I’m trying to introduce you to May book releases, but I have a cat draped over my arms and keyboard. If you notice a mistake here or there, blame Josh. Josh would say he’s overseeing the blog. He’s ready for me to pounce on these books.

I can’t add the cover of Mary Kay Andrews’ The Homewreckers. It arrived too late, but I did want to include it in the May Treasures because any book from her is a treat. Hattie Kavanaugh went to work restoring homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at eighteen, married the boss’s son at twenty, and became a widow at twenty-five. Now, she’s passionate about her work, but that’s the only passion in her life. “Never love something that can’t love you back,” is advice her father-in-law gives her, but Hattie doesn’t follow it and falls head-over-heels for a money pit of a house. She’s determined to make it work, but disaster after disaster occurs, and Hattie’s dream might cost Kavanaugh & Son their livelihood. Hattie needs money, and fast.When a slick Hollywood producer shows up in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show called “The Homewreckers,” cast against a male lead who may be a love interest, or may be the ultimate antagonist. (Release date is May 3.)

Here’s a fantasy novel for the next generation in my family, The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah. Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, this book weaves together the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp. Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. (Release date is May 17.)

Kelly Armstrong, author of the Rockton books, launches a new historical mystery series with A Rip Through Time. In 1869, a housemaid is strangled and left for dead in an alley. One hundred fifty years later, in 2019 in Edinburgh, homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is out jogging when she hears a woman cry out. As a cop, she runs towards the trouble, only to be attacked and lose consciousness. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the body of the housemaid in Victorian Scotland. She knows nothing about life as a housemaid, but she is intrigued when she discovers her boss, an undertaker and medical examiner, has just been delivered a case involving the strangulation of a young man. Now, she hopes she can find a murderer that may have traveled back in time with her. (Release date is May 31.)

Connie Berry’s The Shadow of Memory is my favorite book in the Kate Hamilton series so far. She brings Kate’s wedding plans with Detective Inspector Tom Mallory together with a murder investigation and an art piece attributed to Dutch master Jan Van Eyck. Kate finds a body in a cemetery as she’s walking home after a hen party. The body turns out to be a retired police officer who knew Kate’s friend, Vivian, when they were teens. Along with several other teens, they had investigated an empty house where a doctor and his wife were murdered. Now, someone is targeting those teens almost sixty years later. Berry ties all the threads together in an excellent mystery. (Release date is May 10.)

Tamara Berry launches a humorous cozy series with Buried in a Good Book. Tess Harrow thought to drag her teenage daughter away from social media and thoughts of the father who deserted her. She dragged her to an isolated cabin in a tiny mountain town. But, before the thriller writer could even unpack, and explosion rained fish and body parts on the two of them. It doesn’t take long for the bestselling author to get caught up in an outlandish investigation, especially after she discovers the local sheriff resembles the sleuth in her books. And, he’s not happy with that resemblance. (Release date is May 24.)

I’ve never read any of Debra Bokur’s Dark Paradise Mystery. The Lava Witch is the third mystery to feature Maui detective Kali Mahoe. In this one, she investigates a bizarre ritual murder near Hawaii’s Haleakala Volcano. The hard facts collide with local legends of spirit possession and sorcery. In a remote, mountainous area of a Maui forest, the naked body of a young woman is found hanging from a tree. Aided by her uncle, Police Captain Walter Alaka’i, Officer David Hara, and the victim’s brother, Kali embarks down a dark road that leads to the truth of the mountain’s deadly core and a dark side of the island. (Release date is May 31.)

Dangerous Consequences is Claire Booth’s fifth Sheriff Hank Worth mystery. Older visitors to Branson, Missouri are ending up in the hospital after the breakfast show, and Hank’s wife, an emergency room doctor, knows something is wrong. While Chief Deputy Sheila Turley deals with the ongoing problems with insubordination, Hank looks into those tour groups. But, he doesn’t get too far before a hit-and-run accident interrupts his investigation. But, there are problems at the crime scene. The body might have been moved. And, Worth and his deputies know the victim. (Release date is May 3.)

Krista Davis takes readers back to Old Town Alexandria in The Diva Says Cheesecake! Old Town’s midsummer festivities are getting a tasty addition this year. To coincide with a public performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Bobbie Sue Bodoin, the Queen of Cheesecake, has hired Sophie to organize a dinner with a dessert buffet on the waterfront. Bobbie Sue’s homegrown company is thriving, and since her baking dish overfloweth, she wants to reward her employees. Bobbie Sue has only one menu demand: no cheesecake! But her specialty isn’t the only thing missing from the evening—Tate, Bobbie Sue’s husband. (Release date is May 31.)

Julia Glass is the National Book Award-winning author of Three Junes. When two unexpected visitors arrive in an insular coastal village, they threaten the equilibrium of a community already confronting climate instability, political violence, and domestic upheavals—a cast of unforgettable characters in Vigil Harbor. (Release date is May 3.)

Claudia Gray takes readers into Jane Austen’s world in The Murder of Mr. Wickham. A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen’s Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst. (Release date is May 3.)

I loved Emily Henry’s Beach Read, but never finished People We Meet on Vacation. Of course, I’m going to take a chance of Book Lovers. Nora Stephens’ life is books – she’s read them all. The only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister, Libby. That’s why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for a sisters’ trip away. But instead of cute meetings with some “hero”, she keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish, brooding editor. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times, and it’s never been cute. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves. (Release date is May 3.)

Here’s another one I want to read. I’ve read three or four other books by Ann Hood. Fly Girl is a memoir of her career as a TWA flight attendant. In 1978, in the tailwind of the golden age of air travel, flight attendants were the epitome of glamor and sophistication. Fresh out of college and hungry to experience the world―and maybe, one day, write about it―Ann Hood joined their ranks. After a grueling job search, Hood survived TWA’s rigorous Breech Training Academy and learned to evacuate seven kinds of aircraft, deliver a baby, mix proper cocktails, administer oxygen, and stay calm no matter what the situation. As the airline industry changed around her, Hood began to write―even drafting snatches of her first novel from the jump-seat. She reveals how the job empowered her, despite its roots in sexist standards. “It’s packed with funny, moving, and shocking stories of life as a flight attendant.” (Release date is May 3.)

I love the cover of Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder. Compelled by circumstance to accept the post of lady’s companion to a wealthy widow, Lady Caroline Morton soon finds her duties entail investigating a murder. It’s the first installment of a brand new Regency-set series by Catherine Lloyd, author of the Kurland St. Mary Mysteries. (Release date is May 31.)

Diane McPhail’s historical novel, The Seamstress of New Orleans, is set against the backdrop of the first all-female Mardi Gras krewe in turn-of-the-century New Orleans. It tells of two strangers separated by background but bound by an unexpected secret—and of the strength and courage women draw from and inspire in each other.The year 1900 ushers in a new century and the promise of social change, and women rise together toward equality. Yet rules and restrictions remain, especially for women like Alice Butterworth, whose husband has abruptly disappeared. Desperate to make a living for herself and the child she carries, Alice leaves the bitter cold of Chicago far behind, offering sewing lessons at a New Orleans orphanage.Constance Halstead, a young widow reeling with shock under the threat of her late husband’s gambling debts, has thrown herself into charitable work. Meeting Alice at the orphanage, she offers lodging in exchange for Alice’s help creating a gown for the Leap Year ball of Les Mysterieuses, the first all female krewe of Mardi Gras. (Release date is May31.)

Susan Mallery’s The Boardwalk Bookshop is a must-read for me. When fate brings three strangers to a charming space for lease on the California coast, the Boardwalk Bookshop is born. Part bookstore, part gift shop, part bakery, it’s a dream come true for Bree, Mikki and Ashley. But while their business is thriving, their personal lives are…not. At sunset every Friday on the beach in front of the Boardwalk Bookshop, the three friends share a champagne toast. As their bond grows closer, they challenge one another to become the best versions of themselves in this heartachingly beautiful story of friendship, sisterhood and the transformative power of love. (Release date is May 31.)

Sometimes, I add a true crime book to the mix. Trailed by Kathryn Miles is subtitled “One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders.” In May 1996, Julie Williams and Lollie Winans were brutally murdered while backpacking in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, adjacent to the world-famous Appalachian Trail. The young women were skilled backcountry leaders and they had met—and fallen in love—the previous summer, while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. But despite an extensive joint investigation by the FBI, the Virginia police, and National Park Service experts, the case remained unsolved for years. There was an accusation against a man already in prison, but the case was eventually suspended. On the 20th anniversary of the murder, Miles, a journalist and professor, began looking into the lives of these adventurous women—whose loss continued to haunt all who had encountered them—along with the murder investigation and subsequent case. (Release date is May 3.)

