Review: Keep Them Close by David Ellis

 

Keep Them Close by David Ellis

Publication Date: June 30th 2026 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Libro.fm | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Keep Them Close started off with a bang and had me hooked from the first page!

 

Allison, a smart defense attorney, is successful, but her marriage is another story. I wanted to strangle her husband!

 

Luke, Allison’s brother, has a run in with the law and Allison’s ready to step in and help, but things are not as they seem.

 

Complicated relationships with betrayals sprinkled in, but at the heart of this was family.

 

Events from the past are woven into the present and I was riveted! Just when I thought I knew what was going on, a new angle came to light. I loved Allison’s quick, smart thinking!

 

Keep Them Close was a twisty and oh-so-good! Five stars from me, and easily one of my favorite reads of 2026!

5 Stars

Book Description:

From the bestselling author of Look Closer comes a new domestic thriller about betrayal and murder inside one twisted family

Siblings Allison and Luke have been through a lot together. They’ve always stood by each other. They’d do anything for each other.

When Allison’s husband, Finley, is murdered, Luke is right there by her side.

Until the murder investigation exposes secrets that could tear their family apart.

An illicit affair. A decades-old accident. A shocking betrayal. How do they explain Finley’s death? And why are the siblings suddenly avoiding each other?

As past tensions resurface, the truth might lie a little too close to home…

Review: Storm Tide by Paul Doiron

 

Storm Tide (Mike Bowditch #16) by Paul Doiron

Publication Date: June 30th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 35min

Narrator: Henry Leyva

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

After the events of the last book, Mike Bowditch is facing a disciplinary hearing and has been demoted back to patrolling for the Game Warden’s office in rural Maine until a decision is made.

 

Meanwhile, there’s two suspicious deaths that point to a vigilante on the loose. Mike’s tipped off by someone who knows a little too much about his personal life, both past and present.

 

Also, Mike’s wife, Stacy, is weeks away from giving birth to their first child and notices a white van has been tailing her.

 

Mike is unsettled to find someone personally obsessed, especially since he has so much to lose, with a wife and baby on the way. As usual, Mike runs headlong into danger, and there were a few times I wanted to shake some sense into him. Especially when he landed in situations I wasn’t sure he’d survive. Still, his determination to find the stalker before the stalker finds him or his family made sense.

 

One of the things I love about this series is that Doiron brings the rough and beautiful landscape of Maine to life without slowing the plot!

 

I alternately read and listened to an audio version with Henry Leyva narrating. I love his performance! At this point, he is Mike Bowditch to me! Doiron’s wry humor comes through loud and clear through his performance and I enjoy his Maine accents.

 

Storm Tide is book sixteen in a series, but I jumped in late (book twelve) and have enjoyed every installment since!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Game Warden Mike Bowditch investigates a series of brutal killings during a life-changing year in Storm Tide, the harrowing new thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron.

When the magnificent home of entrepreneur Brian Malloy mysteriously goes up in flames, Maine game warden Mike Bowditch tries to pull Malloy’s burning body from the fire but is too late. Malloy was suspected of murdering his young, illegitimate son. Now it looks like someone else has delivered a verdict.

Miles away, on a lonely stretch of icy railroad track, the body of Axl Deming, once accused of a brutal rape, is found literally cut in half. Though the two murders seem unrelated, a cryptic text from an unknown number draws Bowditch to the scene—and hints at a chilling connection. He suspects someone is orchestrating the executions of criminals who escaped justice, and for reasons he can’t explain, his own name is on the list, but the state police aren’t convinced. His search for the truth takes him through frozen harbors, trackless forests, and remote islands, far from rescue.

Meanwhile, Bowditch is facing a disciplinary hearing that could end his career. His wife Stacey, just weeks from giving birth, is being stalked by a stranger in a white van. And when he realizes someone has also been watching their home, the case turns increasingly personal.

To protect his family, Bowditch must work alone to uncover who’s behind the killings—and stop them before he becomes their next victim.

