Gilly Macmillan’s latest mystery leaves the reader guessing until the last minute as to” whodunit”.    Twenty years ago, two young boys were murdered in England, and the novel opens in present day, with a skeleton having been found very close to the original burial site of the boys. A close friend of the two, Cody Swift, decides to create a podcast dealing with their deaths, in an attempt to re-open the case and find the true murderer of the boys. The young man who went to jail for their murders, Sidney Noyce, had recently committed suicide while in jail, but several people were convinced he was innocent of the crimes. So Cody begins to interview everyone associated with the boys, except for one boy’s mom, Jess, who refuses to speak to him. She cannot relive the horror that she endured back then. But there is more than meets the eye, and Macmillan is a master at creating suspense. I was guessing up until the very end as to who the culprit was. Highly recommended for mystery lovers.

Libby Page is a British first time novelist who has penned a story about friendship and the importance of standing up for what you believe. The Brockwell Lido is an free outdoor swimming pool in South London where Rosemary has been swimming since she was a child during WWII (she is now 86!). But it is slated to be torn down, and replaced by an expensive gym exclusively for members only. So many fixtures have vanished: the library where Rosemary used to work, the nearby market that was family-owned, and the threat of the pool closing is the last straw. When she meets a young woman, Kate, who is writing the story for the local newspaper, Rosemary befriends her, and they continue the fight to save the beloved pool. Tune in to read “the rest of the story”. I was surprised to learn that there are several lidos in London, and they exist throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. Too bad the idea hasn’t been adopted here in the U.S.

Marcus Zusak, author of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, has a new teen book being released on October 9, titled The Bridge of Clay. It is being touted in Amazon as “an unforgettable and sweeping family saga”. It’s the story of five brothers, the Dunbars, who help to bring each other up, since their mother is deceased and their father has disappeared. The title refers to one of the brothers, Clay, who will be responsible for building the metaphorical bridge referred to in the title. Booklist gives it a starred review. I am looking forward to reading this, stay tuned…