I often look through national observances to see what topics people will be talking about that I have addressed in my books. Some observances are silly, like National No Pants Day (May 7), National Limerick Day (May 12), or Put a Pillow on your Fridge Day (May 29). Others are quite serious.
There were so many causes that I would like to highlight for May, that I decided to do one massive post about the different days and see which resonate with you. Thus… Read Your Way Through May.
I have been experimenting with reading lists on a number of different platforms, so you can find this book list on each of the following:
May 1 Celiac Disease Awareness Month
Join baker-sleuth Erin Price as she bakes up speciality goodies and solves mysteries in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series.
Gluten-Free Murder
Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ P.D. Workman has done it again! This introduction to a new series involves a fresh start, sympathetic characters, and a murder. I spent the last ten minutes of the book standing up to read because I was off to do something but just couldn’t put it down until I got to the end. I haven’t been that invested in a book in a while.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Couldn’t put it down !! From a cute kitten to a police dog to a bakery for people with allergies ! Highly recommend!
FREE EBOOKPAPERBACKLARGE PRINTRETAILERS
READ SAMPLEBOOKBUBBINGEBOOKSGOODREADS
Download Bonus!
RECIPES
Make it a bundle:
BOOKS 1-3BOOKS 1-15
May 3 National Paranormal Day
Reg Rawlins, Psychic Investigator, and Starlight, her familiar, investigate strange goings-on in the paranormal community of Black Sands.
What the Cat Knew
Reg Rawlins, professional con, has really gotten herself into a bind this time.
The fortune teller gig started as a scam, but she suddenly finds herself tangled up in the case of Warren Blake, a man who she thought was dead. It turns out he may still be alive, but in mortal peril.
Reg has always taken the quick exit, the easy way out, but running out on this racket might mean someone else’s death.
Staying in it might mean hers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It sounds like a fairly gentle story, but there is a lot of suspense involved. Add a bunch of humor to the mix and you are in for a treat … This is a story that you don’t want to put down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book has all my favourite things: heart, great writing, nearly-flawless editing, something unusual in the air, and a cat.
Like paranormal mysteries? Psychics, witches, fairies, and more! Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman waves her wand to transport readers to the myth- and magic-filled small town of Black Sands for a paranormal cozy mystery to be solved by Reg Rawlins and her friends.
A self-professed con artist practicing as a contact to the dead, a drop-dead gorgeous warlock, and a psychic cat—what could go wrong?
Fall under Reg’s spell today.
FREE EBOOK PAPERBACK LARGE PRINT RETAILERS
READ SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
Make it a bundle:
BOOKS 1-3 BOOKS 1-12
May 5 Borderline Personality Disorder Month
Follow June Simpson’s story in the award-winning family epic Between the Cracks series.
June & Justin
Justin had made a mistake. A big, life-changing mistake.
He already failed June once. He wasn’t there when she needed him, and because of him, their lives will never be the same. June is everything to Justin, and he must be everything to her. He must protect June at all costs. Justin is prepared spend the rest of his life keeping her from getting hurt again.
But it seems they are always falling behind, barely keeping one step ahead of the nightmares.
There is always one more hazard, just around the corner.
EBOOK PAPERBACK RETAILERS SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
June, Into the Light
June Simpson has lost everything. Her family, the love of her life, and now her freedom.
And it’s her own fault.
Drugs have taken her health and what little happiness remained in her life, and now, incarcerated after a failed attempt at armed robbery, June is forced to detox and to face the reality of the misery and abuse she has perpetrated on those closest to her, especially her children.
Getting clean is just the first of her challenges, and as difficult as it is, may be the easiest part.
The path ahead is filled with so many obstacles she can’t see her way through to the other side. Facing her children and convincing them that she has really changed and is capable of a healthy relationship with them seems like an insurmountable task.
Readers begged for another book in the Between the Cracks series from award-winning and USA Today bestselling author P.D. Workman. They especially wanted June’s story to be told.
