OrderOfBooks May 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to May!
Last month’s reader mailbag was asking what snacks you liked to have during reading – and that might have been a bad idea!
I noticed that every time I read a book last month, I’d think of your responses, and sure enough – before I knew it, I was munching on a bag of peanut M&Ms, pecans or cashews, and various other items. Read the mailbag at your peril!
I read some GREAT books this month. I have my own 0-10 rating scale, but I’m really loose with what gets a 10/10, and the majority of books I enjoy hit that mark. However there’s a secret tier above that, where I enjoyed the book so much I don’t write about it in this introduction area, but instead add it to the recommendations section below.
I could easily do that with two, maybe even three of the books I read in April. But I’ll restrict it to one, and save that glory for A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci, which was my book of the month.
I read You Killed Me First by John Marrs. He is one of my favourite authors, and this thriller may be his best yet. It starts with November 5th, and a woman about to be burned alive. Then it rewinds to 9 months in the past, when Liv moves into the neighbourhood and becomes friends with Margot and Anna.
The twists in this story were great, but what I thoroughly enjoyed was the interplay between Margot and Liv, who secretly hate each other. It was just great and snippy writing by John, and I highly recommend that book.
I listened to I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay. A solid thriller about a teacher who stops a student from blowing up the school – but then he is shown on TV, is recognized by someone from his past and blackmailed.
It had a bit of a silly ending, and some characters make decisions that just frustrate you, but still worth the hours I listened to it.
I next read Time Frame by Douglas E. Richards, which is the follow-up to Split Second. I think I liked that one a lot better. I would love to revisit that universe, as he has created an incredible character in Aaron Blake, plus there is easily more that can be told in that universe.
If you’re a fan of Blake Crouch or Andy Weir, be sure to read that series.
I’m currently reading You Are Not Alone by Leah Cupps. This is one that I stumbled upon during my normal day-to-day work. It’s a standalone psychological thriller. It has an isolated island on a cover. Yep – that’s pretty much all I need to buy a book. I’ve been fascinated by books taking place on islands since I started reading, thanks to The Secret Island and Five on a Treasure Island, both by Enid Blyton.
It’s about a couple, Natalie and Hudson, who book a romantic weekend getaway in an AirBNB on a private island. However – it doesn’t appear that they are alone.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I find that when I am trying out a new author for the first time, I always go in with more of a critical eye. So there are little flaws that stand out that much more to me like a character leaving their cell phone downstairs, then it magically appears beside them when they’re upstairs.
Then there are things like on the way there, they magically hear on the radio about it being the first anniversary of a girl going missing. Two chapters later, they discover that the AirBNB they are staying in is where the girl lived. There’s a lot of plot contrivance like that, which is hard to miss.
I’m still enjoying it regardless, but we’ll see how I feel when I finish the book.
I’m listening to Middle of the Night by Riley Sager. This is the 4th book by him that I have read, and I was very excited when I started listening to it, only to hear the delightful voice of Santino Fontana. I just finished listening to the entire You series narrated by him, and it’s great to hear his voice again.
Most of you likely saw this, but I loved this video of a community helping their bookstore move around the corner. Just so nice to see a community come together like that, and apparently they moved 10,000+ books in two hours which is very impressive.
Speaking of wonderful people, last month we launched the Page Turners Club on Book Notification. It costs $4.99 a month ($49.99 a year) and the primary function of it is to offer an ad-free experience.
I wish we could do without ads on our websites, unfortunately, the sites cost a LOT of time and money to run, and all staff who maintain, update, and add new author listings are paid, unlike other sites which sadly rely on volunteers.
I appreciate the incredibly hard work people put in, and would never think of relying on the community to do the work without pay. I’m well aware of the work involved and what a difficult task it can be, and honestly find it pretty disgusting that those “volunteers” aren’t rewarded for their work and effort. Even more so considering the income those websites generate. Sorry – just had to get that off my chest.
