Judge Stone By James Patterson & Viola Davis

Set-in small-town Alabama, Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson introduces Judge Mary Stone, a woman whose family has been woven into the fabric of Union Springs for generations. She is respected, resilient, and shaped by experiences most people could never imagine surviving. As the town wrestles with its own slow transformation, deep divisions simmer beneath the surface. Issues like racism, religion, politics, class, and education are all pressing in when a devastating case lands in her courtroom. A thirteen-year-old girl is raped and undergoes an abortion, and when complications arise, the doctor who performed the procedure is arrested. What follows is a storm of public outrage, threats, and political pressure as Mary Stone must uphold the law while confronting impossible moral questions about faith, justice, and the cost of forcing a child to carry a pregnancy born from violence.

Patterson and Davis fearlessly lean into the discomfort that is caused by the issues on these pages. This book does not present easy answers or tidy resolutions. Instead, it exposes the fractures within a community and challenges readers to examine their own beliefs about bodily autonomy, religion, and legal responsibility. The story forces you to sit with questions most people would rather avoid. Where does justice truly live — in the letter of the law or in compassion? What happens when personal faith collides with professional duty? The emotional weight here is immense on so many levels and on so many characters. The tension builds not just through courtroom drama but through the psychological strain placed on Mary Stone as she navigates threats to her safety, her reputation, and her conscience.

This is a devastatingly beautiful read that demands engagement rather than passive consumption. It asks the right questions and refuses to soften their impact. The writing balances urgency with emotional depth, creating a story that feels both intimate and relevant. Judge Stone is more than a legal thriller, it is a meditation on power, beliefs, and the human cost of laws and legal systems that often fail the very people they claim to protect. Sometimes there simply is no right or wrong answer.  

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Turn Off the Light By Jacquie Walters

Turn Off the Light unfolds across four hundred years, anchored to one house that refuses to stay quiet. In the past, Edith is a healer whose knowledge of plants and nature makes her useful and feared in equal measure, a woman labeled dangerous simply for knowing too much. In the present, Claire returns home carrying her own grief, a sister who vanished, a father slipping away into end stage dementia, and a life already frayed at the edges. The story moves between their perspectives, stitching together history and horror as the house reveals its long memory of fire, loss, and unanswered questions. Walters lets the pieces surface gradually, trusting the reader to connect them, until the past and present finally speak to each other in ways that feel both inevitable and unsettling.

This is a haunting, slow burn kind of read, the kind that creeps under your skin leaving you wanting more and needing to know the truth. The house is more than a setting, it is a witness, a keeper of secrets, and sometimes the loudest voice in the room. Walters blends supernatural tension with historical weight, giving the story depth beyond the scares and reminding us how often women like Edith were punished for knowledge instead of praised for it. It is a smart, patient novel that rewards attention, tying its threads together with care and confidence. This is one of those books you do not rush through or overshare about. You turn the pages, lower the lights, and let it do what it came to do, then sit there afterward thinking about how much the past loves to linger and how rarely it ever lets go.

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One Beautiful Year Of Normal By Sandra K. Griffith

When August Caine was eleven, her father was murdered and the crime was never solved. In the aftermath, her mother, Claire, fell into debilitating depression, leaving August largely on her own in New York City until her Aunt Helen intervened and Claire was placed into care. August then spent a single year in Savannah with her aunt, a brief and defining period where life felt safe and ordinary. Years later, August receives a phone call informing her that Aunt Helen has died and that she is the sole heir to her estate. The news is jarring. August had been told her aunt died fifteen years earlier. Returning to Savannah means stepping back into a history shaped by omission, loss, and carefully maintained silence.

This mystery is rooted in mental illness, generational secrecy, and withheld truth. The novel unfolds through alternate timelines that slowly expose the fractures in August’s understanding of her own life. As she moves through Savannah, the family history she was never allowed to know emerges in pieces, each revelation complicating the last. The suspense here is character driven rather than plot heavy, built on what August remembers, what she was protected from, and what was deliberately hidden. Griffith allows tension to grow through emotional recognition instead of shock, creating a quiet unease as August begins to see how survival shaped the version of reality she was given.

I am a sucker for a debut author, and this one earned my trust early. Set in Savannah, the novel immerses the reader in a Southern atmosphere that feels lived in and intimate, where history, old money, and secrets exert quiet pressure all around August. Griffith’s background in psychology is evident in her careful handling of trauma and perception, allowing pain to exist without spectacle. By the end of the book, I found myself longing for normal alongside August, hoping she might reclaim what was taken from her before she understood its value. One Beautiful Year of Normal is thoughtful, restrained, and deeply compassionate. This book had a heart, and it never lost sight of it.

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Adrift By Will Dean

Adrift by Will Dean follows Peggy and her son Samson as a spontaneous move onto a rundown canal boat becomes a slow tightening trap. What begins as Drew’s dream of a quieter life to fuel his writing; slowly turns into a world of isolation, control, and fear, where freedom disappears inch by inch. Told through dual points of view, the story pulls you inside a family where love runs deep, even as emotional damage quietly reshapes everything. As Peggy and Samson try to survive the life Drew has chosen for them, the walls close in until escape feels almost impossible.

I will read anything Will Dean writes, and this novel reminded me why. He has an uncanny ability to grab hold of your emotions and refuse to let go. The story is dark, unsettling, and deeply sad, but it also carries an aching tenderness, especially in the unconditional love between a mother and her child. The claustrophobic tension builds with every chapter, mirroring the control tightening around Peggy and Samson, until you feel as emotionally drained as they do. I was grateful I read all the way through the author’s notes, which add even more weight to the story and its real world relevance.

This book comes from a painful place, yet it is one that deserves attention. It explores grief, love, and the quiet ways people can hurt one another even if they are doing what they believe is best. Adrift resonated with me and challenged me to step into someone else’s experience of trauma and survival. It is intense, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. Ten out of ten, an incredible story I will not soon forget.

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Children Of The Savage City By Elizabeth Heider

Children of the Savage City pulls you straight into its world and refuses to let your attention drift for a single moment.  Nikki Serafino is back in Naples working with the Phoenix Seven, the liaison group navigating the impossible space between the police and the US military, and while it is possible to read this as a standalone, you are only cheating yourself. This is book two, and the continuity between the stories is half the thrill, because every character carries history, every choice has weight, and every secret has its own echo. This time the death of a young woman inside the historic Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo spirals into something far darker, all while dangerous debts cling to both Nikki and Valerio like smoke. Then there is Beatrice, Nikki’s mother, and the long shadow cast by her death and the death of her brother Adriano. When Nikki’s father arrives asking for three names she never expected to hear, she knows the past is alive and kicking and not finished with any of them.  The way clues are dropped into place is masterful, like someone feeding you crumbs that you think you understand, until the final pages and one final clue is dangling in front you leaving you needing the next installment.

The multiple story lines in this book are incredible, but it is the texture of Naples that takes center stage. You feel the pulse of the city in its churches, its food, its traditions, and its fierce families who hold their love as tightly as their secrets. Yes, there are a lot of characters.  Get to know them. You need them. Every one of them. They move across both books with purpose and carry their own stories like they have lived there forever. Naples in this series is a maze of beauty and danger built on Il Sistema, the system that shapes its children from the moment they can walk. Crime and survival blur until the difference becomes almost philosophical. The beasts of Naples hunt anywhere they please. Churches. Alleys. Market squares. Homes. Young or old, innocent or guilty, no one is exempt. Cops can be bought. Judges can be bent. People with money can be just as dirty as those with nothing. Everyone needs something from someone else, and no one seems to know who sits at the top of this food chain or if that person even exists.

The plot moves like a chase from beginning to end because Nikki never gets a moment to breathe. She trusts almost no one and with good reason. Trouble loves her and follows her like a dark shadow. And Valerio, who continues to make me root for him at every turn, carries his own broken corners that make him both dangerous and deeply human. As the two of them work to uncover the truth behind the murder at Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo, their own pasts drag them into the underworld of Naples where survival is a skill and loyalty is currency. This story is dark, smart, and emotionally honest. It asks what power does to people and what people will do to protect whatever is left when power strips everything else away. It is atmospheric. It is character driven. It is crime fiction at its finest, and I will keep saying that until everyone listens. Clear your schedule.  Thank me later.

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Murder At 30,000 Feet By Susan Walter

I binge read Murder at 30,000 Feet last night and I have zero regrets. This is a high altitude whodunit with tension that never lets up. When Federal Air Marshal Carlos Renaldo boarded Flight 866 to San Juan, he didn’t expect anything more than a smooth flight. After all, in all his years on the job, no one had ever been in real danger. But this flight was different. A violent storm with a lightning strike that causes a power glitch and when the lights flickered back on one passenger was dead. And suddenly, the calm skies turned into a full-blown crime scene. 

This story moves fast and doesn’t waste a moment. There are so many intersecting threads and multiple narrators including a bridal party, a high school baseball team, solo travelers, and plenty of drama unfolding at 30,000 feet. As the clues come together and the chaos builds in the air, all signs begin to point to one big secret that started in the small town of Crestwood and the suspicious death of Matthew Kessler, a high school baseball player who died in a hit and run accident three years earlier. Everyone has something to lose, and no one is completely innocent

Murder at 30,000 feet  balances action and emotion. The story feels cinematic but still grounded in raw human fear and guilt. It’s more than a murder mystery; it's a collision of past and present, of lies that refuse to stay buried. It's a story of cause and effect and the impact of decisions made. Susan Walter has been, and will stay, on my radar; she knows exactly how to keep the tension tight, the story moving, and the reader hanging on every word until the wheels hit the runway.

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The Hard Line By Mark Greaney

He is known by many names - Courtland Gentry, Sierra Six, The Gray Man, The Violator. Different names, one singular purpose, and in this book that purpose is sharpened to a razor’s edge. From the opening pages, the action never lets up. This story revolves around Gauntlet, a private company contracted by the United States to handle black ops and deniable missions. At the center of it is James Arthur Westwood, a man selling secrets to the Chinese while quietly harvesting intel from inside nearly every three-letter agency. To protect himself, he unleashes hired assassins and sets off a chain reaction that pulls Court into a fight that feels both global and deeply personal.

Things turn brutal when Bulgarian mobsters snap Gentry’s photo, threatening to blow his cover. There is only one solution, and it is absolute. Cleaning house draws the attention of Whetstone through his son, tying revenge directly to Court’s actions. At the same time, Matt Hanley and his Ghost Town team operate in the deepest shadows imaginable. Ghost Town is darker than Gauntlet, more deniable, more dangerous, and when Gauntlet realizes their assassins are being eliminated, they bring the war straight to Ghost Town’s doorstep. Travers, Hightower, Gentry, and the rest suddenly find themselves hunted by another black ops group, and the story becomes a collision of secret worlds that were never meant to touch.

The Hard Line is a little different in how much emotional weight Greaney allows into the story without slowing it down. Court is sometimes fueled by blind rage that is unstoppable and ferocious, but there is also vulnerability I did not expect. Not just from him but from the other operatives as well. Their histories surface, old connections return, and longtime readers will recognize how many threads are finally coming full circle. The dialogue between characters is sharp, revealing, and often electric, easily my favorite part of the book. The technology, the globe-trotting, the relentless pace all hit hard, but it is the humanity beneath the violence that makes this one stand out. This is my favorite book in the series so far, a full throttle story that still manages to dig deep and hit with real force.

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The Better Mother By Jennifer van der Kleut

This is madness, meticulously crafted. Twisted taunting and utterly intoxicating.

I had the chance to meet debut author Jennifer van der Kleut at Bouchercon this year in New Orleans, and when the opportunity came to read her first novel, The Better Mother, I jumped on it faster than my TBR pile could protest. The story follows Savannah Mitchell, who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after what was supposed to be a casual hookup. Enter Max’s ex, Madison. A charming, helpful, and just a little too eager to be involved. What starts as an uneasy truce between two women quickly unravels into a dizzying descent into obsession and control. It’s a slick, modern psychological thriller that digs into the dark side of motherhood, obsession, and the illusion of control.

I love it when an author can make me anxious in the best possible way. My eyes couldn't move fast enough across the page making it that I physically needed to know what happened next. The Better Mother delivers exactly that kind of high. It’s smart, unsettling, and eerily believable, the kind of psychological thriller that keeps you up way past your bedtime muttering, “just one more chapter.” Warning - for the love of your nerves, clear your schedule because you’re going to binge this in one sitting.

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Antihero By Gregg Hurwitz

Evan Smoak is many things—Orphan X, government-trained assassin, and to those who find his untraceable number, the Nowhere Man. Stolen from a foster home and forged into a weapon by a covert program that erased names and replaced them with letters, Evan became the perfect operative—silent, precise, unstoppable and living back Jack John’s 10 Commandments. But he walked away, turning his lethal skills toward a new mission: saving the helpless when no one else will. To the outside world, he’s just a ghost, but to the desperate, he’s a last chance. Always hunted, always alone, Evan lives by a strict code—protect the innocent, punish the guilty—no matter the cost.

In Antihero, Evan is challenged on so many levels.  He is still the smart ass, calculated, OCD, vodka drinking, magnet shirt wearing guy we love, but his feelings are a constant tug-of-war between isolation and connection, duty and humanity. He is deeply disciplined and controlled on the surface, but underneath he wrestles with loneliness, guilt, and the heavy weight of what he was trained to do. Evan is a man caught between two worlds: the weapon he was made to be and the human being he wants to become and after losing Tommy and watching Joey grow up, the unknown softer side (yeah I said softer)  of Evan is winning, and I am so here for it.

This mission just hits differently.  It is raw, real and relevant and is happening every single day in the world that we live in.  When Luke Devine calls for some help, Evan is put on track to find and help a young woman, Anca Dumitrescu, and American Romanian who had a seizure on a subway train.  She was taken, assaulted and abandoned.  Evan and Joey head to New York to find her, help Devine calm the hell down, and uncover a dirty wretched world that will simply turn your stomach knowing that crimes against the unwilling happen every single day.  Evan must balance mercy with vengeance per the request of the young woman who was defiled and abused yet finds the light even in the worst situations and that light is what Evan needs.

If you haven’t started the Orphan X series, stop everything and dive in—you won’t regret it.  The Nowhere Man, pulls you straight into the action and refuses to let you go, leaving you desperate for the next mission. Antihero might just be my favorite installment yet. Gregg Hurwitz crafts Evan with meticulous precision—every detail matters, from the smudge of bird droppings on a window, to the way Evan scans a room, to the quiet complexity of how he navigates the women in his life. It’s that level of detail that makes this story tangible, authentic and one I need to see on the big screen. And yes—he even gets a brand-new commandment. I cannot wait to see where it takes him next.

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In Her Defense By Phillippa Malicka

I have a particular weakness for debut psychological thrillers, especially when a new author comes out swinging, and In Her Defense absolutely earns that attention. This story unfolds around a very public libel case, where a powerful media figure stands accused of destroying a therapist’s reputation, and the courtroom becomes less about facts and more about perception. The narrative moves between the legal spectacle and the quieter moments that led everyone there, slowly revealing how memory, influence, and fear distort the truth. At the center is Augusta “Gus” Bird, a woman who appears peripheral at first, almost forgettable, until it becomes clear she may be the only person capable of untangling what actually happened. 

What impressed me most is how character driven this novel is. The internal lives of these people are as tense and volatile as the external plot, and the emotional stakes inside the courtroom feel just as dangerous as the verdict itself. The unreliable narration keeps you constantly recalibrating your loyalties, questioning motives, and wondering who is being manipulated and who is doing the manipulating. Malicka digs into mental health, vulnerability, therapy, queer identity, consent, boundaries, and toxic mentorship with a precision that feels unsettlingly believable. The exploration of cult-like influence and psychological control is especially effective, forcing you to sit with how fragile our sense of self can be, how easily it can be shaped, and who benefits when it is.

This is not a book that tells you who to root for. You are left circling every character, asking whether they are obsessed, fulfilling a need, protecting themselves, or simply lying to survive. The tension builds slowly but deliberately, rewarding patience rather than rushing to satisfy expectations. Slow burn thrillers aren't for the faint of heart, but stick with it because the ending is...chef's kiss.   Philippa Malicka is officially on my radar, and if this is what her debut looks like, I am very ready for what she does next.

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Impostor By L. J. Ross

This was my first L.J. Ross book, and what an introduction. We meet Dr. Alexander Gregory, a forensic psychologist with a rare gift who can read the darkest corners of the human mind, a skill that makes him both brilliant and haunted. Gregory works with violent offenders, the kind of people most would rather forget, yet their thoughts and actions follow him long after the day is done. Beneath his calm professional exterior lies a man carrying secrets of his own, hidden deep for reasons we can only begin to guess.

The prologue sets the stage with a chilling tale of a mother with Munchausen Syndrome, seemingly killing her own children, though one survives. It is a disturbing and unforgettable opening that lingers as the story unfolds. Soon, Gregory is drawn into a small Irish community where a brutal murder has shattered the calm. His task is to unravel the mind of a killer hiding in plain sight. But as dreams bleed into reality and old wounds resurface, the truth becomes as elusive as the killer he is trying to profile.

Ross’s writing is taut and cinematic, almost claustrophobic in how it traps you inside this tight-knit community and keeps the list of suspects painfully close. Every page hums with tension, and just when you think you have found your footing, Ross tilts the ground beneath you. The ending lands with a sharp cliffhanger that leaves you desperate for the next installment. Impostor is dark, psychological, and utterly consuming.

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The Cormorant Hunt By Michael Idov

ARI FALK IS BACK!!! (and yes that is me yelling) I loved The Collaborators, so there was zero hesitation when I got the chance to read The Cormorant Hunt. This is not a standalone, and I strongly recommend starting with book one because the payoff here is worth the investment. Michael Idov drops us straight into a world rich with current geopolitical intrigue, where the stakes feel immediate and uncomfortably real. The settings are vivid and global, grounding the story in a reality that gives the tension real weight and urgency.

What Idov does best is keep the story moving with precision. The dialogue is sharp, the momentum never drags, and the characters operate where ethics are flexible and consequences are unavoidable, which is exactly where this series thrives. Ari Falk continues to be compelling, but it’s his dynamic with CIA officer Asha Tamaskar that truly elevates the book. Their connection is tense, intelligent, and layered, adding real substance to the suspense and giving the story its edge.

This is spy fiction without padding. No fluff, no wasted space, just tight storytelling and an attention to detail that brings humanity to the chaos of espionage. And just when you think you understand where it is all heading, the ending proves otherwise. Hold your breath, clear your schedule, and be prepared to want the next installment immediately. This series continues to deliver, and I am fully locked in. 

