Meet BTB Reviewer Teresa Brock

Background: Empty nester trying to get as many book babies into the world as possible.  

Go-To Author: The Orphan X Series by Gregg Hurwitz is something that I always look forward to.  Whatever and whenever the next book in this series comes out I will literally take a day off to read.  I found the first book in the series at a thrift store and the rest is history.  

Author People Should Discover: Robert Dugoni is actually the author that probably started this obsession back up when I read The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.  I think that is a book that should be mandatory reading.  If you ever read it you will never forget it.  

Book You Would Recommend From 2025: My top book from 2025 is Welcome to Cottonmouth.  Imagine a town full of retired assassins and assets with secrets, skill and arthritis.  I couldn't get enough of this one.  

Most-Anticipated Book Of 2026: All the Little Houses by May Cobb was my most-anticipated pick for 2026 and for good reason.  It is devious, delicious and full of drama.  A totally over the top binge read.  May Cobb is an auto read author for me.  

Favorite Local/Indie Bookstore: A Likely Story in Midway, Kentucky and Carmichael's Bookstore

Favorite Charities: The Wounded Warrior Project.

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

---

View Teresa’s Latest Reviews (book pub. dates)

Middleman by Brendan Flaherty (11/10/26)
Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child (10/20/26)
Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning (10/6/26)
Return to Breakneck Island by Tom Ryan (10/6/26)
Double Tap by Don Bentley (9/22/26)
The Need by Megan Mostyn-Brown (9/22/26)
Wildwood by Ashley Woo (9/8/26)
Target Down by Ryan Steck (9/8/26)
Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillipi Ryan (9/1/26)
Echoes in a Stone by Rodger Carlyle (9/1/26)
Pressure Depth by Jack Stewart (9/1/26)
Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier (8/25/26)
The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes (8/18/26)
The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen (8/4/26)
Before the Devil Knows by R. John Dingle (7/29/26)
Indie Darling by Lauren Nossett (7/28/26)
Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan (7/21/26)
Insurgent by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson (7/21/26)
Sisters of the Midnight Sun by Rebecca Wright Stevens (7/14/26)
Every Lie I Told By Hilary Davidson (6/16/26)
Choke Point by Brad Thor (6/16/26)
Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson (6/2/26)
The Girl in the Lake by Lauren Oliver (6/1/26)
The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick (5/26/26)
The Memory Foundation by Amanda West (5/26/26)
Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehlin (5/26/26)
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister (5/20/26)
Rules of Engagement by Ward Larsen (5/19/26)
Mist and Malice by Rachel Howzell Hall (5/19/26)
The Fourth Option by Jack Carr & MP Woodward (5/16/26)
The Pawn by John David (5/14/26)
The Anniversary by Alex Finley (5/12/26)
Dear Mother by Rea Frey (4/28/26)
The Girls in the Dark by Avery Bishop (4/24/26)
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer (4/21/26)
Last One Out by Jane Harper (4/14/26)
A Wound that Will Not Heal by Eric Beetner (4/7/26)
Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas (3/31/26)
The Survivor by Andrew Reid (3/24/26)
Dig by J.H. Markert (3/24/26)
She Fell Away by Lenore Nash (3/10/26)
Judge Stone by James Patterson & Viola Davis (3/9/26)
Turn Off the Light by Jacquie Walters (3/3/26)
One Beautiful Year of Normal by Sandra K. Griffith (2/24/26)
Adrift by Will Dean (2/17/26)
Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider (2/17/26)
Murder at 30,000 Feet by Susan Walter (2/17/26)
The Hard Line By Mark Greaney (2/17/26)
Cold Zero by Brad Thor & Ward Larsen (2/10/26)
The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut (2/10/26)
Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (2/10/26)
In Her Defense by Phillippa Malicka (2/3/26)
Impostor by L. J. Ross (02/3/26)
The Cormorant Hunt by Michael Idov (1/27/26)
Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (1/26/26)
Very Slowly All At Once by Lauren Schott (1/20/26)
All The Little Houses by May Cobb (1/20/26)
The Bourne Revenge by Brian Freeman (1/20/26)
Such Sheltered Lives by Alyssa Sheinmel (1/20/26)
Robber Barons by Rodger Carlyle (1/20/26)
Dead in the Water by John Marrs (1/20/26)
The Method by Matthew Quirk (1/20/26)
Inside Man by John McMahon (1/13/26)
Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester (12/9/25)
Silent Bones by Val McDermid (12/2/25)
Dead Ringer by Chris Hauty (12/2/25)
Executive Power by Andrews & Wilson (11/25/25)
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (11/25/25)
The Picasso Job by Avanti Centrae (11/18/25)
The Adversary by Andrews & Wilson (11/4/25)
The Secret Sand Circle By Christina M. Abt (11/3/25)
Trigger by Jennifer Stockdale (11/1/25)
The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel (10/31/25)
Remain by Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan (10/24/25)
The Midnight Knock By John Fram (10/21/25)
War on the Porch by Travis Davis (10/16/25)
The Gunman Jackson Swagger by Stephen Hunter (10/14/25)
The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli (10/14/25)
The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis (10/7/25)
Keep this for Me by Jennifer Fawcett (10/7/25)
Cry Havoc by Jack Carr (10/7/25)
Victim #8 by Traci Hunter Abramson (10/7/25)
