Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Out West Books in Grand Junction recommends titles of mystery, magical realism and artistic beauty.
Everyone Is Lying to You
By Jo PiazzaDutton$17.67July 2025Purchase
From the publisher: Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college until after graduation, when Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated. Ten years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband Gray. Lizzie is a struggling magazine writer, watching reels while her young children demand her attention.
One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition — an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference. But at the conference, Bex goes missing and her husband Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch.
From Didi Herald, bookseller: Motherhood is never easy. Juggling careers and kids are both full time jobs. My children are now adults but I’ll never forget the angst of leaving them when I had to travel for work while also reveling in the time away to experience pithy conversations and learning experiences in my profession.
It was easy to identify with Lizzie but Bex’s world of fame and wealth seemed pretty alien. This fast paced thriller set at a luxury resort and involving a murder mystery surprised me when it delved into complications of being a natalist influencer with secret infertility issues.
The Alchemy of Flowers
By Laura ResauHarper Muse$17.66July 29, 2025Purchase
From the publisher: Exhausted by fruitless attempts to make a family, Eloise takes the chance of a lifetime to answer an ad in a French gardening magazine. To fly away from her life in the States and tend to both her shattered heart and the flowers of Paradise. And best of all for her . . .Absolutely no children allowed on the premises.
Eloise tries to rationalize her uneasy feelings and the darkness she uncovers beneath the garden’s lush beauty, but as she digs deeper into the mysteries of her sanctuary, she begins to suspect there’s a child on the grounds — who may be in danger. When Paradise becomes a deadly prison, she must risk everything to protect her newfound family and claim her second chance at happiness.
From Didi Herald, bookseller: I was talking with someone who had also experienced the kind of loss that is not talked about, that of an incipient soul being swept away in a deluge of blood. Talking about the loss of a pregnancy and/or the inability to have a much wanted child is still very much a taboo.
This beautifully told story with its seasoning of magical realism gently, sensitively, entwines the angst, the loss and grieving, the identity maiming pain of losing a pregnancy with new friendships and evolving relationships. It blends adventure and discovery with the kind of magic that seems real, not imagined, to create an unforgettable tale. Eloise’s trepidation at getting to know the other people in the secret garden and her gradual acceptance of allowing herself to experience belonging is achingly real. The romance is subtle but, as a hopeless romantic I always want to know that the characters I fall in love with will have a happy ending.
Resau is an award-winning Colorado author.
Mona’s Eyes
By Thomas Schlesser, translated by Hildegarde SerleEuropa$27.90August 2025Purchase
From the publisher: Ten-year-old Mona and her beloved grandfather have only 52 Wednesdays to visit 52 works of art and commit to memory “all that is beautiful in the world” before Mona loses her sight forever. While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona’s brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl’s grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but he can fill the encroaching darkness with beauty.
Every Wednesday for a year, the pair abscond together and visit a single masterpiece in one of Paris’s renowned museums. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona learns how each artist’s work shaped the world around them. In turn, the young girl’s world is changed forever by the power of their art. Under the kind and careful tutelage of her grandfather, Mona learns the true meaning of generosity, melancholy, love, loss, and revolution. Her perspective will never be the same — nor will the reader’s.
From Marya Johnston, owner: Back in the day, I took a wonderful Art History class at what was then Western State College. The teacher sat in the back of the class with his slide projector, chain smoking, describing great works of art in such a way that this small town girl from Colorado who’d hardly been anywhere else was exposed to the masterpieces…. and was enchanted.
This story of a grandfather’s bond with his granddaughter and determination to expose her to the beauty of life via masterworks of the museums in Paris before she might lose her sight again is…magnifique! The undercurrents of sadness and loss are balanced by the exquisite descriptions of the 52 pieces of art they explore, and the beauty and life they represent. The way art is woven into the storyline is spot on.
The (also enchanting) descriptions of works you know and some you don’t, will leave you wanting more. It’s like the very best Art History class, minus the chain smoking. This is one of my favorite books this year. **Note: Please don’t read this as an audio book or digitally. The physical book has representations of the works of art on the inside cover. It saves lots of Googling.**
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
Out West Books
533 Main St., Grand Junction
outwestbooks.co
Twitter Instagram FacebookAs part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.
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