June 2026 Reviews

 

The Tragedy of True Crime: four guilty men and the stories that define us by John J. Lennon

John Lennon is a writer. But he is also a murderer, currently incarcerated, doing 28 to life for his crime. While in prison he attended a writing workshop and began writing to process his life and crime. He became a published author and began to struggle with his identity. Is he a writer? Is he a murderer? Can he be both? How can someone ever apologize or repent enough when you kill someone? "True crime is the antithesis of the notion that we are more than our crimes. It turns back the clock and replays the worst moments of someone's life, reconstructs and reenacts it all for entertainment, usually by exploiting the people most affected by the violence - victims whose wounds haven't healed, perpetrators who haven't reckoned with their guilt. This is the tragedy of true crime." (p. 297) In The Tragedy of True Crime Lennon explores all of this through his own story and the story of three other murderers - what their background is, what their crime was, and how they've tried (or not) to change and grow in prison. It's definitely a unique book. Lennon is very transparent about his own crime and how much it has affected his victim's family. He does a great job of telling the other stories as well. I agree with some reviews I read that I wish the stories were more separated with like a section for each man's story. All 4 stories were told throughout the book and it made it a little harder to follow each story all the way through. Overall, a tough read but definitely thought provoking.

The Butter Book by Anna Stockwell

As the title states, this book is all about butter. And I love that the actual book is made to look like a stick of butter. Anna Stockwell covers a brief history of butter, how to make butter, butter accessories, tips for buying butter, how to make clarified, compound, and whipped butter, and then several butter-centric recipes. There are also several pictures included - not just of the recipes, but also a page with photos of butter accessories. This is a very quick, one sitting read. It will definitely make you crave something buttery to eat at the end!

Go As a River by Shelley Read (covering Chapter 3 book club)

At seventeen years old, Victoria Nash has dealt with more hardships than most adults several times her age. When she was 12, her mother, aunt, and cousin were all killed in a car accident. Just before that her uncle had come home from WWII a double amputee and has since turned into a mean drunk. Now she's keeping house for 3 men who are unhappy and like to take it out on everyone around them. But a chance encounter with a drifter named Wilson Moon changes the entire trajectory of her life. Her brief relationship with Moon will sever her ties with her family and lead to even more heartbreak and tragedy. Despite all the hardship and loss she's faced, Victoria not only keeps going, but manages to save her family's peach tree legacy when the government decides to demolish her hometown to create a reservoir. More than 20 years after she met Wilson Moon and her life changed dramatically, Victoria has the chance to regain some happiness for herself and right a few of the wrongs from her past.

I really had no expectations with this book, but I did enjoy it. The overall Job-esque vibe for Victoria was a little over the top, but not completely uncommon for that time period (1950-1970). The whole storyline was also a little overly melodramatic and emotional. Not giving anything away, but I did like the way the book ended. I also really liked the two other female characters - Zelda and Inga - who added a lot to the story. I read this for a coworker to cover her bookclub while she's on vacation and the book club should love this one. Lots of topics to talk about.

Garden for Life: strategies for easier, greener, more joyful gardening as we age by Rhonda Hayes

This is a very unique gardening book in that it is all about how to keep gardening as you age. Rhonda Hayes is a Master Gardener and has always enjoyed gardening from a young age. But, as she's aged, she's realized that you need to adapt your garden to your stage of life - whether that means downsizing, hiring out more of the heavy lifting, or changing up your containers or even the type of plants you grow. The book is divided into three categories - rightsizing your garden, designing for comfort and joy, and staying in the game. Gardening is one of the best ways to stay active as you age, but making your garden easier to manage can be helpful at any age. Hayes gives lots of good tips and resources throughout the book. I'm in my late 40's, but my husband and I are already adjusting somethings now to make things easier to manage. I definitely got some good ideas from this book.

A Year With the Seals by Alix Morris

I love a good animal book and didn't know much about seals so when I saw this book I wanted to read it. But, I don't feel like I know that much more about seals - I know a LOT more about the controversies around human-seal interactions. Alix Morris spends a year researching seals and traveling all over the North American waters to learn about different seal populations and conservation issues. I agree with another review I read that only a small percentage of the book is actually about seal life - the majority is the author's travels and various groups who are either studying seals, helping seals, or fighting to reinstate seal culls. I personally don't have a ton of sympathy for commercial fisherman who hate seals, but Morris does include a chapter about the Native Puyallup in the Pacific Northwest who are having issues with seals and sea lions greatly impacting their Native salmon diet. Overall, I learned a little about seals but this book was lacking to me. I was hoping for more seal-focused information and pictures would have gone a long way in adding to the book too. Not the best animal book out there in my opinion, despite Sy Montgomery writing the foreword.

The Carpool Detectives: a true story of four moms, two bodies, and one mysterious cold case by Chuck Hogan

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020 four moms, who knew each other tangentially through their children's school, end up bonding over their love of true crime and an unsolved double murder from 15 years ago. The four women, Marissa, Jeannie, Samira, and Nicole, all have different backgrounds and had all let their careers take a backseat to motherhood. During COVID while forced to stay at home, they dive into this cold case. Calling and interviewing family members and witnesses, digging into backgrounds and possible suspects, even reaching out to the original detective on the case (now retired). The women all become very invested in the case. What no one expected was that they would actually solve it. Even though their initial suspicion was wrong, the actual culprit is much more dangerous than they anticipated and the women may be in real danger if it came to light all that they uncovered.

I was a little surprised by the mixed reviews and I'm glad I didn't read those before deciding to read the book. I knew this took place in the early days of COVID and while I don't disagree that COVID became like another character in the book, I don't feel like it was the whole focus. Did I agree with all the women's views? No. But that didn't keep me from enjoying the book. I thought the book was very well written. I was shocked to see that this is the author's first nonfiction book. I felt like he did a great job of telling each woman's story, their combined story of working on this case, and then the story of the actual murder case. Overall, I loved it. I don't read a ton of true crime because it seems to be a genre that's hard to do well. But, Chuck Hogan did a great job and I hope he considers writing more nonfiction in the future.