The Ones That Kept Me Up at Night

When I was a kid, my favorite thing about summer was that I could sleep in. Which also meant that I could stay up as late as I wanted the night before. Not that my mother condoned staying up into the wee hours – she didn't know about it. As long as my room light was off and I was super-quiet, I could read as much as I wanted. I kind of blame those nights for my terrible eyesight now, given that I read by streetlight, clock-radio light, closet light, you name it.
Now that I have a job, there are people who would prefer that I get a good night's sleep. And my friends tease me about how early I go to bed – but just like my mom, they don't realize that sometimes I'm reading like a serious night owl.
The books I consume late at night aren't necessarily the best books I've read (some of those need to be savored), but they are books that I can't bear to part with, not when things are just getting so good. When I meet one of those, I've been known to rush right through it in one day (or night, as the case may be).
Here is a list of a few "candle burners" from this year:

Defending Jacob by William Landy

Andy Barber is a district attorney with a wonderful life, until his 14-year-old son's friend is killed. Everything unravels when Andy's son is arrested for the murder, and like any parent protecting his child, he is determined to find the true killer. But that isn't as simple as he believes. Watch out for a mega-mind-twist.

Cleaner of Chartres by Salley Vickers

A quiet and unassuming woman arrives in the French town of Chartres without a Euro to her name, but soon seems to be everywhere. She cleans for the cathedral and many of the town's residents, she serves as a secretary to an absent-minded professor, and she is even a babysitter. But a small infraction opens up a bigger story about her past, threatening to bring down the life she's built for herself.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

A frothy, fun cocktail served up with a side of sarcasm – just what I like on a hot summer night. This is a Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous for the east side of the planet, with an inside look at how the super-wealthy of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, spend all that cash. The peacock players strut their over-the-top stuff in a wickedly funny guilty-pleasure read.

The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane by Kelly Harms

I like my chick lit with a little more meat behind it, and this one delivers. When the HomeSweetHome Network announces the winner of its dream-house contest, two Jeanine Browns from Cedar Falls, Iowa, think they are the lucky ones. Both head to Christmas Cove, Maine, to move into the prize home, only to clash head-on into each other. The real winner needs the escape – without the added and unwanted companion. And the false winner simply refuses to leave.

Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

This modern-day mystery has a tinge of the fairy tale about it – and not just because of the title. When a killer is released from prison, a young girl in his German hometown disappears in an eerie reminder of his original crime. Detectives investigating an attempted murder nearby that seems to have links to the missing girl soon find themselves embroiled in a poisonous village that is determined to hide the truth.