Novelist Henry Wise joins Steve Bertrand on Books this week to talk about Promised Land, a story of loyalty and simmering antagonism set in the swamps of Virginia. Of particular interest is the impact of the Civil War that Wise says is sometimes still felt in parts of the South.

Did you know there’s a book genre called the feminist caper? It’s having its moment with help from Alex Hay’s novel The Midnight Guests. This is a fun read that follows Diana Gold on the night she opens an opulent hotel in 1926. The guests at the party have no idea she has to raise a million dollars by midnight. 

Author Elizabeth Letts’ novel Fallen for France takes us from the farthest reaches of Morocco to the front lines in France during the early days of World War l with a captivating story of a young boy and his love for a magnificent horse. It’s a beautiful story of love, trust and survival as the horse’s journey is helped by several compelling characters along the way. I loved talking with Elizabeth about the book, Morocco (her father-in-law was indentured as a child), and the way we choose which books to read these days.

Hope House is described as a tender, and yet profane, study of masculinity. Put another way: Hope House follows a group of delinquents trying to find a better life (in most cases) and a halfway house leader desperate to help them discover their way. It’s a loving tribune from author Joe Bond, whose father ran the sorts of homes described in this book and it’s part memoir: Joe was along for the ride. He talks with Steve about growing up with petty criminals and watching his dad continually rolling the rock up hill.

The Mississippi Delta and the Cajuns who live there are under threat. When the land dwindles, the culture erodes. That’s the setting behind Stephanie Soileau’s novel, Should the Water Take Us. The story begins during the Deepwater Oil explosion and after Katrina but also follows the Acadians’ trek from Canada to elsewhere, including Kankakee county. Steve is a descendant and might have grown up eating gumbo rather than Chicago pizza. The characters here are deep, even if the water isn’t. Learn about both while they’re still with us.

Nightlife is under attack. In Imogen Willetts’ book Up All Night, she says the UK lost half of its nightclubs from 2013 to 2024. And the story is the same elsewhere. Why is that and is the traditional Saturday night doomed? Willetts talks with Steve about the history of nightlife, going back to feudal Japan, and its future, a future that you might be holding in your hand right now. 

Would you buy a house where you know something terrible had happened in the past? That’s the question behind “Buyer Beware,” the latest novel from Irish writer Catherine Ryan Howard. She talks with Steve about her novel, about watching her earlier books adapted for TV, and about and about one of her favorite breakfast places in Dublin, which happens to be Steve’s favorite as well. 

If you’re a fan of British crime drama, you probably know Mark Billingham. His Tom Thorne series, and other projects, have made the jump to TV. His latest novel is The Shadow Step, the third in his Detective Declan Miller series. Miller is a good cop who likes to crack a joke. Some of them are funny. Some, not so much. Billingham talks with Steve about Miller, ballroom dancing, and those author book signings when no one shows up! 

You might know novelist Steven Rowley for his book The Guncle or The Guncle Abroad. His lead character really travels in his latest, Take Me With You. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and finding a bright light inviting you to be swept off to outer space. Would you go with and learn the secrets of the universe, or would you stay ground on earth in the company of your loved ones?  Steven might surprise you with his answer.

Ben Reeves has written a beautiful debut novel about…death. Travis seems like an ordinary guy; he’s single and lives alone with his cat in his apartment. But his job is to be with us when we die. Some of us recognize him at that moment while others don’t. Either way, Reeves’ accounts of their deaths remind us that ours is coming. But…don’t let that get you down. In the end, readers will be uplifted by the wonderful novel. In learning that death is everywhere, we realize that life is, too. Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt deserves to be the word-of-mouth book of the summer. Listen to our chat and then read the book!