TBR Saturday

So we often have friends releasing new books. And we love to recommend them. Here’s our book recommendations. We try to get it done every Saturday but we are busy so we may have missed a few.

The Last Morning: A Thriller (The Secrets of Chapel Roads Book 1) by Camden Baird In her pulse-pounding psychological thriller debut, author Camden Baird lays bare the anguish and terror of a mother living out her worst nightmare when her young child goes missing.

Sadie Wilson’s heart stops the moment the phone rings. Deep in her soul, she knows what’s coming, and the voice on the other end only confirms her fears: Emma never made it to school. Her sweet, scared five-year-old climbed onto the bus for her very first day of kindergarten…and then vanished.

Struggling to push aside her grief to focus on getting her daughter back, Sadie finds herself slipping deeper into despair. The growing list of suspects weighs heavily on her mind: the secretive teacher, the registered sex offender, the delusional neighbor, the disgruntled ex-wife, the evasive principal—everyone seems to have a connection to Emma. And a surprising grudge to bear.

Thankfully Sadie’s got her loving husband, Allen, by her side. But she can’t help feeling he’s hiding something too.

Edgy and full of twists, The Last Morning is an emotional thrill ride, unfolding little by little from each suspect’s point of view.
Smells Like Rain by Kate Radtke This coming-of-age thriller follows Mackenzie Ambrose, a redheaded teenager from a trailer park, as he navigates friendship, bullying, family struggles, and the dark secrets lurking in his small town. When a classmate is found dead near Mackenzie’s home, long-standing wounds and suspicions are ripped open. As he and his friends, Ally and Jason, dig deeper, they uncover a hidden journal in their school’s basement—written by a disturbed former student from the 1970s who details his progression from animal cruelty to murder. Their investigation leads them through decades-old mysteries, present-day dangers, and chilling connections between past and present crimes.

Amidst bullying, first crushes, and family drama—including Mackenzie’s estranged mother reappearing—Mackenzie is drawn into a deadly game with a serial killer who has returned to town. As he pieces together clues from old yearbooks, town rumors, and the journal, Mackenzie must face his worst fears and fight for survival. The story weaves together themes of trauma, resilience, forgiveness, and the complexities of growing up, culminating in a tense showdown that tests the bonds of friendship and the meaning of home.
Zombie Turkeys: How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys (Life After Life) by Mr. Andy Zach (Author), Ms. Dori Harrell (Editor), Mr. Rik Hall (Editor), Mr. Sean Patrick Flanagan (Illustrator) Sam Melvin, an underachieving e-reporter from a small town, changes forever when he meets turkeys that won’t stay dead. The undead plague of poultry spreads uncontrollably, rocking the whole country. As Sam tracks down the zombie turkeys and how to eradicate them, his editor, Lisa Kambacher, nags him to turn his stories and expenses in on time. During their years of working together, Lisa has mellowed into an irascible pinchpenny. Lisa snipes at Sam for plebeian writing but uses her intelligence to pursue the lucrative carnivorous turkey story. Sam and Lisa ricochet across the landscape, tracking turkeys and fleeing the bloodthirsty hordes. Careening from shell-shocked grocery store owners fighting turkeys crawling out of refrigerators, to machine-gunning turkey farmers, to secret militia, Sam and Lisa doggedly report. Throughout the turkey apocalypse, they dare ravaged cities, plow knee deep in gore and corpses, and upload streams of zombie turkey video news to the world.With paranoid militias clashing with the federal government and unkillable turkeys, Sam and Lisa doubt their ability to survive. Sam and Lisa have no superpowers. If you have a heart condition or lack humor, you should not read Zombie Turkeys, no matter how much you want to find out what happens.
Dwarf: A Memoir by Tiffanie DiDonato (Author), Rennie Dyball (Author) “It’s okay with me if you picked up this book because you’re curious about what it’s like to live with dwarfism. But I hope that you’ll take away much more—about adapting to the world when it won’t adapt to you.”—from Dwarf

A memoir of grit and transformation for anyone who has been told something was impossible and then went on to do it anyway.

Tiffanie DiDonato was born with dwarfism. Her limbs were so short that she was not able to reach her own ears. She was also born with a serious case of optimism. She decided to undergo a series of painful bone-lengthening surgeries that gave her an unprecedented 14 inches of height—and the independence she never thought she’d have.

After her surgeries, Tiffanie was able to learn to drive, to live in the dorms during college, and to lead a normal life. She even made time to volunteer, writing to troops stationed abroad, and one of those Marine pen pals ultimately became her husband.

Dwarf is a moving and, at times, funny testament to the power of sheer determination, and has been compared to Andrew Solomon’s Far From the Tree.

Watch her Good Morning America segment: https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/dwarf-womans-story-undergoing-controversial-lengthening-surgeries/story?id=17841466
The Crazy Walk: A Stroll With The Struggle by Debbie Dick The Crazy Walk discusses many aspects of mental health struggle from a person who has experienced each one. Psychotic breaks, medication, support systems, marching on, victimhood, PTSD, and other topics that I can all personally speak to. This is not a memoir. This is a voice for people who struggle with these issues. You may notice that the individual pieces are quite short. This is intentional. People who struggle with mental health issues often cannot read a whole book to gain something. I know, because I cannot, and I am not alone. With this in mind I crafted each page carefully. Each piece offers something different. I hope for The Crazy Walk to offer assistance to support systems by helping them understand what a loved one goes through. I hope that my work will help readers know they are not alone. That someone really does get it. This project is not about telling my story. If that were true, I would have written something entirely different. This project is about reaching out to others. Won’t you walk with me?
Shaggy’s Cheeseburgers: A Real World Tragedy-To-Triumph Story… Through Hope, Love and Change by Ron Ladner What if a simple cheeseburger held the secret to rebuilding your life—and your community?

When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast, entrepreneur Ron Ladner lost everything. But from the wreckage emerged something extraordinary: Shaggy’s, a restaurant that would become far more than a place to grab a burger. It became a symbol of hope, resilience, and the unbreakable spirit of a community determined to rise again.

In Shaggy’s Cheeseburgers, Ladner serves up a deeply personal story that’s equal parts memoir, business blueprint, and love letter to the Gulf Coast. With warmth, humor, and unflinching honesty, he reveals how a simple cheeseburger became the foundation for rebuilding not just a business, but an entire way of life.

This isn’t just another entrepreneur’s success story—it’s a masterclass in:

Turning catastrophic loss into opportunity to start over
Building a business culture that puts people first
Finding purpose through service to others
The power of community in overcoming adversity
Why the simplest pleasures often hold the deepest meaning

From childhood adventures on the Mississippi coast to the heart-wrenching aftermath of Katrina, from the first uncertain days of opening Shaggy’s to watching it become an iconic Gulf Coast restaurant, Ladner’s story will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the extraordinary power of ordinary moments.

Featuring candid testimonials from Shaggy’s team members and community members whose lives were touched by this remarkable restaurant, Shaggy’s Cheeseburgers reminds us that sometimes the most profound truths come wrapped in the simplest packages—like a perfectly crafted cheeseburger, shared with the people who matter most.

Perfect for readers who loved Kitchen Confidential, Shoe Dog, A Pirate Looks at Fifty, or anyone seeking inspiration about resilience, leadership, community, and finding joy in life’s simple pleasures.