Audiobook Review: The Raging Storm by Ann Cleaves

The Raging Storm
Author: Ann Cleaves

Narrator: Jack Holden
Series: Detective Matthew Venn (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio(September 5, 2023)

Length: 9 hours and 47 minutes

Description Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—returns with The Raging Storm, the extraordinary third installment in the Matthew Venn series.

Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.

When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.

As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.

My Thoughts: This story begins when Jem Rosco comes to town. He's a sailor, adventurer, and local legend but not universally loved. When his body is found in the sea Matthew Venn and his team come to this small town to investigate the crime. Greystone is a small insular town that Matthew had visited as a child. It is largely inhabited by members of the cult he left as a teen. 

Venn and his team need to deal with local secrets and superstitions to solve this case which puts him and his sergeant in the direct line of fire from the villains. There are numerous suspects who all have some connection to Jem and who might have wished him dead. 

This was another atmospheric mystery filled with intriguing characters. 

I bought this one May 28. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander

Murder on the Sacred River
Author: Tasha Alexander
Series: Lady Emily Mysteries (Book 20)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 22, 2026)

Description: In this next enthralling mystery in Tasha Alexander’s bestselling series, Lady Emily chases down a killer in India along the misty banks of the sacred river Narmada.

1908: Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves, along with an eccentric group of English tourists, are vacationing in India at Ahilya Fort, the old home to the Maharaja’s family, when a man is found shot along the Narmada River. Emily and Colin jump into action, but their suspect list is large, including a wonderful spinster and her not-so-wonderful companion; a local doctor; a widow who lives nearby; an English explorer; and an Englishman who now runs a tea plantation near Darjeeling.

1740: Fifteen-year-old Ahilyabai has been married to the son of Malharrao Holkar, the Lord of the Malwa territory, for seven years. Now the time has finally come to produce an heir. But though Ahilya’s in-laws have shown her nothing but kindness, her notoriously-drunken husband remains a mystery to her, having rarely spoken to Ahilya since their wedding as children. Faced with this tortured and distant man, Ahilya’s sense of loyalty is tested as she attempts to balance fulfilling her duty with forging her own destiny. Her decisions will have ripple effects across time―including Lady Emily’s investigation almost two hundred years later.

Lady Emily’s case takes a dramatic turn when a shocking new person arrives at the fort―and when the killer strikes again shortly afterwards, she and Colin must race to uncover the villain’s identity before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: Lady Amelia and her husband Colin Hargreaves are vacationing in India after Colin does a little something for the king. They find themselves invited to Ahilya's Fort on the banks of the Narmada River along with an assortment of other English travelers.

When the body of an Englishman is found in a boat with a gunshot wound to his head, their vacation becomes an investigation because the local police are more than willing to hand the case off to them. Once the man's identity becomes known after an initial misidentification, Amelia and Colin discover that many of their fellow travelers might have had reason to kill him. 

The eccentric lady and her bad-tempered companion, the visiting historian, a man named Mr. Ralston, a local doctor, and a local widowed lady are all suspects in this one. 

Woven into the mystery plot are flashbacks to 1740 and the woman for whom the fort is named. She was married at eight to the future maharajah and educated to be a helpmeet to him. The flashbacks tell of her life from childhood to old age. She did a lot of good as ruler after the deaths of her husband and in-laws and has become a figure of importance in the region. Rumor has it she left a treasure behind her which excites current (1908) day fortune hunters. 

This was an entertaining historical detail filled with wonderful scenes of India at the time period. Amelia greatly enjoys the food and drink and the culture while still investigating and solving the mystery. 

I did rather miss that their boys were left home in England but enjoyed Henry's letters pleading for an elephant.

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 14, 2026)

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

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

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

Other Than Reading...

This was another nice, quiet week. My dentist appointment for my new crown went without any excitement. My dentist and I both wanted a boring appointment since the last was so exciting. I did dream all week about swallowing the crown AGAIN but it was a completely trouble-free experience this time. 

Since I was out and about, I stopped at my pharmacy and got both my flu shot and a Covid booster. As usual, my only reactions to the shots were slight soreness at the injection sites. The Covid site is still sensitive to the touch but not really a bother. 