You asked for it, so here it is. Click ‘buy now’!
June, Into the Light is book #6 in the Between the Cracks series but can be read as a stand-alone novel.
The Between the Cracks series has won multiple literary awards from the In the Margins Committee of Library Services for Youth in Custody.
EBOOK PAPERBACK RETAILERS SAMPLE LISTEN TO SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
May 7 National Pet Month
Hopefully, you have been enjoying the antics of the pets in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series and Reg Rawlins series. Another kitten crawls into your heart in Virtually Harmless
Virtually Harmless
From award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author, P.D. Workman
Micah lived a quiet, comfortable life, her involvement in law enforcement limited to the composite pictures that she produced with her computer and colored pencils.
But everything is turned upside down when she involves herself in the case of an infant found abandoned in the Sweetgrass Hills.
With the help of her knowledge of DNA and law enforcement contacts across the country, Micah is closing in on a killer. But her investigation draws the killer’s attention, and she finds herself in the middle of an operation that could mean the end of her career—or worse, her life.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This cosy thriller with a neurodivergent, aro-ace MC will keep you turning the pages long after you should have logged into your day job. Oops.
Love CSI and other forensic mysteries? Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author brings you this fresh new nail-biter for your next read.
Join Micah as she picks up her pencils and starts on a new case.
EBOOK AUDIOBOOK PAPERBACK RETAILERS
READ SAMPLE LISTEN TO SAMPLE BOOKBUBGOODREADS
“P. D. Workman has outdone herself with this riveting techno-thriller featuring Micah Miller, a forensic artist specializing in composite renderings based on forensic DNA phenotyping … This book offers plenty of thrills, chills, suspense and white-knuckled tension as the plot unfolds and it kept me turning pages until late into the night. The story is clean and well-written, the plot is fascinating, the pace is relentless and the characters are realistic and relatable. I highly recommend this absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable thriller to anyone who favors CSI, NCIS, Cold Case, Forensic Files or any high-tech inspired crime-solving theme.”
—Kim, Goodreads reviewer
May 9 National Family Month
I already introduced the Simpson family in the Between the Cracks series above, so how about meeting Parker’s family in this award-winning book?
Endless Change
She was a broken bird
He was a mender of wings
Parker’s mother always said he jumped into things without thinking first, and that’s exactly what he did when he saw Dakota, cold and hungry, fending for herself on the city streets. How could he ignore the pain and fear in her dark eyes? Dakota was eager to go to school and she made friends quickly, eager to make up for a dismal childhood full of deprivation and abuse by enjoying every moment she could.
But there was something wrong with Dakota. It wasn’t just the hollowness in her eyes or her traumatic past. Others sensed it too and warned Parker not to get too close to Dakota. But despite his questions, he just can’t help falling for her.
Dakota holds her secrets close, and Parker is worried that if he pushes too hard for answers, she’ll just run away.
Placed on the In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads, 2018 by Library Services for Youth in Custody.
By the author of Tattooed Teardrops, winner of the Top Fiction Award, In the Margins Committee, 2016.
If you enjoy gritty contemporary young adult books like those by John Green and Stephen Chbosky, give P.D. Workman’s Endless Change a try.
In a genre dominated by kick-ass heroines in post-apocalyptic dystopian worlds, wizards and magical realism, Ms. Workman is carving out her own niche. Her books show us real kids facing scary real-life problems in the modern world. Her work is both an invitation to empathy and a cautionary tale.
—Talena Winters
May 11 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month
Take a peek at the Medical Kidnap Files. More on this series below.
EDS
With a long string of unbelievable stories to explain her frequent injuries, Social Services sees Katt is the stereotypical abused child. When she is admitted to hospital with yet another broken bone, they do the only logical thing to protect her, removing Katt from her mother’s custody.
But Katt and her mother know that something is wrong, and it has nothing to do with abuse, and the longer Katt stays in foster care, the worse her health gets. Can they get the answers they need before it is too late? Can they get the answers and get Katt back home?
