Sister Teresa

Reviewed by Emily Bratcher

A local author’s intimate novel about St. Teresa of Avila is as much about friendship and love as is it about faith and salvation
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The Chardonnay Charade: A Wine Country Mystery

Reviewed by Emily Bratcher

A mystery set in Virginia’s wine country has lively characters and lots of local color. more

Sammy's House

Reviewed by Ruth Samuelson

A funny, perceptive Washington novel by Al Gore’s daughter is full of far-out scenarios and characters that manage to avoid being far-fetched. more

Shoe Addicts Anonymous

Reviewed by Emily Donahue

Four Washington women bond over personal crises and expensive shoes in a formulaic and predictable novel. more

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

A poignant novel set in DC about immigration, gentrification, and assimilating to the new amid memories of the past
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Murder at the Opera by Margaret Truman

Reviewed by Ellen Ryan

A presidential daughter’s 22nd Capital Crimes novel is entertaining but clunky. more

Spinning Dixie by Eric Dezenhall

Reviewed by McLean Robbins

By turns amusing and downright absurd. more

Morning Spy, Evening Spy
By Colin MacKinnon

Reviewed by John Limpert

A spy novel that provides a good window into how the CIA operates. more

The Sea of Tears

Reviewed by Jason M. Breslow

A novel set in Washington by “a gifted writer whose best work is likely still to come.” more

The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Reviewed by Ann Limpert

In Olga Grushin’s The Dream Life of Sukhanov, we meet the novel’s namesake at his worst—or what we hope is his worst. more

View Park

Reviewed by Dana Schwartz

A Dynasty -esque mix of money, power, sex, and crime that leaves no member of the Chase family in the clear. more

Mohr: A Novel

Reviewed by Rebecca Yergin

A novel based on a distant relative's photographs and letters, inviting us to share in the experience of piecing together an imagined past. more

Beast of Love

Reviewed by McLean Robbins

A glimpse into the life of a public-relations executive; the kind of guy a lot of women go out with once and swear never to see again. more

Our Girl in Washington: A Kate Boothe Novel

Reviewed by Mary Clare Fleury

An entertaining, fast-paced tale that’s enjoyable as long as you keep your sense of humor. more

Evidence of Love

Reviewed by Sara Levine

A Washington novel full of vivid detail . . . but the overall portrait is bleak. more

Prince of Fire

Reviewed by Benjamin Milk

A “riveting” novel about about spies, politics, assassination, and terrorism. more

Prep

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

A first novel about adolescence by “a brilliantly insightful and confident writer. more

All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

Cynics love to speculate about who’s in charge at the White House. Does the President really call the shots? Dick Cheney? Karl Rove? Or is Washington’s most powerful voice that of Barney, Bush’s Scottish terrier? more

The Power Game: A Washington Novel

Reviewed by John Arthur

Nye delivers sophisticated insight into what kinds of issues matter in Washington and how people in power battle them out. more

Snowed In

Reviewed by Allison Melia

A witty novel about a lovably flawed neurotic in the tradition of Bridget Jones. more

Hidden

Reviewed by William O'Sullivan

Hidden is a whodunnit in which the possible culprits consist of exactly two men. more

Wives & Lovers: Three Short Novels

Reviewed by Courtney Barnes

Three Short Novels by Richard Bausch.
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The Glory Cloak

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

A “rich, eloquent” novel about Louisa May Alcott. more

A Hole in Texas

Reviewed by Eric Kay

Delightful reading about a heavy scientific discovery. more

Flying Crows

Reviewed by Juliana Chan

If only Jim Lehrer would stop calling his characters lunatics, he might have written a better novel.
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A Year and a Day

Reviewed by William O'Sullivan

A “precisely observed and quietly moving” novel about a teenage girl coming to terms with her mother’s suicide. more

The Way Home

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

“Too smart to be merely touching . . . it’s positively gripping, if also disturbing.” more

Little Edens

Reviewed by Allison Melia

“While some of the stories shine, others stray far from paradise.” more

Double Stitch

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

“A good book that might have been great.” more

Havana

Reviewed by Chuck Conconi

In this suspense novel, Hunter “has moved carefully into the world of Graham Greene, indicating he’s capable of even more ambitious work ahead.” more

Pushing 30

Reviewed by Julia Feldmeier

“It’s not good for you and you’ll feel guilty reading it, but you might find yourself indulging anyway.” more

Breaking Her Fall

Reviewed by Juliana Chan

A story of real people that grows more unrealistic by the minute. more

The Latest Bombshell

Reviewed by Cheryl Haser

You don’t have to be a Washington insider to be captivated by former CNN correspondent Michele Mitchell’s debut novel: “. . . sitting pretty in Rome, drinking good wine, enjoying the company of the most handsome man in the world . . . .” I’m sold—and that’s just the book flap. more

The Dogs of Babel

Reviewed by Cristy Lytal

“A tale of deep and recognizable sadness.” more

The Virgin Blue

Reviewed by Jessica Flint

“Lacks the elegance of Chevalier’s more-famous Girl With a Pearl Earring.” more

My Ex-Best Friend

Reviewed by Jessica Flint

“The dialogue is witty, and the themes of friendship and family add a human touch often absent from mysteries.” more

The Fabulist: A Novel

Reviewed by Nandita Khanna

Autobiographical fiction by the fallen New Republic journalist: “His alter ego takes the reader on a journey through his psyche, never fully providing answers.” more

