The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett #bookreview #series

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Silent Appeal in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Atria Books Published: September 1, 2026   Summary: From “modern Agatha Christie” (The Sunday Times, London) Janice Hallett, a follow-up to her blockbuster debut novel The Appeal, featuring the Fairway Players as they put on Agatha Christie’s play The Hollow and find themselves embroiled in murder, blackmail, and betrayal once again.…

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Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: August 20, 2013   Summary: Violence and murder blow into Minnesota’s sleepy Tamarack County as ex-sheriff Cork O’Connor returns in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger’s New York Times bestselling series.As a blizzard swells just days before Christmas, the car belonging to the wife of a retired local judge is discovered abandoned on a rural road in Tamarack County. After days of…

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The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: August 13, 2024 (first published 1922)   Summary: The novel that introduced Tommy and Tuppence, a bantering pair of 1920s bright young things who solve a mystery together while falling for each other. The Great War is over and jobs are scarce. Tommy Beresford and Prudence “Tuppence” Cowley, who were friends before the war, run into each other in…

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All the Lies We See by Christina McDonald #bookreview #series

Thank you to the author for an advanced e- copy of All the Lies We See in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Intrique Ink Publishing Published: July 7, 2026   Summary: A viral video shows a detective committing a murder she didn’t commit in this gripping psychological crime thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Night Olivia Fell. Detective Jess Lambert is days away from the trial of…

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: December 28, 2021 (first published 1926)   Summary: The official edition of the beloved classic voted by the British Crime Writers’ Association as the “Best Crime Novel of all Time,” now featuring a new introduction by Louise Penny, a foreword from Agatha Christie’s great grandson, and exclusive content from the Queen of Mystery. Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He…

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Storm Warning by Alex Henderson #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Published: March 24, 2026   Summary: Wildlife biologist Alex Carter jumps at the chance to work with hawksbill turtles in Hawaii, only to face an unthinkable threat that endangers countless lives in the captivating latest entry of the acclaimed series by Alice Henderson. Alex Carter is thrilled to be in lush, tropical Hawaii for her new to study and protect…

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The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter #bookreview #series

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Secrets We Hide in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: August 11, 2026   Summary: The next thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series. Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows…

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Trickster’s Point by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: August 22, 2012   Summary: The latest in the New York Times bestselling Cork O’Connor mystery series—the action never stops when the private detective ends up in the crosshairs of a political assassin. The dying don’t easily become the dead. The next novel in William Kent Krueger’s New York Times bestselling series finds Cork O’Connor sitting in the shadow of a towering monolith known as Trickster’s Point,…

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Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: February 24, 2026 (first published 1975)   Summary: Arthritic and immobilized, Poirot calls on his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles to be the eyes and ears that will feed observations to Poirot’s still razor sharp mind. Though aware of the criminal’s identity, Poirot will not reveal it to the frustrated Hastings, and dubs the nameless…

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Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Brimstone Hollow in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: August 11, 2026   Summary: Following her powerful debut in The Witch’s Orchard, private investigator Annie Gore returns in Brimstone Hollow, bringing readers back to the mountains that author Archer Sullivan, a ninth generation Appalachian, knows so well. There isn’t…

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Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: August 30, 2011   Summary: With his family caught in the crosshairs of a group of brutal killers, detective Cork O’Connor must solve the murder of a young girl in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger’s unforgettable New York Times bestselling series. During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods, a violent gale sweeps through unexpectedly, stranding Cork and…

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Killer Vibes by Jack Friday #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Killer Vibes in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: July 14, 2026   Summary: Meet Peter Key: self-proclaimed “laziest private investigator in Texas” (it’s harder than it looks), full-time bisexual, dedicated stoner, and the surprised recipient of a windfall inheritance from an uncle he barely knew. Peter’s life…

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Hide and Seek by Soren Sveistrup #bookreview #series #translatedbook

Thank you  Harper #partner, for the advanced copy of Hide and Seek in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher:  Harper Published: July 7, 2026   Summary: The author of The Chestnut Man and creator of the hit television series The Killing returns with a twisty, breakneck psychological thriller that takes an innocent children’s game to its most terrifying and diabolical extreme. Count to one, count to two . . . A strange voice from inside…

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Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: September 7, 2010   Summary: Some nights, Corcoran O’Connor dreams his father’s death. William Kent Krueger’s gripping tale of suspense begins with a recurring nightmare, a gun, and a wound in the earth so deep and horrific that it has a name, Vermilion Drift. When the Department of Energy puts an underground iron mine on its short list of potential…

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Wait and See by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you to Hachette Audio, #partner for the ALC of Wait and See in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: June 23, 2026   Summary: Investigator Kendra Michaels—formerly blind and now with uniquely insightful observational skills in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes—returns in this action-packed novel from the #1 New York Times and Edgar Award-winning writing duo Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. When Kendra Michaels receives…

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Heaven’s Keep by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: January 1, 2009   Summary: Intrepid hero Cork O’Connor faces the most harrowing mission of his life when a charter plane carrying his wife, Jo, goes missing in a snowstorm over the Wyoming Rockies. Months after the tragedy, two women show up on Cork’s doorstep with evidence that the pilot of Jo’s plane was not the man he claimed to…

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The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: September 27, 2011 (first published 1947)   Summary: In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet—reasoned the detective—like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed “Labors.”…

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The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Libro.fm / William Morrow for the ALC and William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Murder at World’s End in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / William Morrow Published: January 6, 2026   Summary: Secrets, murder, and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo—an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogenarian—hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world. Cornwall, 1910. On a…

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Red Knife by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: September 2, 2008   Summary: When the daughter of a powerful businessman dies as a result of her meth addiction, her father, strong-willed and brutal Buck Reinhardt, vows revenge. His target is the Red Boyz, a gang of Ojibwe youths accused of supplying the girl’s fatal drug dose. When the head of the Red Boyz and his wife are murdered in…

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Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: July 24, 2007   Summary: Henry Meloux, Cork’s friend and spiritual advisor, asks the Minnesota sheriff turned private investigator to find Henry’s long-lost son. Cork tracks the man to the Canadian town of Thunder Bay, Ontario, where it turns out he’s a prominent (if reclusive) industrialist. When someone tries to kill Henry, and the evidence points to his son, Cork digs…

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Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Atria Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Two Kinds of Stranger in exchange for my honest review. I obtained the audiobook via one of my audiobook subscriptions. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: March 24, 2026   Summary: SHE HELPED A PERFECT A STRANGER. SHE DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS THE PERFECT KILLER… Elly Parker had everything. Perfect husband. Perfect apartment. Perfect friends and the…

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This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone in exchange for my honest review. I obtained the audiobook via one of my audiobook subscriptions. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: April 28, 2026   Summary: The third in the witty and captivating series following bestselling author Eleanor Dash, who once again has to swap her sun hat for her detective hat, when…

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Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell by Gillian French #bookreview #audiobook #series #backlistreview

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: June 17, 2025   Summary: A page-turning, compelling thriller about a woman who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance. Shaw Connolly is no stranger to trauma. As a fingerprints analyst, she’s…

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Guide Me Home by Attica Locke #bookreview #series #backlistreview

Thank you Mulholland Books, #partner for the advanced e-copy of Guide Me Home in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Mulholland Books Published: September 3, 2024   Summary: In the final novel in the “timely and evocative” (NPR) Highway 59 trilogy, from Edgar Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Attica Locke, Darren Matthews is pulled out of an early retirement to investigate the disappearance of a Black college student from an…

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Copper River by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: November 27, 2006   Summary: Desperately avoiding the clutches of professional hit men who have already put a bullet in his leg, Cork finds sanctuary outside the small Michigan town of Bodine. But while he’s hiding out in an old resort owned by his cousin Jewell DuBois, a bitter widow with a fourteen-year-old son named Ren, the body of a…

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Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: May 7, 2007   Summary: Back in the saddle as sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork O’Connor is lured to the nearby Ojibwe reservation on what appears to be a routine call — only to become the target of sniper fire. Soon after, he’s called to investigate a mutilated body found perched above the raging waters of Mercy Falls. The victim is…

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Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #reread #readingchallenge

Thank you William Morrow, #partner for the finished copy of Murder on the Orient Express in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: January 18. 2011 (first published 1934)   Summary: “The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .” Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment,…

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Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Finlay Donovan Crossed the Line in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: March 17, 2026   Summary: Life hasn’t been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she’s…

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Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: September 2, 2025 (first published 1952)   Summary: In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady. Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of…

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Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the finished copy of Postmortem in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Scribner Books / Recorded Books Published: February 17, 2026 (first published 1990)   Summary: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Postmortem, the groundbreaking thriller that introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta and redefined the crime genre. A killer is stalking the streets of…

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Imposter by L.J. Ross #bookreview #series

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, #partner, for the advanced copy of Imposter in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Published: February 3, 2026,   Summary: There’s a killer inside all of us… In the remote hills of western Ireland, fear spreads as the locals struggle to make sense of a killer who is seemingly one of their own… Dr. Alexander Gregory, a psychologist recovering from the collapse of a…

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Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: January 31, 2007   Summary: When a high school student’s body is found and her boyfriend goes missing, tough-as-nails former sheriff Cork O’Connor is forced into the center of an eerie mystery with a shocking twist in this “vivid and realistic” ( Booklist ), Anthony Award-winning novel from New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger. When the body of a…

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The Sleepwalker by Lars Kepler #bookreview #series #translatedbook

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: Zaffre Published: January 11, 2024   Summary: The tenth thrilling installment in Lars Kepler’s bestselling series— acclaimed for “smart psychological suspense,” “explosive conclusions,” and “gritty portrayals of human evil” (Booklist)—is tense and terrifying. An emergency call comes in the middle of the night. There is an ongoing burglary at a closed campsite in Bredäng, outside Stockholm. When the police respond to…

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The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie #bookreview #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: December 3, 2024 (first published 1929)   Summary: A practical joke goes chillingly, murderously wrong in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic detective story, The Seven Dials Mystery. Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper, so the other houseguests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one…

