ARC Review: Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara

Cast in Blood
Author: Michelle Sagara
Series: Chronicles of Elantra (Book 19)
Publication: Hanover Square Press (April 28, 2026)

Description: DO NOT MEDDLE IN THE AFFAIRS OF BARRANI

Kaylin has been warned to steer clear of the lords of the Barrani High Court. She’d be more than happy to oblige, but it’s a bit difficult considering she lives with ten of them, all sent to the green to gain power or die. With Kaylin’s help, they finally escaped their imprisonment. But their attempts at freedom had devastating consequences—and a price that has yet to be paid.

The first warning sign is the Consort’s invitation to visit the High Halls—a Barrani invitation, which means an immediate visit.

The second sign is less subtle: Kaylin finds Nightshade’s unresponsive body. He hovers on the edge of death, beyond saving through Kaylin’s healing power. No one can explain his state, nor why she’s powerless to save him. And if she and her Barrani friends can’t figure out a way to bring him back, he’ll be lost forever.

Yet even as Kaylin struggles to keep Nightshade from death, there is deeper magic at play, a growing threat with the potential to affect the entire Barrani race. Factions are shifting, new lines are being drawn—and Nightshade’s near assassination is only the beginning. Can Kaylin uncover the nebulous forces that threaten the balance of Barrani—and their entire world—before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: The nineteenth book in the Chronicles of Elantra series is concerned with the Barrani. Kaylin would be more than happy never having to deal with the Barrani again. These immortals spend a lot of time jockeying for power and playing politics. 

However, Kaylin's mentor in the Hawks is a powerful Barrani lord and she lives with the cohort of Barrani she rescued from the Green. But most of all, she is marked by Nightshade who is a Barrani fief lord albeit an exiled one. 

Problems start with the discovery of Nightshade after an assassination attempt. With threats from a war band of Barrani, Nightshade is taken back to Kaylin's sentient house Helen. Kaylin is a healer, but she is unable to reach Nightshade. It's like he has some sort of shield around him. While working in that problem, Kaylin is summoned by the Consort who has a problem. She's the only one who is able to access the Lake of Dreams where the True Names are kept. Without the True Names, no Barrani babies will ever awaken. This information needs to be kept secret until Kaylin who also has access to the Lake of Dreams and who substitute for the Consort can find out why this is happening and fix the problem. To add complications, the Consort's problem needs to be kept secret or Barrani society will be destroyed. 

There is another Barrani that might be able to fill the Consort's role, but Yvonne is a young powerless woman under the care of a ruthless lord. Kaylin's partner Severn has some connection to her since he rescued her from the Green. Somehow, she's involved in the problem too. 

Kaylin is bombarded with all these problems and even the Arbiters at the Academia don't have answers. In fact, they add more questions. It is up to Kaylin to figure things out if the problems can be fixed. 

This is a complex, meaty fantasy filled with great worldbuilding.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Kiss Her Goodbye
Author: Lisa Gardner
Series: Frankie Elkin (Book 4)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (August 12, 2025)

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner returns with the 4th installment in her bestselling Frankie Elkin series, in which Frankie is called to Tucson, Arizona, to find a missing Afghan refugee, whose friend suspects she is in grave danger—before it is too late.

A young mother haunted by war, determined to make a fresh start. But sometimes, the sins of the past aren't so easy to escape.

Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. Sabera's closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search through the broiling streets of Tucson. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.

Frankie quickly notes there's much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl's short life, may be a terrible curse. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra's life, Frankie realizes she must quickly crack the code of this family's horrific past.

Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option. When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Frankie is about to find out.

My Thoughts: The fourth Frankie Elkin mystery takes Frankie to Tucson to find a missing Afghan refugee. Sebera Ahmadi has gone missing. Her friend is sure that she wouldn't have left her four-year-old daughter behind if she had left by her own choice. 

Whenever Frankie comes to a new place, she needs to find a job and a place to live. This time she is hired to pet-sit for an eccentric tech billionaire and offered a place on the estate. Only the pets are a large iguana and snakes. A huge ball python and twelve baby pythons are her new charges. Frankie hates snakes and the idea of defrosting a rat to feed the big one is almost enough to make her look for another job. 

