Baum on Books

It looks like an idyllic historic Connecticut college town with students, professors, and coffee houses. But lurking under the surface is a sinister hedge fund billionaire pulling the strings. And when a co-ed turns up dead, that facade begins to crack. That’s the plot of author Michael Ledwidge’s latest thriller, No Safe Place. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

In the latest installment of author Claudia Riess’ art-history murder-mystery series, Dying for Monet a coveted Monet still life goes missing and the art dealer selling the work is found dead. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it. Here's her review.

They’re an unlikely pair. She’s a widow from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. He’s a US veteran working as a private detective in Wyoming. But they’re both survivors of war. And that history binds this investigative team together as they work to bring a killer to justice. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says the characters and plot of author Paul Barra’s new novel Sgt. Ford’s Widow, are compelling, suspenseful, and moving.

It’s not easy being a successful professional woman working for the NFL. For Poppy Benjamin, it gets a lot harder when the coach she works with is found dead. Now Poppy has to manage the growing negative press coverage while memories of bad choices from her past keep bubbling up. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says, the new suspenseful novel, The Snap, by Connecticut resident Elizabeth Staple will keep you guessing till the end.

A Manhattan psychiatrist becomes embroiled in a high-profile mob hit when a new patient casually asks him a loaded question. Now Dr. Bill Madrian has to make himself disappear before the Mafia does. Will he survive? WSHU’s Book Critic Joan Baum read this new suspenseful thriller. Here’s her review.

A Dutch national bank gets swindled out of a fortune by one of its bankers. It wasn’t a crime of greed but an act of resistance. This historic case is documented in a book that has just been translated into English. Our book critic Joan Baum read it and has this review.

She lost the man she planned to marry. Her grief gets her kicked out of her oncology unit. And now young doctor Lark Smith struggles to heal her life and career. The head surgeon of the hospital, “Dr. Satan,” offers her a deal. But he hates her. Is Lark willing to pay the price to get her job back?

In her new book, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion, journalist and author Julie Satow reveals the stories of three women who elevated fashion and the retail industry during the golden age of department stores in New York City.

The handsome new oversized book A Year in the Vineyard by Sophie Menin and Bob Chaplin, takes readers on an international romp to explore the life cycle of grapes, vines and wines. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

A high-end investment firm in Connecticut is the backdrop for a new murder mystery novel. And its author may surprise you. WSHU's book critic Joan Baum has this review.