REVIEW: The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun

 

Alex Murdaugh has been in the news lately and I thought that I would read another book that took us through what is shaping up to be his first trial, written by James Lasdun, a New Yorker journalist from England who takes us through his journey through the South to research this book. 

As you may, or may not know, this family was royalty in the Low Country of South Carolina for over 100 years. They were among the powerful civil attorneys and prosecutors in their area. But that all came crashing down when Alex is alleged to have killed his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. This was just the tip of the iceberg as he was purchasing drugs and embezzling millions of dollars from his personal injury clients.  Violence of this magnitude is absolutely unfathomable - he literally shot his son's head off. One of the hardest parts of the evidence for him was video from Paul's phone that puts him at the kennels with them minutes before the homicides are supposed to have occurred (and his corresponding lies - he wasn't there according to him). 

Lasdun does a masterful job of researching this book and meticulously unwinding the twine of Alex's lies.  He is also masterful in his portrayal of Alex - he essentially makes Alex out to be the kind of sociopathic manipulator that would rob you blind in a heartbeat while pretending to be your best friend. That being said, it didn't really add much to what has already been written about this case. 

Definitely worth the read and I'm looking forward to the next trial. 

Links I love

 

This is a big weekend for us! My son is graduating from High School!!!!  We're so proud of him but I'm also crying and a wreck.He's my oldest so there's a lot going.  Luckily he'll be attending school in state so he won't be so far away.

• Dishes that are popular because of TV shows. 
• Marilyn Monroe's library contained four hundred books.
• 5 thrillers set in Boston.
• This couple lives in a yurt year round.
• Ana Gasteyer talks about stuff, including her favorite books. 
• The Dyatlov Pass mystery.
• Serena is back.
• The best historical fiction of 2026, so far.
• Why reading is the best thing you can do for your brain.
• Marjane Satrapi has passed away at the unfathomably young age of 56.
• The healing power of a really good grudge.
• Must read cozy mysteries for the beach.
• The recent targets of book banning.
• Why we still need book festivals. 
• There's a new museum opening under the Lincoln Memorial. 
• Reading trends to look out for this summer. 
• Celebrity book club picks for June, 2026.
• 7 cold cases that still can't be explained. 
• Thrillers about marriage.
• Anthony Head, (Giles in Buffy) has died at the age of 72.
• Who knew that bedazzling is good for your mental health.
• This drink is good for heart health.
• Was Walt Disney really frozen under DisneyLand?
• Vintage photos of when the Knicks won the championship back in the 70's. 
• Sounds from the 90's that we Xennials all know. 
• AI is ruining children's books. 
• Brushing teeth before or after coffee?

I'm currently reading Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood and listening to Are You Mad at Me? by Meg Josephson (which I hope will teach me something that I can use!). For podcasts, I'm listening to American Scandal, Women and Crime, the TED Radio Hour and 99% Invisible.

If anyone has a favorite podcast please leave them in the comments. I'm always looking for more to listen to on my walks and during workouts. 

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REVIEW The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

 

I read this for my book club - which is wonderful because I have been wanting to read it forever. This is an uplifting work of historical fiction about women who want more, decide to pursue it and support each other in these endeavors even as the America of the 1960's tells them they couldn't. It was so nice. 

The main character is Margaret Ryan and when we first meet her, she has won a writing contest from a women's magazine and is hired to write a regular column as a result. She is pigeonholed into writing what her (male) editor tells her, her husband is pissy about her not having more time for the care of the family (because why would he help?!) and her paycheck is actually less than minimum wage. The job also somewhat sparks the "Betty Friedan Book Club" (the first book they read is, you guessed it, The Feminine Mystique). There are three other women in the club - Charlotte, Bitsy and Viv. Charlotte is a woman who is prescribed Miltown, a tranquilizer, by her male psychiatrist and struggles in her marriage with her cheating husband. Viv was a combat nurse and is Margaret's best friend and neighbor.  Bitsy is an avid horse lover who wanted to be a vet and is also a neighbor. 

I loved that it addressed issues of race and class: Viv meets a black Army nurse who was barred from going overseas in WW2. Margaret is denied the ability to open a checking account without her husband's signature.  It's CRAZY. 

I LOVED this book. I wanted to be best friends and a member of the Betty's book club.  The story was thoughtful, warm, and very subtly insightful about how stifling the 1960's actually were. The characters were well written and showed a lot growth over the course of the book and I could not put this book down.

5/5 

REVIEW: The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers

 

There has been a lot of chatter on this book so I wanted to check it out for myself. I blew through it in like three or four days.  It was really great.

