Saturdays at the Café

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/scheduled releases I’ve seen on NetGalley, at the library, or from publishers or they may be older titles my friends have reviewed and shared on Goodreads or blogs.

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A war widow and a neglected boy form a chosen family in a profoundly moving multigenerational saga about the transformative power of kindness by New York Timesbestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

It’s 1970 in rural California where Shirley Bennett, a forty-year-old Vietnam War widow, lives with her two sons. It’s a routine life until she sees Cash Pierce, a scruffy eleven-year-old boy, trailing the fence alongside her Appaloosa, Phoenix. The horse never gave such a welcoming nicker to anyone but her late husband. Even her stubborn old dog Edsel takes to the boy. Out of curiosity and compassion, so does Shirley.

Abandoned by his father, his mother in jail, and raised by his teenage brother, Cash is lonely, bullied, but smart as a whip and starved for attention. Shirley begins inviting him for dinners, providing lunch money, sewing his shirts, and offering the maternal care he desperately needs. Neither realizes that such simple acts of kindness create a bond that will span five decades and redefine family itself. No matter where life takes Cash, he will never forget her.

Through war, loss, grief, illness, second chances, and years of separation they will meet again. Shirley was there for Cash. Now it’s his turn to be there for Shirley when she needs him the most.

Thanks to Yvo @ It’s All About Books for featuring this in her Stacking the Shelves post. Scheduled for release in November, it’s  an audio review hopeful.

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In New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan’s latest Angelhart Investigations novel, Margo finally has a new lead in the case that tore her family apart.

Private investigator Margo Angelhart has recently rejoined her family’s PI business, but she never forgot the reason she walked away. Three and a half years ago, her father, Dr. Cooper Angelhart, pled guilty to killing his colleague. While she never believed he was guilty, her mother, Ava, refused to help investigate and wouldn’t explain why.

When a nurse who once worked with Cooper reaches out, Margo leaps at what could be a potential lead…only to stumble across the nurse’s grisly murder. Then, Cooper is mysteriously transferred to a penitentiary out of state in the middle of the night, and Ava finally discloses why her husband confessed to a murder he didn’t commit.

Now the entire Angelhart family must fight to clear Cooper’s name. But every step they take drags them deeper into a deadly conspiracy…and into the crosshairs of some very powerful people with fortunes on the line. They’ve killed to keep their secrets before. And this time, the target is an Angelhart.

Thanks to Carla @ Carla Loves to Read for featuring it in her Stacking the Shelves post. Scheduled for release in September, it’s an  audio review hopeful.

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Elizabeth Bates must use everything she knows about the art of the con to stop a fellow scammer in his tracks in this first-ever thrilling crossover in the Victoria Thompson universe, featuring characters from her bestselling Gaslight Mysteries.

Famed former police detective turned private investigator Frank Malloy and his wife, Sarah, come to Gideon Bates desperate for legal guidance. The Malloys’ adopted daughter, Catherine, a burgeoning star of the stage, has announced her engagement to a man she barely knows. Catherine has recently gained access to her trust fund, and Sebastian Talbot appears very eager to marry her as quickly as possible.

As Gideon and his wife, Elizabeth, investigate, it becomes all the clearer that Talbot may not be who he says he is. As a former con artist herself, Elizabeth suspects one may be in their midst. Undeterred by her pregnancy, she must pull out all the stops to out swindle a swindler and save another woman from ruin.

I learned about this from a BookBub email. It includes the characters from the Gaslight Mystery series, 20 years after the last book. It’s an audio review hopeful.

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Ocean’s Eleven  meets the Golden Girls when an all-female group of chaotic, elderly thieves come out of retirement for one last heist against a young Crypto-loving DudeBro-type… while trying to repair their fractured friendship along the way.

Frances Deluca has always been a force of nature. Active and agile into her 70s, she can handle anything—except perhaps the stretch of empty days looming ahead. Widowed, with a grown son living far away and her own mortality suddenly in view, Frances longs to feel busy again. What she really wants is the familiar rush of a well-crafted plan coming together. It’s been a while, decades in fact—since Frances and her friends pulled off a heist . . .

Frances, Joan, Edie, and Irene were a girl gang before such things even existed, joining forces in their 20s for a one-time job that revealed a remarkable affinity for crime. They developed a code of honor, taking only from those who deserved it—until misunderstandings and pride drove them apart.

Now, one by one, Frances manages to convince her old friends to put aside their grudges and reunite. And where better for a reunion tour than Las Vegas?  Their Rocco Vitali, a mobster’s grandson who’s developed a high-tech shakedown. Rocco is a Crypto-loving scam artist, and Edie’s beloved granddaughter just lost everything to him, including her self-respect. But the women intend to take it all back—with interest.

