Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends a story about an immigrant family at loose ends, a magic garden in London and a vacation mystery within a mystery.
The Persians: A Novel
By Sanam MahloudjiScribner$28.99March 2025Purchase
From the publisher: Meet the Valiat family. In Iran, they were somebodies. In America, they’re nobodies. First there is Elizabeth, the regal matriarch with the famously large nose who stayed in Tehran during the revolution. She lives in a shabby apartment, paranoid and alone. Except when she is visited by Niaz, her Islamic-law-breaking granddaughter who takes her debauchery with a side of purpose, and yet somehow manages to survive. Elizabeth’s daughters left for America in 1979: Shirin, a charismatic yet outrageous event planner in Houston who considers herself the family’s future, and Seema, a dreamy idealist-turned-housewife languishing in the chaparral-filled hills of Los Angeles. And then there’s the other granddaughter Bita, the self-righteous but lost law student spending her days in New York City eating pancakes and quietly giving away her belongings.
When an annual vacation in Aspen goes wildly awry and Shirin ends up being bailed out of jail by Bita, the family’s brittle status quo is cracked open. Shirin embarks upon a grand but half-baked quest to restore the family name. But what does that even mean in a country where the Valiats never mattered? Will they ever realize that life is more than just an old story?
From Bess Maher, event liaison: This deftly written novel of a family who has fallen from their former glory starts with a bang, i.e., with a charge of attempted prostitution amid a drinking- and drug-filled week in Aspen. But it’s when we find out where these women come from and where they want to go that the story really sings. At first, you may not like the Valiat women, but by the end, you just might fall in love with them. I know I did.
The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt
By Chelsea IversenSourcebooks$16.99 (paperback)December 2024Purchase
From the publisher: Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she’d rather keep buried. She doesn’t often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she’s been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though – because, in her garden, magic awaits. Harriet’s garden is special. It’s a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet’s purpose.
When suspicion for her father’s disappearance falls on her, she marries a seemingly charming man, the first to see past her peculiarities, in order to protect herself. It’s soon clear, however, that her new husband might be worse than her father and that she’s integral to a dark plot created by the men around her. To free herself and discover the truth, she must learn to channel the power of her strange, magical garden.
From Krista Carlton, manager: A gothic tale of a woman trapped in her home by society, her secrets and her garden. This novel invites the reader to question Harriet as a narrator and to ultimately decide which characters are worth your support. As I learned more about Harriet and her life, I was drawn deeper into her anxieties, which made her triumphs all the sweeter. A book that was heart wrenching in all the right ways!
Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies
By Catherine MackMinotaur$28April 2024Purchase
From the publisher: All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series — is that too much to ask? Clearly it is, because when an attempt is made to kill the real Connor — the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with 10 years ago and now can’t get out of her life — Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.
Contending with literary competitors, rabid fans, a stalker — and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly — theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?
From Bess Maher, event liaison: “Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies” is a lively, funny mystery. It has just the right amount of escapism to give you a little break from the real world and plot twists to keep you guessing. If, like me, you think the winter was made for mystery novels, I highly suggest you pick this one up!
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
The Bookies Bookstore2085 S. Holly StreetDenver, CO 80222
thebookies.com
Twitter Instagram FacebookAs part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.
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