The Bookies Bookstore suggests touching titles — and a mystery
The Bookies Bookstore in Denver suggests a touching novel on healing after losing a loved one, a rom com/murder mystery and a story of dealing with family.
admin
Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends books covering grief, murder/mystery and navigating a difficult family.
Memorial Days
By Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Publishing Group
$28 (hardcover)
February 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz – just 60 years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy – collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk.
Three years later, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn. In a shack on a pristine, rugged coast she often went days without seeing another person. There, she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death.
From Judy Carroll, bookseller: This is a beautifully written memoir about losing a beloved husband and taking the time to grieve. I was so touched by this book that I wanted to keep it in my heart for a few days before I read anything else.
She Doesn’t Have a Clue
By Jenny Elder Moke
Minotaur
$17 (paperback)
January 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift.
When the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret. As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue.
From Krystal Murphy, event coordinator: Written by local author Jenny Elder Moke, this fun book is half rom-com, half mystery, and a whole lot of fun!
The Usual Desire to Kill
By Camilla Barnes
Scribner
$27.99 (hardcover)
April 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. Miranda’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Miranda’s mother likes to bring conversation back to “the War,” although she was born after it ended. Married for 50 years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. At the end of a visit, she reports “the usual desire to kill.”
This wry, propulsive story about a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them, is a glorious debut novel from a seasoned playwright with immense empathy and a flair for dialogue.
From Bess Maher, event liaison: “The Usual Desire to Kill” is a very funny, sometimes sad, story of a family that loves each other, even as they can’t often stand each other. The two grown daughters come together to ensure their parents don’t accidentally kill themselves. As is often true in life, the “usual desire to kill” part seems to skip a generation, offering a bright spot of hope.
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
The Bookies Bookstore
2085 S. Holly Street
Denver, CO 80222
As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.
