Hi friends,

I’m writing this after finishing a yoga class, and, wow, do I feel it. Every time I do yoga, I think “This is way harder than it has any right to be.” If any of you are yogis, please share advice in the comment section.

Quick programming note: I’m taking next Monday off so I can spend next weekend with my (almost one-year-old!) niece. My current plan is to spoil her rotten and give her books (I have Sandra Boynton’s Woohoo! You’re Doing Great! and Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy Bird in my bag). I’ll be back on October 6^th with my annual Spooky Season edition.

And, now, what to read if …

You Know “Private Eyes” is a Bop

The Princess and the P.I. by Nikki Payne

I recently had to convince a friend that the Hall and Oates hit “Private Eyes” is danceable. She was skeptical, but I won her over. Try not joining in on the clap, clap-clap on the chorus. If you want a book starring a private investigator, complete with Veronica Mars vibes, you’ll want to read Nikki Payne’s The Princess and the P.I. ASAP.

Fiona Addai has spent ages using her internet sleuthing skills to plan the perfect crime: She’s going to steal back her deceased brother’s game-changing invention from the company that stole it from him. Unfortunately, her plot goes awry. Instead of getting justice for her brother, Fiona is accused of murder.

Maurice Bennett1 has been living in an alcohol- and drug-fueled haze since failing to close his last major case — one that involved Fiona’s family — while working on the police force. Now a P.I., Fiona’s case intrigues him like nothing in years.

Together, they team up to clear Fiona’s name by using her cyber-sleuthing background and his real-world detective skills. Their partnership threatens to expose a tech conspiracy and dangerous family secrets, and it also leads to a spark between the two of them as they attempt to outwit a killer playing a dangerous game.

It’s unusual that I highlight a new release, but I read an early copy of The Princess and the P.I. months ago and have been dying to talk about it with people, so I’m pushing it on you now. With it, Payne does something impressive. She melds two genres that stand in opposition to one another —