Apr. 2025 Lit Dispatch
What I read in April, May new releases, and a look back at non-fiction.
📚April Reads
I only read a few books in April and have mentally moved on, so I’ll keep this short.
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz - mystery - This is the second Susan Ryland mystery, and each novel includes a mystery she is working to solve and second mystery in a book she edited. I flew through Magpie Murders (5 stars!), but this follow‑up felt sluggish—neither the “real world” investigation nor the embedded mystery grabbed me. I do still want to watch the TV adaptation and will read book three, and of course still highly recommend Magpie Murders.
Lavender House by Lev A. C. Rosen - mystery - My only real complaint was that some of the characters blended together which is tough in a mystery! If this turns into a detective series I’ll give the next one a shot.
Southern by Design by Grace Helena Walz - family drama - This book is marketed as Fixer Upper meets Southern Magnolias and I listened to the audiobook over 4 days. The audiobook narrator sounded a lot like Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama and that might have made me enjoy listening to it more than I would’ve otherwise. The characters really lacked in development/growth throughout the story, but it was fun to listen to anyway.
🗓️Upcoming Releases
Here are a few new books I’m looking forward to this month:
May 5
The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers - crime/mystery - I don’t even listen to Crime Junkie anymore, but I still wanted to give this a try. I’m actually taking a break from the audiobook to write this right now!
What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon - contemporary romance - I’m late writing this Substack since I was on a trip to Amsterdam at the turn of the month, so I just think this is a must for me.
May 19
The Love Haters by Katherine Center - contemporary romance - It’s Katherine Center, so of course!
⏳Looking Back
Now that I’ve done a couple years’ worth of tier rankings of fiction books, I thought I’d do a combined look at the non-fiction books I’ve read since the start of 2022.
As always, the top ones I’d recommend to pretty much anyone. These are by far my three favorite celebrity memoirs, which I picked up on reading due to the
podcast. Minka Kelly’s and Kelly Bishop’s are absolute standouts and Jessica Simpson’s will unearth and challenge long-forgotten memories of tabloid headlines.I’d also recommend From Here to Eternity (a mortician explores death practices around the world), Wear It Well (“reclaim your closet and discover the joy of getting dressed”), and Grimoire Girl (more lifestyle book than memoir) to almost anyone—you’d just need to be interested in the topic going in for these.
We won’t get our ritual back if we don’t show up. Show up first, and the ritual will come. Insist on going to the cremation, insist on going to the burial. Insist on being involved, even if it is just brushing your mother’s hair as she lies in her casket. Insist on applying her favorite shade of lipstick, the one she wouldn’t dream of going to the grave without. Insist on cutting a small lock of her hair to place in a locket or a ring. Do not be afraid. These are human acts, acts of bravery and love in the face of death and loss.
-Caitlin Doughty, From Here to Eternity