Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com. – Barbara Ellis
“Stone Yard Devotional,” by Charlotte Wood (Riverhead, 2023)
The unnamed narrator of this novel gradually leaves her job and marriage behind through a short series of retreats at a rural convent in New South Wales, where she eventually takes up full-time residence, despite her religious ambivalence. Her sheltered life there gives her the space and time to examine both regrets and forgiveness, as she seeks to live her life “if not virtuously, then as harmlessly as possible.” (A 2024 Booker Prize nominee.) — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“The Perfect Passion Company,” by Alexander McCall Smith (Vintage, 2024)
Prolific Alexander McCall Smith is loved for his children’s books, and especially for his series “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” Here he begins a charming new series, set in Edinburgh, about Katie Donald, a young woman who steps in to run her aunt’s introduction service — a twist on a dating agency. “The Perfect Passion Company” is a novel stitched from three novellas, each focusing on a different client’s search for love. The stories are loosely basted together with a possible romance for Katie, as well. This is a comfort read that will leave you with a smile. — 2 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Wisdomkeepers of Stonehenge,” by Graham Phillips (Bear & Company Books, 2019)
One of the greatest puzzles of civilization is the existence of Stonehenge, the huge circle of silent stones nestled on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It consists of a ring of post-and-horizontal lintel formation standing stones, with an inner ring of smaller stones and free-standing trilithons. How did they get there and what do they mean? It doesn’t help that powers and leaders, whoever they were, had no written language. And similar formations are found all over the British Isles. One of the theories that consistently arises is the involvement of the Celtic Druids, who appear to have had access to outstanding leadership and management skills. Some have said Druids developed mysterious powers and extraordinary intelligence. Beginning about 5,000 years ago and through the subjection of the Druids’ power base with the invasion of the Roman empire, their tale will tempt and enchant you as you puzzle over the twisty ways of history. — 3 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“Flashlight,” by Susan Choi (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2025)
Based on historical events, this novel spans both decades and continents, exploring themes of interethnic marriage, cross-cultural experience, biracial children and the scars that survivors carry. An ethnic Korean man, born in Japan during World War II, secures a U.S. green card and starts a family there. When he goes missing during a family vacation in Japan, authorities assume he drowned, and the surviving family returns to the U.S. and tries to carry on. Parallel chapters track the father’s kidnapping by North Koreans and his ordeal in surviving the labor camps there. Is knowing the truth better than not knowing? Either way makes for an arduous journey in this thought-provoking novel. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver