Review: Where There's Smoke by Rachel Louise Adams

 

Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Publication Date: October 6th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 314

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 18min

Narrators: Jeremy Carlisle Parker

Source: Publishers 

Rating: ★★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

When Where There’s Smoke came onto my radar, I realized it was the second book in the series, so I listened to No Rest for the Wicked first and loved it! Learning about Dolores’s past and what drove her to leave Coldren County made me eager to continue her story! I highly recommend reading this series in order.

 

Now settled in Wisconsin as the medical examiner for the small town of Circe, Dolores is building relationships with her half-siblings, Josie and Asher. But she’s also dealing with anonymous threatening letters, fallout from the events of the previous book.

 

When Benedict Marcy, the well-respected owner of Marcy’s Meats, is found murdered in the slaughterhouse, Dolores is assigned to the case.

 

FYI, I love animals, so I was a little worried when I saw a slaughterhouse was featured. Thankfully, no animals are killed "on page".

 

FBI Agent Paul Turner and her childhood friend Kate return, and I enjoyed seeing the three of them work together again. Paul’s a great character, but I’d love to see him kick his smoking habit.

 

Where There’s Smoke was riveting! I had a feeling about one reveal, but I was surprised by others. The ending was intense and exciting. I’ve found a new mystery/thriller series to love and can’t wait for the next one!

 

Jeremy Carlisle Parker once again delivers an excellent narration. She seamlessly performed all characters in a range of ages, giving each a distinct personality and bringing the story to life.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Following the USA Today bestselling series debut, No Rest for the Wicked, Rachel Louise Adams returns with Where There’s Smoke.

A lot has happened in Dolores Hawthorne’s life since the events of last Halloween. She’s divorced, traded being a forensic pathologist for a job as a medical examiner, and now lives in small-town Wisconsin, close—but not too close—to her family.

Dolores doesn’t have much in the way of work, but that all changes when a body is found at the local slaughterhouse. Benedict Marcy owned Marcy’s Meats, and is affectionately called Mr. Mercy across the region. This high-profile case quickly catches the attention of Dolores’s friends at the FBI.

From the very beginning, this case is full of contradictions and surprises, and the team quickly learns someone is willing to go to extreme lengths to stop them from finding out the truth behind Benedict Marcy’s murder.

Review: The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves

 

The Dying Light (Two Rivers #4) by Ann Cleeves

Publication Date: September 22nd 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 384

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 33min

Narrator: Jack Holden

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team are called to a small coastal town in Devon after a young woman, Lottie, is found dead in a swimming pool. Lottie had been vacationing with her friend Hannah, the daughter of a politician, who is now missing. The two made an impression around town, and not in a good way. Lottie made waves at a local farm music festival by posting mocking videos on her socials and was rude at the local pub, as well.

 

But was Lottie really the intended target, or was someone after Hannah because of her father’s politics? There’s also a tragic incident from the girls’ past that may have caught up with them. Matthew and his team, Jen, Ross, and Victoria, methodically work the case, uncovering information bit by bit.

 

The Dying Light was an engrossing police procedural that nicely balanced the investigation with glimpses into the detectives’ personal lives. I read the last installment, and it seems like the team is more cohesive now, working well together. Ross was a little immature and grasping for recognition in the last book, causing some friction, but he seems to have grown here. I’ve liked Jen, a levelheaded single mother, from the beginning.  Matthew has an interesting background, being brought up in a strict religious community and then leaving the faith.

 

I alternated between an audio and e-copy and can recommend either. Jack Holden’s performance was excellent! He had a way with the regional English accents that made them distinct. He did well performing a variety of characters, male and female in a range of ages.

4 Stars

Book Descrisption:

The Dying Light is a searing new novel featuring DI Matthew Venn, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension, as the detective peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets this family is keeping.