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Detour By Jeff Rake & Rob Hart

I went into Detour completely blind because when Jeff Rake and Rob Hart team up, you just show up and buckle in. What I did not expect was the way this book grabbed my face, turned my head, and said “look closely,” only to twist everything in the final moments and leave my jaw on the floor. It feels like binge-watching your newest obsession right before a global shutdown, only to learn the next episode is delayed indefinitely. So here I am, sitting in the wreckage of my own brain, trying to piece together the shards of what I just read and wondering how I’m supposed to function until the next installment exists.

The setup already sounds like reality TV meets prestige sci-fi: three astronauts and three civilians get handpicked for a bold mission to Titan, Saturn’s famous moon, and the expectations are sky-high. Part of the goal is pure political theater.  Billionaire John Ward wants shiny “I care about the planet” points as a third-party presidential candidate, and part of it is a genuine Hail Mary for a dying Earth cooked crispy by climate change. The astronauts bring the skill, the civilians bring the chaos, and together they launch into a mission that is equal parts noble, messy, and deeply suspicious from the jump.

And then the book detonates. Explosions, betrayals, weirdness in deep space, and a return to Earth that feels like stepping into the uncanny valley with a badge and a pulse oximeter. The final twist is so bold, so unhinged, so absolutely “wait, WHAT?” that I had to sit there in silence like someone just unplugged me. Detour is fast, fun, stressful in the best way, and full of that serialized cliffhanger energy that demands a season two immediately. If you like your sci-fi thrillers with high stakes, political shade, and endings that leave dents in your soul, this book is going to break you — and you’ll thank it.

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Very Slowly All At Once By Lauren Schott

Mack and Hailey Evans have done everything right. A custom home in a coveted neighborhood. Prestigious careers—Hailey as a high-powered divorce attorney, Mack as a celebrated professor who quietly fancies himself the next Hemingway and two wonderful daughters. But beneath the polished surface, cracks (iykyk) are already spreading. Hailey is staring down a client who owes her firm a staggering sum. Mack is hiding both an investigation into inappropriate relationships with students and a family history he has never fully shared. Then the checks start arriving. Large ones. Unexplained ones. And with each deposit, the question sharpens—is this money solving their problems, or engineering something far more dangerous?

Told through alternating points of view between Mack, Hailey, and a chilling unknown narrator with a godlike vantage point, Lauren Schott builds tension with surgical precision. This is a story about erosion. Small compromises stack quietly. Boundaries blur. Then, all at once, everything gives way. The unknown narrator doles out just enough backstory to keep you guessing, pulling strings you didn’t even realize were there. The red herrings are perfectly placed, the moral ground constantly shifting, and the constant reminder that no one here is innocent. As their professional and personal lives collapse in tandem, Mack and Hailey find themselves unable to trust each other—or their own judgment.

What makes this novel hit so hard is how deeply relatable its descent feels. Financial pressure. Career anxiety. Aging parents. The quiet terror of realizing that “enough” never really feels like enough, always wanting more, chasing a dream and what boundaries are we willing to push to get those things.  Schott shows us how fragile stability really is, and how quickly security can curdle into chaos.  The result is an unhinged, slow burn, domestic thriller that tightens page by page, choice by choice. If this is her debut, sign me up immediately for whatever she writes next.

PS - I love how the title of the book Very Slowly All at Once is a nod to Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises since Mack had dreams of being the next Hemingway.

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All The Little Houses By May Cobb

All the Little Houses by May Cobb absolutely delivered and then some. I am genuinely thrilled I chose this as one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 because it earned that spot without breaking a sweat. Set in a small Texas town from the tail end of the school year straight through a sweltering summer, the tension rises with the temperature. Every day the dial turns higher. This story is juicy, sassy, and soaked in gossip, the kind that dares you to put the book down and then laughs when you cannot. Cobb leans fully into the mess and makes no apologies for it, creating an unhinged thrill ride that feels bold, scandalous, nostalgic, and completely addictive.

The novel unfolds in three parts with multiple points of view, each one sharp and delicious in its own way. Nellie, Charleigh, Jane, and Jackson guide the chaos, and every chapter feels like another secret slipping loose. These characters are authentic, catty, and wildly self interested, though never in the same way or for the same reason. Whether they are dripping in wealth or scraping by in a hand me down dress, the backstabbing is ruthless and the motivations are layered. Cliques, infidelity, swindling, manipulation, secret pasts, overprotective parents, and betrayals pile up fast, turning this into a dark, gossipy thriller that thrives on social tension and quiet cruelty.

And then there is the ending. A full on cliffhanger ending that will leave you staring at the final page and immediately demanding more. This book practically begs to be adapted for television, with its sharp dialogue, volatile relationships, and escalating drama. All the Little Houses is the kind of story you inhale in one sitting, equal parts wicked fun and psychological suspense, and proof that May Cobb knows exactly how to keep readers hooked and hungry for whatever comes next.

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The Bourne Revenge By Brian Freeman

I have not dipped into the Bourne universe in a long while, so when this landed in my hands, I opened it with equal parts nostalgia and curiosity. It did not take long for me to slide right back into the chaos. Bourne is fresh off a mission and trying to pretend he is on vacation. His handler keeps telling him to relax and enjoy himself which is a hilarious suggestion for a man who cannot turn his brain off for five seconds. When a gorgeous importer crosses his path and an operative Treadstone has been chasing appears on the horizon you know this getaway is about to combust.

What pulled me in is how human Bourne feels in this round. He is not a stone-faced weapon. He is a man carrying the weight of every face he has ever put in the ground and he cannot shake it. His memory slips at the worst times yet his instincts remain sharp which creates this constant tension between what he knows and what he fears he might have forgotten. The details are razor clean too. When Fang threads the suppressor onto the barrel of a QSZ 92 pistol you can see it. You can hear it. It is that vivid. There is just enough drama and just enough heat to give the story a little James Bond shimmer without drowning out the grit.

The story brings modern espionage roaring in with AI databases, shadow warfare and Chinese intelligence networks all spinning around Bourne's fractured past. It adds a new dimension to a character who has survived decades of reinvention and still finds new ways to surprise us. The mix of espionage, memory loss, betrayal and identity crisis is sharp and addictive. This is the kind of book that reminded me of why Bourne became a legend in the first place. If you have been away from the series like I was this is your sign to jump back in. It is sleek, tense, emotional and impossible to walk away from.

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Murder By The Book
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Such Sheltered Lives By Alyssa Sheinmel

Such Sheltered Lives drops three wealthy strangers onto an isolated wellness retreat and then slowly peels back every layer they work so hard to hide. Amelia Blue Harris is the daughter of a rock legend and she is losing her fight with an eating disorder. Lord Edward of Essex arrives wrapped in the brittle confidence of a British aristocrat who is drowning in addiction. Florence Bloom is a pop star whose life has turned into a string of scandals she can no longer outrun. On the surface these guests have more money than I could ever imagine, yet their lives are filled with grief and trauma and choices that haunt them. Watching them land at Rushs Recovery with their secrets packed tighter than their suitcases is an instant pull.

The multiple points of view work beautifully because they let you slip into each character’s history and fear and motivation for getting out of this place as soon as possible. Their desperation is quiet at first, but it grows and you begin to understand why this retreat is not the safe bubble it pretends to be. There is also a separate thread that follows a body discovered on the island, and this entire community becomes a character of its own. The facility, the staff, the routines that look polished from afar all start to reveal something darker behind them. You feel the tension of a place that sells peace but survives on secrets.

Addiction, privilege, mental health, and generational trauma are explored with care and nuance, and the story moves with a confidence that makes the slow burn feel intentional. Then the last third of the book hits and everything tightens. The pace snaps forward and you realize you have been lulled into a false sense of calm right before the floor drops out. It is absorbing, unsettling, and surprisingly emotional, and despite the idea of a wealthy wellness retreat and days without responsibility - I was ready to get out of there too.

