Book Review: Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg

Murder by Design
Author: Lee Goldberg
Series: Edison Bixby (Book 1)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (Book 1)

Description: In a world carefully constructed for murder, solving crimes takes a keen mind and eye in a witty, clever, and fresh reinvention of the whodunit by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.

Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and, due to a traumatic brain injury, impulsively rude. He’s also a brilliant insurance investigator who solves baffling crimes by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible. Enter Wally Nash: a struggling actor hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets.

Their first case together looks like a simple accident. Caroline Crowley took a nasty fall down a staircase at a shopping mall in front of dozens of witnesses. Video clearly shows the deadly misstep. But Bixby is certain she was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. The mall itself made the crime intentional, if not inevitable.

Now Bixby must prove his outrageous theory before a very cunning killer gets others on his hit list to murder themselves, too.

My Thoughts: MURDER BY DESIGN was an engaging mystery by Lee Goldberg that introduces a new sleuthing duo. Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and rude. This former police detective with an enviable solve rate suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was shot in the face by an assailant. His impulsive rudeness has caused him to lose his job with the police but primed the way for him to be an excellent insurance investigator. 

Wally Nash is a wanna-be actor who has thus far played a number of corpses and starred in a number of commercials for medical products. He's still waiting for his big break which he knows is just around the corner. He does temp work to make ends meet which they aren't currently doing. A short-term job as Bixby's minder seems ideal especially since it comes with free living quarters on Bixby's fanciful estate. 

Nash narrates this story and has a chance to play a number of different characters as he assists Bixby with solving a number of murders. The first has been declared an accident since a woman fell down a flight of stairs that she shouldn't be using at a mall. What first looks like an accident quickly becomes a murder investigation after Bixby looks at the scene. 

This first crime leads to a few more. All of which are determined to be murders by Bixby. All of which also occurred because of what Bixby sees as design flaws in the environment around the victims. Design of human spaces makes up a big part of this story and is the key to Bixby's deductions. 

This was an entertaining story. I enjoyed Nash's narration and self-delusion. The story was humorous and thought-provoking too. 

I received this one from Kindle First Reads. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Smoke in Mirrors by Jayne Ann Krentz

Smoke in Mirrors
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Gina Marie Davies
Publication: Tantor Audio (December 27, 2022)
Length: 10 hours and 57 minutes

Description: A con artist and seductress, Meredith Spooner lived fast—and died young. But her final scam—embezzling more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund—is coming back to haunt Leonora Hutton. The tainted money is stashed away in an offshore account for Leonora. And while she wants nothing to do with the cash, she discovers two other items in the safe-deposit box: a book about Mirror House—the place where Meredith engineered her final deception and a set of newspaper stories about an unsolved murder that occurred there thirty years ago.

Now Leonora has an offer for Thomas Walker, another victim of Meredith's scams and seductions. She'll hand over the money—if he helps her figure out what's going on. Meredith had described Thomas as "a man you can trust." But in a funhouse-mirror world of illusion and distortion, Leonora may be out of her league . . .

My Thoughts: Leonora Hutton learns that her half-sister Meredith Spooner embezzled more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund before she died in a car accident and left it all, along with a book about Mirror House and some newspaper stories about a thirty-year-old suspicious death. Leonora doesn't want the money, but she has questions about the other things in the safe-deposit box.

She leaves her job as an academic librarian and takes a job digitizing the Mirror House library so that she can look into things. Thomas Walker also has questions about the embezzlement and about Leonora. The two team up to find the answers. 

Thomas had a brief relationship with Meredith and now he's falling for Leonora but isn't sure if he can trust her. And Meredith's death isn't the first since the thirty-year-old mystery about the owner of Mirror House. Thomas's brother's wife was also the victim of an apparent suicide. Neither Thomas nor his brother believe that but have no evidence. 

This was a classic romantic suspense title. Both Thomas and Leonora are independent adults with histories. They develop a great relationship after some initial suspicions about the other. The side characters including Leonora's grandmother provide interest and some humor. Thomas's dog Wrench - at least that's how I heard the name on the audio - also added a touch of humor. Though I'm not at all sure that the dog who looks like a wolf is really a miniature poodle in character. 

This was a fun story. 

I bought this one as an Audible Add-on December 3, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

A Pair of Aces
Author: Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Publication: Berkley (June 2, 2026)

Description: A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious Mob boss Lucky Luciano in 1930s New York, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian.

