Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpo st.com. – Barbara Ellis “What We Can Know,” by Ian McEwan (Alfred A. Knopf, 2025) What Can We Know by Ian McEwan. Pages: 320. Publisher: Knopf Largely a dystopian novel set in an early 22nd-century world, much diminished by the predictable and also unexpected effects of climate change, unending regional wars and limited nuclear exchanges. A literature professor living in the British archipelago (the British Isles much reduced by then due to rising sea waters) is obsessed with finding a lost poem said to be an early 21st-century masterpiece. He has scoured every record available for clues, and there is a lot from that time (read: our time): journals, diaries, letters, emails, voice mails, text messages. It’s all online. His search takes him deep into the lives of the poet and his circle, uncovering layers of deceptions and secrets. Did these people truly know one another? What do traditional records, easily manipulated or even destroyed, tell us about the lives of others?  Thought-provoking on so many levels. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver “Mythos,” by Stephen Fry (Chronicle Books, 2019) Esteemed actor Fry here “reimagines” the familiar — and not-so-familiar — tales of the gods. Fry imbues the stories with humor and historical asides. For the Greeks, these myths explained the mysteries of the world; I find the etymological notes particularly fascinating. This book reads beautifully, but for the fullest enjoyment of Fry’s language and humor, listen to his inimitable narration. — 4 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker “An Inside Job,” by Daniel Silva (Harper, 2025) No. 25 in the Gabriel Allon series. Many of the usual cast of characters appear here, with one major exception: no one from Mossad or even Israel appears. Set entirely in Europe and largely in Italy, Silva’s latest mystery is set off when a painting (thought to be a never-before-known work by Leonardo Da Vinci) is stolen from the Vatican’s collection. As Allon tracks down the thieves, another crime of massive embezzlement from the Vatican’s financial accounts is uncovered. Oh, and coincidentally, an Italian crime syndicate is taken down. A classic Allon tale with Renaissance art, international travel and intrigue, as well as everyday family life in Venice. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver “Lost and Found,” by Kathryn Schulz (Random House, 2022) This book’s subtitle is “Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness.” As Schulz’s beloved father was dying, she was falling in love with the woman who would become her life partner. This extended essay juxtaposes two intense emotions – overwhelming grief and incredible happiness – and the gratitude that accompanies both of them. A lovely read with excellent discussion opportunities on these life-changing topics. Schulz’s writing is gorgeous; this is a book to be savored. — 4 stars (out of 4); Jo Calhoun, Denver “People Like Us,” by Jason Mott (Penguin Random House, 2025) "People Like Us: A Novel," by Jason Mott. (Penguin Publishing Group/TNS) Two Black authors (or are they the same person?) are brought together again in the latest novel by Mott, who won the National Book Award in 2021 for “Hell of a Book.”  One (who remains nameless) has a “condition” that sometimes makes it hard for him to recognize people and situations he has encountered before; the other is only known as “Soot.” Both men are suffering from the grief and fear that gun culture has created. One escapes to another continent, but the danger follows him wherever he goes; the other keeps his commitment to give a presentation where a bloody school shooting has just occurred. At a book reading in Italy, a reader asks, “Do you love America?” and the author is forced to consider if America is truly his home or just another place to run from in search of a world where a man can breathe easy without fear of getting shot, or even committing his own violent act against another person. — 4 stars (out of 4); Karen Goldie Hartman, Westminster Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox. ...read more read less