My reading definitely slowed down in September and October just given some travel, some health things, and my attention span is a little short right now leading up to the election. So, I am combining what I read in those two months here, which included a fantastic non-fiction thriller, a historical fiction novel made up of lots of short stories, plus a really good murder mystery from a favorite author. Keep scrolling to read the recaps of the 5 Books I Read in September and October 2024.
See my favorite reads from 2022 here, 2023 here, and check out what I’ve read here. You can see the 5 books I read in January here, everything I read in February & March here, what I read in April here, and the 4 books I read in May. Here are 3 books I read in June, 5 books I read in July, and what I read in August 2024.
What I Read in September and October 2024
Summers at the Saint — Mary Kay Andrews
Synopsis
Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .
Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it.
Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help–including the daughter of her estranged best friend–Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.
Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- This book is the epitome of why we shouldn’t judge books by their covers! I’ve always enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews for her signature twists and turns in her writing, but I gotta tell ya. I wasn’t expecting a murder mystery that included solving cold cases. It took me a little while to get into, but once I got about halfway through, I flew through the rest.
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Happy All the Time — Laurie Colwin
Synopsis
Guido and Vincent, best friends (and third cousins), aren’t expecting to fall head-over-heels in love, but that is exactly what happens. Guido is smitten with Holly, a dazzling young woman who chafes at the idea of complacency, while Vincent falls for Misty, a work colleague with an acerbic sense of humor who seems as uninterested in romance as she is in Vincent (at first). In the months that follow, both couples will experience the rituals of courtship, jealousy, estrangement, family entanglements, and other perils of the heart as they try to find love in spite of themselves.
Colwin is a master of portraying the messiness of life: here, in hilarious and endearing prose, she follows these two improbable pairs, and their families, as they navigate and ultimately find happiness together–not all the time, but for most of it.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- This book is quite endearing and feels like a real life glimpse into relationships and life in general. It has a charming ending. A feel good novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We Solve Murders — Richard Osman
Synopsis
Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s job now.
Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She’s currently on a remote island protecting mega-bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise. So she sends an SOS to the only person she trusts . . .
As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?
Solving murders. It’s a family business.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- I enjoy all of Osman’s books (like this one) and this one was no different for me! I really enjoyed the characters, the mysteries, the jet-setting, and Steve + Rosie are outstanding characters. Can’t wait to read more in this series.
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Devil in the White City — Erik Larson
Synopsis
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds–a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium.
Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.
The Devil in the White City draws the reader into the enchantment of the Gilded Age, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- This really does feel like 2 books in 1 between the story about building the World’s Fair + the serial killer in Chicago. I listened to this on audio instead of reading a physical copy. I would have enjoyed the physical copy to go back and forth more easily between the two storylines. Despite that, it is an exceptional book and I am even more intrigued by the World’s Fairs of the past.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stories from Suffragette City — M.J. Rose & Fiona Davis
Synopsis
Stories from Suffragette City is a collection of short stories from the leading voices in historical fiction that all take place on a single day: the day one million women marched for the right to vote in New York City in 1915. A day filled with a million different stories, and a million different voices longing to be heard. Taken together, these stories from writers at the top of their bestselling game become a chorus, stitching together a portrait of a country looking for a fight, and echo into a resounding force strong enough to break even the most stubborn of glass ceilings.
Meghan’s Thoughts & Rating
- I read this book ahead of the 2024 election and it was so good. So damn good. The stories weave together nicely and while the book is historical fiction, there are many historical accuracies with characters in the stories. A must-read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shop the Books I Read in September and October 2024