I gave myself a week off to finish my In Death reread and to listen to the audiobook of the latest which I had reviewed earlier. Now, I'm back to reading what is on my calendar. I have five review books on the pile for this week. Well, six if you count the one I have listed as currently reading but which I haven't actually started yet. 

I see that most of my book reviews posted this week have blue covers which I hadn't notice previously since I read on my black & white Kindle. I also see that it will be Christmas time this week as I have four books centered around Christmas on my stack. 

I'm also watching baseball as the season is winding to a close. My Braves would need a disaster to miss the playoffs this season. I hope they do well there this year. 

There has been no change in my review stack. I still have 39 books on the pile. I did lower my 2026 TBR pile to 16 this week. 

This week I'm the designated cook since my brother works all day shifts. I have some plans but not very firm ones beyond a pot of lentil soup for Monday. I've been looking at the remainder of a bag of red lentils in my pantry for a while. So, when I saw a ham hock in the "sell now" bin of meat at the grocery store, a plan was born. I have been saving a lot of recipes from my Facebook feed which will give me some options too. 

Read Last Week

• Passions in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
• Bonded in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

• Framed in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
• Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
• Fury in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

• Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks (Kindle, mine since September 2) -- Urban fantasy. Fourteenth in a series. My review will be posted on September 30.
• The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (Kindle & Audiobook, mine since August 30) -- An excellent love story for books and libraries. My review will be posted on October 1.

DNF

• Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong (Review, October 6) -- I read 20%. I like the author but really don't like horror.
  

Currently

• The Lady Jewel Diviner by Rosalie Oaks (Kindle, mine since July 20)
• Jay to the World by Donna Andrews (Review, October 13)

Next Week

• Written in Starlight by Sloane Brooks (Review, October13)
• Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey (Review, October 13)
• Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen (Review, October 13)

• Bark Humbug by David Rosenfelt (Review, October 13)
• Don't Look Back by Amanda Quick (Kindle, mine since August 13)
• The Christmas Competition by Zoe Allison (Review, October 20)

Reviews Posted

• Shards of Glass by Michelle Sagara (Audiobook)
• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver (Audiobook)
• Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander by Christian Hurst (Audiobook)

• A Field Guide to Death & Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen (Review copy)
• A Deadly Entanglement by Cathy Pegau (Review copy)
• I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas (Review copy)

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

Review:

Bought:

• Fury in Death by J. D. Robb (Kindle and Audiobook)

What was your week like?

Audiobook Review: Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander by Christian Hurst

Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander

Author: Christian Hurst

Narrator: Aryn Mello Pryor
Series: Lily Starling (Book 1)
Publication: Outpost Books SE (May 6, 2026)

Length: 12 hours and 34 minutes

Description: Lily Starling wakes up in a city she barely recognizes, with no memory of her past—only a metal tag bearing her name and an instinct for survival. When a Union starship crew claims she belongs with them, she's pulled centuries beyond her own time and into a desperate mission against the psionic Krythar.

Aboard the starship Salamander, Lily is drawn into a found family of misfit officers, warriors, and exiles. Together, they uncover mysteries hidden among the stars: an ancient memory seed carrying the voices of the dead, and a weapon capable of unraveling time itself.

But when Lily faces her greatest fear, she must choose—confront the demons of her past, or risk losing everything.

Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander is an award-winning, bestselling YA space opera about identity, connection, and courage at the edge of what's known. Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers, N.K. Jemisin, and Mass Effect, with the heart of found-family adventures like Firefly and Red Rising.

If you love found family, queer identity, time travel twists, and lyrical, fast-paced sci-fi adventures, you'll love joining Lily on her voyage.

My Thoughts: This YA space opera stars Lily Starling who begins the story on the street in the 20th Century. She's homeless, hungry and has lost her memory, but she is still kind and caring especially when she comes across a homeless kid. She is soon rescued by space travelers from the future who tell her that she is an orphan, but also a member of the crew of the Salamander. 

Lily is told that she's a genius with special talents that can defeat the psionic Krythar who want to conquer the galaxy and remake it to their design. She and her companions on the Salamander want to stop that from happening. The crew is a mixed bag of characters from many of the worlds the Krythar want to conquer. 

Even with her memory loss Lily still wants to be of use. She finds herself making friends and having adventures, most of which are solved successfully because of her genius. 

