Summer reading recommendations from TDS Associates

If you’re looking for a suspenseful thriller, Alice Feeney’s “Rock, Paper, Scissors” is the one for you. Workaholic Amelia and her husband Adam, who suffers from face blindness and can’t recognize friends or family, seem to have lost the marital bliss after 10 years. When they win a weekend getaway trip to Scotland, we’re left to wonder if the trip will save their relationship or if long-kept secrets will come bubbling to the surface.

Heather was drawn to this winding mystery because as you come to learn, “They didn’t win the trip randomly. One of them is lying and the ending is not what you’d expect!”

Other thrillers Heather recommends are “The Grace Year” by Kim Liggett and “They Never Learn” by Layne Fargo.

In Thomas’s words, “’The Transparent Leader’ is about how people use their faith in their higher power to become successful businessmen and women.”

Johnson emphasizes developing leadership skills from a different perspective, bringing together 19 successful businessmen who have found meaning in their lives by being open and vulnerable. As they examine their lives and share personal stories, these men are challenged to question their usual assumptions about how to properly deal with emotions.

On the theme of shifting the way we think, Thomas also suggests “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. This self-help book explores “changing one small thing 1% at a time or 1% a day can lead to remarkable changes throughout the year.”

V.E. Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic” allows readers to leave the real world and gives them a front-row seat to the adventures of Kell. As one of the last travelers—magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel universes—Kell juggles being the personal ambassador and adopted prince of Red London, and his dangerous hobby as a smuggler. He becomes entangled with Delilah Bard and chaos ensues when she forces him to spirit her to another world.

Mindy had this to say about the book: “I recently read [it] and was pleasantly surprised to find it was a trilogy! I haven’t been able to put the series down since I started it. “

In this scientific mystery, Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a last-chance mission where the fate of Earth and humanity itself hangs in the balance. However, he wakes up from a long sleep to dead crew members with no memory of his own name, let alone the assignment at hand. Alone in the depths of space with an extinction-level threat looming, an unexpected ally gives him a fighting chance at survival.

About this book, Missy said, “The story jumps between flashbacks as his memory returns, and him problem solving in current time. I can’t say too much without giving plot points away, but he makes an unexpected connection that really changes the story in fun and interesting ways. It’s still a Weir love letter to science, but it’s well done and different from The Martian.”

Missy also suggests checking out “Wool” by Hugh Howey. “I recently re-read because my husband and I just started watching Silo, which is a new Apple TV+ series based on that book!”

If you’re a sports enthusiast or simply a fan of celebrity and success stories, “Showtime” by Jeff Pearlman is sure to be a fun summer read. As Will succinctly describes, “This book is about the Los Angeles Lakers’ dynasty in the 80s. If you enjoy non-fiction and love basketball, this is the perfect book for you!”

This all-encompassing account of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers and their all-star-caliber players draws from almost 300 interviews surrounding the Showtime era. Between 1980 and 1991, the Lakers captured five NBA championship wins amidst famed rivalries and decadent Hollywood lifestyles. Championed by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Pat Riley, this gripping narrative highlights their trademark run-and-gun style and emphasizes the solidification of basketball as a pinnacle for American entertainment.

By Ashley Flowers
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

If you want to double down on the mystery reads, Ashley Flowers’ “All Good People Here” is right up your alley. Full of dark secrets and unsolved murders, it’ll be hard to put this novel down.

About this thrilling read, Rhonda said, “Margot Davies, a now big-city journalist originally from Wakarusa, Indiana, returns to her hometown to care for her uncle, who is diagnosed with early-onset dementia. She has always been haunted by the infamous January Jacobs case, her childhood neighbor who was discovered dead in a ditch at 6-years old—it could have been Margot all those years ago, and the killer has never been brought to justice. While in Wakarusa, 5-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over goes missing under similar circumstances. Margot vows to find Natalie and also solve January’s murder once and for all. However, the police, Natalie’s family, and townspeople seem to be hiding something. The more Margot digs the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels.”

Recommended by Rhonda, Senior Brand Journalist