Love Women’s Fiction but not sure what to read next? Join bestselling author, Kristan Higgins (and Ashland fave!), quarterly for 30 minutes of pure book recommendations – the best of women’s fiction out there! We’re sure you’ll find something to like from Kristan’s many enthusiastic reviews.
Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than twenty novels, which have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Entertainment Weekly, People, Kirkus, The New York Journal of Books, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist.
The mother of two fantastic adults and a smitten grandmother, Kristan enjoys gardening, mixology, the National Parks and being overly helpful to strangers. She lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband and a variety of rescued pets.
A list of all recommendations will be shared for those who register. There will also be recordings of each meeting uploaded to the Ashland Public Library YouTube Channel.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and is in collaboration with a multitude of MA and NH libraries.
Bestselling authors Scott Turow (Presumed Guilty) and Alafair Burke (The Note) will discuss their newest thrillers, in conversation with Dwyer Murphy, editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, in this installment of “Author Hour in Massachusetts.”
About Scott: Scott Turow, a writer and former practicing lawyer, is the author of thirteen bestselling works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent and most recently, Suspect. He has also published two nonfiction books, including One L, about his experience as a law student. His books have been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and have been adapted into movies and television projects, including Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent series. Scott has frequently contributed essays and op-ed pieces to publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, and the Atlantic.
About Presumed Guilty: Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail. Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first-degree murder. Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.
About Alafair: Alafair Burke is the Edgar-nominated, New York Times best-selling author of fourteen novels of suspense, including The Ex, The Wife, The Better Sister, and Find Me, and coauthor of the best-selling Under Suspicion series. A former prosecutor, she is now a professor of criminal law. She recently served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and was the first woman of color to be elected to that position. She lives in New York.
About The Note: A vacation in the Hamptons goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history. It was meant to be a harmless prank. Growing up, May Hanover was a good girl, always. Well-behaved, top of her class, a compulsive rule-follower. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. Her friends didn’t call her the Little Sheriff for nothing. But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she’s had her fair share of both. Their bond—forged when May was just twelve years old—has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry. When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder whether Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends. What had they gone and done? The Note is a page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.
About Dwyer: Dwyer Murphy is the author of The Stolen Coast and An Honest Living, both New York Times Editors’ Choice selections. His new novel, The House on Buzzards Bay, will be released in June 2025 from Viking. He is the Editor-in-Chief of CrimeReads and was previously a New York-based litigator.
About Author Hour in Massachusetts: “Author Hour in Massachusetts” is a series of virtual author talks this winter featuring some of the publishing industry’s top trending writers. These webinars — held from 7pm (ET) to 8pm (ET), Monday through Friday — are free and open to all. This series, which runs through March 20, 2025, is being promoted by more than 50 public libraries in Massachusetts. Stay tuned for future events!
If interested, please click HERE to purchase a copy of this book from the event’s bookstore partner, Wellesley Books. Book sales will help support future virtual author events.
Author Fiona Davis will discuss her new historical fiction novel, The Stolen Queen, in this installment of “Author Hour in Massachusetts.”
About Fiona: Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Spectacular, The Magnolia Palace, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. She’s a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and is based in New York City.
About The Stolen Queen: From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back. Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes. New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant. The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.
About Author Hour in Massachusetts: “Author Hour in Massachusetts” is a series of virtual author talks this winter featuring some of the publishing industry’s top trending writers. These webinars — held from 7pm (ET) to 8pm (ET), Monday through Friday — are free and open to all. This series, which runs through March 20, 2025, is being promoted by more than 50 public libraries in Massachusetts. Stay tuned for future events!
If interested, please click HERE to purchase a copy of this book from the event’s bookstore partner, Wellesley Books. Book sales will help support future virtual author events.
Why do the Swiss love their chocolate so much? Why are the Japanese obsessed with Kit Kat bars? Why isn’t American commercial chocolate as good as European? Learn about different perceptions of chocolate around the world while also picking up tips and tricks on how to learn more about a local food culture just by visiting a chocolate shop in this multi-cultural chocolate seminar.
Made possible, in part, by the Groton Public Library Endowment Trust and various partnering libraries.