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story. The characters from all the different races were interesting. The action scenes were exciting and the suspense kept building. I liked the way Lily manages with her memory loss and the great blow that comes late in the book. She is an interesting character. 

I bought the Kindle copy May 13. The audiobook was available as part of my Audible subscription. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Shards of Glass by Michelle Sagara

Shards of Glass
Author: Michelle Sagara
Narrator: Khristine Kvam
Series: The Academia Chronicles (Book 1)
Publication: Harlequin Audio (November 28, 2023)
Length: 17 hours and 16 minutes

Description: The Academia, once an elite proving ground for the rulers of the world, has been frozen for centuries. Now its strange slumber has ended, and a new Chancellor, an orange-eyed dragon, has reopened its lecture halls and readied its dorms. In order to thrive once more, however, the Academia needs fresh blood—new students with a passion and talent for learning.

One such student, Robin, has the perfect recruit in mind: his friend Raven, an orphan who lives in the dangerous Warrens. Robin grew up in the Warrens, and he wouldn't have made it if not for Raven. He knows she’ll be safe at the Academia, where her unusual gifts can be appreciated.

But when students start turning up dead, the campus threatens to collapse completely. Raven and Robin will not let that happen to their new home…if they can survive long enough to figure out who—or what—is trying to kill them.

My Thoughts: SHARDS OF GLASS is set in the same world as the Chronicles of Elantra series and has some of the same characters. This story takes place at the recently rediscovered Academia which was once a center of learning for the world but was shifted out of its timeline in the battle to defeat Shadow which was set to consume the world. 

Young Robin was kidnapped from the Warrens when it was discovered that Academia needed students to complete its recovery. After the defeat of the people who wanted to use Academia to build their own powers and a new Chancellor was chosen, the quest for new students began. 

Robin proposed the friend who kept him alive in the Warrens when he was a child. Raven was a strange person who knew how to survive and chose to help Robin survive too. Robin is the one who named this child Raven and who acted as her interpreter to the world since she was almost completely nonverbal when they first paired up. 

Robin hoped that bringing Raven to Academia would provide the safety, food, and shelter that were so scarce in the Warrens. He wasn't expecting to drop her in the middle of a campus where random students were being murdered. 

Robin has been making new friends among the students including three of the Cohort of Barrani who were rescued from captivity in an earlier book of the Chronicles of Elantra. Serralyn loved the Academia especially its endless library staffed by Arbiters from three ancient, immortal races. And Terrano was another friend who was most changed by their captivity and now has very non-Barrani abilities. Robin is even friends with Starrante who is one of the librarians and a Wevaran who looks like a giant spider. 

As Robin and Raven work together to solve the murders and preserve this new home they learn more about each other and more about the pasts that are impacting their presents. 

This was an excellent, complex fantasy filled with magic and magical beings. Robin seems to be an ordinary human but one with a potential magical ability. Raven is anything but human which comes as a surprise to Robin. The Chancellor of the Academia is a dragon. The Arbiters are a Wevaran, an Ancient, and a Barrani. There are sentient buildings and human mages.

But beyond the fantastical elements, this is a story of friendship and love and finding a home.

I bought this one May 11. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas

I Am the Monster Under the Bed
Author: Emily Zinnikas
Publication: St. Martin's Press (September 15, 2026)

Description: TIME ONLY MAKES THE NIGHTMARE MORE REAL.

Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place where she swore she’d never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind―and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be.

My Thoughts: This horror novel tells the story of Willa Renfri Greene. Willa was raised in Rapture, Maine, and was an odd child. She made friends with the nightmare under her bed and refused to ever go to the basement where the people in the basement lived.

But the strangest thing in Willa's life was the time she went into the woods with six friends and was the only one to come back alive. Someone butchered her friends. She has always blamed the forest because she had forgotten to leave it meat the night they all went to party.

The rumors about Willa more or less drummed her out of town. The families of the victims all blamed Willa for the deaths. And the local sheriff also blamed Willa and released inappropriate things to the press. 

What was worst for Willa was that the incident in the woods came after she was groomed and assaulted by her high school soccer coach. She turned him in causing him to lose his job but somehow, she was the one who was blamed. 