That Faith, That Trust, That Love

Reviewed by Molly Browne

Jamellah Ellis’s first novel may be more predictable than Washington humidity in August, but that doesn’t mean it’s old hat. more

A Place Between Stations

Reviewed by Julie Lawson

Skillful” short stories about the African-American experience that “can appeal to anyone. more

Amanda Bright@Home

Reviewed by Melanie Burkes

Novel about stay-at-home motherhood “is well-traveled territory, and Crittenden doesn’t bring anything new to it.” more

Unholy Fire: A Novel of the Civil War

Reviewed by Nandita Khanna

“A compelling look at the debilitating physical and psychological realities of war and a brilliant portrait of a time in our history” by a former congressman. more

Scott Free

Reviewed by Nandita Khanna

“Fast-paced with plenty of realistic dialogue.” more

Thief of Words

Reviewed by Melanie Burkes

Real life serves as muse in John Jaffe’s first novel, based on the Silver Spring author’s courting of his current wife. more

Silent Partner

Reviewed by Lauren Rundle

Angela Day has more secrets than the butterfly tattoo on her hip. more

A French Country Murder

Reviewed by John Limpert

“Like a good Alan Furst or Graham Greene novel . . . more than a thriller.”
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My Last Movie Star: A Novel of Hollywood

Reviewed by Nandita Khanna

Former Washington Post writer Martha Sherrill’s extensive experience in celebrity profiling shines through in this novel. more

Murder at Ford's Theatre

Reviewed by Aili Petersen

“A quick and engaging way to absorb a piece of DC’s—and the nation’s—history.”
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Ghost Image

Reviewed by Nandita Khanna

Former presidential speechwriter tells “thoroughly riveting crime story with little trace of politics.” more

The Confessor

Reviewed by Chuck Conconi

Spy novelist “has indisputably joined the ranks of Graham Greene and John Le Carré." more

Bee Season

Reviewed by Courtney Rubin

“Recalls J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, another story of precocious yet troubled Jewish kids.” more

Breathing Room

Reviewed by Courtney Porter Martin

“Moving story of relationships and what destroys and saves them.”
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Falling Angels

Reviewed by Aileen Torres

Girl With a Pearl Earring author’s complex followup saved by “gracefully trenchant prose.” more

Hello to the Cannibals

Reviewed by Cristy Lytal

Author has “formidable gift for descriptive prose,” but heroine’s soul “a blank.”
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Ham?

Reviewed by Ellen Ryan

Former Post restaurant critic no Raymond Chandler, but pleases “if you savor mysteries heavy on dialogue and relationships.” more

Hot Springs

Reviewed by Chuck Conconi

“Doesn’t have the tension and unpredictability of his earlier work.”
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The Wasties

Reviewed by Laura Stickney

Book with little actual dialogue is kept “engrossing through humor and humanity.”
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The Treasure of Montségur: A Novel of the Cathars

Reviewed by Lindsay Gross

“Despite Hollywood melodrama, an intriguing and ultimately haunting tale.”
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The Side of the Angels

Reviewed by Courtney Rubin

Hampered by “endless labor gobbledygook and tiresome similes.”
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Reinventing the Woman

Reviewed by Courtney Porter Martin

“Message that women must save themselves is powerful, but the execution needs work.” more

Plum & Jaggers

Reviewed by William O'Sullivan

Story of comedians puts reader at “frustrating remove.”

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Sam the Cat and Other Stories

Reviewed by Courtney Rubin

“For all their raunchiness, the stories are surprisingly moving.”
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October Suite

Reviewed by Aileen Torres

Flawed but poetic novel has “air of timelessness that transcends race.”
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Social Crimes

Reviewed by Lisa Stasiulewicz

“An ideal summer book.”
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The Last Samurai

Reviewed by Laura Freschi

First-time novelist creates characters “both cerebral and touching.”
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The Book of Fred

Reviewed by Susan Davis

“A funny, sometimes tragic story about what happens when we question authority and don’t like the answers.” more

The Columnist

Reviewed by Courtney Rubin

Journalist’s “deliciously vicious satire” of Washington.
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The Death of Vishnu

Reviewed by Laura Freschi

Novel of India written “with mathematical precision . . . surprising poetry.”
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Murder in Foggy Bottom

Reviewed by Ellen Ryan

Despite geographical mistakes and stiff dialogue, “an absorbing read.”
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Stella in Heaven: Almost a Novel

Reviewed by Greg DeVito

“Lighthearted yet heartfelt portrait of commitment and fidelity.”
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Spy Dance

Reviewed by Beth Whitaker

“A guilty pleasure, best read on a plane.”
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Grant: A Novel

Reviewed by Raymond Angelo

Historical story stymied by “lost opportunities to have the characters do anything compelling.” more

Her

Reviewed by Beth Whitaker

Author was “man-hating” in Animal Husbandry; here “she’s moved on to woman-hating.” more

Child of My Heart

Reviewed by Laura Thomas

“Engaging and well written . . . something to read when you’re at the beach or wishing you were.” more

The Gypsy Man

Reviewed by Jeff Deck

Mystery with multiple narrators is “a long book that feels even longer.”
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Big If

Reviewed by Ellen Ryan

“By turns vulgar, funny, and insightful.” more

No Certain Rest

Reviewed by Laura Thomas

Journalist’s 13th novel “doesn’t reach the caliber of his reporting.”
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