Review: "The Favorites," Layne Fargo

Just in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics—it’s that amazing ice dancing team, Shaw and Rocha!

When Katarina Shaw, as a young girl, watches Sheila Lin win an Olympic gold medal for ice dancing, she knows she wants that life. She also wants Heath Rocha by her side.

Yes—Kat and Heath. Surely Emily Brontë would have something to say about such a pairing.

Layne Fargo’s story unfolds not on the wild Yorkshire moors but in a nondescript Chicago suburb, a utilitarian Illinois skating rink—and then Los Angeles, Russia, Paris, and anywhere skaters skate and Olympics are held. That’s Kat and Heath’s journey.

Did the quiet, handsome foster child—eventually taken in by Kat’s father—truly want to be part of an elite ice-dancing couple? It’s hard to say. He loves Kat and wants to be part of her world, and Kat is a force to be reckoned with.

The Favorites is long on drama and shorter on characterization, yet it’s populated by intriguing people. Kat is tempestuous, to say the least. Her feistiness gets her noticed by the great Sheila Lin, now a coach and the mother of skating twins Garrett and Isabella. Sheila is a cool, controlled “ice queen.” Garrett is a mensch, while Bella is sharper-edged—competitive and occasionally scheming. Still, Bella and Kat become friends. Kat always has her eye on the next rung of the ladder; Bella espouses a philosophy of keeping one’s enemies close.

Chapters told from Kat’s point of view alternate with commentary from an “unauthorized documentary” about Shaw and Rocha. These voices include an uptight skating judge, a flamboyant former skater turned blogger, Sheila herself, and Lin’s former partner and chief rival, the Russian Veronika Volkova. Volkova now coaches her niece, ensuring that tensions ripple into the next generation.

The documentary segments add a smirky, knowing layer to the narrative and neatly foreshadow events—of which there are many. The plot’s ups and downs are as dizzying as the twizzles (intricate twirls) the ice dancers perform at the height of their programs. Shaw and Rocha are together. Then they’re not. Then they are again. There’s deception. There’s blood. There are passionate kisses on the ice.

Whoa, baby.

This book is a lot of fun. I did occasionally find myself thinking, What is driving Kat? Why is Heath so passive? But then I’d turn the page. Suddenly it seemed more important to see whether love could survive, friendships could be mended, characters could come out of the closet—and, yes, whether medals could be won.

Review: "Venetian Vespers," John Banville

Set at the close of the 19th century, Venetian Vespers drops us into a wintry Venice seen through the jaundiced eyes of its narrator, English writer Evelyn Dolman. He arrives with his wife Laura—an American heiress, recently disinherited after a mysterious rupture with her father—to inhabit a cavernous palazzo on the Grand Canal, a wedding gift that now feels less like a blessing than a trap.

From the outset, Dolman loathes Venice: the cold, the smell, the sense of rot beneath the beauty. He cynically describes the city’s decaying foundations as “the soiled and drenched hems of the petticoats of a succession of dropsical old ladies.” To him, Venice is not a postcard. It’s sinister; the city seems to smirk at him.  The supporting cast deepens the unease: the coarse and unsettling Count Barbarigo, their landlord; the ambiguous maid Rosaria (servant? relative? accomplice? If so, to what?). Meanwhile, Dolman’s suspects that he may have been a consolation prize after Laura’s father blocked an unsuitable match.

Dolman quickly encounters Freddie FitzHerbert, a boarding-school acquaintance Dolman does not remember and immediately distrusts, and Freddie’s sister Francesca, whose allure proves far more destabilizing. When Laura vanishes and the FitzHerberts insinuate themselves into the palazzo, Dolman’s tenuous grasp on reality begins to fray. He knows he’s being sucked into a bizarre rabbit hole—and yet he doesn’t really try to save himself.

The story is dark and claustrophobic, with more than a trace of Poe in its atmosphere and moral ambiguity. Dolman is very much an anti-hero: vain, unreliable, passive, and complicit in his own undoing. And yet he is compelling precisely because of these flaws.

John Banville is a masterful writer, and his exquisite precision and sensuality are on full display here. Grim, yes—but deliciously so. I devoured it.

Review: "The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective," Jo Nichols

This is a fun, highly readable mystery set in a Santa Barbara bungalow court—and honestly, that alone had me hooked. Craftsman bungalows in a scenic city by the sea is appealing enough. But the city is also associated with Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer investigations and Sue Grafton’s fictional city of Santa Teresa. They are two of my favorite mystery authors, so I know Santa Barbara is a perfect setting for intrigue.

The Marigold Cottages are owned by Mrs. B. (Golda Barkofsky, 82), a sharp-eyed fairy godmother who charges tenants what she believes they can afford and discreetly (mostly) watches over them. Though the residents live largely separate lives, everything changes when a dead body is discovered on the premises. Reluctantly, the tenants band together to solve the mystery.

Mrs. B. is a wonderful anchor for the story, surrounded by a delightfully motley crew. Ocean, a gay artist, grew up in the court and has returned to raise her two children there. Lily-Ann, a plus-size-model-worthy heiress, lives with OCD. Sophie, a struggling playwright wrestling with her own demons, chronicles the meetings of the newly formed “collective.” Nicholas is an enigma, Hamilton rarely leaves his house, and then there’s Anthony—fresh out of jail—who naturally becomes the prime suspect when murder strikes.

The novel is fun and funny, but it also has real heart. The characters are likable, though quirky and sometimes mildly annoying—which, in this case, makes them feel refreshingly real. The sense of community is warm and believable, and the mystery itself is well constructed. Best of all, there’s a genuinely fantastic twist at the end that rewards the reader’s investment.

A thoroughly enjoyable mystery with charm, wit, and substance—highly recommended.

Review: "Clammed Up," Barbara Ross

Julia Snowden has returned home to Busman's Harbor, Maine, with an amibitious goal: to save her family's clambake business. For generations, the Snowdens have ferried tourists to Morrow Island--property inherited by Julia's mother--where guests enjoy a classic Downeast feast of chowder, lobster, clams, and corn cooked over an outdoor fire. By the time blueberry grunt is served, visitors feel they've experienced quintessential coastal Maine.

Though still popular, the clambakes are struggling in an economic downturn. Julia believes the trouble began after her father’s death, when her brother-in-law Sonny took over the business. Armed with her New York City venture-capital experience, Julia returns home to refinance the bank loan and revitalize the operation, including the addition of a wedding venue on the island.

Those plans are abruptly derailed when a body is discovered hanging in the island’s old mansion. With Morrow Island now a crime scene, the future of the clambake business—and Julia’s family home—are suddenly in jeopardy. Is the closure temporary, or will the Snowdens’ treasured enterprise come to an end?

As if things weren’t complicated enough, Julia’s personal life becomes entangled in her return home. Her old friend Jamie, now a town police officer, may have a romantic interest in her, while Julia realizes she still harbors feelings for Chris, the crush she never quite left behind. These relationships add warmth and gentle tension without overwhelming the mystery.

Clammed Up, which is the first book in Ross’s “Maine Clambake Mysteries” series, is an excellent example of a well-crafted cozy mystery. The stakes are personal rather than grim, the pacing is steady, and the Maine setting (based on Boothbay Harbor) feels authentic and lovingly drawn. As a bonus, the novel includes recipes for some of the tempting dishes featured in the story, such as lobster mac and cheese and clam hash. A yummy experience all around!