Silent Creek by Tony Wirt (10/7/25)
Photograph by Brian Freeman (10/07/25)
The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens (10/7/25)
Denied Access by Don Bentley (9/30/25)
The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia (9/16/25)
The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards (9/16/25)
Scar the Sky by J. Todd Scott (9/9/25)
Family Ties by Michele Packard (9/9/25)
The Quietist by Daniel David Gothard (9/2/25)
In Deadly Company by L. S. Stratton (9/2/25)
Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley (9/2/25)
Spider to the Fly by J. H. Markert (9/2/25)
8114 by Joshua Hull (8/26/25)
Leverage by Amran Gowani (8/19/25)
The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (8/12/25)
The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd Robinson (8/5/25)
A Noble Sin by Andrew Bridgeman (8/5/25)
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen (8/5/25)
The Ever End by Audrey Wilson (8/5/25)
Departure 37 by Scott Carson (8/5/25)
Fade In by Kyle Mills (7/29/25)
The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr (7/22/25)
Blood and Treasure by Ryan Pote (7/22/25)
The Red Letter by Daniel G. Miller (7/22/25)
Whatever Kills the Pain by CW Blackwell (7/18/25)
Welcome to Cottonmouth by Jay S. Bell (7/8/25)
Remote: The Five by Eric Rickstad (7/8/25)
The White Crow by Michael Robotham (7/1/25)
Edge of Honor by Brad Thor (7/1/25)
Proof by Jon Cowan (6/24/25)
Gone Dark by Ryan Steck (6/17/25)
Of Flesh and Blood By Hunter Burke & N.L. Lavin (6/10/25)
Sister Butcher Sister by KD Aldyn (6/10/25)
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (6/10/25)
Blood Feud by Martin Rooney (6/3/25)
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (6/3/25)
Be Mine by Lizzy Barber (5/27/25)
Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler (5/27/25)
Lay Your Armor Down by Micahel Farris Smith (5/27/25)
The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis (5/20/25)
The Palace of Sinners and Saints by Ammar Merchant (5/20/25)
Spontaneous Remission By Joel Shulkin (5/13/25)
Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall (5/13/25)
Marguerite by the Lake by Mary Dixie Carter (5/8/25)
No Man's Ghost by Jason Powell (5/6/25)
See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (04/29/25)
Bop City Swing by ME Proctor and Russell Thayer (4/22/25)
Vatican Daughter by Jonie Marie Iraci (4/15/25)
Streets of Nashville by Michael Amos Cody (4/15/25)
Remote: The Six by Eric Rickstad (4/8/25)
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (4/8/25)
Dark Rising by Andrews & Wilson (4/8/25)
Heartwood by Amity Gaige (4/1/25)
Flames of Deception by Travis Davis (3/25/25)
Gothictown by Emily Carpenter (3/25/25)
Nowhere by Allison Gunn by (03/25/25)
Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski (3/22/25)
The Buffalo Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (03/18/25)
Another Try by Gene Koon (3/10/25)
The Extraterrestrial Zoo by Samantha van Leer (3/4/25)
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (3/4/25)
The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff (3/4/25)
Real Bad, Real Soon by Eric Beetner (2/25/25)
Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz (2/11/25)
Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker (2/11/25)
Dark Vector by Ward Larsen (2/4/25)
A Long Time Gone by Joshua Moehling (2/4/25)
The Department by Jacqueline Faber (2/4/25)
The Enigma Girl by Henry Porter (1/28/25)
At Dark I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca (1/28/25)
Penitence by Kristin Koval (1/28/25)
Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade (1/25/25)
The Spear and the Sentinel By J. L. Hancock (1/18/25)
Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson (1/8/25)
The Dragon the Eagle and the Jaguar by Rodger Carlyle (01/14/25)
Assume Nothing by Joshua Corin (12/10/24)
The Good Bride by Jen Marie Wiggins (12/10/24)
Nobody's Hero by M.W. Craven (12/03/24)
Baker by Michele Packard (12/01/24)
The Egyptian Enigma by David Darling (11/26/24)
Out in the Cold by Steve Urszenyi (11/12/24)
Burn This Night by Alex Kenna (11/12/24)
The Lake of Lost Girls By Katherine Greene (11/5/24)
In Too Deep by Lee Child & Andrew Child (10/22/24)
Good Looking Ugly by Rob D. Smith (10/22/24)
Origin Story by A.M. Adair (10/22/24)
The Slate by Matthew Fitzsimmons (10/8/24)
Hometown Vendetta By Traci Hunter Abramson (10/1/24)
Somewhere by Matthew Reed Williams (10/10/24)
The President's Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins (10/8/24)
Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin (10/8/24)
Fortunate Son by Andrew Bridgeman (09/24/24)
Heroic Measures by Joel Shulkin (09/17/24)
The Bachelorette Party by Sandra Block (9/3/24)
Love You Till Tuesday by M. E. Proctor (08/12/24)
The Chamber by Will Dean (8/6/24)
The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley (8/6/24)
Homecoming Queen by Chad Boudreaux (8/6/24)
Stone Creek by Kate Brandes (8/6/24)
May the Wolf Die By Elizabeth Heider (7/2/24)
Tempest North by Rodger Carlyle (7/16/24)
Show Game by Steve Anderson (7/2/24)
The Midnight Rambler by Don Carr (6/20/24)
Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten (6/18/24)
Dreams in Incarceration by Cillian Dunne (6/18/24)
The Vixen Amber Halloway By Carol LaHines (6/11/24)
The King Street Affair by Jon Sealy (6/6/24)
Moneymaker by Josh Boldt (6/5/24)
A Better World by Sarah Langan (4/9/24)
Relentless by Michael Maloof (11/17/23)
The Hollywood Con Queen by Scott C. Johnson (6/6/23)

Middleman By Brendan Flaherty

Meet Jake Flynn.