Risks will be taken. Fractured relationships will be mended. And four badass seniors will discover how formidable a whole lot of experience can be . . .

Thanks to Darcia @ Darcia Helle for her wonderful review. It’s on my library audiobook wishlist.

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Troubleshooters series fan-favorite Jules Cassidy is back!

Starting over is never easy, but when Jules is forced out of the FBI, he has the help of his good friend, former Navy SEAL Sam Starrett, as he takes on his first case as head of the Troubleshooters personal security firm’s brand new Los Angeles office.

Jules’s assignment: Locate a woman named Emily Johnson, the unexpected heir to a Hollywood producer’s massive fortune. The weird twist? The producer’s estranged son is the client who’s hired Jules and Sam to find this mysterious stranger who’ll inherit what should have been his—millions he claims he does not need or want.

Still, the investigation should be simple despite the lack of information about this woman with a very common name. But Jules knows that with Sam’s help, he’ll find her, even if they have to knock on the door of every Emily Johnson in the greater Los Angeles area.

Best of all? This easy case is danger-free.

But as the WTFs surrounding the investigation start piling up rapidly and haphazardly, it soon becomes clear to both Jules and Sam that someone’s gunning for their mysterious and hard-to-find Emily—and for them, as well.

In a novel that’s part mystery, part drama, part comedy and all heart, Brockmann’s long-awaited return to the Troubleshooters world also delivers the story of Jules Cassidy’s first-ever investigation as a seventeen-year-old high school student.

Shortly after his father’s untimely death, Jules and his mother move back to her rural Connecticut hometown, where Jules begins his senior year as the “new kid.” It’s not long before he is immersed in solving a crime—someone is attacking girls at weekend parties. With the help of a new group of friends, Jules is determined to catch and bring the violent perpetrator to justice.

But life doesn’t always go according to plan…

I supported the publishing of this audiobook via Kickstarter! This is one of my all time favorite series and characters.

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Private investigator Rae Donovan’s relationship with her father is distant to the point of estrangement. But when she learns he’s dying in hospice, she drops everything to be at his side. By the time she arrives, he’s already too far gone to speak, and a doctor says his death is consistent with poisoning.

As she scours his isolated Adirondack home for clues, she discovers a hidden room filled with surveillance equipment, weapons, and a safe full of cash—maybe her father wasn’t the unassuming retiree she’d imagined. Rae must decide whether knowing the full truth about her family is worth the danger of tracking it down.

I received this for audio review.

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Coming home to small-town Texas means facing the past and embracing the future in this touching novel about the family we choose by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.

After thirteen years away, Tina O’Grady returns to her hometown of Benson, Texas, drawn to the old oak tree in the park. She and her childhood friends, Walker and Gracie, called it the Tomorrow Tree and shared their dreams beneath its branches. But Tina, still reeling from past betrayals, has no plans to stay.

Mae and Cleo aren’t about to let her leave. The elderly ladies who practically raised Tina offer her a room in their boardinghouse—where she discovers Walker and Gracie are also staying. Suddenly, this small town feels more like home than ever. Especially when Tina takes a job at Walker’s feedstore, and their friendship rekindles into something deeper than either dared to hope.

Through Mae and Cleo’s fierce maternal love and a second chance with Walker, Tina must confront the wounds that drove her away. Can she finally trust in the family she’s always had—and the love that’s been waiting beneath the Tomorrow Tree?

I received this for audio review.

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On the Street Where You Liveis a cozy audio novel by the creator of one of the world’s most popular sleep podcasts, Nothing Much Happens, and invites listeners into the warmly interconnected lives of a dozen neighbors in a charming village.

On the idyllic tree-lined streets of the Village of Nothing Much, the leaves are starting to change, and the first hint of autumn chill drifts through the air.Peeking through the windows, you may find the Bookseller, who’s come home from her shop in town to have lunch and feed her beloved dog. Make your way across the street, and you’ll see the Piano Teacher, who’s just finished up a lesson and opened a letter that calls to mind an important memory. Down by the lake, the Innkeeper is seeing the final summer guests off and preparing for the quiet of the winter season. And so each resident has their own tasks, their own small corner of the community to attend to.

Over the course of one weekend, listeners will be introduced to the residents of this closeknit village as they prepare for their annual Labor Day block party. As the villagers chase clues, share stories, and show up for one another, the audiobook reveals the hidden richness of ordinary life. Written with deep tenderness, the story celebrates the beauty of small gestures, chosen family, and the slow magic of community. Scenes from the Village of Nothing Much come alive with lush detail, whether it’s the warm scent of cardamom buns wafting out of the oven or the smooth feel of an old typewriter’s keys under busy fingers, and offer a soft space for anxious minds to land.

I received this for audio review.

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What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?