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
‘Cool Machine,’ by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday, 2026)
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Whitehead concludes his Harlem Trilogy with Ray Carney at the peak of his furniture-selling career in the 1980s. Carney still strives toward respectability, yet his criminal past and his loyalties to shady associates and family interfere. Multiple hair-raising escapades ensue, forcing Carney to acknowledge his own indisputably aging body and to question the meaning of his life. Whitehead paints an unvarnished portrait of Harlem and New York City in this decade, with corruption, payoffs and neighborhood decay competing with the future trends of yuppies, new wealth, new media and new music genres. A worthy capstone to the series. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
‘Code Name Hélène,’ by Ariel Lawhon (Doubleday, 2020)
Fans of “The Frozen River” might seek out another novel by Lawhon, as my book group did. This World War II novel is a fictional account of a true hero, Nancy Wake, an intrepid Australian who was part of the French resistance. Wake became a formidable military leader, commanding troops engaged in guerrilla warfare in the forests of France, leaving behind her wealthy husband, Henri, who paid the ultimate price for not revealing his wife’s secrets. The book’s structure is non-chronological, for no apparent reason, which makes the technique more confusing than effective. And Lawhon could have used a rigorous editor to cut out excessive detail. But still, for World War II buffs, this is a worthy addition to our understanding of the crucial role women played in the Allies’ victory. A good page-turner. — 3 stars (out of 4); Jo Calhoun, Denver
‘As If,’ by Isabel Waidner (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Originals, 2026)
A surreal novel in which two guys, who look strikingly similar to one another, randomly meet, invade and ultimately take over each other’s lives. Each is ironically better at the role the other prized but failed to perform in his own life. Why most of the individuals in these men’s lives overlook the glaring mismatches remains unanswered. Waidner explores themes of identity, grief and the transformative power of new possibilities. — 2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
‘Social Animals,’ by Camille Perri (GP Putnam, 2026)
June is a sweet woman married to a handsome but crooked D.C. bureaucrat who hires a PI (Val) to document his wife’s suspected infidelity. June’s favorite hangout is the local dog park, where she and Val become acquainted. They also meet Alex there, an FBI agent who masks her identity with a dog. But the dog park is looking scruffy, and the community of eccentric dog parents plans a fundraiser. All these elements combine into silliness. And murder. ‘Social Animals’ is billed as a comedy, but expect to chuckle rather than laugh out loud. The three main characters have sufficient issues to keep them interesting. But Perri throws too many genres into the mix for my taste, and there’s a twist at the end that feels gratuitous. Still, if you’re looking for a light read, this will do. — 1 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
‘A Pair of Aces,’ by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (Berkley, 2026)
This team of authors is widely known for the best-selling novel “The Personal Librarian.” In their latest work of historical fiction, an unlikely pair of women teams up to take down a mob boss in Depression-era New York City. It takes a while for the Black assistant district attorney and the Russian immigrant madame to find common cause, but when they eventually do, they are, in essence, “a pair of aces,” i.e., an unbeatable pair (in poker parlance) and top-notch in their respective fields. Benedict and Murray bring these historical figures to life on the page and take the reader into the nitty-gritty of their different worlds. (A Reese’s Book Club selection.) — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