AUTHOR DIRECT RETAILERS SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase an ebook directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
May 14 Mental Health Awareness Month
If anyone can tell you about mental illness, it’s Zachary Goldman. Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
She Wore Mourning
A dead child.
A mother deep in mourning.
Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.
Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it. She fears Declan’s mother will not be able to find peace until Zachary can give them an answer once and for all. But as Zachary digs into the circumstances surrounding Declan’s death, he finds that all is not as it seems, and somebody doesn’t want him to find the truth.
As Christmas Eve, the deadline for solving the case looms closer, both Isabella and Zachary fall deeper into the darkness. they’ll have to survive Christmas Eve to find it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Psychologically complex and gripping … Zachary must deal with his own psychological issues as well as those of the child’s parents along with attempts on his life. I’m binge reading this series.
Zachary Goldman, Private Investigator, is flawed with a capital F. Shattered by the tragedies of his own life, he will somehow still manage to pick himself up and dig just a little bit deeper than anyone else to find the vital clues.
Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
Even with his own life in shambles, Zachary Goldman is still the one you want on the case.
Investigate this P.I. mystery now!
Or make it a bundle:
May 16 Get Caught Reading Month
What are you going to get caught reading this month? Do you read on the train? In the park? What special book would you like to share with others?
May 18 Lyme Disease Awareness Month
As an infections disease expert, Matt Malloy knows all about Lyme disease. This one will have you itching to go for a walk in the woods. (Not!)
In the Tick of Time
Do things with lots of legs creep you out? This may not be the book for you…
Matt Malloy, infectious diseases expert, for the DOH vector-borne disease division knew there was something wrong with the Buffalo Head infection cluster as soon as it hit his desk.
But knowing it instinctively and proving it were two completely different things, especially when his boss and coworkers already thought that, battling sleep deprivation, he’d already gone around the bend.
Matt knew that solving the mysteries of the Buffalo Head cluster was a matter of life and death.
He just didn’t know that it could be a matter of his life and death.
It could happen to you. Maybe it already has.
Feast on this new mystery today.
A nail-biting, creepy-crawly, medical-thriller that fans of Robin Cook will devour.
Read it today.
May 20 Teen Self-Esteem Month
Follow Tamara French as she struggles to overcome the challenges of her past and reintegrate into the normal world in the award-winning Tamara’s Teardrops series
Tattooed Teardrops
Winner of Top Fiction Award, In the Margins Committee, 2016.
I don’t plan on getting in any trouble.
Tamara had thought that when she got out of juvie, things would be easier. But before long, it seems like her life is spiraling into chaos.
If she can’t prove to her probation officer that she is innocent of the allegations against her, she’s going back to prison, and Tamara just can’t let that happen.
Readers will appreciate the realistic details about Tamara’s release, her issues dealing with a foster family, her emotional triggers, and the challenges facing someone trying to maintain the conditions of parole. For those teens who love books where all that can go wrong does go wrong (isn’t that almost all of them?), this is a winner.
– School Library Journal
DOWNLOAD PAPERBACK RETAILERS SAMPLE LISTEN TO SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
May 21 World Day for Cultural Diversity
Can Nadie find happiness and a place of her own in a foreign world where she is abused and discriminated against? Completely alone for the first time in her life, it is a challenge such as Nadie has never before faced.
Questing for a Dream
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author P.D. Workman’s compelling and poignant account of Native teen Nadie Laplante’s quest for meaning and purpose. This thought-provoking and eye-opening story of poverty, prejudice and addiction will inspire readers of all ages and remind them that they are not alone.
Nadie is a bright, caring teen growing up Manitoba Cree growing up in abject poverty. She tries to balance school attendance, caring for her younger cousin Luyu, and spending time with handsome, impish Mouse, her best friend and confidante. Together, they strive to find the path to happiness on the reservation.