Jake grew up in Connecticut with a father who seemed to have life figured out. He was an attorney, a fixer, a peacemaker, the kind of man who always knew exactly what to say and how to make an impact. Jake? His life hasn't exactly followed that blueprint. He's overworked and underpaid at a remote tech job where the line between work and home has completely disappeared. His wife is burned out, and they have two young children. Now, his parents need help, and Jake desperately wants what seems like such a reasonable thing: a house, some stability, the American Dream. Surely a wife, two kids and a job are enough to make a person feel like they've made it, right? Nope.

Jake packs up his family and heads back to his Connecticut hometown, and suddenly the past is everywhere. Old memories resurface and people from his past reappear. The most unlikely group of people are now in his orbit, and life is about to get interesting.  His elderly neighbor Edwina is a local historian with a peculiar neighborhood newsletter, her son Eddie is an aspiring artist with a talent for bad decisions (emphasis on bad), and fifteen-year-old Trevor is a lonely kid trying to protect his family. Then there's an old cemetery with three mausoleums holding valuables, secrets and an opportunity that is just too tempting for the wrong people. Somehow, Jake ends up in the middle of it all. Literally and figuratively.

He's caught between his wife and children, his parents, his job, his responsibilities, his desire for a home, Eddie's schemes and Trevor's vulnerability. Jake isn't a mastermind or a hardened criminal. He's an ordinary guy who keeps finding himself in the middle of other people's problems making one questionable decision at a time. Brendan Flaherty takes that very ordinary desperation and turns it into a darkly funny, wonderfully offbeat crime story about family, money, responsibility and just how easily a decent person can find himself standing somewhere he never intended to be. I loved that this isn't a story about some impossibly badass hero saving the day. Jake feels real. He's messy, overwhelmed, well intentioned and occasionally spectacularly misguided. Honestly - that made me root for him even when I wanted to shake him.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Middleman
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Chain Reaction By Lee Child and Andrew Child

Gravel, solar panels, five data centers, and two guys trying to take over the world with AI walk into a bar... and they meet Jack Reacher.

Susan Turner is back, and if you've been waiting to see her again since Never Go Back, you're in for a treat. She is now a one-star Brigadier General leading the Army's CSA G-99 Section.  When a CID Special Agent turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Turner knows in her gut it wasn't a random mugging that led to his death. With her own unit compromised by a powerful tech organization known as Everything Everywhere Forever (EEF)  operated by Axel Brill and Cameron Saxby (in my head I totally saw Pinky and The Brain) , she needs someone completely outside the system. Enter Reacher.

This one feels different from recent Reacher novels. Yes, there's plenty of action, impossible odds, gallons of coffee, enormous meals, and, of course, pie. But there are also welcome nods to classic Reacher. We get those familiar habits that longtime fans love: setting an internal clock in his head, the way he presses his clothes, and relying on his gut. At the same time, he's evolving. Reacher shows more emotion in this book than all the books combined, and it hints that bigger changes may be on the horizon.

The story moves from Colorado to California to Washington, D.C., weaving together data centers, AI, surveillance, gravel companies (yes, gravel becomes surprisingly important), and a plan to dominate the AI world that never leaves U.S. soil. It is absolutely over the top, but that's part of the fun. This is Reacher—we're not here for subtle.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Chain Reaction
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Atomic Coffin By Benedict Anning

It’s December 1984, and British SIS operative Heidi Sperling, codename Thistle, escapes East Berlin carrying intelligence about a Soviet submarine that should not exist. TK 15 has been sitting motionless in the North Atlantic for three years, completely undetected, until it suddenly transmits a single word: ACTIVE. Heidi is sent aboard HMS Viking as part of the mission to investigate, expecting a Cold War mystery and finding something far more terrifying. What begins as espionage and submarine suspense steadily descends into psychological horror when the crew discovers something profoundly wrong inside TK 15. An unknowable force is waiting there, and its influence begins driving the Viking crew toward psychological collapse. As Heidi's own perception fractures, her memories shift, timelines blur and reality becomes increasingly difficult to trust. What actually happened? What was manipulated? What is this force? The deeper they go, the harder it becomes to separate reality from perception. The first portion of this book establishes reality. The second portion destroys it.

Atomic Coffin is a claustrophobic descent into the unknown that doesn't just make you question what is lurking in the darkness; it makes you question whether your own mind can be trusted to recognize it. I loved Heidi as an unreliable narrator, and the shifting timeline and fractured perception had me questioning practically everything right along with her. The submarine setting is absolutely suffocating, and Anning turns that isolation into another layer of horror. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to surface and eventually nowhere to be completely certain of what is real. The descent into the cosmic void, the dark presence and the feeling of something all-consuming closing in around these characters created an atmosphere that genuinely got under my skin. Then came the ending! It is exactly the kind of ambiguity I love in horror. I promise you will finish this book turning the pieces over in your head and wondering what you actually witnessed. I finished this book knowing two things: I have absolutely no desire to step foot on a submarine, and I may never look at a mirror quite the same way again.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Atomic Coffin
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Return To Breakneck Island By Tom Ryan

Return to Breakneck Island by Tom Ryan is the follow up to The Treasure Hunters Club, so when I was given the opportunity to return to Maple Bay, I jumped on it. Could you read this one as a standalone? Technically, yes. Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. Read book 1 first. You will become invested in Cass, Dandy and Peter, and understanding everything they have already been through gives this story so much more weight. The mystery is new, but the series isn't starting over, and Ryan assumes you have some history with these characters and this little corner of Nova Scotia. 

This time, Cass, Dandy and Peter aren't immediately working together. Instead, each finds themselves pulled toward the same mystery from very different directions. Cass receives a cryptic tip about a treasure connected to Breakneck Island, Dandy is dealing with an unexpected change in her personal life, and Peter finds himself unexpectedly charmed by a professor. Then a sudden death changes everything. At the center of it all is the MacLeary family, who lived on Breakneck Island and tended its lighthouse for generations before disappearing during a devastating storm in 1932, leaving behind a missing fortune and plenty of questions.