A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived in Devon a few days ahead of the family to celebrate the end of their school exams, and had managed to make waves during their short time there; they disrupted the folk music festival at the neighboring farm, with Lottie posting incendiary videos on social media mocking what she snobbishly considered to be a parochial community.

When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star, a fact that quickly draws intense media scrutiny to the case, not least because there are many who would want to take him down. With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have more connections with the Armstrong family than first thought.

Caught between a powerful family's secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn and his team must navigate a treacherous path. He knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep . . .

Review: A Map to Murder by Michelle Chouinard

 

A Map to Murder (The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco #3) by Michelle Chouinard

Publication Date: September 22th 2026 by Minotaur Books 

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Capri Sanzio runs a successful San Francisco tour business specializing in the city’s true-crime history. After helping solve two murders, detailing the events in a book and podcast has earned her some attention. So, when Jennifer Torres disappears while investigating the unsolved 1967 murder of her aunt Marilyn, Jennifer’s daughter asks Capri to help find her.

 

Capri digs into Marilyn’s murder, hoping to retrace Jennifer’s steps. Finding people who knew Marilyn nearly sixty years ago isn’t easy, but a threatening phone call shows Capri is on the right track.

 

A Map to Murder was an engrossing mystery! I loved Capri’s determination and ingenuity in searching for answers, and I was especially happy she had Detective Petito as a resource and for support. I’m really enjoying their pairing, as well as the precautions he encourages Capri to take.

 

I thought I had the mystery figured out, but I was wrong, and I loved being surprised by how everything came together. Things got tense, but Capri kept her head!

 

As with the previous books, I also enjoyed the bits of San Francisco history woven into the story. I didn’t know much about the 1967 “Summer of Love” or the hippie movement surrounding it, so I found that especially interesting.

 

This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone since the central mystery is resolved by the end. That said, I’d recommend reading the series in order to fully appreciate the relationships and previous cases. I hope we get another book in the series!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Beloved true crime tour guide Capri Sanzio returns in Michelle Chouinard’s A Map to Murder, the next book in the USA Today bestselling Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mysteries.

True crime tour guide and serial killer aficionado Capri Sanzio knows how central the Summer of Love is to San Francisco’s identity—even if she’s always had conflicted feelings about it. She’s used to weaving feel-good hippie culture and music into her Haight-Ashbury true crime tales, centering her tours around what happens when a revolution looking to lift up the best ideals humanity has to offer clashes with the darkest souls hidden among humanity’s shadows. But what she’s not used to is a guest stepping out from those shadows to drop a murder investigation directly into her lap.

A woman has gone missing in San Francisco after trying to solve her aunt’s murder: a cold case from the Summer of Love. Capri sees herself in the missing woman—both were unable to find the answers they desperately wanted as kids—and sees her own daughter in the tour guest begging for her help. Unable to turn the case away, Capri finds herself following a trail of flower-power footprints turned deadly—straight to a killer who has her in their sights.

Review: Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan

 

Brimstone Hollow (Annie Gore #2) by Archer Sullivan

Publication Date: August 11th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 304

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 43min

Narrator: Emily Pike Stewart

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

When snake-handling preacher Ezra King is found dead from snake bites and then buried less than twenty-four hours later, his estranged daughter Katie becomes suspicious. She hires Annie to investigate. On the surface, it looks like a tragic accident involving dangerous animals, but Annie agrees to take a closer look. Being local and familiar with small-town Appalachian culture, she’s able to ask questions and gain trust in ways an outsider never could.

 

Ezra left behind a troubled past, found religion, and used his charismatic personality to become the preacher at Mount Zion. His tent revivals featured snakes. Yikes!

 

As Annie starts digging for answers, word quickly spreads around town. What seemed like a straightforward case soon turns suspicious, especially after Annie narrowly survives an attempt on her life.

 

Brimstone Hollow is the second book in the Annie Gore series. While this could be read as a standalone, each mystery is wrapped up, I’d still recommend starting with the first book to better understand Annie’s background and how she became a PI.