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

Robber Barons By Rodger Carlyle

I have read every book Rodger Carlyle has written and have had the chance to meet and interview him, so I can tell you firsthand that his passion for storytelling runs deep. You can feel it in the pages, in the care he takes with research and historical accuracy, and in the vivid sense of time and place that he brings to life. Whether he is writing about the Gritt family or another era entirely, his love for history and the people who shaped it shines through.

Set in 1865, as the United States takes possession of Alaska, this story unfolds against a backdrop of unchecked greed and corruption. The Gritt brothers stand in stark contrast to the ruthless industrialists who descend on the territory to strip it of its riches, crushing small traders and exploiting Native communities. One brother runs steamboats on the Yukon while the other trades along Alaska’s southern coast, and both refuse to yield to men who would destroy everything for profit. The attention to real locations, historical context, and even the inclusion of a tribute to a true Alaskan, Old Joe, give the book an authenticity that pulls you completely into the frontier world.

What elevates this story even more are the people who fight beside the brothers; those you root for and trust. Danielle Post, a young attorney with grit and grace, and Belle Medev, an Alaskan native whose quiet strength and faith ground the story, bring balance and hope to a brutal time. The novel captures the heart of what made America’s expansion both inspiring and devastating. It reads like Ken Follett’s sweeping historical drama laced with the rugged soul of Louis L’Amour. From Alaska to Washington and beyond, this is a journey through courage, greed, and the enduring power of integrity.

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Purchase Robber Barons
(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

Dead In The Water By John Marrs

Dead in the Water by John Marrs drags you straight into the deep end of memory, obsession, and fear. When Damon nearly drowns after a reckless dare, his life flashes before his eyes, but when he comes back after the near-death experience, he brings with him an image of a person he does not recognize. A dead boy. An image that haunts him, that he can't shake and a truth he can’t remember. That missing moment becomes his obsession, pushing him to risk everything to relive death and uncover the secret buried in his past. The whole premise screams movie adaptation.  It is haunting, cinematic, and impossible to look away from.

John Marrs delivers exactly what readers want in a psychological thriller and then some. He hits hard with multiple points of view, short, punchy chapters, and a relentless pace that keeps you flipping pages long past midnight. The tension is razor-sharp, the writing electric, and the added touch of the paranormal is pure perfection. Marrs is a master of the unexpected.  Just when you think you’ve figured it out, he hits you with a twist that changes everything.

This story is gloriously unhinged, connecting characters across a lifetime in ways you’ll never see coming. It’s dark, it’s daring, and it digs deep into what our memories hide to keep us safe. Dead in the Water is not just a thriller—it’s a full-blown experience that proves why John Marrs remains one of the boldest voices in modern suspense.

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(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 Method By Matthew Quirk

The Method centers on Anna and Natalie, two professional actors whose lives are built on slipping into other identities. When Natalie disappears, Anna doesn’t feel like she is getting help from the police and she takes it upon herself to figure out what happened, because all signs pointed to something amiss. Anna must take on the biggest, and possibly implausible roll of her life, by walking straight into the world of the people responsible. What follows is Anna wildly overestimating her ability to play hero, convinced she can infiltrate the bad guy’s lair, find Natalie, and get them both out on sheer nerve and learned skills alone. Spoiler: it’s a terrible plan. The villains here are truly dangerous, the things they’re involved in are unsettling, and Anna has no idea who she can trust.

Anna is not your typical thriller heroine; she’s scrappy, stubborn, and fully aware that what she’s doing is unhinged, which somehow makes her even more compelling. This book reads just like a binge worth television series allowing you to only breathe at the end of a chapter. Matthew Quirk’s writing is clean, direct, and unapologetically cinematic, populated with espionage archetypes that shouldn’t work but absolutely do. If you love fast-paced thrillers, bold and ballsy female leads, lean into this one and enjoy the ride.

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

Purchase The Method
(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

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