The job does come with perks including a car and driver and a somewhat unusual chef which does a lot to make up for the snakes. Besides, Bart the billionaire is out the door before Frankie can say she doesn't want the job. 

Frankie begins her investigation which is complicated by the fact that Sebera has lots of secrets and very real enemies after her. She's a genius and a polyglot who worked for British and US military intelligence for a while before she left Afghanistan when the Taliban invaded Kabul. 

This story, told from both Frankie and Sebera's points of view had a lot of information about the plight of political refugees and the horrors they faced trying to get to a place of safety. It was also a complex and engaging thriller. 

I bought this one October 1, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jessie Q. Sutanto

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block
Author: Jessie Q. Sutanto
Publication: Berkley (April 28, 2026)

Description: A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places in this new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.

Retirement should mean long-awaited trips to the sapphire waters of Santorini or careening down a sand dune in Dubai. For sixty-three-year-old Mebel, retirement means her husband of more than forty years announcing that he's leaving her for their private chef. Mebel isn’t sure who's the bigger loss.

Not to worry, Mebel has the perfect plan: she’s going to win back her husband. No one knows what he needs better than her—after all, she's been anticipating his needs their whole marriage. And if he wants a wife who can cook (why else would he leave her for a chef?), she will simply go to cooking school. And where better to learn to cook for your husband than France, the most romantic country in the world?

However, Mebel quickly learns that she has mistakenly enrolled in a culinary school not in glamorous Paris but rather in England—and in some small village outside of Oxford no less. Despite the less-than-warm welcome from her much younger classmates, Mebel manages to befriend Gemma, the breakout star of the program. And this unlikely friendship starts to show Mebel that maybe there’s more to her than being the perfect trophy wife…

My Thoughts: Mebel Tenadi is the perfect Chinese Indonesian trophy wife. She has spent forty years dealing with her husband's needs and propping him up. She lives a life filled with shopping, dinners, shopping, and interfering into the life of her son and his family. 

When her husband Henk comes to her and demands a divorce so that he can be with the family's much younger personal chef, Mebel is gobsmacked. This isn't the future that she had envisioned. After some flailing around and some retail therapy, she decides that if her husband wants a chef, she will become the best one. 

Mebel finds a school in Paris that has the advantage of being near the Hermes store and applies. However, when she arrives, she finds that she hasn't been accepted to that school but rather a satellite school in England near Oxford. She arrives in Cowley and suffers all sorts of culture shock from the rural setting to the single-bedded dormitory room. Then there is even more culture shock when the young students don't automatically defer to her. 

Gemma is befriended by some of her young classmates who quickly bring her into the modern age of women's rights and assertiveness. And she begins an affair of her own with one of the directors of the school who is a famous French chef. 

As she learns each new culinary skill, she develops more pride in herself and her accomplishments and she begins to wonder if winning back her straying husband is really what she wants to do with her life. And when she learns something about her new lover, she is determined to find justice for her young friend and his other victims. 

This was an entertaining story. I didn't care much for the hedonistic Mebel at the beginning of the books but came to really enjoy her as the story progresses and she grows into herself.  

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

Trust No One
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Amanda Cobb
Publication: Recorded Books (January 6, 2015)
Length: 9 hours and 43 minutes

Description: A New York Times bestselling masterpiece of romantic suspense from the author of Promise Not to Tell...

When Grace Elland finds her boss, motivational speaker Sprague Witherspoon, murdered, a vodka bottle on his nightstand is a terrifying reminder of the horrors of her past—one that can be no coincidence.

To regroup, Grace retreats to her childhood home, Cloud Lake, where she meets venture capitalist Julius Arkwright, a man who lives to make money, by any means necessary. But the intense former Marine has skills that Grace can use—to figure out her future. And he’s the perfect man to help Grace when it becomes clear she is being stalked.

As Witherspoon’s financial empire continues to crumble around them, taking a deadly toll, Julius will walk Grace step by step into her past to uncover a devious plan to destroy not only Grace, but everyone around her as well...

My Thoughts: Grace Elland's plans for her future change abruptly when she finds her boss - motivational speaker Sprague Witherspoon - murdered. The vodka bottle on the nightstand brings back some trauma from Grace's own troubled past. 

She decides to regroup and come up with a new career plan in her hometown of Cloud Lake. She meets venture capitalist Julius Arkwright at a dinner planned by her childhood friend who has a blind date in mind. Julius was recruited by Grace's friend's husband who is the local police chief to see if Grace might actually have murdered Witherspoon. 

Julius and Grace begin a relationship when it seems that Grace might have some use for him in her future plans. She has also attracted a stalker which also makes Julius who was a former Marine useful. It also seems to be apparent that Witherspoon's death might have some connection to that long ago event when she rescued a kidnapped boy and killed his abductor with a broken vodka bottle. 

Grace and Julian build their relationship as they try to untangle the threads that tie the two events together. I enjoyed Grace's positive attitude and the way it contrasts nicely with Julius's more cynical viewpoint. I also enjoyed the banter between the characters. 

I bought this one December 3, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: How to Cheat You Own Death by Kristen Perrin

How to Cheat Your Own Death
Author: Kristen Perrin
Series: Castle Knoll Files (Book 3)
Publication: Dutton (April 28, 2026)

Description: From the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, two interlocking mysteries decades apart unfold in this latest instalment in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Castle Knoll Murder Mystery series

Some secrets are deadlier than others

1968: Frances Adams is loving her new London life, and she’s stepped into a world of glamour thanks to her new friend, Vera Huntington--a magnetic socialite as mysterious as she is provocative. Vera dances around London like she owns it, taking Frances with her.

Present day: When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her famous artist mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura’s new protégée, left in an alley with her heart surgically removed from her chest.

Annie is no stranger to murder--after all, she’s solved a few already. And something about this case feels familiar. She’s read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way.

As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura’s doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she’s next. With her mother’s life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: The third Castle Knoll mystery takes Annie to London. She gets a call from her mother about a new protegee which makes Annie suspicious. Her mother Laura has never taken a protegee before and this new one has ties to Castle Knoll. Annie arrives in London to find the body of the protegee Felicity in a nearby dumpster. She's had her heart surgically removed and she's lying on a stack of Laura's paintings. 

The body reminds Annie of something she read in Frances Adams' diaries. Frances had moved to London in 1968 to attend university and finds herself swept into the fast, rich crowd as a new friend of Vera Huntington. Vera is the sister of one of Frances's academic rivals. Vera is also exciting and troubled and needy. When she is murdered with her heart cut out, her surgeon husband is quickly convicted of the crime. 

But now there are ties between the two different murders. Laura has made her name for paintings that were likely stolen from Vera's estate by her ex-husband. She has been dealing with threats and blackmail for years and Annie never knew. 

Old crimes meet new ones in this episode. I liked the way the two timelines of the story were interwoven. I liked Annie's growing relationship with Rowan Crane who also had a past relationship with Felicity. I liked the way the mysteries in each timeline were interwoven too. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (April 20, 2026)

 It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was another one of those Spring weeks in Northern Minnesota. We hit a high of 73 degrees on Thursday and then Saturday's high was 36. We had some strong thunderstorms roll through of Friday but only got .3 inches of rain. Lots of the snow, except in the shady sheltered areas, melted this week. 

My lab visit on Monday was a bust. They didn't have what was needed for one of the scheduled tests. Since I already had another lab appointment on the calendar for April 21, they postponed all of the tests to do on that date. I was hoping they could do them all on the 13th, but I'll have to go on the 21st instead. Luckily, the lab is only a couple of miles from my house. It is much more convenient than going downtown and needing to park in a ramp. 

Thursday's test was downtown, so I recruited my brother to drive me there. That test went well. I think, if I'm interpreting the report correctly, that we are still in a watch and see period with no immediate follow-up needed.

Otherwise, my week was quiet. I read and listened a lot. I did add two more books to my review stack and am starting to accumulate September books. I turned down a number of requests this week for May and June releases since I already have enough review books for those months. I might finish the last of my 11 May releases this week. Then I can start on my 14 June releases. 

The Braves are playing excellent baseball right now and I'm enjoying watching their broadcasts. There is nothing else I'm watching on television right now. Audiobooks and Kindle books are more interesting to me than television programs. 

Read Last Week

• Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara (Review, April 28) -- 19th in the Chronicles of Elantra fantasy series. My review will be posted on April 23. 
• The Anniversary by Alex Finlay (Review, May 12) -- Another excellent thriller by a favorite author. My review will be posted on May 6.
• Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner (Audiobook, Mine since April 1) -- Tessa Leoni thriller which also is part of the D. D. Warren series. My review will be posted on May 1.

• Owlflight by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon (Chirp Audiobook, Mine since March 15) -- A fantasy coming-of-age story starring Darian, a young orphan who runs away to the Hawkbrothers. My review will be posted on May 5.
• The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher (Review, May 12) -- Spicy contemporary romance that is also a paranormal romance. My review will be posted on May 7.
• Rules of the Game by Nora Roberts (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since April 1) -- Classic contemporary romance between a professional baseball player and the woman who is directing some commercials. My review will be posted on May 8.

• When You See Me by Lisa Gardner (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since March 20) -- 11th D. D. Warren. Twisty thriller that includes characters from other earlier books. My review will be posted on May 7.
• An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (Review, May 19) -- Fifth Ripped Through Time novel. My review will be posted on May 12.
• Owlsight by Mercedes Lackey (Chirp Audiobook, Mine since March 15) -- Second book in the Owl Mage Trilogy brings in young healer Keisha to add to Darian and the Hawkbrothers. My review will be posted on May 12.

Currently

• Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt (Kindle, Mine since June 1, 2021)
• Owlknight by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon (Chirp Audiobook, Mine since March 15)

Next Week

• The King's Ransom by Janet Evanovich (Kindle, Mine since March 17)
• Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan (Audiobook, Mine since April 4)
• The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer (Kindle, Mine since March 8)

• Storm Warning by James Byrne (Review, May 26)
• Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney (Review, May 26)
• Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines (Review, May 26)

Reviews Posted

• Red Lily by Nora Roberts (Audiobook)
• Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan (Review copy)
• Liar's Creek by Matt Goldman (Review copy)

• Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer (Audiobook)
• Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner (Mine)
• Love You More by Lisa Gardner (Kindle)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander (Review, September 22)
• The Pumpkin Vice Cafe by Ellie Alexander (Review, September 29)

Bought:

• Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner (Kindle & Audiobook)

What was your week like?

Book Review: Love You More by Lisa Gardner

Love You More
Author: Lisa Gardner
Series: D. D. Warren (Book 5)
Publication: Bantam (March 8, 2011)

Description: WHO DO YOU LOVE?

One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?

AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . .

As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?

. . . TO SAVE HER?

For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.

My Thoughts: This excellent thriller is the fifth book in the D. D. Warren series. It is a complex story which asks the question: who do you love? Tessa Leoni is a state trooper and the mother of six-year-old Sophie. She has married Brian who works as an engineer for an old company. He works 60 days on-60 days off. 

One day Tessa calls the police because she has shot and killed Brian and her daughter is missing. Since Tessa is concussed, has a broken cheekbone, and numerous other bruises, it looks like a case of self-defense against an abusing husband. 

D. D. Warren is given the case and works with her former lover Bobby Dodge. She has questions about the story she's been told, and the pressure is on to find the missing child. She is not convinced that the crime is what it looks like. She becomes even more convinced with the pathologist learns that Brian's body was frozen before it found its way to the kitchen. D. D. is sure that Tessa is lying about what happens. She believes that Tessa murdered both her husband and daughter. 

D. D. is also dealing with some personal issues. She has found herself pregnant and is dealing not only with the nausea and lethargy but also whether or not she wants a baby and a relationship with the baby's father. 

Flashbacks and Tessa's point-of-view sections give more about the things that D. D. cannot see and paint a whole different picture that what is apparent. 

This was an excellent, fast-paced thriller. I'm eager to read more about Tessa and more in D. D.'s series.

I bought this one March 2, 2026. You can buy your copy here.