Eunice Carter, assistant district attorney for the City of New York and Manhattan’s first Black female prosecutor, has her sights set on the one and only Lucky Luciano, head of New York City’s five largest organized crime families. Other prosectors have tried to bring down Lucky, but they’ve all focused on the crime syndicate’s traditional businesses—bootlegging, gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing—or tax evasion. No one has thought to approach the mob through its role in prostitution. Until Eunice. But she can’t get Luciano alone.

Polly Adler has worked long and hard to build up her high-class brothel business. Her client list is filled with well-known names, both the famous and the infamous, who all know her booze is top-notch, her music first-rate, her food exquisite, and her girls the best. But Lucky has gone too far, putting her girls in danger, and Polly finally sees the chance to end his reign once and for all.

Together, Eunice and Polly fashion a case utilizing a network of women. Bridging the enormous divide between them and risking their own lives, they assemble evidence bit by bit, under the nose of the man they’re trying to convict. It is this very alliance—of two women from vastly different worlds—that launches the most sensational trial New York City has ever seen.

My Thoughts: Two very different women need to work together to take "Lucky" Luciano off New York's streets in 1935-1936.

Polly Adler is one of New York's most notorious madams. Arriving in New York from Russia as a twelve-year-old who spoke no English, Polly had to make her own way and send money home so that the rest of her family could join her in the United States. She began by working in a garment factory but was raped by her supervisor who fired her when she got pregnant. The people who she roomed with threw her out and left her struggling on the street for survival. She worked her way up from a street prostitute to the owner of a notorious house frequented by the literary set and local gangsters too. She prided herself in her care of her girls. 

Something new is coming to New York. Organized crime has taken an interest in prostitution and wants to bring all the houses and girls under their control. 

Meanwhile, Eunice Carter is an Assistant District Attorney working on the team with District Attorney Thomas Dewey to tackle organized crime. Eunice is a smart lawyer working under the burden of being both colored and female. While of high status in her neighborhood of Harlem, she finds herself relegated to the fringes of the investigation. She has been concentrating on prostitution which Dewey isn't very interested in until some other lines falter and Eunice makes contact with Polly who alerts her to the scheme of organizing prostitution under criminal control. 

The two work together secretly to gather the information needed to bring down crime boss "Lucky" Luciano. At first Polly wants Luciano gone so that she can resume her usual business without interference but over the course of time her goals change. Eunice wants to bring down Luciano but almost loses her marriage over her dedication to the case. 

This was an interesting story about two very different women. Each is fighting for her place in the world. They have more in common than either would have thought when they first met. This novel of biographical fiction introduced two amazing, but very human, woman. 

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

ARC Review: Skyring Water by Beau L'Amour & Louis L'Amour

Skyring Water
Author: Louis L'Amour & Beau L'Amour
Publication: Bantam (June 2, 2026)

Description: Louis and Beau L’Amour present a collaboration across time, an epic novel of Cold War suspense, as a pair of unlikely heroes, a woman without a name, and the undefeated agents of the Third Reich find themselves locked in a deadly race to control the greatest secret of the 20th century.

1961. The world is on the brink of nuclear war. Walls are dividing East and West. Empires are crumbling. And in Barcelona, chaos is unleashed when a rogue officer of the East German STASI attempts to blackmail a pair of struggling arms dealers. The secret—30 tons of stolen gold hidden in an icebound wilderness at the end of the world.

Mike Fowler is a former Navy salvage diver and OSS assassin. Anton Voss is an expatriate German scientist whose past grows darker the closer anyone looks. Once they might have been enemies, yet the two share an inseparable bond; they have saved one another's lives. But all of that is put at risk when Mike discovers Anton standing over a midnight visitor with a gun in his hand.

Now they're on the run, allied with gangsters, pursued by the CIA, Israeli intelligence, and a shadowy cabal bent on creating an invisible empire. The trail leads from the rain-soaked docks of Marseilles to the futuristic towers of Caracas and the ruins of a secret island laboratory in Argentine Patagonia. The only way for Mike Fowler to save his oldest friends, and the woman he loves, is to unlock a decades-old mystery buried in his partner’s Nazi past . . . before it destroys them all.

Includes a special postscript by Beau L'Amour detailing the history of the original unpublished manuscript and the process of collaborating with his father both before, and after, his passing.

