We're rounding out the 2024 Man Booker short list this month by reading Charlotte Wood's story of a return home and crisis of faith, Stone Yard Devotional. And this will be the month we finally talk about Olga Tokarczuk's wellness center mystery, The Empusium.

A disappointing and ridiculous thriller about a rivalry between an elderly woman and a young child. There are ideas here that Bollen could have made a good novel out of, but there are so many impossible plot choices and just unbelievable moments that the few spots of solid writing and observation couldn't save it.

A well written but very confusing novel about love, loss, and the way deep relationships change up. There are truly beautiful passages in this book, but aside from the basic themes, we had no idea why Michaels was showing us the characters and scenes she chose and we all felt the novel could have been structured more tightly and clearly.