Her only refuge was the art room and the art teacher who provided a safe place for her in her last years of high school. Willa left Rapture right after graduation with no intention to ever visit again. She changed her name and became a famous artist. 

But when the art teacher dies of breast cancer, Willa feels she has to go back if only to honor her teacher. Someone doesn't want her there and she suffers all sorts of harassment from notes to bricks through her windows. She's certain that the perpetrator of the harassment is her former soccer coach who has reinvented his life and come back to Rapture. 

But there are other potential sources of the notes and things. TV psychic Nathaniel Lennox has begun a campaign of harassment since Willa has refused to appear on his show and rehash the deaths of her friends. And reporter Joyce Kimura is also digging into Willa's past by showing up on her porch in Pennsylvania and following her to Rapture looking for a big story.

This was a creepy story. I had to keep reading to discover what was going on and whether or not Willa would survive her homecoming to Rapture. 

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

ARC Review: A Deadly Entanglement by Cathy Pegau

A Deadly Entanglement
Author: Cathy Pegau
Series: Harriman & Mancini Mysteries (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 15, 2026)

Description: In A Deadly Entanglement, two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York must work together to uncover the rotten truth.

The truth isn’t always easy…

Margot Baxter Harriman has just survived her deadliest scandal as President of B&H Foods, and now there’s nowhere to go but up. Which is why she’s organizing a fundraiser for the crowded, overworked city charity hospital, where she hopes to do good and give back–until a body falls past a second-floor window.

The nurse’s death is quickly ruled a suicide, but fellow nurse CeeCee Foxmoor, Margot’s friend and the live-in partner of investigator Rett Mancini, isn’t so sure: this isn’t the hospital's first suspicious death. CeeCee’s concerns draw both Margot and Rett into an undercover scheme to untangle the threads behind the deaths everyone else is ready to overlook.

Then another death catches their attention: Margot's old classmate checked into the Caspian, a luxury clinic catering to the New York elite, but never checked out. And the circumstances surrounding her death feel eerily familiar...

As both the secrets and bodies pile up, Rett and Margot realize that while money can buy anything, behind ward doors, everyone pays a price. This time, their search for the truth might cost the people they love.

Cathy Pegau’s A Deadly Entanglement is the captivating follow-up to A Murderous Business, where two women’s determination challenges the cost of greed–and the price of failure.

My Thoughts: Margot Baxter Harriman is meeting with the head doctor at the City Charity Hospital to plan the next major fundraising gala when she sees a body go by the window. The first conclusion is that the nurse committed suicide.

CeeCee Foxmoor is also a nurse at the CCH and she's sure that her friend didn't kill herself. She is just the next in line in a series of suspicious deaths. CeeCee is living with Rett Mancini who is a private detective. Rett, CeeCee, and Margot met in the first book in the series and became friends. In fact, Margot is a silent partner in Rett's detective agency. 

Rett goes undercover to try to find out what is going on at CCH. Meanwhile, Margot has questions of her own when a school friend of hers dies unexpectedly at the Caspian which is a hospital for New York City's Elite. She decides to go undercover herself to see if she can learn anything. 

The first thing she and Rett learn is that two of the doctors are associated with both hospitals. The charming Doctor Ewan Beales convinces Margot that she has a condition that can only be treated on an inpatient basis and has a wonderful new green pill named Tranquility for her to try. 

Rett and Margot's investigations overlap when they discover that each centers around the little green pills. There's money to be made by looking the other way and, if people die, it really is just an accident or so the villains say. 

I liked the NYC setting and the time period. I liked that the main characters were lesbians trying to deal with a society where that fact needs to be hidden. I like the relationship between CeeCee and Rett and have hopes for the relationship between Margot and Shiloh. 

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

Audiobook Review: The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver

The Case of the Christie Conspiracy
Author: Kelly Oliver
Narrator: Penelope Rawlins
Series: The Detection Club (Book 1)
Publication: Boldwood Books (February 16, 2025)
Length: 8 hours and 6 minutes

Description: Discover the delightfully gripping new historical mystery series that's perfect for fans of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright and T E Kinsey. 'If you thought the Golden Age of crime was dead, think again!' Verity Bright

Agatha Christie is about to embark on a new, gripping murder case. But this time, she’s not the author – she’s a suspect…

1926 – Christie is a darling of the literary circuit and the most desired guest in London’s glittering social scene. She can often be found at meetings of the Detection Club – where mystery writers come together to share ideas, swap secrets and drink copiously. But then a fellow author's initiation ceremony takes a gruesome turn, and one of the group ends up dead. Now, Agatha is no longer just the creator of great mystery plots – she’s a player in one.