Anyway – what was really cool about this was seeing how many people signed up that have been members of the Order of Books newsletter for years, and took the time to mention that they just wanted to support me for the work I do with both websites. That meant a lot to me.
Running these websites takes up an incredible amount of my time, but I love books and I love talking books with all of you. This is my passion and while it is an incredible amount of work, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Well – maybe retirement and sitting around doing nothing but reading all day long!
So thank you. Whether you’re a member of this newsletter or use Book Notification as well – I appreciate you all, and love being able to share my passion with you.
Now head on over to Book Notification and – get notified.
On that note – I do get quite a few e-mails from people asking why a lot of the links to authors in this newsletter lead to Book Notification instead of Order of Books. The majority of the time, the reason for that is they aren’t yet listed on Order of Books! OOB has 5135 authors as of this moment, while Book Notification has over 74,000.
Each month we give away 5 $25 Amazon gift certificates to random subscribers.
To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we go to hit “Publish” we take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.
Our winners this month are:
Sidney from Houston, TX (@leben email)
Linda C. from Neptune City, NJ
Joan M. from Uckfield, England
Frank from Kingwood, TX
Mary from Annandale, NSW, Australia
All of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.
Graeme
OrderOfBooks.com
Quotes of the Month
“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
– Opening line of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.”
– Opening line of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
“The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, which she interrupted like an ice cube down my spine.”
– Opening line of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
“The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do.”
– Opening line of Wool by Hugh Howey
Submit your own quotes; just hit reply. Book-related is great but happy to share non-book related too! Love seeing quotes from books! Thanks to Chy, novamom and Cathi for this month’s quotes.
Book Recommendations
In this section, I give 3-5 random book recommendations from readers of the newsletter. They can be old books, they can be new. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to me. Just hit reply. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too!
A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci: I’ve been reading David Baldacci since the late 90s and read the majority of his books. I’ve always maintained that his best books are his standalone novels, and this book just reaffirmed that. Thanks to Brenda for the recommendation.
I listened to this one, and the narration was incredible. It’s essentially his Time to Kill. Set in 1968 in Southern Virginia, a black man is accused of conspiring with his wife to murder a rich white couple. Jack Lee is a white lawyer who chooses to represent them.
An incredible and powerful story, and the courtroom scenes are tremendous. I’d love to see more legal thrillers by Baldacci.
The Collaborators by Michael Idov: Keith wrote in to recommend this current standalone novel (which is leading into a trilogy). It was named a Vogue best book of the year. After reading who the narrator was, this one is at the top of my list. Here’s what he wrote:
“My nomination for audiobook of the month is: “The Collaborators” by occasional author Michael Idov, read by Santino Fontana. The publisher characterized this book as “Slow Horses meets Red Sparrow”, but that’s a superficial comparison.”
“One storyline follows a young, disillusioned CIA operative who is depressed by his failure to extract his prime asset from Russia – leading to the asset’s death. Another storyline is about an American-born heiress whose Russian-American father apparently committed suicide after looting the family-owned financial management firm. The two storylines twist around each other, until they are revealed to be one warped reality seen from different viewpoints.”
“The action jumps from Berlin, to Latvia, Belarus and Moscow in one masterfully executed package. Overall, this was an excellent novel rendered more believable by being liberally sprinkled with details gleaned during the author’s stint as a journalist working in Moscow. I enjoyed this one so much that I wish the author would give up his day job and write novels full time. The audiobook was enhanced by an outstanding performance by Santino Fontana.”
MCM Investigations by Caimh McDonnell: Known more for his Dublin “Trilogy”, this series of books by Caimh was recommended by Craig. Here’s what he wrote about the first book in the series:
“I strongly recommend the audio version of Caimh MCDonnell’s books, especially The Final Game. The characters from McDonnell’s MCM Investigations books are involved, but you don’t need to have read any others to enjoy this book. I’ve read all of his books; but this is the first one i’ve listened to, and I think the people in the cars around me have to wonder why I’m laughing out loud while I drive in rush hour traffic”
“Morgan C. Jones is the narrator, and he takes what is already a hilarious book and just ramps it up with his wonderful narration. If an author and his narrated book can make me happy heading into work, that speaks volumes about the quality.”
