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@denverpost.com.

“A Plausible Man: The True Story of the Escaped Slave Who Inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” by Susanna Ashton (The New Press, 2024)

John Andrew Jackson, born about 1828 in slavery to a wealthy white man named Robert English in South Carolina, became a main character in the development of this country’s abolition movement as originated in the classic novel. He traveled, sometimes to escape his bonds, others to travel in search of a better life. Author Harriet Beecher Stowe hosted him one night in the North where he became a family favorite, entertaining them with stories and sparkling conversation. Ashton has uncovered the hazy traces of Jackson’s life over decades, using historic records along with fascinating insights into living conditions, history and personalities. Somewhere along the way, Jackson learned to read and write — it was frowned upon if not illegal to make slaves literate — and he published books, articles and letters for many years. His dream was to create a group home for former slaves, which he didn’t attain, but he did collect clothing and supplies over many years for them. — 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)

“Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II,” by Elyse Graham (Ecco, 2024)

Graham uses the experiences of three people — an archivist, an English professor and a history professor — who played critical roles in U.S. intelligence gathering during World War II, to detail how that work evolved to meet the new wartime demands. Her chatty writing style makes this topic most accessible, yet Graham distills the impact of these researchers’ work clearly: “The dramatic shift in intelligence during the war was the shift from collecting haphazard anecdotes on the ground to collecting and studying published facts.” She also shows us how this new style of intelligence gathering changed not only the people involved but also their original professions. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver

“Go As a River,” by Shelley Read (Spiegel & Grau, 2023)

There are times when you reach the end of a book and your heart breaks because there are no more words and you wish the story could go on forever. That is how I felt at the end of “Go as a River.” Follow Victoria as a young girl who meets her destiny on a sidewalk in the ill-fated town of Iola, Colo. A chance meeting with a young man changes her life forever. We follow her journey both joyful but at times desperate and challenging. You will hold your breath reading the end of this story and pray for Victoria that all will come to be right in her world. Colorado author Shelley Read, in this her debut novel, writes in a rich and captivating style that pulls you in and lets you visualize exactly the people and landscape of the times. — 4 stars (out of 4); Janice Volz Schefcik, Centennial

“The Friend,” by Sigrid Nunez (Penguin Group, 2018)

A writer is stunned when her best friend and mentor commits suicide, and her loneliness and grief are complicated when the friend’s third wife asks her to take his elderly Great Dane, named Apollo. As a life-long cat lover, she bristles at this request; how could she possibly care for this gentle giant, and risk being evicted from her way-too-small, rent-controlled Manhattan apartment? With some trepidation, she takes in Apollo, who becomes her new best friend and, in his own way, her new mentor on how to love unconditionally while both of them heal from the sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. The unnamed narrator (indeed, only the dog and her handyman are given names) delves into the ponderous work by other authors about suicide and death, finally writing a poignant essay on how her friend could have survived had luck intervened, and what grace might be found when her dog’s final moments arrive. (Winner of the 2018 National Book Award for fiction, and a 2024 movie starring Naomi Watts, Bill Murray and the harlequin Great Dane, Bing.) — 3½ stars (out of 4); Karen Goldie Hartman, Westminster