Biggs didn't show up for an author event Lakeside was hosting. Miguel decides to try and find Jonathan so they can do a makeup event, but instead he meets Jonathan's sister Fiona and niece, who coincidentally is named Amelia Mae. Told through the eyes of Miguel's and Amelia's dog, Harold, Dog Person is a story of love, loss, and second chances.

Ironwood by Michael Connelly

Stilwell is the top law enforcement person on Catalina Island. He and his team get word that a drug drop is happening, but the team is ambushed and Stilwell then has to find out who was responsible. In addition, Stilwell gets to assist Renee Ballard of the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit when cases that both are working on turn out to be connected. A solid second book in the series that's hard to put down.

The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi

In this second book in the Chibineko Kitchen series, the reader meets more people who have come to the restaurant to be reunited with someone from their past who has died. There's Nagi, who has been told by her doctors that she has five years left to live. She wants to see her mother, who also died young. Keita, now working after many years of unemployment, needs to show his mom how far he's come. Mitsuyo, on the other hand, would like to see Ken'ichi Kawakubo, a singer who was famous when she was young. The tales, while at times somber, provide closure to characters, which is satisfying.