McDonnell is a hilarious and creative writer, and if you haven’t read him before, be sure to check out this clever and humorous crime novel.
Detectives Kane & Alton Series by DK Hood: Elaine wrote in to recommend this series, which she read pretty much back to back as a binge read. She warned they can be a bit graphic but that she was glued to them.
The first book in the series is Don’t Tell A Soul. When a body is found in a barrel outside Black Rock Falls, Detective Jenna Alton and her new deputy David Kane race to find the killer before another victim vanishes. As clues point to past disappearances and danger closes in, Jenna must uncover the town’s secrets—before she becomes the next target.
A very highly rated series with 25 full-length novels currently published – if you are a fan of detective series, be sure to check this one out. This is one of those books that just reading about it and looking at the ratings etc – I’ve immediately purchased and going to bump up the priority list.
Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black: Cara is most well-known for the Aimee Leduc series, however in 2020 she started a new series called the Kate Rees series.
There are only two books currently in this historical fiction series, but Norma wrote in to recommend the first one, writing:
“May I suggest an author that I’m enjoying very much. Cara Black’s Three Hours in Paris. A woman raised in Oregon becomes a spy after her husband and daughter are killed by the Germans. Set in France it’s full of twists, and betrayals which kept me from things I needed to do.”
May Book Of The Month
Nightshade by Michael Connelly: Big news for fans of Michael Connelly, as he starts a new series this month.
Nightshade is the name of his latest novel, releasing on May 20th. It takes place on Catalina Island, and features Detective Stilwell. He works with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but has been “exiled” to Catalina Island.
At his new post, he usually deals with small things like petty thefts and drunk-and-disorderlies.
That is, until a dead body is found.
10 More Notable Books Releasing in May
- My Friends by Fredrik Backman
- Whistle by Linwood Barclay
- Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
- Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen
- Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
- Return to Sender by Craig Johnson
- Never Flinch by Stephen King
- Going Home in the Dark by Dean Koontz
- The Tenant by Freida McFadden
- Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
Brought to you by BookNotification.com where you can get updated on all the upcoming books by your favourite authors with your own personalized calendar!
May Charities
While I appreciate all offers of donations to show your appreciation for the site and newsletter, I’d much rather you do that by supporting some great causes. Each month I pick a few select charities broken down by our most popular countries or topics that you can support instead. Thanks! Feel free to donate to a similar charity but in your own area.
I rotate this list each month. Feel free to suggest a favourite charity – hit reply.
Pictures of the Month
Thanks Sue (comic from the Chicago Tribune)
Submitted by Carla
Submitted by Mark
Submitted by Carla. One of a few pictures she took from the bookstore in Portugal which was the inspiration for the Harry Potter esthetic.
Send in your own to site@orderofbooks.com or by replying! Images, jokes, etc. We’ll take it all!
Your Thoughts!
Last month I asked what snacks or drinks you had while reading. The answers are later in the newsletter.
This month’s question is: what was the last book that you blindly recommended to everyone?
And I mean – BLINDLY. As in, it doesn’t matter who the person is or what their interests are.
For example – in the beginning of the newsletter, I mentioned the Split Second series by Douglas E. Richards. But that isn’t a series I’d recommend to everyone; more just fans of light sci-fi.
Or the You series by Caroline Kepnes. I recommend that more to people who listen to audiobooks, due to the excellent narration.
The Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci is the one that I’m currently recommending to anyone or everything.
Before that, it would be 11/22/63 by Stephen King.
What about you? What book are you currently blindly recommending to everyone?
E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next month’s newsletter. Five people will also randomly win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.
Reader Mailbag!
I would recommend the books by Joe Siple
The Five Wishes of Mr. Murry McBride followed by The Final Wish of Mr. Murry McBride and The First Wish of Mr. Murry McBride.