 

I enjoyed watching Annie quickly gain acceptance in Mount Zion by treating the locals with genuine respect. Several residents proved helpful, and the descriptions of food at the little hole-in-the-wall diner Annie discovered had my mouth watering. The story had plenty of twists, action, and layers. I appreciated Annie’s determination to get to the truth. I’m already looking forward to her next case!

 

I alternated between the audiobook and eBook and recommend either format. Emily Pike Stewart, who also narrated the previous installment, did another wonderful job. Her subtle Southern accent suited the story perfectly, and I enjoyed that she sang portions of the hymns featured in the book. Her performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Following her powerful debut in The Witch’s Orchard, private investigator Annie Gore returns in Brimstone Hollow, bringing readers back to the mountains that author Archer Sullivan, a ninth generation Appalachian, knows so well.

There isn’t much that happens in the Appalachian Mountains that Private Investigator Annie Gore hasn’t seen. Before she joined the Air Force, she was born and raised in those rolling hills, and lately Annie's cases have called her away from her Louisville office and closer to the small towns of her youth than she ever anticipated. But when her newest client asks if she’s ever been to a snake-handling church, Annie knows she’s about to enter unknown territory.

Katie May has been estranged from her father―one of Appalachia’s last infamous snake handling preachers―for twenty years. But when Katie finds out he’s been fatally bitten, and a funeral was held within twenty-four hours, she questions whether someone deliberately rushed the process. Despite Annie’s doubts, she takes the case. After all, when she looks at Katie, she sees a version of herself: a girl who needs to understand her father in order to understand herself.

As she navigates the hidden hollers and dangerous secrets of this insular Eastern Kentucky town, Annie works fast, hoping to find the truth in record time for her client―and before too many memories from her own childhood surface. But it soon becomes apparent that someone wants Annie’s investigation to stop―by any means necessary.

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: 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.

Review: An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong

 

An Ordinary Sort of Evil (A Rip Through Time #5) by Kelley Armstrong

Publication Date: May 19th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 52min

Narrator: Kate Handford

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

An Ordinary Sort of Evil is the fifth entry in this excellent mystery/time‑travel series, one that’s best read in order, though the helpful introduction here makes it possible to jump in without feeling lost.

 

Detective Mallory Atkinson, attacked in modern‑day Scotland, inexplicably wakes up 150 years in the past in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a Victorian housemaid. Over the course of the series, she’s built a life in this new era, forging deep friendships with Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, assisting Duncan with autopsies for the police, and helping solve murders with the aid of her twenty‑first‑century know‑how. And yes, the slow‑burn romance between Mallory and Duncan continues to simmer, this installment delivers some very satisfying developments.

 

This time, Duncan and Mallory are summoned by the Adlers, wealthy patrons of Duncan’s business. A séance has revealed that their missing housemaid, Nellie, didn’t run off as assumed, she was murdered, and her spirit is demanding justice. Duncan and Mallory dismiss the séance as nonsense, but they agree to look into Nellie’s disappearance, only to discover that the claim of murder may not be so far‑fetched after all.

 

As in the previous books, the investigation unfolds through careful interviews, motive‑hunting, and forensic work, albeit limited by the science of the time. Mallory’s modern knowledge continues to give them an edge. The case itself is layered, tragic, and full of unexpected turns.

 

Mallory and Duncan find they have a surprising fan in the mix, and there’s a fun reveal at the end!

 

I alternated between reading and listening and can wholeheartedly recommend either format. Kate Handford once again delivers a standout performance, bringing every character, young and old, male and female. Her Scottish accents are pitch‑perfect, and she continues to be a highlight of the series.

5 Stars

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Victorian Scotland in the latest in the genre-blending Rip Through Time series.

Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She’s built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.

Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there's been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray's presence. The ghost is Lady Adler's former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she's dead or alive. But unsure if there's been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling--and more dangerous--than it first seems.