My Thoughts: SKYRING WATER is and epic spy/espionage novel that travels the world from France to Israel to Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. It is populated by Nazis, a lovely member of the Mossad, CIA agents, and Australian salvage divers. It is set in 1961 but has flashbacks back to the 1940s. 

The main character in the story is Mike Fowler who is a former Navy salvage diver and a current arms dealer with his partner Anton Voss. Voss is a former Nazi scientist who is holding a secret that all the world wants and is willing to kill for. 

He convinces Mike that he knows of the existence of a scuttled sub holding millions of dollars in gold bars that the Nazis got out of Germany at the end of World War II. The purpose of the loot was to fund the next Reich which had already been seeded by undercover Nazis filtering their ways into business and industry all over the world. 

This story is about the expedition to uncover the treasure - which is not gold bars. The sweeping epic with a huge cast of characters reminds me both of James Bond and the works of Tom Clancy. It had bunches of morally ambiguous characters including the main character and it had long, involved descriptions of various weapons. 

Fans of the old-fashioned sort of thrillers will enjoy this book. I especially enjoyed Beau L'Amour's explanation of how this story came to be.

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

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

The Shop on Hidden Lane
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Publication: Recorded Books (January 6, 2026)
Length: 8 hours and 42 minutes

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 his 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: Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are the great-grandchildren of men who were once business partners, but who broke off their partnership and began a feud many years earlier. They are both psychics from psychic families who have taken different paths. The Harpers have traveled on the less-than-legal side of things while the Wells have become rich doing security and working all sides. 

Luke comes to Sophy to see if she knows where her aunt and his uncle might be. Sophy finds it hard to believe that they could be together. They trace the couple to an art colony in Arizona known for its vortex energy and learn that his uncle has made reservations for them under an assumed name. 

Arriving at the colony, the couple and Luke's new dog Bruce whom he rescued from the side of a road with a gunshot wound have lots of questions. The art seemed to be infused with psychic vibes, the artists are unhappy to be there, and the eccentric millionaire running the colony has two very scary, blond, female bodyguards who are raising alerts for both Sophy and Luke.

 

This was a twisty story that brings in elements from a lot of Krentz's recent books. Events at Fogg Lake, the Arcane Society, missing crystals and missing weapons that can only be used by someone with strong psychic talents all make for a complicated plot. 

Then there is the relationship between Sophy and Luke. Her psychic powers don't frighten him. In fact, he helps her with the aftereffects of using her gift. And she helps him when he has issues with his psychic talents. Their gifts seem to resonate with each other in a way that is new to both of them. 

This was a fun paranormal romance/romantic suspense story. 

I bought this audiobook April 1, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Man of My Dreams by Olivia Worley

Man of My Dreams
Author: Olivia Worley
Publication: Minotaur Books (June 2, 2026)

Description: A romance author is shocked when one of her characters-in-progress seemingly comes to life… but is he too good to be true, in this dramatic and twisty thriller perfect for fans of Ashley Winstead and Kate Alice Marshall, where the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Read this if you like:

*Meet cutes gone wrong (like, really, really wrong).

*Your boyfriends as unreliable as your narrators.

*Bringing him to meet your family, Murder Edition.

Bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt has been as unlucky in love as she’s been successful in writing—as her sad relationship track attests, there are no good dating options left in New York . . . Until she rescues an escaped dog in the park, and runs into Liam. Charming, British, hot architect Liam. The exact description of the love interest in her next book.

When an instant connection leads to a whirlwind relationship, Ivy is convinced she’s found the dream man. Except he may be too perfect. He may be hiding something.

And Ivy may have secrets of her own.

My Thoughts: Ivy Harcourt is a successful author of romances but very unsuccessful in her personal romance department. However, when she stops a dog from dashing into the street, she meets Liam who is the embodiment of the hero of her latest romance. But is he too good to be true?

It seems that Ivy is having stalker issues which don't combine well with her sleepwalking. There are also allusions to secrets from her past which might have something to do with the stalker.

I found this book to be confusing since I was expecting a romance and found myself in the middle of a psychological thriller with unreliable narrators and unreliable characters too. 

If you are looking for "twisty." this one certainly will satisfy. 

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? (May 25, 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 past week was a nice quiet one. The weather has been cooler than average, but the trees are finally leafing out. The wildfires near Duluth are either out or contained which means no more smoky skies. The new recipes we tried last week both went into the "keeper" folder. I'm still finishing up the pork roast which is making really nice sandwiches. 

