WW Book Club for Nov 5th — 11th, 2023: 7 Reads You Won’t Be Able to Put Down

This charming, witty whodunit follows Cecelia “Cece” Barton, manager of a wine bar in California, who is working her first Alexander Valley harvest. Cece has a lot to juggle, but then, out of nowhere, a murder in the wine community shocks the town and causes chaos. To make matters worse, fingers point to Cece as a suspect! Now, with help from her twin sister, Allie, Cece must try to catch the killer and clear her name — fast!

Emotional and haunting, this beautifully written saga takes place during the years before the Civil War. Annis and a group of other slave women are all sold and moved from a rice plantation to a sugar plantation. During their treacherous journey from South Carolina to Louisiana, Annis turns inward to find comfort from stories of her African warrior grandmother. What follows is a tale of grief, courage, and rebirth. 

Bestselling author Laura Griffin is known for her sharp, heart-racing stories — and her latest novel is another danger-filled page-turner. Forensic genealogist Rowan Healy and detective Jack Bruner team up to track down the West Campus Rapist, a meticulous offender in Texas who has never been identified. Then, when the criminal’s acts start getting worse, Rowan and Jack must race against the clock to zero in on the ruthless culprit.

Unforgettable characters, deep love, difficult obstacles…the third installment in Carol Van Den Hende’s Goodbye, Orchid trilogy has it all. After a heroic act leaves him forever changed, Phoenix Walker swears to never hurt Orchid Paige again. They attempt to work it out and move to her family’s ancestral country of China, but they face even more challenges. Will Phoenix and Orchid beat the odds? An engrossing and inspiring tale.

At just 7 years old, Suzanne Heywood was taken on a ship with her family, where she would stay for a decade and sail 47,000 nautical miles. In her new memoir, she opens up about her unusual childhood and the years spent aboard a ship called Wavewalker. Broken down into chapters titled after the many places the ship traveled around the world, Heywood shares chilling, raw, and shocking stories, along with powerful life lessons she learned while on board the 70-foot boat. An astonishing, vivid story about an extraordinary childhood.

This fascinating story of survival and resilience by bestselling author Heather Morris dazzles. In the midst of World War II, English musician Norah Chambers places her 8-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army. Then Norah and her sister Ena also flee Singapore on another ship, the Vyner Brooke, which gets bombed by the enemy. There they meet Nesta James, a nurse who has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. After surviving a treacherous 24 hours, the women, along with several other survivors (both nurses and civilians), reach the beaches of an island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their camps. The women fight side by side every day, protecting whoever they can…including each other.

Fantastical adventures and electric moments abound in this epic novel about a high-stakes heist and the ragtag crew behind it. For Balthazar, stealing a statue during the celebration of the god Karanis was meant to be fun…and a way to seek revenge on the governor who murdered his parents. Leading up to this, Bal’s boss hires the elusive Queen of Days to join the crew. What follows is an action-filled series of events with the help of a brawler, a society lady turned bomb maker, a disgraced soldier, and a time-eating demon. A fast-paced, dramatic tale!