Told through multiple POVs and two timelines, the story moves between present day Maple Bay and 1932 as the truth about the MacLearys slowly comes into focus. I especially loved the historical storyline because it was intriguing, atmospheric and unpredictable, and I enjoyed watching the separate threads gradually begin to reveal how connected they really were. Ryan has created a cozy thriller that delivers murder, secrets, treasure hunting, small town charm, humor and plenty of twists without losing sight of the characters at its heart. The way the clues are planted along the way and all come together at the end?  Perfection!

There is something wonderfully character driven about this series that makes you want to spend more time with these people. Most importantly, I am not convinced the Treasure Hunters Club is finished yet, and if Cass, Dandy and Peter are coming back for another adventure, I will absolutely be there. Tom Ryan has once again given me a clever, entertaining mystery with a cast I genuinely enjoy spending time with, and I am already hoping we don't have to wait too long to return to Maple Bay.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Return To Breakneck Island
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Double Tap By Don Bentley

Some characters never lose their edge, no matter how many books they've starred in. Twenty-five novels into the Mitch Rapp universe, Don Bentley somehow manages to take readers backward in time and still make the journey feel fresh. Double Tap fills another crucial chapter in Mitch's early career, proving there are still corners of his story worth exploring.

This installment was an absolute treat for longtime fans, especially those of Stan Hurley. His presence is woven throughout the novel, reminding us why he remains one of the defining forces behind the assassin Mitch Rapp is destined to become. Bentley captures Stan's grizzled, uncompromising nature with remarkable authenticity while continuing the mentor student dynamic that has always been one of the series' greatest strengths.

Mitch is exactly who readers expect him to be. Focused. Ruthless. Unrelenting. Once the mission is set, there is no hesitation and no wasted movement. This time the hunt centers on a kidnapped Pakistani chemical weapons scientist whose knowledge could reshape the balance of global security. The pursuit stretches from the streets of Verona into a dangerous web of terrorism, intelligence operations, and international politics where every decision carries enormous consequences.

This is where Mitch Rapp thrives. Deep cover operations. Split second tactical decisions. Precision planning. High risk espionage. Bentley orchestrates every moving part with confidence, delivering an adrenaline-fueled geopolitical thriller that never loses sight of the people behind the mission. While Mitch remains the unstoppable force fans love, Bentley also allows quieter moments to surface, revealing flashes of compassion and reflection that continue to shape the man he is becoming. 

Bentley's background as an Apache helicopter pilot and former FBI SWAT operator shines through in every operation. The technical details never feel like they exist simply to impress. They serve the story, grounding the action in a level of realism that has become a hallmark of his writing. More importantly, he understands the responsibility of carrying Vince Flynn's legacy. Rather than imitate Flynn, Bentley honors the foundation that was built while confidently adding his own voice to Mitch's evolving history.

I had the privilege of reading Double Tap early, and keeping quiet about its biggest moments has been far more difficult than reading it. There are scenes I cannot wait to discuss once everyone else has the chance to experience them (shout out to Irene). For now, I'll simply say this - Don Bentley continues to prove that there is still rich, compelling territory to explore in Mitch Rapp's early years, and he does so with confidence, respect for the characters, and an unwavering understanding of why readers keep coming back.

If you thought you already knew everything there was to know about Mitch Rapp, Double Tap is here to remind you that legends are not only defined by their victories, but by the stories still waiting to be told.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Double Tap
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Need By Megan Mostyn-Brown

Imagine being born with a genetic condition that means you need human flesh to survive. You cannot outrun it, cure it, or simply decide you want to be normal. It is part of you, and in The Need, Megan Mostyn-Brown takes that horrifying premise and turns it into something surprisingly layered, darkly funny and completely addictive. Talia has spent years trying to protect her children and keep The Need hidden, while the wealthy Armstrong family has embraced it as part of their bloodline, treating their supposedly perfect genetic legacy as something worth protecting at any cost. Money, power, control and family secrets collide when these worlds intersect, and what follows is a deliciously dysfunctional fight over who gets to define family, who gets to belong and what happens when that carefully protected lineage is threatened.

I am a sucker for a debut author, and Megan Mostyn-Brown absolutely delivered for me. The Need is fast, bizarre, gory, emotionally complicated and just the right amount of unhinged. I especially loved the multiple POV's because every character had a distinct voice, and moving between a teenager, a mother and an increasingly unhinged grandmother was perfect. What really grabbed me, though, was the way horror is wrapped around questions of inheritance, identity, motherhood and the pressure to live up to something you never asked to inherit. The Armstrong's see The Need as a legacy and their bloodline as something approaching perfection, while others are left questioning what that legacy actually costs. And let me tell you, this family drama is off the rails. Somehow, with all the blood, secrets and cannibalism, cannibalism isn't even the messiest part. Megan Mostyn-Brown has given us one hell of a confident entrance with this bingeable, outrageous, disturbing and completely different cannibal story and I cannot wait to see what she does next!

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase The Need
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Wildwood By Ashley Woo

Elinor and Topher Leighton are at a turning point in their marriage when Elinor discovers she is pregnant, unemployed and unexpectedly inherits an estate from an estranged uncle in rural Vermont. For Topher, an ER doctor who loves the energy of city life, Wildwood is not exactly the dream, but it could be a chance to start over, slow down, raise their child and perhaps understand why Elinor has become so estranged from her extended family. Of course, arriving at Wildwood comes with one tiny problem. Nothing is quite what it seems.