And when Agatha disappears the day after the murder, she’s widely assumed to be guilty. Only Eliza Baker, assistant to the Club’s enigmatic secretary, Dorothy Sayers, is interested in investigating the case. But in a world where murder is the ultimate plot device, can Eliza piece together the evidence and find the killer before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: Eliza Baker gets a new job as an assistant to the Detection Club's secretary Dorothy Sayers just in time to attend a meeting and witness the death of one of the members of the club. Neville Lively was an author and practical joker. Her previous job was with British Intelligence which she left after a tragedy. She has experience in investigations, and this one is especially baffling.

Among the suspects are Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Gilbert Chesterton, Maud Wilkerson, Fergus Briggs, and the victim's daughter Alice Lively among others. Also in attendance is new member Theo Torrent Sharpe who has been a friend of Eliza's family for years.

The story is filled with clues, so many clues, which seem to incriminate most of the attendees. Eliza and Theo team up though with some internal rivalry to solve the case of the murdered author. 

The story was filled with period detail and bits and pieces about the various author's lives and work. This is one case where I preferred the Kindle version to the audio version. It was easier to keep track of the characters and clues when I was reading than when I was listening. 

I bought this one June 14, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Field Guide to Death and Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen

A Field Guide to Death and Deceit
Author: Michelle L. Cullen
Series: Harry & Emma Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 15, 2026)

Description: Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer.

This delightful sequel to A Field Guide to Murder is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.

When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm's owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.

After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.

To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray.

As the team unearths clues, they increasingly dodge danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns up dead.

My Thoughts: Harry and Emma are back home and working on their final report when Harry gets a call from an old girlfriend. Willow has become the victim of a scam that has stolen all of the assets she and her husband had accrued for their retirement. She's hoping Harry can help her get them back.

However, the first thing that Harry and Emma discover when they go to meet Willow is the death of an old farmer who owned the property Willow thought she was buying. Harry and Emma find themselves not only trying to solve the murder but trying to recover Willow's lost retirement fund.

Harry makes a call to his brother Eddie for some help since Eddy was an accountant. He and Harry are not close. As a matter of fact, Harry has always thought that his brother might be dealing less than legally. 

Eddie arrives promptly and the trio work together to try to unravel all the plots and plans in motion. Harry is surprised that his brother has been leading a secret life and that he is intimately involved in the scam. Now, saving his brother has been added to the things he and Emma need to accomplish.

This was an engaging and entertaining story filled with interesting characters. I like the father-daughter relationship that has grown between Harry and Emma since she was first hired as his carer after he broke his hip. 

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 7, 2026)

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

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

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

Other Than Reading...

This was a quiet week. School started for Minnesota K-12 students and the colleges had move-in days. We finally got some rain which came with thunderstorms. Looks like the Labor Day weekend will be nice for those camping or otherwise celebrating though. 

By accepting one new review copy and reading three already on my stack, I've finally managed to get the stack under 40 books. I have 39 current review copies with a few scheduled for reading this week. I did turn down three email requests. Two were for books with short turnarounds and didn't sound interesting enough to rework my calendar for. The third was for a book I already had on my stack. 

This week should be a quiet one. I do have a dentist appointment on Thursday but no other appointments. I should be able to fit a lot of reading in around watching my Atlanta Braves play baseball. 

August Report 

I read 34 books in August. Twenty-three were mine and eleven were review copies. Of the 23 that were mine, all were audiobooks with Kindle copies too. Eleven were from my TBR pile while twelve were rereads. I spent 257 hours listening to audiobooks in August. 

I added 32 books to my LibraryThing account in August. Twelve were new review copies. Ten were audiobooks most with accompanying Kindle copies. I used four Audible credits. Nine of my new additions are still on my TBR pile. 

