I adore travel narratives featuring solo women traveling in fairly exotic places, and this well-written memoir filled the bill. Noraly, a geologist who worked in exotic locations all over the world for a dredging company, suffers a bad breakup and is forced to sell her home. With the funds, she embarks on an epic motorcycle journey, taking her from India to Myanmar, Thailand, and on to the extremely remote sections of Iran, Afghanistan, and more former Soviet bloc countries I can’t name without looking them up. Traveling for nine months and over 22,000 miles, she suffers from mechanical breakdowns, gets into precarious situations in uninhabited areas, and meets many kind people who are always willing to lend a hand. As she traveled, she filmed the journey and established a YouTube Channel called “Itchy Boots,” which now has over 2 million subscribers.

I read an advanced digital copy with no photos (although I’m unsure if the print book includes any), so I’m off to explore her videos.

Other notable books featuring intrepid female travelers include “One Year and a One-Way Ticket” (click on the title for my blog post) by Danika Smith and “Tales of a Female Nomad” by Rita Gelman.

This is billed as a sequel to “Fool Me Once,” the first book in the Sami Kearse detective series, but it bears no resemblance to the first book, so don’t feel like you have to read it to understand what’s going on.

That being said, I’ve been a fan of Coben’s since his first book, “Tell No One,” and while I’ve missed a few along the way, this wasn’t quite up to his usual standards. First, I tried this in audio, but the narrator became a little overwrought at times, so I switched to the print book.

Secondly, while the plot was convoluted with a few surprises along the way, it became a little confusing; however, it all came together in the end, even though it was somewhat implausible (I won’t go into further details lest I spoil the twists). Coben did leave the ending open for another book in the series, so watch for that in the next few years.

[This comment doesn’t apply to the book at all, but I thought it was funny that he used the word “thrums,” a Wordle puzzle solution (thrum) that many were flummoxed by, as they had never heard the word, but many replied that it was because they didn’t read pot-boiling thrillers. 🙂 )

Travel narratives are one of my favorite nonfiction topics, regardless of the author’s destination. I recently read two travelogues written by single females traveling solo with mixed results.

Jen Ruiz’s 12 Trips in 12 Months outlined some fascinating destinations, and Jen is a good writer, BUT… while her travel experiences are enjoyable, her sense of entitlement and attitude as an “influencer” turned me off. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but the last straw was her rant near the end of the book about how one should be able to use accrued “sick leave” from a job for reasons other than being sick (like using it for a travel day). When I used a sick day, it was at least a “stay home” day and not boarding a plane for an overseas trip. Even if I did head out for a trip, I certainly wouldn’t be shouting it to the world.

Danika Smith’s One Year and a One-Way Ticket was much more appealing, with good writing and many fascinating experiences. This well-balanced journey of self-discovery and travel experiences (marked by bouts of angst) was intriguing and never dull. Because I’m of an older generation, I gave her the side-eye a few times at her judgment (especially when it came to relationships), but all turned out well, and she came away with a sense of her self-worth.

Danika’s journey is similar to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, only more interesting and less self-indulgent. I recommend this to readers who liked a good travelogue featuring solo female travel, such as Rita Gelman’s Tales of a Female Nomad, Suzanne Roberts’s Bad Tourist, and Blythe Robinson’s America the Beautiful?.

I haven’t been a big fan of this author, often finding his characters a little *too* quirky, but this story of “family finding family” was heart-warming with likable characters whose newly developed relationships with their siblings were endearing. Finding their father (and you know it’s coming, so this isn’t a spoiler) was somewhat anticlimactic, but I had no quibbles with the way it all ended. The audio was very well narrated, and the voice of “Tom” was especially endearing. Click here for a Goodreads plot synopsis.

PERSONAL NOTE: This story hit me profoundly, and here’s why.

