Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Something happened in the backyard, with six adults and three children in attendance, and everybody has the feels about it.

But you'll have to wait more than 200 pages to find out what happened, because the author keeps you in suspense through half the book as chapters flip back and forth between "we still haven't recovered from the barbecue" and "the day of the barbecue."

If I hadn't been reading this for book discussion, I probably would have quit at about page 25: too glossy and suburban for my taste. But I can't actually say I disliked the book overall - I'm gonna give it more of a meh, with bonus points for the quality of discussion that can (and did) spin out of it. Friendship, marriage, responsibility, guilt, sex, mental health - it's all in there.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

A kindergartner is killed in a hit-and-run accident in the street in front of his house, right in front of his mother. Will the driver ever be found?

This is a fantastic twisty thriller full of complex characters, and I'm afraid to give too much plot synopsis because I don't want to give anything away. Chapters alternate between characters and perspectives (annoyingly, one is in second-person).

The setting, the mystery, and the characters in this book reminded me of the British crime drama "Broadchurch." Fantastic, and highly recommended!

They May Not Mean To, But They Do by Cathleen Schine

There's a point in life when roles flip between parents and their children - when adult children become guardians for infirm older adults. It's a time fraught with anger, indignation, and sadness ... but if you're lucky, it's also filled with joy, laughter, and reminiscence.

The Bergman family is in just this situation. Father Aaron has dementia and his wife Joy is determined to keep him at home and care for him herself. Son Daniel makes weekly visits for dinner to keep an eye on them, but he's also got a young family to tend. Daughter Molly lives in far away California but feels the pull of guilt and obligation.

This is an amazing, funny and heartwarming book about the universality of families. Nobody's perfect, but they're all doing their best. You'll recognize yourself and your relatives in these characters and the love they share, along with the frustration.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

It's hard enough to be a teenage girl in love - but what if you fell for two guys? Well, at least in this story, somebody's going to end up dead.

Brit teen "Zoe" is writing letters to a death row inmate in Texas. She figures she can unburden herself to Mr. Harris since he killed his wife - he'll understand that terrible things can happen in the heat of passion. A boy is dead, and Zoe is to blame ... but it's going to take almost a year, a lot of letters, and a complicated backstory before we get to that.

This is a fun, addictive, and frustrating novel. I was completely sucked into the story and I read it in just two sittings - but I had to constantly stop myself from jumping to the end to find out WHICH ONE?!? And about the time you think, "a-ha!" you'll also wonder, "Was that a red herring?"