Thus far in 2026, I have added 248 books to my LibraryThing collection including 118 review copies and 75 audiobooks. For the year through August, I have read 275 books including 107 review copies and 146 audiobooks. 

I still have 19 2026 additions on my TBR pile. Of the 19, four are audiobooks and fifteen are Kindle copies. I may add the audiobooks for the ones that are currently only Kindle copies when their spots come up on my calendar since I really enjoy audiobooks. 

Read Last Week

• Encore in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Payback in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• The Vanished Sister by Sherry Thomas (Review, September 29) -- Latest in the Lady Sherlock Historical Mystery series. My review will be posted on September 29)

• Cursed City by Kate Golden (Review, September 29) -- Second book in the Harker Academy Urban Fantasy series. My review will be posted on September 23.
• Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick (Audiobook, Mine since August 19) -- Historical mystery/romance set in the Victorian Era. My review will be posted on September 25.
• Random in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

• Where There's Smoke by Rachel Louise Adams (Review, October 6) -- Contemporary mystery set in Wisconsin starring a forensic pathologist. My review will be posted on September 29.
• The Case of the Body on the Orient Express by Kelly Oliver (Kindle & audiobook, Mine since June 14)

Currently

• Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong (Review, October 6)
• Passions in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (Kindle & Audiobook, mine since July 8)
• The Lady Jewel Diviner by Rosalie Oakes (Kindle, Mine since July 20)
• Jay to the World by Donna Andrews (Review, October 13)

• Written in Starlight by Sloane Brooks (Review, October 13)
• Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey (Review, October 13)
• Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen (Review, October 13)

Reviews Posted

• The Chase by Felix Francis (Review copy)
• Those Who Are Gone by Laurie R. King (Review copy)
• The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves (Audiobook)

• Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima (Review copy)
• Fury in Death by J. D. Robb (Review copy)
• The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle (Review copy)

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

Review:

• The Killing Time by Elly Griffiths (Review, November 17)

Bought:

• Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)
• Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)
• The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews (Audiobook, $5.18)

What was your week like?

Audiobook Review: The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleaves

The Heron's Cry
Author: Ann Cleaves

Narrator: Jack Holden
Series: Detective Matthew Venn (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur (September 7, 2021)

Length: 10 hours and 16 minutes

Description: North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr. Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

My Thoughts: The second Matthew Venn mystery begins with the death of a retired doctor now working as an investigator associated with National Health. Dr. Yeo is stabbed with a piece of glass from his daughter's studio at the art colony where his daughter lives. 

Dr. Yeo is connected to Venn's team in a couple of ways. Venn's sergeant Jen had met him at a party the night before he died. He wanted to speak with her about a problem he was having but she had had too much to drink to talk to him them. Also, Venn's husband Jonathan is a friend of the glassblowing daughter. 

As the team investigate to discover what Dr. Yeo had stumbled into, another resident of the art colony is also murdered in the same way and a third person associated with the art colony commits suicide. Suicide is the central theme around which this story revolves. Dr. Yeo was investigating the National Health's culpability in releasing a suicidal young man from hospital only to have him take his own life. They also discover a website which encourages people to commit suicide and wonder if their suicides are related. 

This was another engaging and twisty mystery. I liked learning more about Jen and more about some other members of Venn's team. I liked the way Matthew is rebuilding his relationship with his long-estranged mother. 

I bought this one May 28. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle

The Mystic and the Missing Girl
Author: Vikki VanSickle
Publication: Minotaur (September 8, 2026)

Description: Small town secrets, a reluctant psychic, and a cold case that could expose them all.

Drew Benson can read tarot cards and get impressions from objects―she just never expected to use her gifts to investigate an infamous cold case.

Drew Benson has a secret. She gets visions, something she hasn’t tapped into since she was a teenager, when her late aunt, a TV psychic known as Hannah Mystic, became the scapegoat in the unsolved disappearance of a local teenager. Twenty years later, Drew is happy to ignore her gift, focusing instead on keeping the metaphysical shop she inherited from Hannah afloat, wrangling her sole, astrology-obsessed employee, and dodging local rake Foster Banks in her picturesque lakeside hometown.