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Punished by Ann-Helen Laestadius #bookreview #series #translatedbook

Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the advanced copy of Punished in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Scribner Books Published: February 4, 2025 (first published January 2023)   Summary: From the internationally bestselling author of the “extraordinary” (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen comes a harrowing story—inspired by true events—of five Indigenous children forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden, revealing the emotional scars they carry thirty years later. In…

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Inside Man by John McMahon #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Inside Man in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: January 13, 2026   Summary: In this sequel to McMahon’s electrifying series debut, Head Cases, Gardner Camden and the PAR team return to investigate potentially connected cases. FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles.…

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Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger #review #audiobook #series

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: March 28, 2011   Summary: Winner of the prestigious Loft-McKnight Fiction Award and the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, William Kent Krueger has established himself as a startlingly original voice in thriller fiction. With Purgatory Ridge he cements his standing as a suspense writer of the highest caliber. Not far from the small town of Aurora (population 3,752) lies…

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Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie #bookreview #reread #series #readingchallenge

I purchased this book for my own collection. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: September 29, 2020 (first published 1937)   Summary: Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on a journey to Egypt in one of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Death on the Nile. The tranquility of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl…

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Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell #bookreview #rerelease

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Ralph’s Party in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books Published: January 6, 2026 (reprint–originally released in 1999)   Summary: Discover the debut novel of the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell in which the residents of an apartment building confront one another’s attractions, distrust, secrets, and lies. Perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton and Jojo Moyes. Meet the residents of 31…

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Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke #bookreview #bookseries

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Mulholland Books Published: August 25, 2020 (Paperback release)   Summary: In this “captivating” crime novel ( People ), Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is on the hunt for a missing child — but it’s the boy’s family of white supremacists who are his real target. 9-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he’s alone in the darkness of…

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Wildwood by Amy Pease #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Wildwood in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books Published: January 6, 2026   Summary: From the acclaimed author of the “riveting debut” (People) Northwoods, a mother-son law enforcement team confront buried secrets in their small town as they work to expose a conspiracy that goes far beyond the tight-knit community. Deputy Sheriff Eli North has spent the last year…

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Sharp Force by Patricia Cornwell #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC of Sharp Force in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print copy for my collection. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: October 7, 2025   Summary: A serial killer terrorizes Northern Virginia, his ability to come and go baffling those pursuing him with zero success. He disables the victims’ WIFI, attacking them in bed, the cause of death exsanguination…

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The Italian Secret by Tara Moss #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Dutton #partner, for the finished copy of The Italian Secret in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher:  Dutton / Penguin Audio Published: December 2, 2025   Summary: #1 internationally bestselling author Tara Moss returns with an immersive post-war mystery as glamorous investigator Billie Walker follows a trail of secrets to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast Naples, 1943. Deep within a secret network of underground…

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Return of the Spider by James Patterson #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Published: November 17, 2025   Summary: Return of the Spider is the stunning companion novel to Along Came a Spider, the New York Times bestselling classic thriller from the world’s most popular storyteller. Enter the thrilling world of the #1 bestselling detective series that inspired the Prime Video show, Cross. Along Came a Spider introduced Detective Alex Cross to readers around the globe and…

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The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason #bookreview #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Quiet Mother in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: December 9, 2025   Summary: A woman is found murdered in her home. On her desk is a note with a phone number and a Detective Konrad. Called in to investigate, Konrad realises he met the woman shortly before her death when she asked him for help…

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Mini Reviews – Two Cork O’Connor Books #bookreviews #audiobooks #series

I borrowed both audiobooks from the library.     I have long been a fan of William Kent Krueger’s stand-alones – This Tender Land and The River We Remember are two of my favorite books – but until now, I have not given his Cork O’Connor books a go. This is a series that he is still writing – at present, 20 books have been released and book 21 is…

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Death and Dinuguan by Mia P. Manansala #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of Death and Dinuguan in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: November 25, 2025   Summary: Love is in the air for the citizens of Shady Palms, but Cupid’s arrow isn’t the only thing striking the town—not with another killer on the loose. Things are looking up for the Brew-ha Cafe, and Lila Macapagal can’t think of anything that could break…

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Mini Reviews – Historical Fiction Edition #bookreview #historicalfiction #audiobooks

Thank you William Morrow, #partner for the finished copies of The World’s Fair Quilt and Where the Rivers Merge and MBC Books, #partner for the finished copy of The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club, in exchange for my honest reviews. Thank you also to Libro.fm and PRH Audio for the gifted ALCs.     These are some historical fiction books I actually read over the summer and while I…

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Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Murder at Gulls Nest in exchange for my honest review.  I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: April 8, 2025   Summary: A cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears 1954: When her former novice’s dependable…

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Evil Bones by Kathy Reichs #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the finished copy of Evil Bones in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Scribner Books / Simon and Schuster Audio Published: November 18, 2025   Summary: #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself enmeshed in a series of grisly animal killings that turn into something…

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