Review: First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

 

First Sign of Danger (Haven's Rock #4) by Kelley Armstrong

Publication Date: February 17th 2026 by Macmillan Audio & Minotaur Books

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 38min

Narrator: Thérèse Plummer

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

First Sign of Danger is the fourth installment in the Haven’s Rock series, and while each book features its own mystery, the ongoing character arcs and history make it far more rewarding to read in order. Better yet, start with the original Rockton series to fully appreciate how this off‑the‑grid refuge came to be.

 

Like Rockton before it, Haven’s Rock is designed as a sanctuary for people who need to disappear. Victims fleeing stalkers or abusive partners, individuals escaping unjust convictions, anyone who needs a second chance. Every applicant is vetted to ensure they pose no threat to the community.

 

In this installment, Casey and Eric encounter a couple hiking near the settlement under circumstances that immediately raise red flags. Are they harmless backpackers, or are they spying on Haven’s Rock? Hunting for someone inside the community? Or connected to the nearby mining camp that’s been a growing concern?

 

The situation goes from uneasy to dangerous when they discover one of the hikers dead the next day. Casey, Eric, Anders, Yolanda and the usual crew at Haven’s Rock work the evidence to figure out what’s going on. All the while keeping an eye on the miner’s camp. There’s also a curious break-in without theft in town that seems unrelated. Casey and Eric examine all the details at every angle and a darker picture emerges.

 

First Sign of Danger starts quietly but soon spirals into the kind of tense, layered mystery this series excels at. I was genuinely surprised by how the pieces ultimately fit together, and by the thrilling revelations that set the stage for the upcoming final installment!

 

I’ve alternately read and listened to the entire series and I recommend either version. Thérèse Plummer narrates the audios and they are fantastic! She expertly performs male and female voices and a variety of age ranges and emotion.

5 Stars

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong continues the atmospheric Haven's Rock series as Casey Duncan investigates a threat to their off-the-grid Yukon town.

Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven's Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven's Rock, they realize they're in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they're no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven's Rock. Only by tracing the hikers' movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven's Rock--and their safe, secure new existence--are at risk.

Review: Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz

 

Antihero (Orphan X #11) by Gregg Hurwitz

Publication Date: February 10th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 416

Audio Book Length: 14hrs 12min

Narrator: Scott Brick

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Evan Smoak was trained as an elite assassin for a covert government program, but after uncovering its darkest secrets, he walked away. Now he operates as the Nowhere Man, helping the helpless when they have nowhere else to turn. One of the reasons I love this series is that justice usually wins, bad guys get what’s coming to them in the most satisfying ways, something I wish happened more often in real life.

 

Evan’s abilities never cease to amaze me. Even when he’s backed into a no‑win situation, he finds a way through. And every time he delivers his signature line, “Look at me closely. And ask yourself: Do I look scared?” I know a well‑deserved smackdown is coming, and it always puts a smile on my face.

 

Each Orphan X book has its own mission, but the fallout from Evan leaving the program and the evolution of his relationships continues to build, so it’s best to start from the beginning. If you haven’t begun this series, you’re in for a treat: high‑stakes action, compelling missions, and sharp, dry humor make Orphan X one of my all‑time favorites.

 

The case in Antihero was tough. I was enraged over what happened. Evan had a tough time managing his reactions. He wanted to go nuclear and it was confusing for him since he’s never had so many emotional ties. The need to protect and destroy was overwhelming.

 

Joey continues to feel like a niece or daughter to him, and her desire to take on a bigger role complicates things. I’m thrilled with how Candi has been stepping up, and something revealed about her has me excited. Naomi Templeton is an intriguing new-ish addition, and I wonder if there might be something there for Evan. I like Mia, and I was happy to see her soften toward him, but I still don’t know how it could ever work.

 

I alternated between reading and listening, and both formats are excellent, the audiobooks are truly fantastic. Scott Brick is Evan Smoak to me now. His accents, male and female voices are excellent. His comedic timing is spot on!