I was completely hooked by the atmosphere of this book. A creepy mansion, Vermont woods, autumn, ghosts, witch history, mysterious neighbors and enough family secrets to make me suspicious of everyone? Yes, please. Woo creates this delicious sense of dread through nightmares, unexplained noises, apparitions and the woods surrounding the estate, but it is the Forest of the Dead mural that really got me. It is not simply creepy decoration hanging on a wall. It becomes part of the mystery, and as Elinor becomes increasingly obsessed with it, the line between what she is seeing, what she is remembering and what may actually be happening begins to disappear.

The big question remains – Is Elinor experiencing something supernatural, or is everyone around her slowly convincing her that she is imagining it? I loved that uncertainty. I loved not knowing who could be trusted. I loved watching the past begin bleeding into the present, Elinor questioning her memories and her dreams and realizing that Wildwood had far more to say than simply “welcome home.” With its haunting atmosphere, buried family secrets, and history that refuses to stay buried, Wildwood is gothic suspense at its most patient and unsettling.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Wildwood
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Target Down By Ryan Steck

Fifteen years ago, Aaron Decker disappeared from the world of black operations and built the life he thought he'd never have: a quiet home in Michigan, children he loves and a chance to leave his past behind. Then someone finds him and keeps finding him. When a Russian mafia hit team comes after his family, Decker knows the past hasn't forgotten him. With nowhere else to turn, he calls Matthew Redd, the one man he trusts to help him figure out who is hunting him and why. What follows is a race to uncover the identity of Nightshade, expose the traitor and cut the head off the snake before the people they love become collateral damage. This isn't simply another Matthew Redd mission. At its heart, Target Down is about two highly capable men who will do whatever it takes to protect their families while confronting the ghosts of the lives they thought they'd left behind.

Ryan Steck had me so completely locked into this story that I lost track of time. This is cinematic thriller writing at its best. I could see the action unfolding in my head, but what really pulled me in were the characters. Redd and Decker aren't invincible superheroes. They're flawed, believable men who feel fear, make mistakes and carry the weight of their pasts. They're fearless when they need to be, fiercely protective and absolutely family first, but they're also guided by a moral compass that matters making every decision, every confrontation and every loss hit harder. I loved the relationship between Redd and Decker and the debt of loyalty that binds them. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching two men who know exactly what they're capable of put all that capability toward protecting the people they love. I also appreciated the parallel storyline with Emily and the children as the danger closes in. The stakes aren't abstract. These are families. These are people and the threat feels frighteningly plausible.

Target Down is unapologetically Christ-centered without ever feeling forced, and I appreciated that immensely. There are no gratuitous bad words, no need for them, and while there is violence and some seriously tough stuff, it serves the story rather than existing simply for shock value. Everything feels grounded enough that you can believe it could actually happen. That's what makes the tension work.

This is book five in the Matthew Redd series, and apparently, I have a problem because I need at least five more. Target Down is the kind of thriller that makes you forget you're sitting in a chair reading a book because suddenly you're watching the whole thing play out like a movie in your head. It's fast, it's intense, it's emotional, it's faith-filled and it has the kind of brotherhood and family stakes that make you care about what happens to these people.

(PS. I listened to Hard Fought Hallelujah while reading. It is currently the soundtrack in my head.)

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Target Down
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Mother Daughter Sister Stranger By Hank Phillipi Ryan

Eliza and Bea Ramsey have spent eleven years bound together by a tragedy that changed the course of their lives. After surviving the plane crash that killed their parents, the sisters have made it a tradition to commemorate the anniversary together. When Bea fails to show up to pick up her daughter, Piper, Eliza immediately knows something is wrong. Her search for her missing sister quickly becomes far more complicated than a simple disappearance as long buried family secrets begin to surface and the version of the past Eliza thought she understood starts to unravel. Determined to find Bea while protecting Piper from whatever is happening around them, Eliza refuses to stop searching even when every new piece of the puzzle seems to create more questions than answers.

Eliza is exhausted, relentless, and determined to find the truth, yet her own instincts can sometimes make the search even more complicated. Her professional life has trained her to look for patterns, connect the pieces.  She was raised wanting to create her own ending and between those two things  she quickly finds there are no clear paths to the truth. Everyone has something to hide, everyone feels suspicious, and every revelation made me question what I thought I knew. Ryan keeps the tension moving with short, propulsive chapters, shifting suspicions, family secrets, red herrings, and twists that kept me happily chasing the wrong answers. Trust issues? This book will happily add a few more to the collection.

I have been reading Hank Phillippi Ryan for quite some time, and I honestly think this may be her best yet. The title itself becomes such an important part of the story. Mother. Daughter. Sister. Stranger. Those words represent relationships we think we understand, yet Ryan continually challenges what it really means to know someone. This is exactly the kind of domestic thriller I love, packed with family dysfunction, buried secrets, relentless pacing, and enough twists to keep my thriller brain working overtime. I trusted approximately nobody, including my own theories, and I was completely fine with that. This was bingeable from beginning to end and absolutely had me messaging my reader friends with one simple instruction: mark this one down because you need to read it. Everyone has a family story. The Ramsey family just happens to have one that could get you killed.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Mother Daughter Sister Stranger
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Echoes In A Stone By Rodger Carlyle

