Happy Tuesday! I am excited to be here sharing two new books with you! One book looks right up my alley and the other is by a popular author that I’ve heard a lot about.

We had the best summer day yesterday! After a slow, easy start, I headed outside to weed the front garden while the kids played in the backyard. Then we headed to the pool when it opened at 11. The kids played and I read until we left around 4. I made a yummy summer dinner – steamed shrimp, corn, tomato/mozzarella salad, and fruit salad. Jeff and I went for a long walk while the kids played and then we watched some of the Braves game.

The Paris Connection by Lorraine Brown

When Hannah and her boyfriend, Simon, set out to Amsterdam, they’re confident that they’ll make it to his sister’s wedding in time. However, unbeknownst to them, their train is scheduled to divide in the middle of the night. And when it does, half of it continues the route to Amsterdam. And the other half—the one with Hannah in it—heads three hundred miles away, to Paris.

Left without her belongings or hope of reuniting with Simon, Hannah has no choice but to spend the day in Paris before the next train out. Worse than being stranded in a foreign city alone? Being stuck with Léo, the handsome but infuriating Frenchman who blames Hannah for his own unwanted delay. The series of mishaps that sends them traipsing through the City of Light is only further proof that Hannah’s day has gone from bad to worse. But as she takes in the glorious sights of the city—and spends more time with Léo—Hannah discovers that the unexpected detour might actually be leading her to the life she was always meant to live . . .

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

You’re a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache. 

It starts innocently enough. 

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request. 

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university. 

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold. 

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion. 

And the madness of crowds.

**As always, the summaries come from the author or publisher because they know it best.**

If you are looking for other newly released books, check out the Tuesday Book Release Day page. If you are looking for great summer books, check out my Summer Beach Reads 2021. I also created a list of children’s books coming out this fall if you are looking for something to share with a young reader.

We are checking off another item on our Summer Fun List today and then we are heading to the pool. The weather is supposed to be great for outside activities this week – hot and sunny! Have a great day full of sunshine and NEW books!

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