It’s Hart to Hart via HGTV in Frank Anthony Polito’s new cozy mystery series featuring a gay couple who solve crimes while renovating houses in suburban Detroit as part of their hit reality show Domestic Partners. In Renovated to Death, real-life domestic partners and stars and producers of the new hit reality home renovation show Domestic Partners, bestselling mystery author Peter “PJ” Penwell and actor JP Broadway are enjoying work and life in their sleepy Detroit suburb of Pleasant Woods—until a suspicious death makes an unscripted appearance. (Release date is May 31.)

Fans of Kim Michele Richardson’s The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek might not have even known they were waiting for a sequel. The Book Woman’s Daughter tells of Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way. (Release date is May 3.)

There are readers who will recognize Wade Rouse’s pseudonym, Viola Shipman. In Magic Season: A Son’s Story, Rouse finds solace with his dying father through their shared love of baseball in this poignant, illuminating memoir of family and forgiveness. Before his success in public relations, his loving marriage and his storied writing career, Wade Rouse was simply Ted Rouse’s son. A queer kid in a conservative Ozarks community, Wade struggled at a young age to garner his father’s approval and find his voice. For his part, Ted was a hard-lined engineer, offering little emotional support or encouragement. But Wade and Ted had one thing in common: an undying love of the St. Louis Cardinals.For decades, baseball offered Wade and his father a shared vocabulary—a way to stay in touch, to connect and to express their emotions. But when his father’s health takes a turn for the worst, Wade returns to southwest Missouri to share one final season with his father. As the Cards race towards a dramatic pennant race, Wade and his father begin to open up in way they never thought possible.  Together, inning by inning during their own magic season, they’ll move towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace. (Release date is May 3.)

It’s a summer book list if it begins with Mary Kay Andrews, ends with Jennifer Weiner, and includes Emily Henry and Susan Mallery. In Weiner’s The Summer Place, when her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market. The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, this is Jennifer Weiner’s love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us. (Release date is May 10.)

May is filled with books! Don’t forget to check the list below. And, let me know what treasures you hope to read. They must not be in my closet!

Ali, Monica – Love Marriage (5/3)
Barnhill,, Kelly – When Women Were Dragons (5/3)
Batuman, Elif – Either/Or (524)
Brewer, William – The Red Arrow (5/17)
Cana, Natalie – A Proposal They Can’t Refuse (5/24)
Canas, Isabel – The Hacienda (5/3)
Chu, Lily – The Stand-In (5/3)
Coco, Nancy – A Midsummer Night’s Fudge (5/24)
Dolin, Eric Jay – Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution (5/31)
Eding, Stephanie – The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale (5/3)
Fortune, Carley – Every Summer After (5/10)
Harper, Rachel M. – The Other Mother (5/3)
Hawtrey, Evie – And By Fire (5/10)
Herrera, Adriana – A Caribbean Heiress in Paris (5/31)
Housewright, David – Something Wicked (5/24)
Janovsky, Timothy – Never Been Kissed (5/3)
Leary, Ann – The Foundling (5/31)
London, Stefanie – The Dachshund Wears Prada (5/3)
McCulloch, Amy – Breathless (5/3)
McKevett, G.A. – Murder Most Grave (5/31)
Martin, Kat – The Last Mile (5/31)
Natera, Cleyvis – Neruda on the Park (5/17)
O’Rawe, Richard – Goering’s Gold (5/24)
Peguero, Robin – With Prejudice (5/17)
Potts, Jean – The Diehard/My Brother’s Killer (5/23)
Raskin, Allison – Overthinking about You (5/3)
Shapiro, B.A. – Metropolis (5/17)
Shipstead, Maggie – You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories (5/17)
Sneed, Madeline Kay – The Golden Season (5/31)
Straub, Emma – This Time Tomorrow (5/17)
Vara, Vauhini – The Immortal King Rao (5/3)
White, Kiersten – Hide (5/24)