HELLO SUNSHINE BY LAURA DAVE

Sunshine Mackenzie is a food network star. She has a #1 best selling cookbook, millions of fans, and a thriving career. 

The only problem is, her life is a lie. She has too many secrets and one day a hacker begins to reveal them all online. One by one. 

In an instant, her career and her marriage are over. She forced to reconcile with her estranged sister and start over. 

Hello Sunshine is unlike anything I've ready lately. A delightful book to read. I've been in mystery mode all summer long. It was so good to take a break! 

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

From Laura Dave—the author of the “addictive” (Us Weekly), “winning” (Publishers Weekly) and critically acclaimed bestseller Eight Hundred Grapes—comes a new novel about the secrets we keep…even from ourselves.

Sunshine Mackenzie has it all…until her secrets come to light.

Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream—she’s a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor.

And then she gets hacked.

When Sunshine’s secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She’s forced to return to the childhood home—and the estranged sister—she’s tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life.

In a world where celebrity is a careful construct, Hello, Sunshine is a compelling, funny, and evocative novel about what it means to live an authentic life in an inauthentic age.

Source: http://melissavoigt.com

SINCE WE FELL BY DENNIS LEHANE

Rachel Childs, a journalist, has an on-air mental breakdown. She lives out her days as a shut-in. Fearful of recognition and crowds.

She meets an wonderful man and gets married. But one rainy day, her tidy life begins to fall apart. The life she knew is over and she has to find the strength to survive. 

This book starts exploring Rachel's past and quickly moves into her adult life. It is full of detail and complex characters. It is full of twists. 

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Since We Fell follows Rachel Childs, a former journalist who, after an on-air mental breakdown, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel’s marriage. As does Rachel herself. Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths. By turns heart- breaking, suspenseful, romantic, and sophisticated, Since We Fell is a novel of profound psychological insight and tension. It is Dennis Lehane at his very best.

Source: http://melissavoigt.com

THE FALL OF LISA BELLOW BY SUSAN PERABO

What happens to the people left behind when tragedy strikes? What do they go through? 

A middle school girl is abducted in a convenient store in broad daylight. She disappears without a trace. Meredith is the only witness to her abduction. The masked man leaves her behind. 

After the abduction, Meredith spends most of her time alone. The community tries to rally. Meredith's mom comes to terms with the reality that she cannot protect her child. 

This book is unlike anything I've read recently. It explores the questions about what happens to the people who survive trauma? How do children process fear and grief? How do they cope? How do they heal? Is that even possible? It is a beautiful and sobering read. 

From the Publisher:

The breakout novel from the critically acclaimed author of the short story collections Who I Was Supposed to Be and Why They Run the Way They Do—when a middle school girl is abducted in broad daylight, a fellow student and witness to the crime copes with the tragedy in an unforgettable way.

What happens to the girl left behind?

A masked man with a gun enters a sandwich shop in broad daylight, and Meredith Oliver suddenly finds herself ordered to the filthy floor, where she cowers face to face with her nemesis, Lisa Bellow, the most popular girl in her eighth grade class. The minutes tick inexorably by, and Meredith lurches between comforting the sobbing Lisa and imagining her own impending death. Then the man orders Lisa Bellow to stand and come with him, leaving Meredith the girl left behind.

After Lisa’s abduction, Meredith spends most days in her room. As the community stages vigils and searches, Claire, Meredith’s mother, is torn between relief that her daughter is alive, and helplessness over her inability to protect or even comfort her child. Her daughter is here, but not.

Like Everything I Never Told You and Room, The Fall of Lisa Bellow is edgy and original, a hair-raising exploration of the ripple effects of an unthinkable crime. It is a dark, beautifully rendered, and gripping novel about coping, about coming-of-age, and about forgiveness. It is also a beautiful illustration of how one family, broken by tragedy, finds healing.

Source: http://melissavoigt.com