ARC Review: The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Shop on Hidden Lane
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Publication: Berkley (January 6, 2026)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz dives into an enthralling new romantic suspense novel filled with deeply entrenched grudges, psychic dangers, and a conspiracy that threatens not only two families but also the entire paranormal community.

The Harper and the Wells families have regarded each other with deep suspicion for four generations. The Harpers have been known to offer their psychic talents for less-than-legal purposes, and the powerful Wells clan has a reputation for playing both sides of the street. But for all the years of history and distrust between them, there is a mysterious pact binding the two. They share the responsibility for protecting a long-buried and very dangerous secret.

Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are shocked to learn that her aunt and Shis uncle have been sleeping together—and now they are both missing. Not only that, but the last traces of them are at the scene of a murder soaked in negative paranormal energy. Clearly, someone is willing to kill to obtain the secret their families have been charged with protecting. Despite their mutual distrust, which, as far as Sophy is concerned extends to Luke’s hellhound of a dog, they both know that the terms of the pact must be honored.

Their investigation uncovers a psychic trail leading to a bizarre desert art colony where nothing is as it seems. But Luke and Sophy are concealing a few secrets, too. By a strange twist of fate, a Harper and a Wells have no choice but to trust each other and the fierce attraction that is binding them as surely as the pact between the families.

My Thoughts: Their family are rivals and feuding, but when her aunt and his uncle disappear together, Sophy Harper and Luke wells team up to find them. 

Sophy is a librarian who also has the psychic gift of seeing crime scenes and cleaning up the psychic traces left behind. Luke is known as No-Talent Wells because he doesn't have the psychic gift for engineering and invention that otherwise runs through his family. He is, however, slated to take over as CEO for his family's security company since that's where his gift lies. 

Luke also has a dog named Bruce that he found shot on the road some months earlier. Bruce looks like a hellhound and might have some psychic gifts of his own. 

The trio find their way to an art colony on a vortex in Arizona where strange things are happening. One of Sophy's failed dating experiments is there obsessing over reclaiming Sophy. So is a tech bro billionaire with a fascination for light. And the woman who broke Luke's heart and shook his confidence is also part of the scheme at the art colony.

This was another of Krentz's psychic romances set in her fantasy world with psychics and organizations like the Foundation and the Arcane Society who attempt to organize them. I liked the way the mystery came together. I also like the way the romance worked for Sophy and Luke.

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