State of the Stack #167 (August 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. Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh (July 10)
2. Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell (July 15)
3. The Last Wizard's Ball by Charlaine Harris (July 16)
4. Heart Marks the Spot by Libby Hubscher (July 17)
5. Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (July 22)
6. Give Me A Reason by Jayci Lee (July 23)
7. Road Trip with a Rogue by Kate Bateman (July 24)
8. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (July 26)
9. Hunter's Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor (July 31)
10. For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews (August 2)
11. Picking Up the Pieces by J. B. Abbott (August 5)
12. Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver (August 5)
13. The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (August 6)
14. A Silence in Belgrave Square by Jennifer Ashley (August 7)
15. Knife in the Back by Karen Rose (August 7)
16. The Story that Wouldn't Die by Christina Estes (August 12)
17. The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (August 13)
18. Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg (August 14)
19. Claws Out by Cate Conte (August 19)
20. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (August 19)
21. Death at an Irish Village by Ellie Brannigan (August 20)
22. A Lonesome Place for Murder by Nolan Chase (August 21)
23. Laying Down the Latte by Ellie Alexander (August 21)

DNF

1. The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (August 5)

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. Death and the Librarian by Victoria Gilbert (July 1)
2. The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos (July 1)
3. The Myth Maker by Alie Dumas Heidt (July 2)
4. Rage by Linda Castillo (July 3)
5. The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (July 3)
6. Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts (July 8)
7. Fateless by Julie Kagawa (July 9)
8. Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods (July 10)
9. Gold Dust by Catherine Asaro (October 1)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. The Princess and the P. I. by Nikki Payne (September 16)
2. Dark Horse by Felix Francis (September 23)
3. The Killing Stones by Anne Cleaves (September 30)
4. Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (October 7)
5. At Death's Dough by Mindy Quigley (October 28) 
6. These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux (November 4)
7. Haze by Katherine Kerr (November 11)
8. The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S. J. Bennett (November 11)
9. The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November 18)
10. Blood Oath by Steve Urszenyi (November 18)
11. The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (November 25)
12. The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier (December 2)
13. All My Bones by P. J. Nelson (December 2)
14. A Grave Deception by Connie Berry (December 9)
15. The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (January 6, 2026)
16. Wildwood by Amy Pease (January 6, 2026)
17. The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell (January 13, 2026)
18. A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert (January 13, 2026)
19. A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen (January 27, 2026)
20. Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (March 24, 2026)
21. The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown (April 14, 2026)

All TBR Review Books

August

• A Moment's Shadow by Anna Lee Huber (August 26)

September

• Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (September 2)
• If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia (September 2)
• Framed in Death by J. D. Robb (September 2)

• All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (September 9)
• The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (September 9)
• The Princess and the P. I. by Nikki Payne (September 16)

• No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (September 16)
• Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh (September 16)
• A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (September 16)

• Dark Horse by Felix Francis (September 23)
• A Dark and Deadly Journey by Julia Kelly (September 23)
• A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (September 23)

• You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan (September 23)
• Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner (September 23)
• Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (September 23)

• The Killing Stones by Ann Cleaves (September 30)
• The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (September 30)

October

• Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (October 7)
• And To All A Good Bite by David Rosenfelt (October 14)
• The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (October 14)

• And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters (October 14)
• Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (October 14)
• Death on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connelly (October 14)

• Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima (October 14)
• Death on Dickens Island by Allison Brook (October 21)
• At Death's Dough by Mindy Quigley (October 28)

November

• These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux (November 4)
• The Nameless Lands by Kate Elliott (November 4)
• The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong (November 4)

• The Hidden City by Charles Finch (November 4)
• 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)
• The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (November 25)

December

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

January

• Wildwood by Amy Pease (January 6)
• The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (January 6)
• 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)

March

• Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (March 24)

April

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

Friday Memes: For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

 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:

"This is the life," Iris Rafferty exclaimed, taking a long pull on her glass. "Eileen, give Meg a refill on those Arnold Palmers."

Friday 56:

"Yeah, that kind of explains it," I said. "As much revenge as justice."

This week I'm spotlighting For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews. This is from my review stack and is the 37th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series:

Andrews returns with her latest charming addition to the bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series.

Meg is in the backyard of the house her brother Rob, Delaney, and their new baby have moved into, supervising some workmen who are using a bulldozer to start digging out a duck pond. She wants to get away from her own house, which has become the staging site for Caerphilly's first Mutt March, which will be held the next day. Meg thinks it will be more peaceful at Rob's house--and it is until the bulldozers uncover a skeleton whose skull has a hole and a bullet rattling around inside.

Meanwhile, Chief Burke begins searching the police records to see if he can identify any missing persons who would fit the bill. He doesn't turn down Meg's offer to help with his identification efforts, and she begins looking in the library and talking to old-timers. She's all the more eager to help because Iris Rafferty, who sold the house to Rob and Delaney and still lives in the mother-in-law suite, disappears the morning after the finding of the body... does her disappearance have anything to do with finding the body? Was it voluntary? Or was she kidnapped--possibly by the prowlers who are spotted lurking around the half-finished duck pond at night? Or do the prowlers have sinister designs on one or more of the dogs who will be marching in the parade?

Written with her classic cozy and investigative style, Donna Andrews is sure to delight in the latest in her Meg Langslow mystery series.