This week was an excellent one for adding new review copies. I got eight and all are by authors I've read before. That isn't a guarantee that I'll like them, but it raises the odds. I'm a little concerned about Laurell K. Hamilton's since the previous book came out in 2014. I feel like I'll have to at least read the one before the new one but should probably read more of the previous books. 

I had my first DNF of 2026 this past week when I set aside Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan. I usually enjoy her books (Note: I recently read and reviewed two of them.), but this one was a straight thriller and my mind kept wandering to other books I'd rather read. I substituted A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 6 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I wasn't going to read this anthology because, while I wanted to own it, I believed that I'd already read all the stories. I was either wrong or my memory is faulty. I discovered a story I didn't remember and revisited a couple that I had enjoyed previously.

Next week I should finish the rest of my June review copies and also fit in some of my 2026 TBR books. I also have to set up my July calendar this week with the draft posts since reviews of this week's planned reading will complete my June calendar. At least for the moment, I have more scheduled posts than draft posts.

Read Last Week

• Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (Review, June 16) -- Second Nora Breen historical mystery has her working to discover who is murdering attendees at a seance. My review will be posted on June 9.
• A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton (Audiobook, Mine since May 16) -- First in a new series of urban fantasy with intriguing worldbuilding and interesting characters. My review will be posted on June 16.
• Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson (Review, June 10) -- Entertaining romantic fantasy. My review will be posted on June 10.

• The Last Time We Saw Her by Jaclyn Goldis (Review, June 16) -- A reunion of campers on the Azores leads to murder and treasure hunting. My review will be posted on June 9.
• Restless Bones by Gillian French (Review, June 16) -- Second Shaw Connelly mystery was packed with action and emotion. My review will be posted on June 11.
• Enter the Nightmare by Jayne Castle (Review, June 30) -- The latest Harmony novel was filled with action, romance, and snappy dialog. My review will be posted on June 25.

• An Irish Bookshop Murder by Lucy Connelly (Audiobook, Mine since April 8) -- First in the Mercy McCarthy cozy mystery series. Author Mercy and her twin move to Ireland after inheriting a house and bookshop from the grandfather they never met. My review will be posted on June 18.
• A Bitter Cut by Anna Lee Huber (Review, June 23) -- 14th Lady Darby mystery takes place at a house party which is to introduce Trevor's intended bride and her family. My review will be posted on June 18.
• Death in Irish Accents by Catie Murphy (Audiobook, Mine since April 8) -- 4th Dublin Driver mystery has a body fall into Megan's lap and has her driving an American author around Ireland. My review will be posted on June 23.

DNF

• Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan (Review, June 23) -- I quit this one at 32%. I usually like the author, but this thriller just wasn't doing it for me. 

Currently

• A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 6 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Kindle, Mine since May 10)

Next Week

• The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey (Kindle, Mine since November 18, 2025)
• Storm Tide by Paul Doiron (Review, June 30)
• The Neighbors Are Watching by Aggie Blum Thompson (Review, June 30)

• Death by the Book by Lucy Connelly (Audiobook, Mine since April 8)
• Death at Inishmore Castle by Lucy Connelly (Kindle, Mine since November 21, 2025)
• Dead Men Don't Play Fetch by David Rosenfelt (Review, July 7)

Reviews Posted

• Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan (Audiobook, Mine)
• Storm Warning by James Byrne (Review copy)
• Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney (Review copy)

• Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines (Review copy)
• The Final Target by Nora Roberts (Review copy)
• The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan (Mine)

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

Review:

• Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter (Review, July 14)
• The Seance Garden by Juliet Blackwell (Review, July 28)
• Murder in Blackfriars by Jennifer Ashwell (Review, August 11)

• Those Who Are Gone by Laurie R. King (Review, September 11)
• Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong (Review, October 3)
• Bark Humbug by David Rosenfelt (Review, October 13)

• Joy to the Bones by Carolyn Haines (Review; October 27)
• A Glimmer of Death by Laurell K. Hamilton (Review; November 3)

Bought:

• You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh (Kindle & Audiobook Add-on)
• The Shattered King by Charlie N. Holmberg (Kindle, Prime Reading)

What was your week like?

Book Review: The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan

The Missing Witness
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: Quinn & Costa (Book 5)
Publication: Mira (January 23, 2024)

Description: When a key witness goes missing, Quinn & Costa must find her before a killer silences her for good…

Detective Kara Quinn is back in Los Angeles to testify against a notorious human trafficker, finally moving past the case that upended her life. But when the accused is shot in broad daylight, the chaotic scene of the crime turns up few reliable bystanders. And one witness—a whistleblower who might be the key to everything—has disappeared.

After another person close to the case is killed, it’s clear that anyone who knows too much is in danger, and tracking down the witness becomes a matter of life-and-death. But as explosive secrets surface within the LAPD and FBI, Kara questions everything she thought she knew about the case, her colleagues and the life she left behind months ago.

Now with FBI special agent Matt Costa’s help, she must race to find the missing witness and get to the bottom of the avalanche of conspiracies that has rocked LA to its core…before it's too late.

My Thoughts: Detective Kara Quinn in back in Los Angeles to testify in the case that caused her to leave LA and join Matt Costa's Mobile Response Team. But before she can testify, David Chen and his bodyguard are murdered and so is the ADA who was set to prosecute him.

With the FBI in the form of her nemesis Bryce Thornton wanting to investigate her for the crimes, she needs to depend on her new team to prove that she is innocent and to find out just what is going on in LA.

This episode has graft and fraud centered around the homelessness crisis. One of the viewpoint characters in Violet who is a computer nerd working in city government and who has a mother who is part of that population. She's been working with a man named Will who has founded his own group to try to end homelessness. 

All of the deaths, which keep piling up, are related to the central issue of homelessness including that of David Chen. 

This was a fast-paced and engaging thriller about a woman who had her world rocked when she needed to leave LA and has it rocked again when she returns. I like Kara Quinn a lot. She's a great cop though a little reckless. She's also a woman who was hurt badly by her parents and doesn't trust or like very many people. She is learning that there are good people that she can trust and maybe even love, but changing is a slow process.

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

Audiobook Review: Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan

Seven Girls Gone
Author: Allison Brennan
Narrator: Suzanne T. Fortin
Series: Quinn & Costa (Book 4)
Publication: Harlquin Audio (April 25, 2023)
Length: 12 hours and 48 minutes

Description: When nobody will talk and corruption runs deep, turning to outsiders is the only way to make sure women stop disappearing…

For three years, women have been disappearing—and eventually turning up dead in the small bayou town of St. Augustine, Louisiana. Police detective Beau Hebert is the only one who seems to care, but with every witness quickly silenced and a corrupt police department set on keeping the cases unsolved, Beau’s investigation stalls at every turn.

With nobody else to trust, Beau calls in a favor from his friend on the FBI’s Mobile Response Team. While LAPD detective Kara Quinn works undercover to dig into the women’s murders and team leader Matt Costa officially investigates the in-custody death of a witness, Beau might finally have a chance at solving the case.

But in a town where everyone knows everyone, talking gets you killed and secrets stay buried, it’s going to take the entire team working around the clock to unravel the truth. Especially when they discover that the deep-seated corruption and the deadly drug-trafficking ring at the center of it all extends far beyond the small-town borders.

My Thoughts: Corruption is running deep in St. Augustine, Louisiana, and women are going missing then turning up dead. Detective Beau Hebert is running into trouble investigating since his chief is constantly shutting him down. Beau contacts his old Navy buddy Michael who is now part of the FBI's Mobile Response Team. 

Michael and LAPD Detective Kara Quinn are the advance guard coming to see what is going on. But the rest of the team isn't far behind them. The local Chief of Police is part of the problem. He refuses to ask for FBI help even when the FBI will be picking up the costs. But the FBI does have jurisdiction when it comes to prisoners dying in jail especially when a really substandard medical examiner is quick to declare suicide instead of doing an autopsy.

Kara uses her twelve years as an undercover cop to insinuate herself into situations where she hopes to find information. Her disguise is so good that one of the deputies, also corrupt, turns a traffic stop into sexual touching and other inappropriate behavior. Matt Acosta who is dating Kara determines right then and there that the guy will be losing his badge as a minimum consequence. 

As the team investigates, they learn that there is a gang moving drugs through the bayou and the murder victims all knew too much. Getting proof and stopping them puts the whole team in danger. And then there are the alligators...

Of course, Kara would rather face alligators than take a look at her relationship with Matt. Gators are much less scary. 

I bought this one April 4, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Final Target by Nora Roberts

The Final Target
Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: St. Martin's Press (May 26, 2026)

Description: A young author becomes the object of a fan’s desire―and rage―in the gripping thriller by the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Nature.

He showed up at Arden Bowie’s debut author appearance with a copy of her novel and an eager smile. He showered her with compliments and got her autograph. Then he came to her next event. And the one after that.

Dustin was just an aspiring writer who wanted advice, Arden reassured herself. But after giving in to one of his incessant invitations and chatting with him over coffee, she discovered that ignoring her inner alarm bell had been a terrible mistake…

An introvert at heart, Arden had long craved solitude―but now, after a harrowing assault, she finds herself hiding behind locked doors and startling at every sound. And her relief at his imprisonment is tempered by anxiety when Dustin’s wealthy mother helps to get him a paltry five-year sentence at a psychiatric facility.

Arden decides to write a new story for herself, moving to a tiny Oregon town and befriending Gideon, an ex-LAPD detective. But while she learns to thrive, Dustin remains his delusional, twisted self, as fixated as ever and now seething with anger. He still believes Arden's purpose on earth is to serve and please him. And his job is to protect her. But who will protect her from him?

My Thoughts: Arden Bowen has written her first book and is at a signing at the bookstore where she works when she signs a book for Dustin. He shows up at her next signing and the one after that too. He wants to take her for coffee or a meal. She agrees to a coffee just to appease him and that ends things for her.

It doesn't end things for Dustin who becomes fixated on her. He breaks into her apartment and takes trophies. Then he arrives with flowers, forces his way in, and attacks her. Luckily her downstairs neighbors hear the noise and rescue her. 

While Dustin is sentenced to five years in a psychiatric facility because of the influence of his rich mother, Arden in left with fear of going outside. She's determined to overcome her anxiety, but it is a slow process with lots of backsliding. She has the support of her loving family and friends.

Arden leaves Ohio and moves to Riverbend, Oregon, to be near her family and to get away from Dustin. She is making a new life including a new relationship with Gideon who is working in his grandfather's hardware store and doing woodworking after his career as a Los Angeles detective implodes. She's moving on a building a new life.

But Dustin isn't willing to move on. He has spent his five years building fantasies about Arden and planning revenge on those he feels did him wrong including his mother, his lawyer, the judge and the police officers who arrested him. When he's released early because his father is dying, he begins his revenge by killing his mother and heading to Oregon for Arden.

This was an excellent thriller filled with memorable characters. I love the way Roberts writes relationships from friendship to love. The villain was a counterpoint to Arden's life and his viewpoint sections extremely creepy. 

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

ARC Review: Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines

Ode to the Bones
Author: Carolyn Haines
Series: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery (Book 30)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 26, 2026)

Description: The next novel in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as “Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney.

Private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney returns to her Mississippi Delta roots, hoping that long drives through cotton fields and the companionship of her dogs will ease her restless spirit. Instead, she’s confronted by a ghostly vision of a woman in white on the Tallahatchie Bridge, who disappears before Sarah Booth can investigate further.

When the local bank president hires her to find a missing farmer, Danny Anderson, Sarah Booth is forced to shift her focus back to the land of the―hopefully―still living. Danny is about to lose his family’s generational farm to foreclosure and is rumored to be entangled in a secret affair with a preacher’s wife. As Sarah Booth and her feisty partner Tinkie dig deeper, they uncover a web of gossip, ghost sightings, and a shadowy land buyer snapping up vulnerable farms.

With the help of her resident ghost-turned-spiritual-guide, Jitty, and her own unrelenting instincts, Sarah Booth must unravel the mystery of Danny’s disappearance, confront a town full of half-truths, and decipher the cryptic clues left behind―including those wrapped in lyrics and riverwater. But someone is watching her every move, and if she isn’t careful, she may be the next body swept away by the Tallahatchie’s current.

My Thoughts: Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie are hired by Tinkie's bank president husband to find Danny Anderson. He's a farmer who is about to lose his farm to foreclosure. 

As they search the Mississippi Delta for him, they uncover secrets and plots. There's a rumored affair between Danny and a local preacher's wife. There's a jealous woman fanning the rumor mill. There's a beautiful model home from New York also searching for Danny. There're buried gold coins from the Civil War era that could save a number of the local farmers farms from foreclosure. 

Sarah Booth is aided by Jitty, a ghost turned spirit guide, who appears to her in the guise of a number of singers from the past including Bobbie Gentry and Bob Dylan who provide musical clues. Sarah Booth also sees a woman in white on the haunted Tallahatchie Bridge made famous in Gentry's Ode to Billy Jo. 

This was another engaging episode in this long-running series. 

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

ARC Review: Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney

Dungeons and Danger
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Series: The Ravensea Castle (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 26, 2026)

Description: The second in Elizabeth Penney's Ravensea Castle cozy mystery series, set in a haunted castle-turned-B&B in Yorkshire, UK.

As Halloween approaches, Ravensea Castle is bustling with excitement as Nora Asquith welcomes the fall season guests to her family's newly converted bed and breakfast. A historian studying the movements of the Vikings has traced their exploits to Ravensea. A certain Viking woman, known as the Red Maiden, landed here and the historian believes she buried a treasure hoard before the castle was built. He is hopeful he can find the hoard now. Nora can't help but wonder if the enigmatic castle ghost she's always referred to as the woman in red could be this very Viking?

Meanwhile, a team of four ghost hunters is coming to stay at Ravensea for the filming of Britain's Got Ghosts. Former students of the historian, the group arrives with their own rivalries and baggage. They try to see who can make the most paranormal contacts and end up getting more than they bargained for.

When the historian is murdered during a Viking festival on castle grounds and his notes go missing, Nora can't help but wonder if the treasure was why he was killed . . . and could it be connected to the visiting ghost hunters? Additional "accidents" befalling the hunters raise the stakes as Nora races to find the killer―and the treasure―before another death occurs.

My Thoughts: Nora Asquith and her family are trying to turn the castle the family has owned for 1000 years into a bed & breakfast. In this episode, they are hosting four twenty-somethings who are trying to film the castle ghosts for an episode of Britain's Got Ghosts and her father has signed a contract with a college professor who is convinced that he can find the Viking horde left by the Red Maiden who is another of the castle's ghosts. 

Unfortunately, the two groups of guests know each other and don't at all like each other. Brady, who is the young filmmaker, has accused the professor of stealing his research into the Red Maiden. Despite being warned of their safety, Nora keeps finding all of them wandering in parts of the castle that could be dangerous from the dungeons to the battlements. It seems that all of them are treasure hunters searching for the Red Maiden's horde. 

Nora and her family would also like to find the horde because keeping up a 1000-year-old castle isn't cheap. Nora would like to restore more rooms so they can have more guests. So, they are willing to put up with some unauthorized exploration. But when one of the young crew appears to have been poisoned with local mushrooms, Nora wants them out. Then the professor is found dead in his room during the first annual Viking Fest hosted by Nora's brother. Now it's murder and Nora's police inspector boyfriend has to turn over the investigation to "By the book" Hook who isn't eager for Nora's help and is suspicious of all - guests and family. 

This was a fun cozy. 

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

ARC Review: Storm Warning by James Byrne

Storm Warning
Author: James Byrne
Series: Dez Limerick (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 26, 2026)

Description: Dez Limerick has his considerable skills pushed to the limit when, to rescue a friend, he has to get to—and get into—a state of the art facility on full lockdown, with considerable forces determined to stop him.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick—'Dez' to all who know him—is a man with a shadowy past, certain hard-to-replicate skills, and a reputation as a good man to have when the going gets tough. Dez is doing his best to enjoy his retirement, wandering the country, doing what interests him, and occasionally helping friends when they find themselves needing any of his particular skills—mundane or extraordinary. For Dez was trained as a 'gatekeeper' - someone who can open any door, keep it open, and control who does and does not go through.

It's those skills that are now in demand when the State Department comes calling looking for his help. A multinational scientific research facility on the coast of Newfoundland has gone dark, the facility on full lockdown, and no one can get in or out. No one knows what is going on, but it can't be good. And a close friend of Dez is presumed locked inside the facility along with everyone else.

Even getting to the facility is an insurmountable challenge. The weather has flights grounded, some shadowy group is doing everything they can to impede the rescue team's progress, and hidden enemies are embedded in the rescue team. But anyone who thinks this is more than one man can face has never met Dez Limerick.

My Thoughts: Dez Limerick is recruited to find a way into a multinational scientific research facility on the coast of Newfoundland. Dez is a gatekeeper. He can open any door and keep it open. He is eager to take part in the mission because a former lover is one of the people trapped in the facility.

There are many problems not least that the facility is in the path of two major storms. Just getting there will be an accomplishment. However, the bigger problem is that people who want in are willing to do anything or kill anyone to get there first. 

Two aircraft set out, but only the one Dez is on finds its way to the facility. There they find that the small town appears abandoned though there is evidence of deaths. Getting into the facility is difficult, but Dez manages it only to find out that the townspeople have taken refuge in the quarters the miners usually used, a group of Russians have taken over two lower levels of the mine, and the research facilty down on level six is in lockdown from the inside. 

Luckily, one of the people in Dez's group is a negotiator from the US Department of State who begins to try to find a way to get to the research facility. Less lucky, the group also includes a mole in the control of the company that wanted to get there first and there is a young woman who is holding all sorts of secrets including her membership in a mysterious international organization. 

This was a fast-paced thriller starring a larger-than-life hero. I enjoyed all the twists and turns of the plot which was filled with characters with hidden agendas. 

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? (May 18, 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...

Last week was a nice quiet one. We had a brief taste of summer when the temperatures got to 81 on Friday. It was nice to open the windows and air out the house. We are back to reality today with a windy 40 degrees. Nearby wildfires are making the skies hazy. 

I spent most of the week indoors but did manage one trip out to the grocery store. I bought some ingredients for the two new recipes we'll be cooking this week on my brother's days off. Pork loins were on sale. I bought a big one and sliced it into chops for our freezer but left a nice sized roast to make on Monday. We are also planning to make a Shrimp and Peanut Sauce dish which sounded interesting when I saw the recipe online. 

I have my annual mammogram on Monday morning, and our cleaning people are coming sometime on Thursday. Otherwise, my week should be quiet. 

I went a little overboard this week and had my largest book haul of the year. I got five new audiobooks, four new Kindle books, and four new review copies. Three of the four Kindle books are from the same series and cost less than $5 for all three. I put the first of the series on my calendar but not the other two yet. All of the audiobooks are on the calendar, and one is even read and reviewed already. A second is the next audiobook on my stack. 

Read Last Week

• Dark in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Death of an Irish Mummy by Catie Murphy (Audiobook, Mine since April 8) -- Third book in the Dublin Driver Mystery series. My review will be posted on June 16.
• Beach Thriller by Jamie Day (Review, June 9) -- Contemporary Thriller told from multiple points of view. My review will be posted on June 2.

• Leverage in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• A Botanist's Guide to Tradition and Treachery by Kate Khavari (Review, June 9) -- Fifth in the Saffron Everleigh historical mystery series. My review will be posted on June 3.
• Blood on the Sand by Kacey Ezell (Kindle, Mine since April 10) -- Second book in the Magelight epic fantasy series. My review will be posted on June 4.

• Connections in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Miss Amelia's List by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook, Mine since May 12) -- Seventeenth in the Elemental Masters series. My review will be posted on June 12.

Currently

• The Last Time We Saw Her by Jaclyn Goldis (Review, June 16)
• Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (Review, June 16)

Next Week

• Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson (Review, June 16)
• Restless Bones by Gillian French (Review, June 16)
• A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton (Audiobook, Mine since May 16)

• Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan (Review, June 23)
• A Bitter Cut by Anna Lee Huber (Review, June 23)
• An Irish Bookshop Murder by Lucy Connelly (Audiobook, Mine since April 8)

Reviews Posted

• An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (Review copy)
• Owlsight by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon (Chirp Audiobook)
• Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt (Kindle, Mine)

• Owlknight by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon (Chirp Audiobook)
• The King's Ransom by Janet Evanovich (Kindle, Mine)
• The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer (Kindle, Mine)

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

Review:

• The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon (Review, July 14)
• The Matchmaker's Cottage by Kat Sloane (Review, August 11)

• Cursed City by Kate Golden (Review, September 29)
• Murder of a Merry Gentleman by Celeste Connally (Review, November 10)

Bought:

• Shards of Glass by Michelle Sagara (Audiobook Add-on, $7.99)
• The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, $5.60)
• Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, $5.60)

• A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton (Audiobook, Audible Credit)
• Miss Amelia's List by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook Add-on, $6.69)

• Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander by Christian Hurst (Kindle, $.99)
• Lily Starling and the Storm Riders by Christian Hurst (Kindle, $.99)

• Lily Starling and the Death Machine by Christian Hurst (Kindle, $2.99)
• Turning Darkness into Light by Marie Brennan (Kindle, $1.99)

What was your week like?