Cora and Sam meet in a baby group. Cora is married, happily she believes.  Her husband, however, seems to disappoint her at every turn - he spends his free time smoking a lot of pot on the porch while the kids sleep and that carries over into the bedroom. He's failing at work and so she's picking up the slack everywhere, and she's miserable while doing it.  Sam is married as well - to a high achieving spouse who is a lawyer and also believes he's happy, but is he?  It's almost like he is emasculated, or feels that way, right from the get go. So when the two meet at the baby group, they are instantly attracted to each other. Cora believes that Sam listens to her in ways that her husband does not. They become fast friends and then decide to bring their spouses into the mix. 

Cora, however, begins to fantasize about what an affair between them would look like. In that timeline, they are seeing each other while in the "reality" timeline, they refrain.  Things in that alternate timeline become super serious super fast. The timelines remain distinct at first, with the reader bouncing between the two, but then they blur together until there is only one timeline.

I really liked this book but it is INTENSE. Their relationship spans ten years of wishing and longing, until the trigger is pulled. The book is VERY readable and Somers has created real and flawed characters.  They are absolutely relatable.  SO good and the way that the timelines are slowly blurred is absolutely brilliant. Highly recommend. 

REVIEW: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 

This book took me, and the publishing world, by surprised.  Candidly, I wasn't expecting to like it and worried that it would be completely smarmy and self righteous. It was self published in 2025 but only really took off this year. The story follows Theo, an elderly man who travels to Golden, a small town in Georgia. He visits the local coffeehouse, where he sees portraits of the townspeople on the wall. The artist is also a local artist - said artist lives in Golden as well. Theo decides to purchase the portraits and distribute them to the subject of the portraits. With each meeting, he collects their stories and they are inspired by his kindness.

What I loved about this book is that it deals with several important themes:  the importance of slowing down and observing, being kind, loss and grieving and love among others and it does so in a captivating way. I loved Theo as a character - his background is very mysterious but what he does for the people he comes into contact with is very laudable and to be admired.  It's a timely reminder of the importance of kindness.  I did wish that there was some conflict or other tension, which would have made the book more interesting,  and I could have done with less of the religious stuff, but those were both minor, nit picky things on my part.

I flew through this book in about two days. Definitely worth the read and I may read it again to make sure I caught everything!

Links I love

 

I saw my pulmonologist on Monday - and I have an echocardiogram scheduled on June 10.  Hopefully nothing to see here but better to be safe than sorry. Yesterday we were in Worcester, MA for NEIRA's. My daughter's boat qualified but unfortunately my son's did not. 

Thank you to all our service members for protecting us!

• Goodreads has summer reading lists galore!
• What does Costco do with unsold appliances?
• Boston has its first non alcoholic cocktail bar.
• Why you dream about what you do.
• What's the best type of exercise to lower blood pressure? i'm also a fan of just minimizing or dealing with stress!
• The Guardian has published its list of the 100 best novels of all time.
• Horror books where the town is the main character.
• Taiwan Travelogue won the International Booker. 
• Family centered thrillers and mysteries. 
• The 2026 McKitterick Prize Shortlist.
• Having trouble focusing on your book? Try immersive reading.
• Why do planes dim the lights on takeoff and landing?
• Literary thrillers set in Italy.
• Why you shouldn't feel guilty for being well read. Is feeling guilty for this actually a thing?
• Why do different types of bottled water taste differently?
• Pizza Hut has a reading challenge. Here is the official link.
• The best mysteries and thrillers for Truce Crime podcast listeners (like me). 
• 25 books that capture this American moment. 
• If you're traveling to Kentucky, here is a reading list for you. 

Currently reading two books: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and Theo, Golden by Allen Levi.  Listening to To the Moon and Back (almost done!) and podcast - Your Own Backyard and Women and Crime. 

Please browse in my Pangobooks store. 

Links I love

 

Last weekend was REALLY busy!  We were at NEIRA's for rowing and, while no hardware ws brought home, our boats did really well and all of our rowers should be proud of that!

• I'm going to listen to this artist's music to see if I like it. 
• How generational sagas help readers to set roots. 
• Time Anxiety and what it is.
• The man who reads books for a living - I'm jealous.
• Ten thrillers set in the near future.
• This seems like a fun way to determine your next read.
• Why the Pope quoted Gandalf in his speech on AI.
• 19 books to read this summer.
• Books for people that are fascinated by museums.
• Songs inspired by True Crime cases.
• Spotify audiobooks is paying off.
• Best beach reads for this summer according to NY Times.
• Pacific Island historical fiction books.
• Summer mystery books.
• 7 novels featuring a book within a book.
• 5 takeaways from the new colorectal screening guidelines.
• New Yorker's best books of 2026 (so far). Esquire also has a list as does the BBC. 
• 5 mysteries set in the wilderness.
• Knox County, TN has banned Alex Haley's Roots.
• There's a 2700 year old ceramic Roman cup that has been found.
• Sharks have tested positive for drugs, including cocaine.
• Celebrity mugshots that became embedded in our culture.
• Oprah has a summer list up.
• Hudson Williams has pretty good taste in books. 
• May's bet reviewed non-fiction and fiction.
• The best books on soccer. 

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