What I’m Reading (6.15.26)

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes (★★★☆☆ 1/2)

Print • Owned • Mystery • 2023

Short synopsis: At a secretive academy where aspiring killers learn the art of the perfect murder, students must prove their worth by eliminating someone they believe deserves to die—and escaping justice in the process.

The premise of this book is rather morbid, but I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover and inventive concept. In this story, we follow three students at McMasters Conservatory, a secretive academy where students learn how to commit the perfect murder. Each of them has a compelling reason for wanting their target dead, which made me invested in seeing how their plans would unfold. I especially enjoyed the first half of the novel and all the darkly fun “private boarding school for murderers” vibes. Unfortunately, the second half of the book lost me a bit. Once the students left the school and began carrying out their murder plots in the real world, the writing started to feel overly explanatory. Time and time again, the author would give us a great scene—one of the students disguising themselves to fool a security guard, for example—and then immediately explain it afterward to be like, “Hey guys, this was X character, not a weird old lady! Totally fooled you, didn’t I?” It was so frustrating. If someone misses a detail, that’s one thing, but repeatedly spelling everything out took away some of the fun of piecing things together myself. It’s a shame because I really loved the setup and was hoping this would become a new mystery series to binge. Meh.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (★★★☆☆ 1/2)

Audiobook • Hoopla • Historical Fiction • 2025

Short synopsis: Four dissatisfied sixties-era housewives form a book club turned sisterhood that will hold fast amid the turmoil of a rapidly changing world and alter the course of each of their lives.

I think this book might have been a DNF for me in print, so I’m glad I picked it up on audio. The first half is slow and meandering, and watching these women navigate their miserable lives was, to put it bluntly, super depressing. While I appreciated the story’s exploration of women’s limited options in the 1960s, the author occasionally came across as a little too determined to make her point, spelling out injustices rather than trusting readers to connect the dots. For example, there’s a whole scene about one of the women trying to open a bank account and getting outraged when she needs her husband to sign off on it. I KNOW THIS IS SHITTY! But… isn’t it something she would have known? Why is she so surprised? I think the scene could have been more impactful if we had seen all the ways this character skirted the system to get a bank account without her husband knowing. That said, I enjoyed seeing these women gradually find more agency in their lives, even if some of the biggest changes came from their husbands’ choices rather than their own. What ultimately won me over was the friendship at the heart of the story. The sisterhood felt genuine, messy, and supportive, and it was easily the book’s strongest element. It’s not exactly a book I would recommend, but if you love a good friendship story, you might enjoy this one.

Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane (★★★☆☆ 1/2)

Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Contemporary Fiction • 2025

Short synopsis: When rival journalists Bel and Connor are forced to pose as a lovestruck couple while chasing a career-making scoop, their fake romance starts blurring into something far more real.

Do yourself a favor and don’t go into this expecting a cutesy contemporary romance novel. While the fake-dating setup is front and center in the marketing, this is really a work of contemporary fiction centered on Bel’s investigation into a powerful politician accused of sexually harassing young interns. It’s also about Connor is grappling with the aftermath of a five-year relationship, while Bel is dealing with a stalker ex, so there’s no shortage of drama. I just wanted more from Connor and Bel. They had such cute banter and sizzling chemistry, and I was so disappointed that nothing substantial happened between them until the final chapter. (Even then, they only had a very chaste kiss.) As I got closer and closer to the end of the book with no resolution about Bel and Connor’s relationship, I started wondering if there was a sequel where they finally got together. The ending felt abrupt and unsatisfying. I don’t think McFarlane is the author for me! But if you love a closed-door romance or fiction that has a very light romantic touch, then I would recommend this book.

What are you reading?