But when Drew's arch-nemesis from high school, now a big city reporter, decides to investigate the cold case from all those years ago, it’s Drew’s ability that could finally make a break in the decades old mystery. With bills piling up, a disapproving mother laying on the guilt, and a local vandal who wants Drew and her witchy store gone, Drew has a lot to lose. But what she stands to gain―finding out what happened to the missing teen, clearing her aunt’s name, and a second chance at belonging―could change everything.

In The Mystic and the Missing Girl, Vikki VanSickle seamlessly draws readers into an utterly charming world in this unputdownable, small town mystery.

My Thoughts: Drew Benson came home to Stanfield when she inherited her aunt's metaphysical shop and the apartment above it. Her aunt was Hannah Mystic, TV psychic, was a scapegoat in the disappearance of Ginny Evans, high school senior, twenty years earlier. Her psychic talents provided clues but didn't manage to find Ginny. 

It is the twentieth anniversary of Ginny's death, and someone is targeting Drew's new store with graffiti. Drew is on a shoestring budget already since the notoriety of the store seems to have died with her Aunt Hannah. She's worried about keeping the doors open and her one employee employed. 

When an old high school nemesis now turned reporter walks in the door and asks to see her aunt's journals, Drew finds herself involved in a new investigation into what happened to Ginny Evans all those years ago. She also finds herself using the psychic powers she set aside after seeing how her aunt was treated during the first investigation.

This was an excellent and engaging story. I liked the way Drew settles back into her hometown and makes a place of her own design there. I thought the mystery was well done. I liked the variety of characters in the story. 

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

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: Those Who Are Gone by Laurie R. King

Those Who Are Gone
Author: Laurie R. King
Series: Raquel Laing (Book 2)
Publication: Bantam (September 8, 2026)

Description: Cold-case detective Raquel Laing faces new threats and long-buried secrets in this gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.

SFPD Homicide Inspector Raquel Laing had what might politely be termed a “difficult childhood,” until she was taken in by a loving family at the age of nine. She still lives with her adoptive sister, Dee, an online investigator for organizations all over the world.

Trouble arrives with an all-too-common case for Inspector Laing: the homicide of a drug dealer in a deserted corner of San Francisco. But the everyday rapidly spirals into complications—just as a simple search into the family’s ancestry is throwing Dee into her own world of turmoil.

Raquel’s case blows up far too close to home, thanks in part to the illicit shortcuts she took in the investigation, and while her unique skills are too valuable for the SFPD to suspend her entirely, she is removed from Homicide and put onto the Cold Case Unit.

On the one hand, Cold Case lets her work with her friend and mentor, Al Hawkin. On the other, it leaves her free to look at some disturbing facts about her past—and at the devastating news that Dee has uncovered in her own search for the truth.

Cold cases heat up, the distant past intrudes, and two sisters begin to suspect that they are tied together in ways they never imagined—ways that threaten attention from a powerful and vicious international cartel.

Because the truth is, those who are gone . . . have never truly left.

My Thoughts: The second Raquel Liang mystery brings Raquel's work home. While recovering from being shot, Raquel is working on cold cases with her mentor Al. The case she is assigned is a drive-by shooting in 1997. The two men were associates of her father who was also murdered in 1997. She is also working on a current homicide. Gilbert Gallegos was gunned down in an abandoned parking lot, and a video has shown up on YouTube of the killing. 

Raquel is good at seeing connections, but maybe this time she's too good. She sees a connection between Gallegos death and the death of her father. Both were killed the same way. Both were involved in the drug trade. And the guns used in the shootings were used in a number of other murders of people associated with the drug trade. 

While Raquel is working on her two cases, her sister Dee is doing some research of her own. She's sent her DNA to one of those online sites and the results throw her. She learns that Emma and Tom Liang were not her birth parents, that she, like Raquel was adopted. This hits her hard and her first reaction is anger at the Liangs for never telling her about the adoption. She also learns that she might be related to Delores Ortega and have other Ortega relatives. She begins trying to track down Delores and other family members and runs into roadblocks after roadblocks. 

While Raquel is helping Dee, she sees another possible connection. Dee's past might be connected to her two cases. 

There is a hidden actor who is also a viewpoint character who is connected to it all. But can Raquel unravel it all in time to save lives? Raquel is an intriguing character. She's neurodivergent and some the skills she uses as a homicide detective are those she honed as a foster child in some really bad homes. 

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