Some say this book has a weird and quirky premise, and while it may appear that way, such family events do happen. For example, by the time my birth mother met my father (and ran away with him, but that’s another sordid story), she had left four children by two men (I think; I’ll never know the entire story), so we were her third family. When I was about 9 years old, my brother and I came home from school to find that she was gone, with no explanation from our father. We were able to reestablish a relationship with her a year later, but we continued living with our father. And hey, guess what? Right after she died at age 80, we learned the reason she left was that she had had an “affair” baby, whom she gave up for adoption. But wait, there’s more! Years later, our half-sister found us and was pleased to find she had siblings.

So, while Wilson’s story may be quirky, funny, and unbelievable, I’m living proof that families can be pretty messy.

Note: Clicking on colored titles links to my reviews on Goodreads.

I recently finished one of my top books of 2025, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Taking place from 2012 to 2022, this novel is in the format of letters and emails exchanged between the main character, Sylvia Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer, and various family members, friends, business acquaintances, and even famous authors, including Larry McMurtry, Ann Patchett, and Joan Didion. These letters reveal a broad overview of Sylvia’s life, with a few revelations emerging near the end, which made me reach for a tissue. At times, it was a little confusing due to not knowing who the letter was from or to whom it was written, but it sorted itself out.

Another epistolary novel I recently read was Kate & Frida by Kim Fay. I had read Fay’s previous book, Love & Saffron, also told in letters, so I eagerly latched onto the sequel. I didn’t love it quite as much, but it was worth reading.

Readers of other epistolary novels such as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and 84, Charing Cross Road may wish to try any of these. It’s also a good choice for readers who loved one of my recent favorites, The Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall.

I have been a fan of psychological suspense since I read Mary Higgins Clark’s first novel in 1975, Where Are the Children?, which introduced the world to the genre. My love of the “why-did-its” increased exponentially in 2012 when Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was published. The popularity has risen since, with my Goodreads tag of “psychological suspense” now having over 1400 titles. So I dove into the following three books, hoping to find a plot that hadn’t been done (original plots must be challenging when so many have been written), so it’s no surprise that two of these were met with a “meh” when I finished. Here’s a quick rundown:

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. Readers raved about this, so I eagerly added my name to the hold queue. While I was engrossed throughout, I ultimately decided the killer’s machinations seemed implausible, which is always annoying.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi. The cover is gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to get into it. However, after a third of the way through, I felt I knew where this was going, so I skimmed to the end, where my suspicions were confirmed although it did have a heckuva ending. I also found the passages about abuse and bullying disturbing.

She Didn’t See It Coming by Shari Lapena (July publication). Lapena is one of those authors I keep returning to, hoping to recreate the magical reading experience of one of her earlier books, The Couple Next Door. However, while many have fallen flat, this one was a little better, mainly because it was written more like a police procedural than a suspense novel.

I just finished Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith, and it is now one of my top books of the year. A few years ago, I loved this author’s book, The Unsinkable Greta James, a novel about a young woman healing from grief while on an Alaskan cruise. Her new book is more intricate in plot and character development, and it left me in tears. If you’re looking for a story about “family returning to family,” then give this a try. More comments in the GoodReads review here.

A popular theme is books featuring “family finding non-blood family” (think Remarkably Bright Creatures), but in this case, “family finding family” is an apt theme explored in books such as Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s The Nest, Hilma Wolitzer’s The Interestings, and Catherine Newman’s Sandwich. Additionally, fans of Jennifer Weiner and Laura Dave may want to consider this book.

If you are a Tyler fan, you will love this short novel about Gail Baines, who not only gets fired from her job but also has to deal with her ex-husband, who shows up on her doorstep (with a foster cat in tow) and needs a place to stay while attending their daughter’s wedding. She is also grappling with a bombshell secret about her daughter that may prevent the wedding from happening.

If you’ve read this author, you will understand how good she is at creating everyday, flawed, awkward, and quirky characters who are never comfortable in their own skin, and this is no exception.