But tragedy strikes and Nadie’s is devastated by Luyu’s accidental death. Unable to find comfort in Mouse’s arms or Grandfather’s traditional mourning rites, Nadie leaves the band and strikes off on her own, searching for meaning and a new life in the outside world.
Can Nadie find happiness and a place of her own in a foreign world where she is abused and discriminated against? Completely alone for the first time in her life, it is a challenge such as Nadie has never before faced.
“P.D. Workman’s skilled narrative of Nadie and her poignant journey to wholeness is a thoughtful expose of shattered dreams and tragic youth sure to resonate with every reader.”
“An inspiring book which can encourage the reader to face the challenges in life’s journey and to accept the lessons that come as a result.”
By the author of the award-winning Ruby, Between the Cracks, this engaging and unforgettable story of Nadie’s journey to find a place in the world amidst heartache and hopelessness will inspire you to face your challenges with courage and become a happier and stronger person.
Download Bonus!
Easily one of the most thought-provoking and compelling reads of the year, Ms. Workman has written a masterful contemporary account of one native teen’s journey from home and the possibilities for hope even for those drowning in poverty, prejudice, and addiction … A must-read tale for any book lover!
Sarah E. Bradley, InD’tale Magazine
May 24 World Schizophrenia Day
Things were going well for Abe. Despite all of his past struggles with mental illness, he was happily married, had three wonderful children, a nice home, and a fantastic consulting business that satisfied his creativity and brought in a good income. But you can never get too comfortable.
Looking Over Your Shoulder
Things were going well for Abe. Despite all of his past struggles with mental illness, he was happily married, had three wonderful children, a nice home, and a fantastic consulting business that satisfied his creativity and brought in a good income.
But you can never get too comfortable. When Abe becomes a prime suspect in a jewel heist – one of the largest successful jewel heists in history – his schizophrenia becomes unmanageable and everything begins to spiral out of control. Abe’s own investigation into the heist has the jewel thieves hot on his tail… but are they really, or is he just losing the battle against his inner demons?
EBOOK PAPERBACK RETAILERS SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
May 26 Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month
From the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series mentioned above, Zachary takes a deep dive into the mystery surrounding his ex-wife in this episode.
She Was At Risk
Zachary has done his very best to let go of ex-wife Bridget and relegate their relationship to the past. So when her current partner comes to him for help, he is understandably hesitant to help.
But Gordon has always been a stand-up guy and done right by Zachary, so he reluctantly lets himself be talked once more into helping Bridget and Gordon. Zachary struggles with obsessions and self-doubt at the best of times, and this is a case that could break him.
His investigations lead him from one dark revelation to another until Zachary has no idea how he’s going to find his way back into the light.
EBOOK PAPERBACK RETAILERS SAMPLE BINGEBOOKS BOOKBUB GOODREADS BINGEBOOKS
May 28 National Foster Care Month
Erin Price (Auntie Clem’s Bakery), Reg Rawlins, and Zachary Goldman are all former foster-kids solving mysteries. The Between the Cracks series and Tamara’s Teardrops series also address foster care.
Jump into the Medical Kidnap Files, where teens put into foster care are at the center of their own adventures.
Mito
Gabriel has dealt with mysterious medical issues his whole life. Just when he finally thought that they had all of the answers and he was on the road to good health, he is apprehended by DFS on the grounds of medical neglect.
At first, he thought that he would be back home in a few days, once the misunderstanding was cleared up. But when Renata tells Gabriel her crazy conspiracy theories, Gabriel feels the first pangs of doubt. Is there really a conspiracy?
Will he ever be able to get well and go back to his mother, or is he doomed to be another guinea pig for Doctor De Klerk?
AUTHOR DIRECT RETAILERS SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase an ebook directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
May 30 National Share A Story month
How many of these did you manage to read this month? Did you read something (on this list or not!) that you would like to share with others? Send a friend or family member a recommendation, review on your favourite book site, or gift a book to someone!
