From mystery to mastery: March鈥檚 10 best books thrill, intrigue, and satisfy
1. Birnam Wood,聽by Eleanor Catton
In New Zealand, guerrilla gardeners cross paths with an American billionaire secretly up to no good. As the characters debate ideals, weigh choices, and battle their own and others鈥� egos, the tale gathers speed. Expertly crafted by Booker Prize-winning author Eleanor Catton, it鈥檚 a heart-pumping thriller that exposes the tragedy of selfishness.
2. Red Queen,聽by Juan G贸mez-Jurado
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onOur 10 picks this month include books that grapple with moral culpability, honor family bonds, confront the persistence of poverty, and unlock the mysteries of bird migration.
Jon Gutierrez, a disgraced police officer, and Antonia Scott, a crime-solving genius, ground this international bestseller from Spanish journalist Juan G贸mez-Jurado. Kidnappings, chases, traps, and setups (not to mention a creepy murder scene) propel the thriller, while questions of moral culpability and the poisonous effects of unaddressed trauma add heft.
3. The Great Reclamation,聽by Rachel Heng
Ah Boon, a sensitive boy growing up on Singapore鈥檚 coast in the early 1940s, struggles to find his place in a radically shifting world. Japanese occupation, student protests, and 鈥渢he great reclamation鈥� 鈥� a government effort to add new land to the tiny territory 鈥� bring turbulence and challenges. Rachel Heng鈥檚 moving, mighty novel grapples with the cultural unmooring that accompanies personal and collective change.
4. The Lost English Girl,聽by Julia Kelly
In 1935 Liverpool, England, a young pregnant bride faces betrayal when her Catholic parents pay her new Jewish musician husband to flee to New York, leaving her to raise their daughter alone. As World War II heats up, children are evacuated to the countryside to avoid Nazi bombings. This emotional novel about forgiveness honors the immense fortitude manifested by families separated during wartime.
5. The Golden Spoon,聽by Jessa Maxwell
Filming of the popular TV show 鈥淏ake Week鈥� has begun at a Vermont estate. The six contestants 鈥� including bored billionaire Pradyumna, jumpy ex-journalist Stella, and mild senior Lottie 鈥� all have something to hide, especially after a dead body shows up. A satisfying repast for 鈥渃ozy mystery鈥� fans.聽
6. Earth鈥檚 the Right Place for Love,聽by Elizabeth Berg
In 1940s Missouri, timid Arthur Moses gleans sage advice from his confident older brother, Frank. As he waits for love, and deals with a family tragedy, Arthur turns to nature for solace. Gracefully, he grows into the man that readers admired in Elizabeth Berg鈥檚 鈥淭he Story of Arthur Truluv.鈥澛�
7. The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery,聽by Adam Gopnik
Adam Gopnik breaks down the processes involved in achieving mastery by apprenticing himself to virtuosos of drawing, dancing, baking, and other crafts. He beautifully captures the challenges and pleasures of the pursuit of accomplishment, reaching the encouraging conclusion that mastery surrounds us in many different forms.
8. Flight Paths,聽by Rebecca Heisman
Rebecca Heisman鈥檚 delightful debut tells the fascinating story of how scientists eventually unlocked the mysteries of avian migration. Her enthusiastic and accessible account also conveys the urgency of her subject, as climate change contributes to sharp declines in bird populations.
9. Kennan: A Life Between Worlds,聽by Frank Costigliola
George F. Kennan played a central role in 20th-century American foreign policy and is regarded as the architect of the containment strategy that guided America鈥檚 approach to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. But Kennan believed that his ideas had been badly misinterpreted. As the book makes clear, while he was certainly brilliant, he was also a complex and often troubled man.
10. Poverty, by America,聽by Matthew Desmond
Matthew Desmond鈥檚 follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning 鈥淓victed鈥� is a stirring study of why the United States, the world鈥檚 richest country, has the most poverty of any advanced democracy. He offers solutions by focusing not only on the poor but also on the wealthy and the middle class, who he says unwittingly benefit from the current system.
