Waiting and sitting in airports and planes can be made so much more bearable when you have a good read in hand. Here are five books that are suspenseful, fun, and engaging to help the hours seem like minutes.
The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty- 
A sealed envelope with the label, ‘open on the event of my death’, is the catalyst that moves a reader through this tale of marriage and family. Cecelia is a successful mother of four girls, happily married, socially on top at her children’s private school, and has complete control over her suburban life. One evening while her husband is away she finds an envelope in the attic with instructions to read only after he dies. Her suspicions are raised and life changing events throw her world spinning out of orbit. The subplot of the story introduces you to Tess, a woman working through her own marriage crisis, and Rachel, a widow at the school where Cecelia’s children attend. Their stories fit together seamlessly, the plot moves quickly and the author holds you in suspense throughout the story. This is a perfect summer read, and a very well told story.
To Purchase this book on Amazon, click here: The Husband’s Secret
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson 
Suspense and a fast paced search for the truth drive this novel. The woman in the story has amnesia and cannot remember anything when she wakes up each day. She pieces her life together through a journal and scattered bits of memory before she goes to sleep each night. From the first page to the last, you will be hooked. The main character evokes a readers sympathy, you fill find your self rooting for her. The trail that leads her to understand her life now and the events in the past is an intense journey. The rise of tension in this story is written expertly. The movie is coming out this year, so it is a good one to read before it comes to the theaters. To order this book on Amazon, click here: Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel
The Descendents by Kaui Hart Hemmings
If you like books about complicated, raw, and deep family relationships, this is a good pick. The relationships between the characters are intricate, and the reader is drawn into the web of family ties from the very beginning. A very wealthy family in Hawaii finds themselves with their mother in a coma. The two daughters are grappling with this reality while their father tries desperately to hold things together. The father in the story is the patriarch of his extended family. The family owns a large, highly valuable piece of land on the islands and it is up to the father to decide if it is sold or kept in the family. A reader will relate to the mixed emotions of loving someone but hating them at the same time. The relationships are honest, the family heritage is interesting, and the struggles are well written. To Order this Book on Amazon, click here: The Descendants: A Novel (Random House Movie Tie-In Books)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer 
If I voted for a book of the summer, this is it. Doer writes a sweeping, intricately planned novel taking place during World War II. The story is told through the lives of a young blind girl living in France and a German boy orphaned in his early life. The girls father is in possession of a rare diamond with a legend of tragedy for anyone owns it. This diamond is the force that the characters radiate around, creating an epic narrative. The writing transports the reader, the characters are vivid, strong, and memorable. If you liked the Book Thief, you will love All the Light We Cannot See. An absolute must read. A quality choice for book clubs. To purchase this book on Amazon, click here: All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Some books I love because I don’t want them to end. The world they have transported you to is magical and creates a longing as you read. Some books make me long for a different life or relate to a character so deeply I feel like my heart wrote the book without me knowing it. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes is moving, quaint, well developed, and a great read. Louis Clark is looking for a job, after being laid off from the café where she cherished the routine and mundane work. Unqualified, undignified, and quirky, she lands the job of caregiver for Will Traynor. Will is a quadriplegic, former sportsman, and financier. Set in a small English town in beneath a castle, Lou begins her journey of learning to care for someone who does not want to be cared for. The characters in this book unfold wonderfully. They change, grow, piss you off, sadden you, and inspire you. Moyes does a wonderful job with pacing and plot. The story is long but never drags, the characters are believable and all well developed. Some people will look at this as a romantic novel between two unlikely people. Some people will look at it as an exploration of our right to choose life and death. Life is hard and unfair, as we see in the lives of Will and Lou, but selfless love is still possible to be found. That is what I believe Me Before You is about. This book is worth the journey.
To Purchase this book on Amazon, click here:
Me Before you
The Lowland is Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest novel. She is my favorite writer; I first fell in love with her reading The Namesake and her Pulitzer Prize winning short stories, The Interpreter of Maladies. Her stories are brutally honest, at times tragically sad, but always exquisitely written. Her greatest talent is capturing the tension between Indian and American culture. The Lowland tells the story of two brothers. The younger brother, Udayan is involved in an anti-government group during the Naxalite movement in India. The older brother, Subhash takes the opposite path, chasing after academic success and adhering to a conservative, traditional lifestyle. Lahiri weaves their stories together from past and present, in India and the United States. The brothers are like magnets that repel one another on one side, but are pulled with an unstoppable force on the other. The younger brother is in the riptide of the revolution, pushing for his beliefs at all costs. The older brother is the rule governed sibling, riddled with a sense of responsibility to his family and doing what is noble, rather than what feels right. The book is worth reading, especially to gain an understanding of the Naxalite movement in India in the 1960’s. Lahiri feels more far removed in this novel compared to her others, but the writing is strong and the plot is interesting. Jumpha Lahiri continues to create prose that is superb and tell a story worth reading.
Beginnings and Book Ends 