I’ve been reading Rodger Carlyle for a while now, and I’ve been fortunate enough to interview him and spend time talking with him in person, so when I had the opportunity to read the newest addition to the Team Walker series, I jumped at it. Echoes in Stone introduces Andrea and Brandt Stoupp, a husband and wife who have spent ten years in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness chasing their fortune through gold mining. When they finally decide it’s time to leave that life behind and return to civilization, an unknown object literally rocks their world. What they discover could change everything, and suddenly the questions are bigger than what the object is worth or whether it could give them the fresh start they desperately want. Why is everyone so interested in it? Who wants it, and more importantly, what happens if it ends up in the wrong hands?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading Carlyle, it’s that he does his homework. The amount of research behind Echoes in a Stone is impressive, but what really makes it work is the way he turns those details into an experience. You don’t simply read about Alaska; you can practically feel the cold, picture the terrain, and understand the significance of the rock formations, mining, and even the helicopters. That attention to detail extends far beyond the setting. Carlyle knows that a great thriller needs characters you care about, and the relationships here carry just as much weight as the mystery. Military connections, friendships, neighbors, loyalty, trust, and the complicated bond between a husband and wife all feel genuine. His characters are constantly forced to decide who they can trust, what their moral compass demands, and what they are willing to risk for the people and principles that matter most. That balance between the big story and the very human relationship at its center is something Carlyle consistently gets right.

Echoes in a Stone pushes the Team Walker series onto a much larger stage, blending the raw beauty of the Alaskan wilderness with scientific mystery, international espionage, military intelligence, and a discovery capable of shifting the balance of power.  It’s ambitious, deeply researched, and steadily raises the stakes until you have to know where this is all going.  This is Carlyle at full throttle: immersive, unpredictable, and relentlessly paced, with enough twists, tension, and danger to keep you completely locked in.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Echoes In A Stone
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Pressure Depth By Jack Stewart

First of all, Jack Stewart is an author I truly enjoy reading, so when I heard he was stepping into the Ryanverse, I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on it.  The good news? Stewart understands exactly what makes a Jack Ryan Jr. story work.

Oh, Jack Jr! You somehow have a talent for being in the right place at the wrong time, or maybe the wrong place at the right time, because trouble seems to have your name written all over it.

The story begins with what appears to be a straightforward investigation for Jack Jr. A ship captain is trying to file a $150 million insurance claim after radioactive material goes missing, and Jack is there in his “white job” investigating the insurance angle. But Jack’s other life, his “black job” working with The Campus, is where things get much darker. The Campus operates even further off the books than the CIA, and when those two worlds collide, things get complicated fast.

The discovery of the Soviet-era underwater installation known as Siren changes everything. Carla Bennett and her crew discover it through advanced AI sonar technology, and what they find is terrifying: an abandoned Soviet underwater base designed around a tsunami-generating weapon using nuclear warheads powerful enough to create devastation on an unimaginable scale.

Can we talk about Carla Bennett? A returning character from Line of Demarcation, she is whip-smart, capable, and an absolute badass. I loved seeing her brought back into this story because she is exactly the kind of character who belongs in this world. (and she said Jack is pretty).

One of my favorite parts of this book was learning about the technology involved in underwater operations. The SRDRs, ROVs, dive equipment, and the challenges of operating in that environment were fascinating. Stewart clearly knows his subject, but more importantly, he knows how to make the reader care about the details. I found myself completely absorbed in a world I knew very little about.

There were moments when I genuinely felt claustrophobic. Jack’s underwater scenes, especially when he is trapped upside down in a volcanic crack (IYKYK), had me questioning every life choice that ever led me to enjoy books about people voluntarily going into places where humans were never meant to be.

Pressure Depth is exactly what I want from a military thriller: intelligent, detailed, high-stakes, and filled with characters who feel like they belong.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Pressure Depth
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Heart Of Glass By Jennifer Hillier

Heart of Glass revisits the world of Wonderland, and while this story absolutely stands on its own, I can't imagine a better excuse to pick up its predecessor if you haven't already. Twenty-five years after the infamous Carnival Killer confessed to murdering Lorelei, a deathbed documentary changes everything when he insists she was never one of his victims. Just as Wonderland prepares to reopen, another woman's body is discovered on the shoreline, and the comfortable certainty surrounding a long-closed case begins to crack. In Seaside, everyone seems to shrug and say, "Well...it's just Seaside," but Hillier knows that beneath small-town familiarity, secrets have a way of refusing to stay buried.

Multiple timelines and shifting perspectives gradually piece together the truth, revealing characters who are wonderfully complicated rather than easily categorized as heroes or villains. Every revelation reshapes what came before, turning assumptions into questions and certainty into doubt. Friendship, survivor's guilt, memory, ambition, and the stories people create to live with impossible choices all become just as important as uncovering a killer. By the time the final pieces click into place, Heart of Glass has become far more than a serial killer mystery. It is a smart, emotionally layered novel about the consequences of a single night that continue to echo across decades. Jennifer Hillier once again delivers the kind of thriller that reminds me why she remains one of my favorite authors.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Heart Of Glass
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Secret Dinner By Raphael Montez

I have so much to say about The Secret Dinner because I honestly cannot remember the last time I read something this wildly original and unlike anything I have ever experienced. Let me be very clear: this is not your typical dining experience. Four childhood friends head to college together, each carrying different dreams, but sharing one car, one apartment, and the reality that adulthood is not going the way they imagined. When money disappears and desperation starts knocking, they need a way to make a lot of money quickly. Their solution? Create an exclusive dining experience unlike anything the world has seen before. The only catch? The menu is human flesh. Yes, the diners know exactly what they are being served. Yes, they want it.

Disturbing? Absolutely. Outrageous? Without question. Satirical? Surprisingly, yes. Raphael Montes takes something so horrifying and uses it to explore greed, privilege, desperation, and the darkest parts of human nature. What begins as a desperate financial solution slowly becomes something much more sinister.  This book is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic, it is uncomfortable, and that discomfort is completely intentional. It feels like Bret Easton Ellis, Quentin Tarantino, and a very dark episode of Black Mirror sat down for dinner and decided to see how far they could push the conversation.

