Five top books that wine & dine

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a former model who lives in London, Ontario with her husband and their four children. She is the author of three young adult novels: Firsts, Last Girl Lied To, and All Eyes On Her, under the name L.E. Flynn.

Her adult fiction debut, The Girls Are All So Nice Here, was named a USA Today Best Book of 2021, sold in 11 territories worldwide, and became an instant bestseller in Canada. Her new novel for adults is Till Death Do Us Part.

At CrimeReads Flynn tagged five books "that will satisfy any craving—and perhaps drive you to open a bottle of wine, shake up a cocktail, or make a restaurant reservation ASAP." One title on the list:

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

This story, like the cake at its center, is layered, rich, and deep. Eleanor Bennett has recently passed away, and leaves behind for her two adult children, Benny and Byron, a long audio recording, and a family recipe for black cake. The more Benny and Byron learn about their mother and her life, the more the reader wonders whether they will be brought closer together, or pushed further apart, by a lifetime of secrets. Author Charmaine Wilkerson masterfully spins a multigenerational, sweeping tale, with a mystery both compelling and heartbreaking at its core. Will Benny and Byron be able to uphold their mother’s last wish, and share a black cake together? Beautifully written and evocative, with an overload of sensory details that will situate the reader fully in the story and its settings in the Caribbean, the UK, and California.

Read about another book on the list.

Black Cake is among Donna Hemans's eight books on love, loss, and betrayal in the Caribbean and Sally Koslow's five novels about families far worse than yours.

--Marshal Zeringue