Beneath the Book Club: A rogue email, an ice-skating romance and story of a sisterly bond top April’s book choices.

By SARA VANDEN BERGE

Hello Beneath the Book Clubbers!

It’s time to vote on our April read and I am excited to introduce these three books.

1. It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara

3.9 on Goodreads

WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “Your neighbors have secrets. How far would they go to keep them?

“’A simple, ordinary mistake explodes into a suburban nightmare in this hugely compelling, one-sitting read packed full of thrilling moments and genuinely surprising twists. Andrea Mara is at the very top of her game.’” —Catherine Ryan Howard

“You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister.

"But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.

“As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.

“The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town.

“Did the killer get the wrong house?

“It won’t be long before you find out…”

2. The Favorites by Layne Fargo

4.2 on Goodreads, No. 1 bestseller in sports fiction

WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “She might not have a famous name, funding or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater.

“When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and roller-coaster relationship.

“Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.“As the 10-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the ‘real story’ through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals.

“Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy.

“So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart.

“Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.”

3. The Devil’s Daughter by Danielle Steel

4.4 on Goodreads

WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “Graduating magna cum laude from MIT is the happiest day of Billie Banks’s life, although her family is not part of it.

"Her mother, who always supported her, died when Billie was seventeen.

“Since then, her father has been slowly drinking himself to death on the family farm in Iowa, and she and her younger sister, Mickie, have grown even more estranged.

“Growing up, the siblings could not have been more different. Billie was shy, small, bookish, more like their mother; tall, blond Mickie was boldly sexual, craving attention, and lacking empathy for anyone, like their father.

“Despite Billie’s attempts to look after Mickie following their mother’s death, her sister consistently treated her with cruelty.

“So when Mickie invites Billie to move in with her in Los Angeles, Billie is both wary and hopeful. Taking a leap of faith, she joins her sister on the West Coast.

“While Mickie lands a questionable modeling job and falls in with a fast crowd, Billie begins working at a pathology lab and starts dating a warm, supportive reporter at the Los Angeles Times.

“But then the siblings’ difficult history once again rises to the surface.

“This gripping story of a sisterly bond strained to the breaking point by narcissism and temptation is an unforgettable tale of good and evil from Danielle Steel.”

So, Beneath the Book Clubbers, which one do you want to read?

Vote now on the Beneath the Book Club page or weigh in on Facebook.

We’ll host our online discussion on Tuesday, April 28.