Anna McDonald, a young wife and mother, is a true-crime and podcast-obsessed bibliophile who starts listening to the Death and the Dana podcast about a murdered family on a sunken yacht, in the hopes that it will distract her from her recently imploded personal life. This is a fun, not-your-average thriller/mystery from Scottish writer Denise Mina that’s darkly funny, unique, and refreshingly modern. In my last-minute airport bookstore quest to find a book for an upcoming flight, Conviction’s bold cover jumped out at me-and it didn’t disappoint. Lisa Gualtieri, associate professor, Department of Public Health and Community MedicineĬonviction, by Denise Mina. The solution is very satisfying, and I challenge you to notice every detail on the first reading since the clues are all there that solve the mystery. Thankfully Tufts faculty don’t get murdered at the rate of these faculty, nor have such mysteries in their lives before Tufts-or do they? I highly recommend this for the political intrigue and international espionage as well as the window into elite British education. The story takes the reader to exotic locations and introduces teachers and staff who are not what they seem, and students-or at least one-who isn’t either. It takes place at Meadowbank, an elite private girls school in England. Which brings me to one of my all-time favorites, Cat Among the Pigeons. I started rereading them to notice minute details that actually solved the crime.
When I was in graduate school, I came across an AI conference paper called, “Shifting the Focus of Attention-The Way Agatha Christie Leads You On,” which reenergized my love of her books. I discovered Agatha Christie when I worked in the Brookline Public Library in high school, and I read them all. If you have book recommendations to add to the list, write to us at and we’ll post an update.Ĭat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie. We have books on motherhood, personal essays, history from Lincoln to World War II, an ER doc in the pandemic, women’s friendships, words of hope and advice for activists, and a Mexican vegan cookbook, among many others.īe sure to also check out the recommendations from a lively group of Tufts authors-faculty and alumni-in our Bookish series, as they chat about their own books, the ones they are reading, and the ones they keep going back to. There’s something for everyone: the broad range of fiction includes short stories, mysteries, literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, literature in translation, classics and recent releases-even a children’s picture book. Our ever-growing number of reviewers from the wider Tufts community-faculty, staff, alumni-have great offerings to suggest for you.
Or maybe you need a good audiobook to get you through a long commute, or even just a lot of prep cooking in the kitchen. As the nights get-and stay-long, it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book.