ARC Review: Fury in Death by J. D. Robb

Fury in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Series: In Death (Book 63)
Publication: St. Martin's Press (September 8, 2026)

Description: In the new crime thriller from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born…

NYSPD lieutenant Eve Dallas never knows what to expect when she gets word of a body. It could be an elderly man who made the mistake of climbing a ladder in slippery footwear. And the next call could be a wealthy biotech executive beaten to death in his home office―but what was Larry Chu’s mistake?

The victim’s corpse is so mangled and damaged it’s hard to believe a lone, unarmed assailant could have managed it. The killer was clearly unnaturally strong―and smart enough to find a way into Chu’s highly secure building. Most of all, whoever did this was very, very angry.

The excessive violence leads Dallas to conclude that this was a deeply personal act, born of a rage that she can’t excuse but can understand thanks to her own traumatic past. And though the motive seems rooted in heated emotion rather than cold hard cash, she can’t ignore the suspicious bank account in the Cayman Islands, or the shadowy, profit-hungry company Chu worked for. The mystery only grows when it turns out Chu isn’t the only victim―and Dallas will need to tear through one layer of secrecy after another to reveal what lies behind this explosion of fury...

My Thoughts: Eve's next case begins with a biotech executive beaten to death in his locked home office. Larry Chu worked for Banner-Wyst, a company that competes with Roarke. Eve has to find out who wanted Chu dead in such a brutal way. The killer found his way into a locked room, beat his victim with excessive violence, and then disappeared without a trace. 

The prologue gives the reader a villain and a reason. Revenge for the murder of his wife, his son, and his unborn daughter has activated Steve Redman's fury. But Eve and her team don't know about Steve. 

Before her investigation goes too far, there is a second and third brutal murder with the same MO. And Eve is learning that Banner-Wyst is not the humanitarian company that its PR claims. It soon becomes apparent that Steve Redman is the murderer they are looking for. After the explosion that killed his family and 200 other apartment residents, he went catatonic and was hospitalized for a number of years until six years earlier when he walked out of the treatment center and disappeared. 

This episode is a case where the villain is a much more sympathetic character than the murder victims. Eve wants to find justice for all of the victims from Steve to the Banner-Wyst executives he has murdered. 

I love the relationship between Eve and Roarke. There are lots of tender moments in this one. I also enjoy watching the secondary characters in this series as they grow and change. Trueheart has grown from a green rookie to a man who can hold his own and has a few snarky lines of his own. 

The outside event around the murder investigation in this one is the big housewarming party for Peabody, McNab, Mavis and Leonardo with the gathering of Peabody and McNabb's families and all of their other friends. And Mavis decides that her housewarming party is a great time to give birth.

This was another excellent episode in a long-running series that just keeps getting better and better. 

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

ARC Review: Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

Fighting Edge
Author: Margaret Mizushima
Series: Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries (Book 11)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 8, 2026)

Description: Major crimes intersect in this nail-biting installment of the Timber Creek K-9 mysteries by award-winning author Margaret Mizushima.

A routine welfare check becomes a nightmare when Deputy Mattie Walker finds a young mother dead and a hysterical toddler, possibly the only witness to a brutal crime. Before the investigative team can start piecing together what happened, Mattie discovers another criminal act in Timber Creek.

During a traffic stop for speeding, Mattie observes a nervous driver and a teenage passenger frozen with fear. A quick sweep of the car with her K-9 partner, Robo, reveals a dangerous mix of drugs and suspected human trafficking, providing Mattie with grounds to arrest the driver. After she places the teenager in protective custody, the sheriff’s department hands the case over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

As the team gathers evidence and information, Mattie’s husband, veterinarian Cole Walker, notices suspicious activity during ambulatory calls at dog kennels, indicating yet a third crime lurking in the shadows. What begins as isolated incidents quickly reveals a chilling truth: Organized crime has infiltrated their rural mountain community.

Every clue leads to more questions, and each answer brings them closer to greater danger. Do Mattie and her law enforcement partners have what it takes to shut down this criminal ring before it claims more victims? And could its next victim be someone Mattie loves?

My Thoughts: Deputy Mattie Walker and her dog Robo are called to do a welfare check and find a young mother dead on her couch with her two-year-old Emma crying in her crib. With drug paraphernalia left in the house the cause of death looks clear but still suspicious. And it seems Emma saw her mother's death but can't speak clearly enough to tell the police what happened. 

Meanwhile, veterinarian Cole Walker is seeing a new patient at his clinic. He's doing a pre-purchase check of a rottweiler that Bret Beaty is interested in purchasing for breeding. He and his family are still getting over an attack in which he and his teenage daughter were held at gunpoint in his clinic.

Then Mattie makes a routine traffic stop and encounters what looks like a trafficking situation to her. Robo uncovers a cache of drugs in the car's spare tire which gives her a reason to arrest the driver and retain the scared teen who is with him. 

The young mother had been a victim of trafficking until she managed to escape and start a new life in Colorado. Now, it looks like her past has caught up with her and trafficking is finding its way to small town Colorado.

This was another exciting episode in the Timber Creek K-9 mysteries. I love the relationship between Mattie and her K-9 Robo. I also like her growing closeness with her new husband Cole and Cole's two daughters. 

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

ARC Review: Until She Dies by Kendra Elliot

Until She Dies
Author: Kendra Elliot
Series: Noelle Marshall (Book 3)
Publication: Montlake (September 8, 2026)

Description: Detective Noelle Marshall and FBI Agent Max Rhodes unearth bodies and secrets as they become targets of a serial killer in a chilling novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

When a search dog locates a mass burial ground in the Oregon forest, Detective Noelle Marshall is plunged into a hunt for a killer who’s hiding in plain sight. The key to her case lies in a decades-old secret: a lone survivor who escaped and is still out there, living in fear. The murderer is a phantom who left behind a collection of victims with nothing in common but their final resting place.

As pressure mounts to identify the bodies and find the killer, the investigation draws in FBI Agent Max Rhodes—Noelle’s partner in work and in life. They’ve hunted monsters before, but this one has spent years preparing for this moment, and he craves revenge. As the search narrows and the clock tightens, Noelle and Max must confront a predator who knows the terrain—and their weaknesses—better than they do.

My Thoughts: The third Noelle Marshall thriller begins with a hike in the woods and a search dog who discovers a mass burial site. Identifying the victims is the first step to finding out who murdered them all. When the first woman is identified, it is discovered that she has a four-year-old daughter who is also missing. Finding the child becomes the first priority and leads Noelle to work with her partner Max Rhodes who is with the FBI.

Things get even more complicated when a connection is made to Noelle's foster daughter Emma. One of the bodies may be that of her missing mother. At least a gun traced to her missing mother is found in one of the graves. 

This hunt brings in a lot of characters from the author's previous book series though most have only a walk-on role. The story centers on Emma's need for information about her parents and Noelle and Max's search for the missing child and the hidden murderer. 

The story was fast-paced and twisty. It was filled with suspense and tension. Secrets long buried are revealed as the story unfolds. 

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

Audiobook Review: Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

Crash & Burn
Author: Lisa Gardner
Narrator: Christina Traiser & Mikael Naramore
Series: Tessa Leoni
Publication: Brilliance Audio (February 3, 2015)
Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes

Description: The number one New York Times best-selling author's latest stand-alone thriller, with a cameo by her fan-favorite character, Boston Detective D.D. Warren

My name is Nicky Frank. Except, most likely, it isn't.

Nicole Frank shouldn't have been able to survive the car accident, much less crawl up the steep ravine. Not in the dark, not in the rain, not with her injuries. But one thought allows her to defy the odds and flag down help: Vero.

I'm looking for a little girl. I have to save her. Except, most likely, she doesn't exist.

Sergeant Wyatt Foster is frustrated when even the search dogs can't find any trace of the mysterious missing child. Until Nicky's husband, Thomas, arrives with a host of shattering revelations: Nicole Frank suffers from a rare brain injury and the police shouldn't trust anything she says.

My husband claims he'll do anything to save me. Except, most likely, he can't.

Who is Nicky Frank, and what happened the night her car sailed off the road? Was it a random accident or something more sinister given the woman's lack of family and no close friends? The deeper Wyatt digs, the more concerned he becomes. Because it turns out, in the past few months, Nicky has suffered from more than one close accident. In fact, it would appear someone very much wants her dead.

My Thoughts: CRASH & BURN was an excellent twisty thriller starring Sergeant Wyatt Foster and Tessa Leone with a guest appearance by D. D. Warren. 

It all begins on a rainy night in New Hampshire. Wyatt is called to a car accident. A woman has driven her car off a cliff and then climbed back to the road for help. She concussed, has been drinking, and is confused but she's sure that she was traveling with a little girl named Vero who can't be found. An immediate search if begun for Vero but not even search dogs can find her. 

Wyatt learns that Nicky Frank is suffering from Post Concussive syndrome. She has recently suffered a number of falls and concussions. When she wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't even recognize her husband. 

The story is told from both Wyatt's and Nicky's viewpoints. In Wyatt's, they are searching for Vero and also trying to find out why Nicky has hired Tessa's investigative agency to find someone for her. Nicky seems like a woman without a past who might have been kidnapped as a child to be part of a child sex trafficking ring. In Nicky's viewpoint which is pretty surreal, we learn that Nicky is confused about just how old this Vero is and has some pretty dark memories about her. 

The story was compelling and really, really twisty. I enjoyed it very much. 

I bought this one April 16. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Death at King's Cross by Rosanne Limoncelli

Death at King's Cross
Author: Rosanne Limoncelli
Series: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (July 21, 2026)

Description: DCI Lilian Wyles is confronted by a troubling case, one that only the four queens of crime can help solve—even amidst the ongoing war efforts.

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh are back in the follow-up novel to The Four Queens of Crime.

1941, London. When DCI Lilian Wyles finds a young woman murdered at King's Cross Station, she needs the help of someone she can trust, but Richard Davidson, her former Scotland Yard partner, has joined MI5 and is busy tracking black market routes outside of London, so for now, she is on her own.

After having met the four queens of crime during a murder investigation two years earlier, DCI Wyles has kept in touch. But Agatha, Dorothy, Margery, and Ngaio are all involved in the war effort and have problems of their own.

Agatha is volunteering at the University Hospital Pharmacy, where a dangerous anesthetic has been stolen. Dorothy has heard unsettling information from her connections at the BBC regarding members of the Royal Navy. Margery, who has been in the countryside helping families escape the city from the bombing, is worried about one of her charges whose older sister has gone missing. And Ngaio, who has relocated to New Zealand and is volunteering as an ambulance driver, has begun gathering secret intelligence from wounded soldiers and sailors that may put her in danger.

When the four queens contact DCI Wyles for help, the information they share makes the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. DCI Wyles once again finds herself collaborating with her old partners in crime to solve the mystery and close the case in this thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Nicola Upson and Anna Lee Huber.

My Thoughts: The second Queens of Crime mystery begins with the discovery of a body at King's Cross Station. The young woman in barefoot and wearing only a silk slip and a man's overcoat. DCI Lilian Wiles arrives on the scene only moments after the unidentified woman's death. 

Though quickly identified, the investigation into the woman's death is quickly snatched out of Scotland Yard and into the auspices of MI5. Lilian is curious and somewhat upset by this change of jurisdiction especially when she sees the woman as part of an investigation she's already conducting into the disappearances of a number of young women. 

Meanwhile, the other four queens of crime are each doing their parts in the war effort. Agatha Christie is volunteering in a hospital pharmacy where she is noticing the some chloralhydrate is going missing. Dorothy Sayers is working for the BBC where she runs into a blackmail plot determined to undercut the country's war efforts. Margery Allingham is safe in the country where she is hosting a young woman evacuated from London. The young woman's sister has gone missing, but a note filled with Cockney rhyming slang has reached her indicating that her sister is in danger and in need of rescue. Ngaio Marsh is back home in Christchurch, New Zealand, driving an ambulance, visiting evacuated soldiers, and directing a play whose actors are young university students and writing long letters to Richard Davidson who has moved from Scotland Yard to MI5.

Each of the queens of crime has clues that all lead to the same mystery. It isn't until Lilian puts all the clues together that they understand what is going on. They rescue the young women and foil a plot against England's best good.

This was an enjoyable mystery. I liked the World War II setting. I liked the insights into the lives of four very famous mystery authors. 

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

Audiobook Review: See How They Hide by Allison Brennan

See How They Hide
Author: Allison Brennan

Narrator: Suzanne T. Fortin
Series: Quinn & Costa (Book 6)
Publication: Mira (January 7, 2025)

Length: 11 hours and 21 minutes

Description: No matter how far you run, some pasts never let you go…

Two people were murdered—at the exact same time, in the same gruesome manner, bodies covered in the same red poppies…but on opposite sides of the country.

With Detective Kara Quinn investigating in Oregon and Special Agent Matt Costa in Virginia, the Mobile Response Team digs deep to uncover more about each victim. What is the link between the two, and why were they targeted?

Yet their search unearths more questions than answers—until they meet Riley Pierce, the only person still alive who might be able to help them find the killers.

Soon, it becomes clear this case is nothing like they’ve seen before as their investigation leads them to the hallowed grounds of Havenwood—an eerily beautiful place rooted in a terrifying past.

As more bodies turn up, all tied to the same community, Kara and Matt are desperate to piece the puzzle together before Havenwood’s leader sacrifices everything to keep her secrets buried.

My Thoughts: The sixth Quinn and Costa thriller begins with Kara Quinn investigating a murder in Oregon while Matt Costa is investigating a murder in Virginia. The thing that is the most baffling is that both victims had their throats slit and body strewn with poppies. Otherwise, there are no connections between a middle-aged accountant in Virginia and a college student in Oregon.

With the help of Riley Pierce who was the Oregon student's roommate, the Mobile Response Team is on the case of tracking down a cult who is murdering anyone who dares to leave it. Riley was born into the cult and is the daughter of the current leader. She spent years helping her aunt get people out of the cult and settle into new lives. Riley finally faked her own death to escape.

Havenwood started out as a refuge for those who were unhappy with life in a busy world. Riley's grandmother founded Havenwood but since her death the cult has grown more insular under her daughter's leadership. It is her daughter and her sycophants who began murdering anyone who wanted to leave. 

The MRT has to protect Riley while trying to discover just where the cult's headquarters are if they want to stop the killing spree. 

This was an entertaining thriller. I like the way the relationship between Matt and Kara is developing as she makes a place for herself in the MRT. The rivalry with the team's psychiatrist begins to mellow in this one. 

Fans of the series won't want to miss this episode.

I bought the Kindle book December 31, 2025, and the audiobook June 4, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Restless Bones by Gillian French

Restless Bones
Author: Gillian French
Series: A Shaw Connolly Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (June 16, 2026)

Description: Fingerprint analyst Shaw Connolly grapples with both a new case and the lingering presence of her sister's killer in Gillian French's second compelling Maine thriller.

When a missing woman’s body is discovered in a submerged car one year after her disappearance, Shaw Connolly is called to process the scene. She finds a single print belonging to a long-dead female ex-con; could it be the key to identifying the murderer? As usual, Shaw won't stop looking until she’s dredged up more than a few hidden crimes.

All the while, Shaw’s past won’t let her go. Just as the Connolly family begins to find some peace after the arrest of Shaw’s sister’s killer, Anders Jansen, Shaw receives a request from her state police contact. Anders, in prison awaiting trial, has claimed responsibility for the murders of two other young women whose cases have grown cold over the past decade. But he refuses to help the police unless Shaw agrees to act as a special consultant in the search.

Despite her misgivings―Anders’s love of malicious mind games is as toxic as ever―Shaw could never prolong another family’s suffering. Her agreement to assist jeopardizes not only the fragile healing of her own family’s wounds, but the rebuilding of her marriage and her relationship with her youngest son, who’s colliding with some hard truths of how cruel people can be. It seems, for Shaw, closure is a long way off . . . but danger may be closer than she thinks.

My Thoughts: The second Shaw Connelly mystery begins with her being called in to fingerprint a car that had been submerged. Along with the body of a long-missing woman, Shaw finds fingerprints for a woman who supposedly died before the car went into the water. 

Since Shaw has finally solved the mystery of her long-missing sister and is now dealing with the grief that goes with finally knowing the truth, she is the best one to help the new victim's parents deal with their loss. 

Shaw is also called in when the body of an elderly woman is discovered at her isolated home. She has been wrapped in her bed coverlet and left out in the yard. The first thing Shaw notices is that a spare room was apparently used and then thoroughly cleaned before the crime scene was discovered. She does find some partial prints, but most belong to that victim. Other prints seem to have been deliberately distorted in an attempt to foil identification. 

While she is busy with her day-to-day jobs, she is also dealing with an eleven-year-old son who is being bullied at school. Also, she is uncertain about her relationship with her husband who moved out because he could no longer take her obsession with finding her missing sister.

Shaw would like to be left in peace to deal with her grief, but the man who killed her sister and is sitting in prison wants to tell her about other women he's killed. Shaw hates the idea of spending any time with him, but she also can't stand the idea of not listening if it could help families know what happened to their missing. 

Shaw is a complex character. She's smart-mouthed and has a quick temper. She's dealing with grief as she best knows how and she's dealing with her relationships within her family also as she best knows how. 

I enjoyed getting to know Shaw. She was an intriguing person. I also liked the Maine setting.

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

Audiobook Review: Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb

Stolen in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Series: In Death (Book 62)
Publication: Macmillan Audio (February 3, 2026)
Length: 13 hours and 9 minutes

Description: A violent death and a vault of stolen treasures has Eve Dallas struggling to solve crimes old and new in the next thriller in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.

"Narrator Susan Ericksen masterfully conveys Eve’s emotions...And Ericksen’s adept handling of the cast of characters, including Dallas’ partner, Peabody; her commander, Whitney; and the victim’s family demonstrates her skill. A compelling performance." — Kirkus (Earphones Award Winner)

A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead—while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke—who misspent his youth in Ireland as a scrappy thief—recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. The crime scene suggests a burglar caught in the act. But only one item seems to be missing.

Then it’s revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim’s late father—and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they’d been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. But now the police are all over their elegant house, and have a bigger, bloodier mystery to solve.

By all accounts, Nathan Barrister was a good man, a generous employer, a devoted husband and father. As for his father—he clearly had secrets. Now it’s up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed—and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.

My Thoughts: Eve and Roarke are called from a gala to the scene of the murder of multibillionaire Nathan Barrister. He was struck on the head by a large piece of amethyst. However, the big surprise is the open vault next to him. The vault, concealed by Nathan's father, contains a huge number of stolen paintings, jewelry and other treasures. One of the most valuable pieces of the collection is missing. The Royal Suite contains five pieces with lots and lots of emeralds. It was also stolen by Roarke from the Tate Gallery in London when he was nineteen which makes the case very personal for Eve.

While a lot of the focus is on the treasures in the vault and the missing Royal Suite, Eve is most concerned with the murder. At first glance, it looks like the murder happened during the course of the robbery. But there are questions raised in Eve's mind about the timing. She needs to find out how someone knew about the hidden vault when Nathan, his wife, his college-aged daughters, and his sister did not know it existed until it was recovered during some remodeling.

Nathan's father was a known womanizer who was also beginning to suffer from memory issues in her very old age. He could have let the location of the vault slip to one of his many women. In fact, there is a blonde who is a possibility if anyone can track her down. 

Eve has to balance her investigation with her need to protect Roarke from Interpol which has long looked at Roarke as a suspect any time something of great value goes missing. Roarke is certain that he has covered his past crimes completely and isn't worried. Eve is. When an old enemy of Roarke and Eve's turns out to be involved in the theft and murder, Eve is even more concerned about Roarke's reputation. 

This was an excellent episode in this long-running series. I like the way Roarke has become such a valuable resource not only to Eve but to the NYPSD as a whole. I also like the growing and deepening love between Eve and Roarke. 

I bought this one February 13. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Apprentice in Death by J. D. Robb

Apprentice in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Series: In Death (Book 43)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (September 6, 2016)
Length: 13 hours and 6 minutes

Description: Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns in a fast-paced new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb.

Nature versus nurture...

The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park's ice skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.

Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD, but never one like this. After reviewing security videos, it becomes clear that the victims were killed by a sniper firing a tactical laser rifle, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the locations where the shooter could have set up seem endless, the list of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.

Eve's husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources - and genius - at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two - one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we're all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

My Thoughts: Eve's 43rd case begins with a shooting at Central Park's ice-skating rink. Three people are dead - a young woman practicing for an ice-skating troupe, an obstetrician skating for exercise, and a man celebrating his anniversary with his wife by recreating their first date. 

At first there seems to be no connection between the victims and no reason to target any of them individually. They were shot with a high-powered sniper rifle from far away. Fearing a LDSK - long distance serial killer, Eve digs deeper into the lives of the victims while Roarke designs a computer program to track the path of the laser beams and find the killer's nest. 

A very observant hotel desk clerk manages to describe the two suspects when the hotel room used for the shooting is found making Eve one step closer to finding the killers. It's a pair of shooters. One is older the other younger who seems to be related to the older. 

Before they can be identified, there is another shooting. This time it is Times Square that is the target area and five are killed including a young police officer. Eve manages to find a connection and identify the killers - a father-daughter team. 

The father was a former police tactical officer who left the force after his second wife died in a car-pedestrian accident. He's made a target list including anyone he can even loosely connect to the accident in his search for revenge. The list includes the obstetrician she was scheduled to see, the police officer first on the scene, and many more. 

But identifying the perpetrators doesn't mean catching them. The older sacrifices himself to let his daughter get away. But the daughter wants to complete her father's agenda and then start on her own beginning with her stepfather, mother, and stepbrother. 

Her next hit is outside of Madison Square Garden where she kills the lawyer who would take her father's case and seventeen other people. Eve and Roarke are even more anxious at this shooting since Mavis and Leonardo were there so was Sommerset who was using the tickets Roarke already had for the event. 

Besides the police procedural aspects of the story, the story was also concerned with fathers and children and nature versus nurture as Eve reflects on her father and Roarke on Sommerset. And circling everything is Bella's upcoming first birthday party. Bella is a prime example of a child being raised by excellent, nurturing parents. 

This is one of my favorites in this long-running series. The writing style resonates with me. The characters are engaging and, after 42 books, feel like real people with ethics, values, and love. 

I bought this one as a Kindle book in 2022 and an audiobook in 2023. You can buy your copy here.

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: 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.

Audiobook Review: When You See Me by Lisa Gardner

When You See Me
Author: Lisa Gardner
Narrator: Kirsten Potter
Series: D. D. Warren (Book 11)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (January 28, 2020)
Length: 10 hours and 55 minutes

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner unites three of her most beloved characters - Detective D. D. Warren, Flora Dane, and Kimberly Quincy - in a twisty new thriller, as they investigate a mysterious murder from the past...that points to a dangerous and chilling present-day crime.

FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren have built a task force to follow the digital bread crumbs left behind by deceased serial kidnapper Jacob Ness. When a disturbing piece of evidence is discovered in the hills of Georgia, they bring Flora Dane and true-crime savant Keith Edgar to a small town where something seems to be deeply wrong. What at first looks like a Gothic eeriness soon hardens into something much more sinister...and they discover that for all the evil Jacob committed while alive, his worst secret is still to be revealed. Quincy and D. D. must summon their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers - and Flora must face her own past directly in the hope of saving others.

My Thoughts: The 11th book in the D. D. Warren series brings in some characters from earlier books in the series and drops them into rural Georgia when a skeleton is found off a hiking trail. 

A task force is formed including FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, Boston Sargeant Detective D. D. Warren, and Flora Dane, kidnapping victim turned vigilante. Also included in the task force is Keith Edgar who is a true crimes expert and a computer expert. 

They begin by thinking that the body is another victim of Jacob Ness who kidnapped Flora and kept her prisoner for over 400 days until she managed to kill him. Flora doesn't know if she'd ever been to the town because Jacob kept her in a pine box a lot of the time. When more bodies are found, Kimberly, D.D., Flora and Keith wonder what secrets the town is keeping. 

Since one of the viewpoint characters is a young mute maid at the local B&B, we learn that the town is a hotbed of sex trafficking, illegal organ sales, and murder. Lots and lots of murder. The young woman was shot in the head and suffers from brain damage. Finding a way to tell the new cops in town what happened to her isn't an easy thing. She uses drawings to communicate. 

This was a very twisty thriller. I liked the setting and the way the characters each played to their strengths during the course of the investigation. 

I bought this one March 20, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

Audiook Review: Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner

Touch and Go
Author: Lisa Gardner

Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers
Series: Tessa Leoni (Book 2)
Publication: Dutton (February 5, 2013); Brilliance Audio (February 5, 2013)

Length: 14 hours and 29 minutes

Description: The secrets of a picture perfect family are exposed in this “tour de force” thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner.

Ten minutes after walking the elite Back Bay townhouse and investigator Tessa Leoni already doesn’t like what she sees. Signs of an abduction. Clearly the work of professionals. At best, the entire family has been kidnapped. At worst…

The more Tessa learns about the Denbe family, the less she likes their chances. What might have looked like the perfect existence—a powerful CEO, his adoring wife, their angelic child—is not what it appears. Husband, wife, daughter—magazine perfect, but each hiding dark secrets…

Tessa knows more than she’d like to about families riddled with lies. What she doesn’t know is where the Denbes are and if any of them are still breathing. She’ll have to climb over unbending feds and territorial local cops to find out, and if she’s not fast, the Denbes’ chances of survival will quickly become little more than touch and go...

My Thoughts: This is the second book in the Tessa Leoni series which is a part of the D. D. Warren series. When the entire Denbe family is abducted from their Back Bay townhouse, Tessa is hired by the Denbe Construction to investigate the disappearance. She isn't alone. The Boston Police in the person of D. D. Warren are also on the case but only until evidence suggests that the family was taken into New Hampshire.

The FBI is called in to try to find the family and so is a Sheriff's Department in New Hampshire. Wyatt Foster is a cop who wants to be a carpenter or a carpenter who wants to be a cop. 

The story is told from three viewpoints. Tessa and Wyatt handle the police viewpoint. Libby Denbe is also a viewpoint character. Libby is Justin Denbe's wife of eighteen years and the mother of fifteen-year-old Ashlyn. Libby is also a betrayed wife who has developed an addiction to pain pills to cover up the pain of her cheating husband. Libby still loves Justin but doesn't think she can get over his cheating,

The family is taken from their home to the wilds of New Hampshire and a finished but never occupied prison built by Justin's company. Meanwhile, the FBI, Sheriff's Department, and Tessa are trying to figure out who took the family and what they want.

Lots of secrets are exposed as Tessa and Wyatt investigate Justin's company including more than $11 million embezzled over the past sixteen years. All of Justin's trusted employees are lying about something and it is up to Tessa and Wyatt to learn the truth.

I enjoyed the multiple viewpoints. The story was really filled with tension and plot twists. 

I bought the Kindle book December 31, 2025. I got the audiobook on sale April 1, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Obsession in Death by J. D. Robb

Obsession in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Series: In Death (Book 40)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (February 10, 2015)
Length: 13 hours and 22 minutes

Description: Lieutenant Eve Dallas walks the thin line between love and hate in this fabulous 40th thriller from #1 New York Times bestseller J. D. Robb....

Eve Dallas has solved a lot of high-profile murders for the NYPSD and gotten a lot of media. She - and her billionaire husband - are getting accustomed to being objects of attention, of gossip, of speculation.

But now Eve has become the object of one person's obsession. Someone who finds her extraordinary, and thinks about her every hour of every day. Who believes the two of them have a special relationship. Who would kill for her - again and again....

With a murderer reading meanings into her every move, handling this case will be a delicate - and dangerous - psychological dance. And Eve knows that underneath the worship and admiration, a terrible threat lies in wait. Because the beautiful lieutenant is not at all grateful for these bloody offerings from her "true and loyal friend." And in time, idols always fall....

My Thoughts: Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a NYPSD murder cop. She's really good at her job and has solved some very high-profile cases. She's also married to a gorgeous and mysterious billionaire named Roarke. Putting those things together means that Eve has a much higher profile than she would like. 

Eve's fame has attracted a person who really admires her and wants to be her best friend. Her new best friend has decided to murder people they believe have done Eve wrong. The first victim is a high-profile lawyer. The lawyer defended a man Eve arrested for inventing a device that let him control people's minds which made some of them kill themselves. Once the court case was over, Eve didn't give the lawyer another thought until her new friend decided to murder her. Her friend left a note for her written in the wall with a Sharpie. 

The second victim was a third-rate junkie who accidentally bruised Eve's face when she went to him for some information about a case. Now his body was found impaled by a broken pool cue. Eve's friend has left a note on the wall for her. This one was still written with a Sharpie but was longer and less controlled then the first note. 

Even though they need to investigate each victim, it soon becomes clear that the only thing that connects the murders is Eve's involvement. Eve and her partner Detective Peabody have to search for people who might know about the details of the cases or who might be focused on Eve. 

Eve also has to find a way to protect her friends because her new friend doesn't want any rivals. This brings Eve to a realization of how many friends she now has and makes her wonder how it all happened. Eve life has changed and expanded in many ways since she fell in love with and married Roarke. 

There are lots of references to Eve's earlier cases since this is the 40th book in the series. There are also lots of references to her early life and the way she has overcome her childhood trauma. The romance is also strong in this one. She and Roarke are building unbreakable bonds. In some of the books, there are conflicts as she and Roarke are building their marriage. In this one, she and Roarke are on the same page. 

This was an excellent entry into this long-running series. 

I bought this audiobook December 1, 2023. 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.

Book Review: Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner

Still See You Everywhere
Author: Lisa Gardner
Series: Frankie Elkin (Book 3)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (March 12, 2024)

Description: In this “frightening, full of twists, and completely satisfying" thriller from a New York Times bestselling author, three women: a kidnapped young girl, a serial killer on death row, and a recovering alcoholic, are on a terrifying trajectory to save a life before the clock runs out (Karin Slaughter).

Missing persons expert and nomadic loner Frankie Elkin travels the country searching for the lost ones the rest of the world has forgotten. Her specialty, cold cases that typically end in tragedy. But this one could be different. Kaylee Pierson, “The Beautiful Butcher,” confessed from the start to enticing 18 men home before slitting their throats.

As the clock winds down to her death, Pierson has finally received a lead on her baby sister, abducted years ago. Kaylee’s dying wish: to know Leilani is safe and sound. Frankie is eager to possibly rescue a teenage girl, even if it involves flying to a remote atoll in the Pacific, where a charming tycoon is constructing an eco-resort—and possibly holding Leilani against her will. But now Frankie is trapped on an island with a dozen strangers and numerous deadly deceptions.

As the danger mounts, Frankie faces her toughest challenge with no chance of rescue, no hope of escape, and a massive storm rolling in…

My Thoughts: Frankie Elkin's next case takes her to an empty atoll south of Hawaii in search of the sister of a woman on death row who proudly acknowledges that she murdered eighteen men and fed their remains to her pigs. Kaylee Pierson, the Beautiful Butcher, wants Frankie to find her younger sister before she dies. Her only clue is a note indicating that Leilani is with Kaylee's abusive ex-boyfriend.

Sanders MacManus is a tech billionaire turned property developer. He is also Kaylee's ex. He's developing an atoll he owns into an eco-friendly resort. Frankie gets a job as a general go-fer on the atoll and begins her investigations. 

The project is being plagued by accidents but the crew - a bunch of introverts and misfits - are still trying to complete the project. Mac is scheduled to arrive with his ward Leilani which will give Frankie a chance to assess the situation. After some previous bad cases, Frankie needs a win and rescuing Leilani would certainly qualify. 

Things are not as they seem. A major storm hits the atoll, the Beautiful Butcher escapes from prison leaving her lawyer who happens to be Frankie's contact beaten near to death making the atoll her destination, and Leilani is not the victim she appears to be. 

As Frankie deals with the weather and the twists and turns and betrayals on the island, she isn't sure who she can trust in this action-packed thriller. Frankie is an intriguing character who is an alcoholic with an obsessive need to find the lost. She has little regard for her own safety as she tries to make things right. 

I bought this one July 8, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Family Lies by Karen Rose

Family Lies
Author: Karen Rose
Series: The San Diego Case Files (Book 4)
Publication: Berkley (March 31, 2026)

Description: The fourth nerve-shattering installment of the San Diego Case Files from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose sees Kit McKittrick’s sister caught in a maelstrom of deadly family secrets.

As an infant, Kit McKittrick’s foster sister Akiko was abandoned at a firehouse. Now 32, Akiko has received an unsettling phone call from a woman who says that she knew her birth mother but refuses to divulge any details except in person. Akiko is nervous but also thrilled at the prospect of finally learning about her blood relations.

Kit has a bad feeling about this and insists on accompanying Akiko to meet the woman. Sure enough, as they stand on Mary Sherman’s doorstep, shots are fired and Kit is hit...and inside the house is a corpse: Mary Sherman herself.

Although she’s on medical leave and forbidden to work the case, Kit cannot rest. With police psychologist Sam Reeves, she undertakes a covert investigation into the mysterious Mary Sherman. Was she Akiko’s birth mother? Why did she reach out after all these years? And who had a motive to kill her?

As more bodies pile up, Kit starts to put together the pieces of the frightening puzzle that is Akiko’s birth family, and she’ll come to wonder whether some secrets should stay buried after all.

My Thoughts: The fourth book in the San Diego Case Files is centered around Akiko McKittrick. Detective Kit McKittrick goes with her adopted sister Akiko when she receives a call from a woman who says she knows something about her mother. Since Akiko was left in a box outside a firehouse when she was only a couple of days old, she wants to know about her mother. 

When Akiko, Kit and Kit's boyfriend psychologist Sam Reeves, arrive at Mary Sherman's house, they are shot at. Kit is hit in the arm but only because she bent her head to look at something which caused the shooter to miss the head shot. They go into the house to find that Mary Sherman has been murdered. 

Kit is determined to find answers for her sister but is surprised when her lieutenant takes her off the case in favor of another pair of detectives one of whom really hates Kit. The lieutenant tells her to stop investigating and puts her on medical leave. But it's Kit's sister. She can't step aside especially since she knows one of the investigator's assigned to the case is incompetent. 

Kit keeps investigating and soon finds herself suspended from her job which just adds additional stress to her life. Choosing between her job and her sister is a no-brainer though. Kit will always put family first no matter how much she loves her job. 

Kit, Sam and Kit's retired partner Baz keep investigating and trying to uncover the events that led to Akiko's abandonment as an infant. They discover a tangled and twisty past for Akiko's relatives and face all sorts of dangers along the way including another couple of deaths and more attacks on Kit. 

This was an excellent thriller filled with engaging characters. I enjoyed Kit's tentative steps into love and letting someone else into her life. 

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

Audiobook Review: No One Knew by Kendra Elliot

No One Knew
Author: Kendra Elliot
Narrator: Stephanie Nemeth-Parker
Series: Noelle Marshall (Book 2)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (January 6, 2026)
Length: 8 hours and 48 minutes

Description: For a detective and an FBI agent, two seemingly disparate murder investigations collide with a twist in an explosive novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

In the crisp mountain air of central Oregon, a teenage girl’s search for discarded cans leads to a horrifying discovery: a body, brutally murdered and abandoned in the woods. The case falls to Deschutes County Detective Noelle Marshall, who finds herself navigating a community steeped in secrets, suspicion, and distrust of outsiders—especially law enforcement.

Miles away, FBI Special Agent Max Rhodes investigates a different kind of darkness—chatter about a violent uprising from a shadowy militia group preparing for war. The two cases seem worlds apart. But as Noelle digs into the murdered man’s past and Max closes in on the source of the terror plot, their paths begin to converge in a terrifying way. This was no random killing. It was a message. A merciless killer and a hidden army are operating in the same shadows, and finding the link between them is the only thing standing between a single murder and a full-blown massacre.

My Thoughts: The second Noelle Marshall thriller begins with a young woman discovering a body while she is searching for cans to recycle. Noelle is called in to investigate and also befriends the young woman who has been living on her own since her father disappeared.

Meanwhile, Noelle's boyfriend FBI Special Agent Max Rhodes is investigating the rumors that a shadow militia group is preparing for some sort of attack. 

As more bodies appear, including one in a judge's car trunk, Noelle and Max's cases come together. Events from Max's past look like they are also part of these new cases. 

This was an engaging thriller. I liked the way Noelle and Max are getting closer. I liked the way the suspense built to a startling terror event. 

I bought this one January 16, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson

How to Get Away with Murder
Author: Rebecca Philipson
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 24, 2026)

Description "If you picked up this book because you truly want to get away with murder, you will not be disappointed. Simply turn the page and we'll get started."

This fresh debut thriller finds a Scotland Yard detective trying to find the author of a self-help book that promises quite literally to teach readers how to get away with murder, which seems to have inspired London's newest murderer.

Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen has been on leave for six months, recovering from a breakdown she suffered at work, but when a fourteen-year-old girl is murdered in a local park, Sam jumps at the chance to return to the job and prove that she's still got what it takes to be the Yard's most successful homicide detective. One of the case's only leads is a copy of a self-help book found in the victim's backpack called How To Get Away With Murder by a man named Denver Brady.

Brady claims to be the most successful serial killer of our time, which is why no one's ever heard of him. Chapter by chapter, he details his methodology and his past victims, and as Sam's investigation progresses and the details of the book go viral, Sam begins to suspect that there’s more to the author than what he’s revealed. But in order to find a killer and get justice for young Charlotte, Sam must learn to trust her instincts once again, before Denver Brady--or someone else--really does get away with murder.

My Thoughts: DI Samantha Hansen has been on medical leave from the Metropolitan Police Force for six months after a breakdown at work. When a fourteen-year-old girl is found murdered in a park, Sam wants to get involved in the case. She goes to her mentor on the force - the man who has been guiding her career since her father's death when she was nineteen - and convinces him to let her back to work.

The only clue to the case is a copy of a book called How to Get Away With Murder by Denver Brady. The book was found in Charlotte's backpack. 

Sam's mentor Harry assigns her to tracking down Brady and gives her a new recruit to be her partner in the investigation. Sam wasn't really ready to come back to work. She has attention problems making it difficult to read Brady's books and her anxiety makes it impossible for her to look at the crime scene photos. But she and her partner begin the search for Brady by trying to track down his supposed victims. 

The more Sam and her partner look into the facts of the books and try to follow the money trail for the book's profits, the more Sam begins to believe that Brady had nothing to do with Charlotte's murder. But Harry wants the quick solution to the case and any possible murderer and puts the pressure on Sam.

This was a twisty story. Told in alternate chapters from Brady's book and Sam's actions, the story was a compelling read. I liked Sam's determination to find the truth about Charlotte's murder. I liked her doggedness in tracking down Denver Brady and his supposed victims. 

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

ARC Review: The Wolves Are Watching by Victoria Houston

The Wolves Are Watching
Author: Victoria Houston
Series: Lew Ferris Mysteries (Book 4)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 24, 2026)

Description: Sheriff Lew Ferris has a new partner in crime in the fourth installment in Victoria Houston’s atmospheric mystery series, perfect for fans of Marc Cameron and Nevada Barr.

It’s early September when a competitor in a high school fishing tournament is approached by a stranger who threatens him and his family in an attempt to blackmail him into throwing the first round of the tournament. The boy flees into the woods, where at night he sleeps with wolves watching him from the shadows.

When the boy’s father asks Lew’s deputy, Ray Pradt, for help finding his son as well as the man who threatened him, they’re thrown into a world of illegal betting that’s more dangerous than either could have imagined. Meanwhile, Lew Ferris learns that a couple who went on a wolf-watching trip has disappeared without a trace, right near an old log cabin that Ray remembers from his childhood.

Sheriff Lew Ferris finds herself challenged more than ever before: arms dealing, sports betting, blackmail, and wolves. Is she under threat from predators too?

My Thoughts: The fourth mystery starring Sheriff Lew Ferris takes place in early September. A competitor in a high school fishing tournament is approached by someone who wants him to cheat. A man and woman who are wolf watchers disappear. And an old cabin in a protected area has been fixed up and is being used for illegal arms. 

Lew is assisted by her investigator Ray Pradt who is a coach for the fishing team and an excellent guide and tracker. He's the one who brings Lew to the old cabin and he's the one who discovers the wolf watching couple's bodies buried in a shallow grave. 

The illegal arms have Lew calling in the Feds who set up a sting at the cabin which is blown by a cop who needed to use the outhouse in the early hours. Clues seem to indicate that all three cases are connected and all clues also lead to a family that used to be prominent in the area. 

The story is told from multiple viewpoints which gradually come together as Lew and her cohorts work on solving the case. 

I enjoyed this story which stars a fly-fishing sheriff who is a whole lot smarter than the crooks believe. 

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