The most fascinating part of The Secret Dinner isn't just the shocking “what.” It is the “why.” How far will someone go when desperation meets opportunity? How many times can someone justify one terrible choice before they no longer recognize themselves? Lets not forget about greed and what it feels like when money is rolling in had over fist - how far will you go for money? for praise and opportunities? Montes doesn't give us perfect heroes to root for. Instead, he gives us ordinary people making one bad decision, then another, then another, until the line between survival and depravity becomes almost impossible to see.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase The Secret Dinner
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Women In White By Sarah Pekkanen

First of all, note that Project Stargate is real: a government backed program where scientists investigated psychic phenomena, specifically remote viewing for intelligence gathering. That alone makes this story feel unsettlingly plausible. Each chapter opens with factual inserts tied to those experiments, and while this is fiction, there’s enough truth threaded through the pages to make everything feel possible. In this novel, Dr. Trimble identifies four women, Betty, Kathleen, Ivy, and Helen, who appear to possess mental abilities operating outside the known laws of physics, allowing them to sense or gather information remotely. The testing is relentless, invasive, and without clear limits… and then suddenly, the women vanish and the program is erased. Enter Riley, newly divorced and running from a dangerous ex, who takes a caretaker job with Betty, now elderly, wheelchair bound, and seemingly frozen in the 1960s. Betty has been shielded from the modern world by her late husband, and the reasons why quickly become another mystery. As Riley settles in, the questions pile up, and together they begin searching for answers, especially what happened to the other three women in white.

This book gave me everything I wanted. And while I’ve enjoyed everything Sarah Pekkanen writes, this one feels like she’s leveling up again. We move between 1964 and present day with multiple POVs, mainly Riley and Betty, but we also get glimpses into Kathleen, Ivy, and Helen. We see what brought them to the university, their growing friendships, the psychological toll of the experiments, and the lasting repercussions of being treated like test subjects instead of people. The emotional weight here runs deep, the bond between the women, the confusion surrounding their abilities, and the long term trauma that follows them into the future.

I loved the mix of historical fiction and domestic thriller layered with eerie psychological suspense. It is a slow burn, atmospheric, quietly creepy story that builds tension through questions; and the most unsettling part is the idea that this could have happened. Honestly, how many times can I say I loved this? Because I loved the friendships, I loved the creeping dread, I loved the emotional depth, I loved the bond between Riley and Betty and I especially loved how believable it all felt. Give me strong mysterious women, questionable science, and buried secrets any day. This one absolutely delivered.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase The Women In White
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Before The Devil Knows By R. John Dingle

R. John Dingle has officially reached the point where I will read absolutely anything he writes because this man understands suspense on a level that feels borderline dangerous. Before the Devil Knows grabs you by the throat from the first pages and never loosens its grip. This man is great at dropping a sentence at the end of the chapters that puts you in a choke hold right before the story body slams you with another twist you never saw coming. For longtime readers of the Gus Wheeler series, the payoff is even sweeter, with easter eggs and references to previous novels.  Let  me say this now - Yes, these books can stand alone. No, you should not stop at one because your attachment to Gus, Vanessa, and the entire chaos filled orbit around them only gets stronger with every book.

I need to talk about Gus and Vanessa.  These two are easily one of the best partnerships in crime fiction right now. Vanessa comes in with that younger, no bs, spunky energy while Gus moves through the world with his own rhythm.  He's got his jazz, his bass and his brilliant dyslexic mind constantly piecing together what everyone else misses. Their dynamic feels lived in now. There is trust, loyalty, frustration and humor. They know when to push and when to protect each other and that balance gives this series its heartbeat. Gus will always put his partner first and Dingle never lets readers forget that underneath the murders and madness are characters you genuinely care about. By this point in the series, they do not just feel like agents working a case. They feel real.

This investigation is dark. Rural Maine becomes its own character as Gus and Vanessa investigate suspicious deaths tied to a radical , cult-like church obsessed with punishment and morality. When bodies start showing up and a pattern emerges wtih every victim marked with a lead cross and brutal means of death, the FBI is called in. This takes place in a  town that closes ranks the second outsiders start asking questions. You've got families too afraid to talk, a  fire and brimstone preacher hanging over everything like a storm cloud and seemily there are eyes everywhere. The tension in this book is unreal because you never know who is lying, who is watching, or who is about to snap. There are moments where the story turns so sharply you practically get whiplash trying to process what just happened. Holy fright. Dingle absolutely cranked the intensity to another level this time.

What I love most about this series is how sharp the details are. Dingle notices things other writers overlook entirely and somehow turns them into moments that make the story richer and more believable. Even something as small as paying the locksmith matters. Nothing is wasted. Every page moves and every detail counts. And that ending? Those three little words? I am still recovering. I could talk about this series for days because this is exactly what crime thriller readers keep begging for - smart investigations, brutal tension, characters that matter and twists that leave you staring at the wall questioning everything you thought you knew.

If you do nothing else this summer besides watching fireworks, read this book. Better yet, read the entire Gus Wheeler series because Before the Devil Knows just launched this story into the stratosphere and I already need the next book immediately.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Before The Devil Knows
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Indie Darling By Lauren Nossett

Lauren Nossett knew exactly what she was doing with Indie Darling. This is not just a mystery wrapped up in glitter, guitar strings, and Nashville smoke filled bars. Beneath the celebrity culture, fandom obsession, and dark twists is a story about women trying to survive industries and people that are more than willing to chew them up and spit them out.  Once you finish the author's note and get all the feels the whole story lands just a little differently (trust me) Suddenly the sharp edges feel more personal, the anger feels earned, and the story carries a weight that I was not expecting (that's a good thing). Kelly Williams is the kind of protagonist I could follow into ten more books without hesitation. She is smart, stubborn, observant, and grounded in a world full of smoke and mirrors. Her voice absolutely carries this story, and the dialogue is so natural it feels like you are sitting across from these characters hearing every secret firsthand. (question to the author... will there be more?)