5 Stars

Book Description:

In the latest in this New York Times best-selling series, Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet―one where he has to not only protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy.

Once a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

When Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to meet Luke. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned. Evan offers his help―and sets out tracking down the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides. In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice, with a measure of mercy.

Review: Inside Man by John McMahon

 

Inside Man (PAR Unit #2) by John McMahon

Publication Date: January 13th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 400

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 20min

Narrator: Will Damron

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

FBI Agent Gardner Camden leads the Patterns and Recognition Unit, PAR, a small, eccentric team skilled at cracking cold cases by spotting overlooked patterns and details. Cassie, the brilliant mathematician; Shooter, a firearms expert; and Richie, the tech‑savvy rookie each bring something essential to the table.

 

What starts as an unemployment‑benefits fraud case quickly escalates into something far more dangerous. The scheme is tied to a militia group stockpiling weapons, and when PAR’s confidential informant is murdered, the team must dig for answers without tipping off the militia’s volatile leader. Their search uncovers chilling links to another investigation, one that suggests a serial killer may be operating in the shadows.

 

Gardner remains the heart of the story. His eidetic memory and knack for connecting stray details make him a phenomenal investigator, even as everyday social cues continue to trip him up. I loved seeing him balance his demanding job with his commitment to his young daughter. His mother‑in‑law remains a complicated but invaluable presence. There were developments with his mother since the events of the last book. Her sage advice continued to help Gardner navigate his social and professional life.

 

I adored Head Cases, and this follow‑up absolutely delivers! It’s a tightly plotted mystery that opens with a bang and never loses momentum, yet still finds space for the human side of Gardner and his team. I was hooked from page one and tore through this fast‑paced, high‑stakes thriller.

 

I alternately read and listened to Inside Man and recommend either version. Will Damron performed Gardner with a kind of matter-a-fact tone that fit with his character’s personality perfectly!

5 Stars

Book Description:

In this sequel to McMahon's electrifying series debut, Head Cases, Gardner Camden and the PAR team return to investigate potentially connected cases.

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

PAR’s latest case involves a militia group stockpiling weapons. When their confidential informant in the case is killed, it quickly becomes clear that the militia did not kill him.

As the squad looks into the evidence surrounding his murder, an unidentified man is caught on camera with their informant. This mystery man’s picture is connected to another case at the FBI, an unsolved series of murdered women, buried in the ground in north Florida. Could they have uncovered a serial killer? And if so, what is his connection to their C.I.?

As PAR juggles an investigation into both the dead women and the militia, they enroll a new informant, only to find the case escalating in dangerous ways. How will PAR handle a case that increasingly looks like a terrorist plot? And in the serial case, with no puzzles or witnesses, and few leads, how will a group set up to decode riddles be successful?

Review: Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

 

Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

Publication Date: January 6th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 9min

Narrator: Lauren Ezzo

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Dahlia Devine, a country singer scraping by on the small stage at McPhee’s Tavern, finds herself back living in the apartment above the bar after her boyfriend disappears with the rent money. As if that blow weren’t enough, her estranged mother, Marisa, suddenly reappears after twenty years. Dahlia wants nothing to do with the woman who abandoned her at six years old, leaving Alex, the tavern’s owner, to raise her. But when Marisa vanishes just as abruptly as she arrived and a younger sister Dahlia never knew existed shows up looking for her Dahlia is pulled into a mystery she can’t ignore.

Wreck Your Heart blends a compelling mystery with Dahlia’s deeply personal journey toward understanding her past. Her abandonment issues and resentment toward Marisa felt painfully real, especially as the truth about Marisa’s relationship with her younger daughter comes to light.

There was a lot to unpack here, but it was an engrossing story. Dahlia was a flawed but likable character, and I cheered her on as she tried to untangle what happened to her mother, what was going on at the bar, and where her missing boyfriend fit into it all. I correctly guessed one twist, but another reveal genuinely surprised me. The finale was a wild, thrilling conclusion that tied everything together in a satisfying ending.

I alternated between an audio and e-copy and can recommend either version. While it took me a bit to get used to her pace, Loren Ezzo captured the essence of Dahlia’s character perfectly!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Dahlia “Doll” Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she’s the star of her own stage at McPhee’s Tavern. As part of Chicago’s—yes, Chicago’s—country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him.

So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee—again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he’s part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It’s just that Dahlia wishes she didn’t keep giving him reasons to have to do it.

Just as Dahlia suspects she’s scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother—Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago.

Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee’s Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she’s believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.

Review: Hunter's Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor

 

Hunter's Heart Ridge (Franklin Warren and Alice Bellows Mystery #2) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Publication Date: August 5th 2025 by Minotaur Books

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

It’s 1965 and the start of deer season in Bethany, Vermont with a snowstorm fast approaching.  Detective Franklin Warren is called up to The Ridge Club, a hunting lodge, when a former diplomat, Bill Moulton, is found dead in an apparent hunting accident. As Warren and his assistant, Pinky, interview the guests they’re stranded by this intense storm with downed phone and power lines.

 

Alice Bellows is unsettled by the reappearance of an old intelligence agent, Arthur Crannock. He and his wife have bought a home nearby and are in the process of remodeling. It’s been years since Alice’s diplomat/spy husband died. Years since Alice has assisted with missions, but she’s suspicious of Arthur’s motives. Alice needs to figure out if she’s in danger.

 

Sylvie Weber, now heavily pregnant, tags along with Alice to a poetry reading. Alice gets caught out at Sylvie’s farm when the snowstorm arrives in full force.

 

This was a locked door sort of mystery with the guests of the Ridge Club stranded with Detective Warren and Pinky. There are several with a motive to kill Moulton and so they’re all in danger. Especially when the guests are reluctant to divulge information. It’s a mystery that kept me guessing!

 

Hunter’s Heart Ridge is the second book in a series best read in order, even though this is a new mystery. The history and relationships from the last book carry over, deepening and progressing here. We get more of Alice’s history, parts of it surprising and personally painful for her. I worry about Arthur’s presence. I continue to root for Sylvie and Warren even if it’s difficult. As with the first book, the time period was an interesting feature, and the setting of a wintery Vermont was richly portrayed! I’m eager for the next installment!

4 Stars

Book Description:

In this sequel to Taylor’s lyrical series debut, Agony Hill, Detective Frank Warren and his formerly CIA-connected neighbor Alice Bellows return to investigate the death of a diplomat.

It's November of 1965 and the second weekend of Vermont's regular deer season. Vermont State Police detective Franklin Warren is hunting in the woods when he gets a call to return to Bethany. There's been an accident at The Ridge Club, an exclusive men's hunting and fishing club for congressmen, diplomats, judges, and titans of a former ambassador has been shot while out hunting. With the war in Vietnam picking up speed on the other side of the world, Warren quickly realizes that many of the club’s members are powerful men who may have ulterior motives and connections in high places.

While Warren's suspicions about the club members build, his neighbor Alice Bellows is throwing a dinner party, preparing for Thanksgiving, and worrying about her pregnant friend and fellow widow, Sylvie Weber, whose due date is coming up. When Alice's old handler and friend, Arthur Crannock, unexpectedly shows up in Bethany, Alice begins to wonder whether his presence has anything to do with the death at the hunting club.

As an early season snowstorm bears down on Bethany, knocking out power and phone lines and blocking the roads, Warren and his assistant, Trooper Pinky Goodrich, are trapped at the Ridge Club, likely along with a killer, and Alice, increasingly fearful that her past in the intelligence world is no longer in the past, will have to act fast to save Sylvie and her baby.

Sarah Stewart Taylor’s historical series combines the intricacy of a satisfying mystery with keen observation of a time and place during great transformation and upheaval.