Review: In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann

In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann

Publication Date: May 26th 2026 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Pages: 400

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Librofm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Seventeen-year-old Sarah and her two best friends, Fenny and Sam, have been amateur sleuths since grade school, the kind of kids who exposed bullies, uncovered secrets, and stirred up scandals that didn’t make them too popular. But lately, Sarah, the unofficial leader of their trio, has been pulling away. Their once‑tight friendship is strained and then Sarah disappears.

 

No one knows what she was investigating, but Fenny stumbles across a binder labeled “In Case I Go Missing” with clues Sarah left behind. Determined to find her friend, Fenny throws herself into the mystery, convinced that uncovering whatever Sarah was digging into is the key to bringing her home. It doesn’t take long for Fenny and Sam to realize this case is far more dangerous than anything they’ve tackled before, and the deeper they dig, the more dangerous things become.

 

Fenny’s at the center of things, and I felt for her. She was a well‑fleshed out character juggling her own family drama while desperately trying to piece together what happened. For the most part, she kept her head about her, methodically working the clues. Things got really crazy at the end, and I was seriously worried for both Fenny and Sam!

 

In Case I Go Missing was a fast-paced, addictive YA mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed!

4 Stars

Book Description:

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Fargo in this fast-paced YA mystery about a teen detective gone missing and her best friend who must finish her investigation.

Seventeen-year-old Fenny Allen has been Sarah Vincenty's sidekick for as long as she can remember, ever since the two of them solved the mystery of the stolen library books back in elementary school. Over the years, Sarah has ruffled a few feathers in their small town, building a reputation as both an amateur detective and a vigilante who has dispensed her own form of justice.

Now Sarah is missing. The police have written her off as yet another teen runaway, but Fenny is convinced that something more sinister has happened. When she discovers a binder Sarah left behind entitled In Case I Go Missing, Fenny learns that at the time of her disappearance, Sarah was investigating her biggest case yet.

Fenny knows that it's up to her to finish what Sarah had begun. As she and her friend Sam piece together the clues that Sarah left for them, they find themselves up against a decades-old mystery—one that links to the town's dark history. But is this binder a guide to finding Sarah—or are Fenny and Sam already too late?

The more the pair uncover, the clearer it becomes that those involved will go to great lengths to keep their secrets—even as far as murder.

 

Review: Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan

 

Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan

Publication Date: June 23rd 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 28min

Narrator: Amanda Stribling

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

This was an on-the-edge, high stakes kind of read! A woman trying to keep her farm afloat, a corrupt businessman, home invasions and a hostage situation! All of it unfolding as a brutal storm bears down on the county!

 

Ellen McKenna trying to keep her Texas family farm afloat after the death of her husband.  Mitchell Robinson, a local businessman is determined to buy her property for his own greedy plot. He hires a fixer and things go badly.

 

When the story starts Ellen is hunkering down for a major storm, checking on her neighbors and dealing with mishaps on her own property. Thankfully, she has her kids, despite being young to help with all of that. They’re industrious, smart and love the farm as much as Ellen does. Plus, they have Grandma Penny who does most of the cooking. She was a hoot!

 

The McKenna’s cared about their community and the land they lived on, not just the profits. I rooted for them as they came up against all these dangers! Ellen and the kids were smart about how they handled things, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t on the edge of my seat worried over what was going to happen!

 

Whisper Creek was a thrilling, action‑packed story with characters I genuinely came to care about. I tore through it in a single day eager to know how it would all turn out!

 

I alternately read and listened to Whisper Creek and can recommend either version. Amanda Stribling did an amazing job narrating a variety of characters, male and female, with a pleasing subtle southern accent. A definite recommend!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Allison Brennan delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about one family fighting for their land against both human enemies and Mother Nature.

After the sudden death of her husband, Ellen McKenna is doing everything she can to keep her Texas farm afloat. She and her family hope to expand their operation, but times are tough and making ends meet is more expensive than she imagined, much less trying to grow. Many of their neighbors in Cooke County have thrown in the towel and agreed to sell their farms to a local businessman, but despite similar pressure, Ellen refuses to let her dreams die.

On top of the usual hardships, a series of recent storms has left the region partly flooded, and as the heavy rain begins again one morning, all the members of the McKenna family jump into action to protect their land and animals. Ellen’s oldest son discovers an injured dog—and the dog leads him to a man barely clinging to life, the apparent victim of a brutal home invasion. Then, Ellen’s younger kids go to check on a nearby neighbor and walk into a threat none of them saw coming.

Before anyone can figure out what’s really going on in their idyllic rural valley, the storm picks up again in intensity, and the McKenna kids find themselves in over their heads with no way to call for help. To protect her farm--and her family—Ellen must face down all the forces trying to tear them apart.

Allison Brennan's talent for twisty, tense pacing combines with a deeply drawn family drama and the unforgiving power of nature in this compelling standalone thriller.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic.

This week the theme is: Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List:

I read all but one of my books (my library lend hasn't come through yet) from my Spring 2026 TBR, so yay! 

Keep Them Close by David Ellis

Release date: 6/30/26

Storm Tide (Mike Bowditch #16) by Paul Doiron

Release date: 6/30/26

The One Who Walked Away by Karen Rose

Release date: 8/11/26

The Secrets We Hide (North Falls #2) by Karin Slaughter

Release date: 8/11/26

If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle

Release date: 7/21/26

I'll Be Watching You (Angelhart Investigations #3) by Allison Brennan

Release date: 9/15/26

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

Release date: 8/4/26

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed #2) by Brigitte Knightley

Release date: 7/7/26

Murder in Blackfriars (Below Stairs #9) by Jennifer Ashley

Release date: 8/11/26

You'll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner

Release date: 8/4/26

What's on your summer TBR?

Sunday Post #343

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Happy Sunday!

We've been in Montana since Tuesday at my daughter's house. The weather was gorgeous. Cooler than at home. Just flew home today (Saturday) and I work tomorrow (Sunday). We head out for Idaho and Grand Tetons on Wednesday, a road trip this time, as we make our way back out to Montana again. It's a busy summer for us!

Wildflowers I picked in Montana

My daughter's cat. He loves Montana!

500 Piece Puzzle Completed: Kitchen Essentials by Galison

Puzzle 32 of 2026

Read:

Somebody Worth Killing by Jessica Payne-2 Stars

Headlights by CJ Leede-2 Stars

The Defense (Eddie Flynn #1) by Steve Cavanagh-4 Stars

Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan-4.5 Stars

I had two disappointing reads in a row and both were review books. I listened to The Defense and loved it, finishing it in one day. I had read a couple of the Eddie Flynn series in the past, but out of order. I'm starting from the beginning now. Loved Whisper Creek as well. Started yesterday and finished while traveling home today.

Received:

I don't even know. I'm too tired to sort it out right now.

Audiobook Review: Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh

 

Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh

Publication Date: June 9th 2026 by Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 11hrs 

Narrator: Patti Murin

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Claire’s life implodes very publicly the night she discovers her husband is cheating with a much younger woman.  After too long wallowing it’s time for a change. Claire needs to figure out just exactly what she wants in life. Claire makes a list of things that’ll get her outside of her comfort zone, experience new things and hopefully find happiness along the way.

 

Brighter Than Before was moving, inspirational with some laughs and romance as Claire finds her way! I love seeing a character pull herself up after such a setback and thrive by the end! It was a joy to see Claire find her way!

 

I listened to the audio, and Patti Murin’s performance is perfection! Her comedic timing is excellent, and she does so well with a wide range of emotions!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Claire did not plan to end up mid-forties with a daughter studying in London and the unfortunate discovery that her husband is not the man she thought he was. In fact, he's the exact opposite of a faithful, loyal, kind, and good-hearted spouse. And the discovery of his real nature and lack of remorse leads her to do what she never thought she would--divorce him.

After a year of wallowing before hitting rock bottom . . . in public, unfortunately, Claire realizes she needs to finally answer the question her therapist asked her all those months "What do you really want?" It was a question she couldn't answer then, but now she knows it's time to figure it out.

It's the turning point that leads Claire to change her life. And not just a little--a lot. She sells her house in Denver and moves to the city that's always had her heart--Chicago.

With the help of nosy neighbors, new friends, and a daughter who sets her up on a dating site from across the ocean, Claire begins to answer that big, important question by figuring out what she wants and how to live life on her own terms.