Nossett captures Nashville in all its glamour and grit, where song lyrics become clues, fame becomes dangerous, and nobody is quite who they pretend to be. Once the investigation kicks into gear, this book moves fast, but it never loses the emotional undercurrent running beneath the mystery. The blend of feminist themes, dark celebrity culture, and Southern noir tension makes this feel fresh without ever losing its thriller heartbeat. Indie Darling is clever, immersive, and wildly entertaining, but it also has something to say, and by the end it says it loud.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Indie Darling
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Three Reasons For Revenge By Dervla McTiernan

This is my first Dervla McTiernan novel and holy smokes, she just bulldozed her way onto my must-read list. Three Reasons for Revenge was tailor made for readers who love morally messy thrillers packed with psychological games, buried secrets, and characters making one disastrous decision after another. Over the span of ten years, two women come forward with eerily similar accusations against the same man, Robert Walker, but this time the story takes a deadly turn. Walker ends up murdered, other bodies begin piling up, and Detective Judith Lee suddenly finds herself tangled in a case where every answer opens the door to three more questions. The tension in this book is deliciously sharp and McTiernan knows exactly how to keep tightening the screws.

This is absolutely a slow burn, but every chapter adds another layer of suspicion, connection, and quiet dread until the entire thing feels ready to explode. Judith Lee is the kind of investigator I immediately wanted more time with because she is smart, persistent, and constantly balancing the pressure from the case with the growing risk to her own career. And the villain? Terrific. (how is it possible to enjoy a bad guy – I did) Calculated, patient, and playing a game that had me second guessing everybody. McTiernan carefully unravels the truth piece by piece with the confidence of a writer who knows exactly where she is taking you, even while you are busy convincing yourself you have figured it out. I already have my fingers crossed that Judith Lee becomes the center of a long running series because I would gladly sign up for every single book.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Three Reasons For Revenge
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Insurgent By Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson

Andrews and Wilson continue proving why the Tier One series sits at the top of the military thriller genre with Insurgent. This book is loaded with high-octane split-second decisions, black widow assassins from North Korea, a terrorist organization operating out of Yemen, kamikaze drones culminating in a covert shadow war with Chinese Special Forces that feels alarmingly plausible in today’s geopolitical climate. Task Force Ember is compromised, the stakes are sky high, and every tactical sequence feels razor sharp and brutally authentic. The weapons, the strategy, the operational details, the pacing, all of it is executed at a level very few authors can touch. Some of the combat and tactical scenes in this installment are easily among the best the series has ever delivered…And yes, Chunk showing up absolutely counts as a highlight.

What continues to impress me most about this duo is how carefully they build this world over time. They answer lingering questions from previous books while planting seeds for what is still to come, rewarding longtime readers in a way that feels intentional and satisfying instead of forced. Their ability to foreshadow events without drawing attention to it is honestly uncanny. Connections click into place at unexpected moments and make you appreciate just how layered these stories really are. The evolving father and son dynamic between Dempsey and Jake Kemper adds an emotional depth that strengthens the story instead of slowing it down. Jake is cut straight out of Dempsey’s ass, and watching Dempsey wrestle with vulnerability and change after following him since the beginning of the series was surprisingly emotional in the best way possible. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Grimes, The Angel of Death, might be one of the coolest characters they have ever created because honestly, who would not want to be her for five minutes? Andrews and Wilson have honed this genre to a fine edged sword, and Insurgent is another reminder that they know exactly how to balance explosive action with characters readers are deeply invested in.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Insurgent
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Sisters Of The Midnight Sun By Rebecca Wright Stevens

There is something incredibly powerful about a true crime story told from the side we so rarely get to see. Sisters of the Midnight Sun by Rebecca Wright Stevens invites readers into the impossible position of a public defender tasked with representing the man everyone assumes is guilty. Knowing she lived this story gives every page added weight, and what unfolds is far more than a murder investigation. It is a deeply human exploration of grief, purpose, and what happens when an outsider steps into a community with its own history, traditions, and understanding of justice.

What captivated me most was the moral complexity. Stevens never offers easy answers. She examines the ethical responsibility of defending the accused while navigating prosecutors, cultural divides, and a legal system that doesn't always align with the people it is meant to serve. Set against the stark beauty of Arctic Alaska, where the endless daylight creates an atmosphere unlike anywhere else, the landscape becomes as unforgettable as the people living within it. I was lost in the details.  Everything from the purple woolly lousewort to the way buildings needed to be above the permafrost layer took me as close to this area as I have ever been.  Not only that, but all of this shapes the investigation, the relationships, and the emotional heartbeat of the story.

Stevens showcases an unwavering respect for the people and culture at the heart of the story. The  Iñupiat community is not the backdrop of a crime. Instead, she thoughtfully explores the lasting effects of historical trauma, addiction, isolation, poverty, and the complicated relationship between Indigenous communities and the American legal system. The result is a richer, more honest account that challenges assumptions and underscores how culture, history, and community shape every aspect of the pursuit of justice.

This is true crime with remarkable depth that blends memoir, courtroom drama, and cultural history into a narrative that asks bigger questions about justice, belonging, and whose voices are heard. I finished this book with a greater appreciation for the quiet burdens carried by public defenders and for the complicated truth that justice and fairness are not always the same thing.

---

Follow Teresa on Twitter or Instagram or contact her via the site.

Purchase Sisters Of The Midnight Sun
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen