It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 6, 2025)

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

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

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

Other Than Reading...

This was a lovely return-to-summer week. The last three days have hit high temperatures of 81, 78, and 84 degrees. The lowest high temperature of the week was 65. There have been lots of sunny days with no rain. I'm up early this morning watching the Minnesota Vikings play football in London. It's already 71 at 9AM but the high is only supposed to get to 73.

I found myself watching a lot more baseball than I thought I would. I watched most of each of the games and there were four games a day some days. Baseball really cut down on my audiobook reading since I can read Kindle books while watching but not listen to audiobooks. 

I find myself with four books on my currently reading stack. Two of them are chapter-a-day books. A Night in the Lonesome October has short chapters for every day from September 30 through October 31. The Mother Tongue has fewer but longer chapters. The others are an audiobook and a review copy. 

This coming week should be better for reading since there are fewer baseball games each day. However, The Voice is going to overlap some baseball on Monday and Tuesday. I'll be flipping back and forth between the two channels. 

Otherwise, this coming week is appointment free. My brother works until 11PM Sunday through Thursday but his starting times vary from 2:30 to 6PM. We are planning to eat a number of meals together including trying a new casserole which uses leftover rotisserie chicken which will feed us for at least two meals.

September Report

I read 37 books in September including thirteen review copies. I also listened to 19 audiobooks for a total of 261 hours. Twelve of the books I read or listened to were rereads. I have written reviews for most of them. 

I added 37 books to my LibraryThing collection this month too. I added 7 audiobooks. I got three of the audiobooks from Chirp, used an Audible Credit for one, and added-on the other three audiobooks since I also got the Kindle copy. I added 12 review books. I took advantage of 9 BookBub Deals and 3 Kindle Daily Deals too. Twenty-one of the new additions are still on the TBR stack. 

Here is my monthly State of the Stack post which helps me keep track of Review copies. 

Read Last Week

• The Hidden City by Charles Finch (Review, November 4) -- 15th in the Charles Lenox historical mysteries series. I enjoyed this one. My review will be posted on October 28.
• The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie (Review, October 28) -- Second Syd Walker mystery. Interesting mystery which is concerned with Native American themes. My review will be posted on October 21.
• The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong (Review, November 4) -- Third Ruby Vaughn mystery set in Oxford during the 1922 Christmas season. I like the combination of romance, history, and the paranormal in this series. My review will be posted on October 29. 

• The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews (Kindle, mine since August 12) -- First in a new contemporary fantasy series. My review will be posted on October 25.
• Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Audiobook, mine since 29) -- 8th in the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. My review will be posted on October 23.

• Black Tie and Tails by Wen Spencer (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since September 12) -- This is the second book in a contemporary fantasy series. My review will be posted on November 20.
• Hid from Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Audiobook, Mine since August 30) -- Ninth in the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. My review will be posted on October 30.

DNF

• These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux (Review, November 4) -- I DNFd this one because, while I could define every word, the sentences didn't make sense to me. 

Currently

• Shattered by Dick Francis (Chirp Audiobook, Reread)
• The Nameless Land by Kate Elliott (Review, November 4)

• A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (Mine) -- Each short chapter is dated from October 1 to October 31. I'm reading the matching chapter of this fantasy every day. 
• The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson (Mine) -- I'm reading one chapter of this nonfiction book every day. 

Next Week

• Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Mine since November 21, 2024)
• Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop (Review, November 11)
• Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker (Review, November 11)

• Innocence Road by Laura Griffin (Review, November 11)
• Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally (Review, November 11)
• Haze by Katharine Kerr (Review, November 11)

Reviews Posted

• Gold Dust by Catherine Asaro (Review copy)
• All Mortal Flesh by Julis Spencer-Fleming (Audiobook)
• I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Audiobook)

• The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (Mine)
• Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (Review copy)
• The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Mine)

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

Review:

• The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie (Review, October 28)
• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day (Review, January 6)
• Books & Bewitchment by Isla Jewell (Review, February 3)

• Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (Review, February 11)
• The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly (Review, 24)

Bought:

• Shattered by Dick Francis (Chirp Audiobook, $4.99)
• The River Knows by Amanda Quick (Chirp Audiobook, $4.99)
• Dead of Winter by Rebecca Zanetti (Audiobook Add-on)

• The Stolen Letter by Paige Shelton (BookBub. $1.99)
• Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)
• A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)

• A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (Kindle)
• Dead of Winter by Rebecca Zanetti (BookBub, $1.99)

• Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen (BookBub, $2.99)
• Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz (BookBub, $1.99)

What was your week like?

Book Review: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Author: Holly Jackson
Publication: Delacorte Press (April 2, 2024)

Description: Lights. Camera. Lies.

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.

My Thoughts: Bel Price is eighteen. She's lived under the shadow of her mother's disappearance since she was two. She was the only one there when her mother was taken from their car on a quiet rural road. She must have seen the kidnapper but is too young to remember anything.

Now, her father has agreed for the family to take part in a documentary exploring the disappearance. Bel just wants it to go away. She's built her life with her father, aunt, uncle, grandfather, and beloved cousin Carter. She's also developed a fear of being abandoned and a kleptomania problem. She pushes people away before they can leave her. 

Things change abruptly when Rachel Price comes back with an outrageous story about where she has been for the past sixteen years. Now, the documentary has gone from being the Disappearance of Rachel Price to the Reappearance of Rachel Price. Bel doesn't know what to think. Rachel's story has some holes in it and Bel is determined to prove her a liar so that her life can go back to her comfortable normal. 

With the assistance of a young member of the documentary crew, Bel determines to find out the truth which isn't at all what she thought it was. 

This story was engaging and twisty and compelling. I spent most of it wondering if Bel was a reliable narrator telling us the truth. Or was she gaslighting us or being gaslighted herself. 

I bought this one January 6, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"What do you think happened to your mother?"

Friday 56:

The passenger side door opened. 

Rachel Price stepped out.

Bel froze.

A cold winter wind that only she could feel inside and out, as she came undone.

This week I am spotlighting The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson. This one was a BookBub special in January which sounded really good. Here's the description from Amazon:

Lights. Camera. Lies.   

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.  
 
But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
 
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . . 
 
From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.

Audiobook Review: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer Fleming

I Shall Not Want
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Series: Ferguson/Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 6)
Publication: Blackstone Audio (August 14, 2015)
Length: 14 hours and 46 minutes

Description: In the searing conclusion to All Mortal Flesh, Russ' balance between duty and desire was broken by his wife's tragic death. Now Russ and Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson are separated by a wall of guilt and grief. When a Mexican farmhand stumbles over a Latino man killed with a single shot to the back of his head, Clare is drawn into the investigation. The discovery of two more bodies ignites fears that a serial killer is loose in the rural town while Russ is plagued by the media hysteria, conflict within the police department, and a series of baffling assaults. Throughout the escalating tensions, he and Clare find themselves seeking each other out even as they intend to keep distant.

My Thoughts: Clare and Russ are still each dealing with grief and guilt. Russ's wife's death has made things worse between them. When a body of a young Latino man is found by an illegal farm worker working on Russ's sister's new dairy farm, Clare gets immediately involved in the plight of the illegals. Then two more bodies are found. 

Russ's new deputy gets a lot of page time in this episode. She is Hadley Knox who is a California transplant who has come back to Millers Kill with her children to live with her grandfather who is Clare's sexton. She's broke and takes a job with the police because it is steady work with benefits. She doesn't have any particular call to law enforcement. 

Hadley is an attractive woman and the previous low man on the police department payroll Kevin Flynn falls for her immediately. She is less than interested seeing their ten-year age difference as a real barrier. Besides which, she isn't interested in finding a man. One skill that she does bring to the department that is especially useful is that she is fluent in Spanish which really helps with the current murder case.

Clare is adjusting to being a weekend warrior as she serves in the National Guard, but that doesn't stop her setting up initiatives to work with the Latino farm laborers who have recently come to her attention. That also means that she is right in the middle of the murder investigations too. 

A serious injury to Russ rearranges both Russ and Clare's attitudes in regard to each other, but just when things seem to be resolving between the two of them, Clare's National Guard unit is deployed to Iraq. Now they are facing a year-long separation and thus ends book 6 in the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. 

I bought this one from Chirp January 4, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen

Mirage City
Author: Lev AC Rosen
Series: Evander Mills Mysteries (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 7, 2025)

Description: Lev AC Rosen delivers a new and captivating 1950s mystery in this dazzling, award-winning series

Private Investigator Evander “Andy” Mills’ next case takes him out of his comfort zone in San Francisco―and much to his dismay, back home to Los Angeles. After a secretive queer rights organization called the Mattachine Society enlists Andy to find some missing members, he must dodge not only motorcycle gangs and mysterious forces, but his own mother, too.

Avoiding her proves to be a challenge when the case leads Andy to the psychiatric clinic she works at. Worlds collide, buried secrets are dug up, and Andy realizes he's going to have to make some hard choices. With secrets, drugs, and doctors swirling around him, time is running out for Andy to locate the missing and get them to safety. And for him to make it back to San Francisco in one piece.

My Thoughts: Andy Mills is building a life for himself in San Francisco. He was drummed out of the LA police force when caught in a raid of a gay club. Now, he's a private investigator who often helps other gays build shadow identities. It's 1952 and being gay is not only against the law but downright un-American. 

When Andy is hired by the Mattachine Society to track down two missing members, he's compelled to travel back to LA to look for them. There he discovers a web of secrets, Hollywood coverups, and a doctor intent on curing homosexuality. He also runs into his mother who works at the doctor's clinic. His mother doesn't know that he is gay. Andy fears her reaction when she finds out since so many of his friends have been disowned by their families. 

The story was engaging. I loved the way people formed their own tribes of like-minded people. From the gay motorcycle club to the reserved Mattachine Society to those agitating for gay rights, there were lots of ways of dealing. And then there were the gays who decided to assimilate and hide their real selves.

Andy did find the three people he was hired to find, and he solved a murder too. This is the fourth book in a series and stands alone well. 

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

State of the Stack #169 (October 1, 2025)

This is my monthly post which details progress made on review books. I want to thank the authors and publishers who have contributed their books. 

Read This Month 

Dates indicate the date the review was/will be posted.

1. The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (September 23)
2. The Killing Stones by Ann Cleaves (September 24)
3. Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose (September 25)
4. Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (October 2)
5. Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima (October 7)
6. And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters (October 7)
7. Death on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connelly (October 8)
8. Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (October 9)
9. The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (October 9)
10. And to All a Good Bite by David Rosenfelt (October 11)
11. Death on Dickens Island by Allison Brook (October 14)
12. Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs (October 15)
13. At Death's Dough by Mindy Quigley (October 23)

DNF

1.  

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (September 2)
2. All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (September 3)
3. A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (September 9)
4. Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh (September 10)
5. No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (September 11)
6. The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (September 11)
7. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (September 16)
8. A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (September 16)
9. Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner (September 17)
10. You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan (September 18)
11. A Dark and Deadly Journey by Julia Kelly (September 18)
12. Dark Horse by Felix Francis (September 20)
13. Gold Dust by Catherine Asaro (October 1)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs (October 21)
2. Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (November 11)
3. Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna (November 25)
4. Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (January 13)
5. Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb (February 3)
6. Buried in Shamrocks by Lisa Q. Mathews (February 24)
7. The Wolves Are Watching by Victoria Houston (February 24)
8. Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramie (March 10)
9. Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips (March 17)
10. Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan (April 21)

All TBR Review Books

November

• The Hidden City by Charles Finch (November 4)
• These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux (November 4)
• The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong (November 4)

• The Nameless Land by Kate Elliott (November 4)
• Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (November 11)
• The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S. J. Bennett (November 11)

• Haze by Katharine Kerr (November 11)
• Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker (November 11)
• Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop (November 11)

• Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally (November 11)
• Innocence Road by Laura Griffin (November 11)
• The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November 18)

• Blood Oath by Steve Urszenyi (November 18)
• At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (November 18)
• Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann (November 18)

• Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna (November 25)
• Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (November 25)
• The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (November 25)

December 

• All My Bones by P. J. Nelson (December 2)
• The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier (December 2)
• A Grave Deception by Connie Berry (December 9)

January 

• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 6)
• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (January 6)
• Wildwood by Amy Pease (January 6)

• The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (January 6)
• Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (January 13)
• The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell (January 13)

• A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert (January 13)
• A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen (January 27)

February

• Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb (February 3)
• Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson (February 10)
• Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (February 10)

• Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (February 10)
• The Wolves Are Watching by Victoria Houston (February 24)
• Buried in Shamrocks by Lisa Q. Mathews (February 24)

March

• Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey (March 10)
• Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips (March 17)

• You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews (March 17)
• Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (March 24)

April

• The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown (April 14)
• Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan (April 21)

ARC Review: Gold Dust by Catherine Asaro

Gold Dust
Author: Catherine Asaro
Series: Dust Knights (Book 2)
Publication: Baen Books (October 7, 2025)

Description: BORN TO RUN; BORN TO FIGHT, A PAIR OF STAR-CROSSED LOVERS COMPETE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES

COMPETITORS IN THE INTERSTELLAR OLYMPICS MUST OVERCOME POVERTY AND INTRIGUE

Three interstellar civilizations vie for honors in the Olympics, including the Skolian Imperialate. The thriving, populous worlds of humanity have always dominated the Games. The team from Raylicon, a dying world of scorching temperatures, has never won honors.

IS CHANGE COMING?

Mason, the coach for the Raylicon track and field team, makes a startling discovery: The Undercity, an ancient culture hidden in ruins beneath the desert, carries a secret. In a place where crushing poverty exists alongside a culture of dramatic beauty, a group of spectacular runners has existed for centuries, even millennia, unknown to the outside universe.

The Dust Knights are the best of those marvels. With the help of Major Bhajaan, an Undercity native, he recruits the Knights. And so change sweeps their world. The Undercity faces a civilization they've never trusted, one that sees them as barely even human. Now, they must all learn to work together.

THE KYLE UNIVERSE

Skolia needs the Undercity to trust them—for hidden within its enigmatic population is one of humanity’s greatest resources. Their inbred population has created a large concentration of Kyle operators, an otherwise almost extinct group of humans. Kyles can do more than run; only they have the neurological makeup needed to utilize a vital technology, one that gives Skolian its sole advantage over their conquering enemies. The army wants the Kyles to work for them, but after centuries of being despised and left to die by the rest of humanity, the Undercity wants nothing to do with them.

Until Angel, one of the top runners among the Knights, joins the Kyle Corps—and dives into a world of neurological marvels, including star-spanning networks that access a dimension with dramatically different laws than our space-time universe.

THE STAKES COULD NOT BE HIGHER AS THE DUST KNIGHTS COMPETE FOR THEIR WORLD—AND THE FREEDOM OF HUMANITY

My Thoughts: The second book in the Dust Knights series has a number of dust knights trying to qualify for the Olympics. They have to deal with all sorts of prejudice and the poverty of their lives. After all, they agreed to run for the Raylicon team in exchange for clean water and food. 

Besides training for the Olympics, Angel is working for the Army training to be a telop - a critcally needed skill to keep the Skolian Imperialate from being conquered by the much more numerous Trader Empire. Many more than average of the people who live in the Undercity are empaths and telepaths which is one reason that Raylicon has become interested in the population they disparaged as lazy and stupid. 

Angel is quickly outpacing her instructors and, in true Undercity style, is exploring the vast new world she is being trained to navigate. Her investigations help Bhaaj who is investigating a possible forced merger between two interstellar corporations. The Scorpio Corporation and Abyss Associates are both companies of interest to the Majdas who are Bhaaj's employer. The CEOs of both corporations happen to have children who are on the new Olympic team. 

One of the viewpoint characters is Kiro, the son of an executive of the Abyss Association. He really wants a track Olympic medal and is willing to slight his accounting degree at Cries University to pursue his dreams. He's also an empath who forms a firm friendship with three other young people from the Undercity who have been looking for a fourth for their dust gang and are also training for the Olympics. 

This was another excellent story with great worldbuilding. I enjoyed Angel's descriptions of Kyle Space. I also enjoyed figuring out the mystery which centered around the two corporations, their connection to Undercity Drug cartels, and secrets buried in the past. 

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