The Copenhagen Affair by Amulya Malladi

After a lifetime working in the corporate world as an overlooked minority woman, when Sanya finally gets the promotion she deserves, she loses it. Completely. First she can’t stop laughing, then crying, then she says nothing at all, hiding out in her bed for almost a year. Her husband, Harry, has a business opportunity in Copenhagen, but is also looking for a way to bring his formally cheerful and productive wife back, and he convinces Sanya to go with him. The new setting and different kinds of people she meets slowly bring Sanya out of her shell, but in an I-don’t-give-a-f$$k kind of way. The results are hilarious. As she mingles with Danish high society, she tells them what she thinks, and/or refuses to play their games, and you’ll want to take a bit of her spirit with you at the end. 

The rest of the plot includes some shady business dealings, propositions between married people, and a tall, dark and handsome stranger who seems to be the only one who understands what Sanya is going through. Harry, meanwhile, sees his marriage falling apart, and fights to bring Sanya back not just from depression but to their marriage. All in all a highly entertaining read, and worth it alone for setting. Come for the scenery and stay for the story.

The Trick by Emanuel Bergmann

The Trick alternates between pre-WWII Europe and present day LA. In the earlier narrative, Moshe runs away from his abusive father, the Rabbi Laibl, to join the circus and become a mentalist/magician. In the present story, eleven-year-old Max is searching for a magician to cast an eternal love spell on his parents, who are divorcing. He ends up finding Moshe, or The Great Zabbatini, at the end his life, and tries to enlist his help in keeping his family together. Moshe is reluctant initially, but then realizes how nice it is to feel needed, and that helping the boy might also help himself.

The earlier timeline is compelling, with Moshe's circus experience and love-of-his-life story set against the lead up to the war. This would make a great book in its own right. The later timeline is funny, with Max and Moshe's hi-jinks providing some laugh-out-loud moments. Moshe has now become an alter cocker, or old fart, and is grumpy and hysterical at the same time. He even turns out to have a special connection with Max and his family, though not the one you might think at first. As a whole, this book is definitely a worthy read.

When We Were Worthy by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

In When We Were Worthy, the small town of Worthy, Georgia, is turned upside down when three cheerleaders die in a car accident. The town turns against the boy who hit them and his mom Darcy, and questions surround the location of a fourth girl, Leah, who should have been in the car with them. Marglyn, whose daughter was killed, is wracked by grief and regret. Then there’s Ava, who recently moved to town with her husband who grew up there, but is having trouble fitting in, and formed an inappropriate relationship with one of her high school students. The narrative alternates between the four women, with intersections, accusations, and eventually resolutions between them all.

I liked Marybeth Mayhew Whalen’s previous novel, The Things We Wish We True, which was also set in a small town and also told from multiple points of view, and I liked this one as well. She has a great knack of capturing the feel of a small town, whether it’s the positive way that everyone connects and helps each other, or the negative ways that people judge and ostracize each other. The multiple narrative trick can be a bit tough to follow at times though, and I’d love to see what she can do with only one narrator at some point.