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.

The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline

In the 1840's, sisters Sallie and Addie live with their parents near Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Neither are married, and with a scandal looming over the family, their marital prospects are slim. Cojoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker have recently moved to the area, and soon the sisters find themselves spending time with the brothers and then marrying them. In The Foursome, the story of the two couples is told through the eyes of Sallie, who is Eng's wife. The reader gets an up close and personal view of what the two couples lives were like as they had children, owned slaves (even though Chang and Eng were formerly enslaved), faced prejudice, and lived through the Civil War. An interesting story, especially for book groups.

To the End of Reckoning by Joseph Moldover

Lukas Moore has left an acting career behind in New York City and come back to his hometown to take care of his father, Richard, a psychiatrist, who had a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car. Richard can't be left alone for long and, while he was always opinionated and difficult, he now sees details others miss and has become obsessed by the death of fellow psychiatrist Jason Grant. Jason disappeared a year ago and is presumed dead. Richard feels Jason was murdered and draws Lukas into helping him investigate what happened to Jason. To the End of Reckoning is a debut mystery with interesting characters and a puzzle that keeps the reader turning the pages.

The Teacher by Tim Sullivan

With DS Ottey taking time off, DS George Cross finds himself working under DI Bobby Warner on the investigation into the murder of retired teacher Alistair Moreton. Moreton was not well-liked in the small village of Crockerne, and was sadistic and violent to the young boys when he was headmaster at a boys' school many years ago. Additionally, Moreton and his next door neighbors, the Cotterells, had a long feud. There are lots of people who would have loved to see him dead--but which one actually killed him? In this sixth book of the DS Cross series, Sullivan writes a mystery that will satisfy lovers of British police procedurals.

Storm Warning by Alice Henderson

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter finds herself on the island of Hawaii working for the Center for Sea Turtle Restoration to monitor the hawksbill turtles in the area and watch over their nests. As Alex camps on the beach, she is able to recruit volunteers to help her with the project, but also comes into contact with poachers who want to steal the turtles and their eggs. With a hurricane set to make landfall in a few days, Alex will also have to relocate the eggs until the weather danger passes. Soon, however, Alex and some of the people she met are in the crosshairs of a group that have come to the island to wreak havoc with no regards to human life. Storm Warning, the fifth book in the series, gives the reader lots of details about sea turtles and their changing environment along with a suspenseful survival story. 

Inheritance by Jane Park

Anne is a successful lawyer in New York City who has tried hard to put her childhood as the daughter of Korean immigrants behind her. During her youth in rural Alberta, her parents struggled to be accepted, yet both worked long hours to provide for Anne and her older brother, Charles. Charles chafed under his parents strict rules and discipline, so Anne took his place as the child that would achieve all their parent's dreams by going to Yale and making a generous salary. Anne's father has just passed away, so she's back in Edmonton for the funeral and to settle his financial affairs. It is also time for Anne to reflect on the past and to think about what she really wants out of life. A story about the memories of childhood, familial obligation, and coming to terms with the past.