writer/author

Kristen Gibson

AUTUMN READS AND ENTERTAINMENT 

Leaves are changing, football is in full swing, and we’ve already had a few days cool enough to enjoy warm apple cider. If you’re leaning into the season or looking for something with an autumn flair, here are some ideas for enjoying the shorter days and cooler nights of this cozy season. Start with one of these 35 Fall Recipes That Are Comforting and Delicious. If you want, go straight for dessert with one of these 15 Fall Baking Recipes That Are Packed with Warm, Cozy Spices. Whatever your mood, enjoy something good this season.  

Mysteries and More

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Advertised as dark and suspenseful with an unreliable narrator. 
“Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. 
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has ‘coaxed’ her way into Alix’s life—and into her home. 
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?” (Barnes & Noble)

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I have an old copy with a worn spine and yellowing pages. Planning to re-read this Sherlock Holmes classic some foggy weekend. “With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.” (Bookshop.org)

The Impossible Fortune: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman
This delightful series from Richard Osman (next book releases 9/30) centers around a group of retirees who form The Thursday Murder Club to solve cold cases. They are a tight-knit group, each with skills that prove useful in the murder investigations. 
“Who’s got time to think about murder when there’s a wedding to plan?
It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal. But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable—something worth killing for.” (Bookshop.org)

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
Recommend this fun read for families with older tweens and teens. “Combines Alex Rider’s espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl.” (School Library Journal)“Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he’s already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn’t exactly scream “secret agent.” In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he’s entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?” (Barnes & Noble)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Led by an all-star cast and a slew of A-list supporting stars, this fun mystery-drama is beginning its fifth season. After the shocking murder of one of their own at the fictional Arconia apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the sleuths begin investigating. The show is smart, well-written, and the cast is truly entertaining. 

Happy autumn!
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