7.29.2026 - Buyer Beware

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Catherine Ryan Howard.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Ellie just moved into a cottage only to find out that someone had come in and made a huge mess.  That's just the beginning of the break-ins and issues.  Ellie just wants to be left alone, but that doesn't seem to happen with such curious neighbors.  We also hear from Erin in the past as well as Hannah, both involved with Jason.  What do these women have in common with 1 Delaney Row?

This was more of a slow-burn mystery but Catherine Ryan Howard is one of my favorites, so of course it kept me glued.  The different timelines and perspectives kept me guessing, along with nosy neighbors and interesting characters.  The house, of course, is its own personality and character, always feeling just this side of creepy.  The ending pulled everything together in a perfect way.

7.29.2026 - Dad, Love, Me

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Avid Reader Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the memoir by Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Memoirs can be tricky, but Quick has nailed this one.  I believe, just as he hoped, that it will have ripple effects on those who read it.  After a traumatic childhood and a difficult relationship with his father, with a successful career, life should be good.  But the one thing we can't run away from his ourselves.  Quick tried alcohol, which numbed things, but didn't help.  Once sober, he struggled with depression and writer's block.  Then his dad's dementia diagnosis forced a whole new life and perspective.  So many kudos to Quick and his wife, for stepping up in a major way when others would have just turned away, with good reason.  This one will make you think that it's never too late to forgive and to repair relationships.

7.27.2026 - The Weight of Sunshine

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and High Frequency Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Robin Maguire.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

We follow along life's trajectories of Nina and Jackson for 5 decades, starting in college.  As the timeline progresses, we meet some of the important people in their lives at that time, for better or worse.  

This is a fabulous debut and it was a privilege to discover a new writer, one that I'm sure we will be hearing more from.  I got lost in this story and these characters, and loved the way it was told.  We hear from the perspectives of many different people, showing the impact others have on our lives.  It shows how decisions made can have ripple effects on future generations.  Just like all our lives, there are difficult relationships, bad decisions, but hopefully in the end love wins out, even in the most unlikely of ways.  There's both humor and sadness, set in atmospheric locations.  Do yourself a favor if you love character-driven novels and pick this one up when it is published tomorrow!

7.25.2026 - Guilty Creatures

  

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books | One Signal Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of this true crime book by Mikita Brottman.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Denise & Mike Williams had been best couple friends with Brian & Kathy Winchester forever, all growing up in the same Southern Baptist community.   Then Mike disappeared while duck hunting and his body never found.  Things got complicated when Brian divorced Kathy and married Denise.  Just what happened decades earlier?

I knew of this story from various documentaries, and I recently read that it will be a new streaming series on Apple TV.  All of that reminded me that I had somehow missed reading this book and it was languishing in my TBR pile.  Even though I knew most of this story, I felt the research and writing of the book was top-notch and I appreciated the sensitivity given to the victim and his mother.  Anxious to watch the series now!

7.25.2026 - Hidden Strangers

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing | Thomas & Mercer for gifting me a digital ARC of the final book in the Dangers Strangers Trilogy by Minka Kent.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

With no where else to go, Camille escapes her husband and her life and flees with her two young children to her estranged mother's home in Chicago.  There, Camille meets Lucinda's new husband, Rob, their daughter Zoey, and even a mysterious tenant living above the garage.  But it doesn't take long before everyone's behavior is suspect and Camille realizes that Zoey is right when she said - everyone lies.  

This has been such an entertaining series - I would definitely recommend reading from the beginning to learn everyone's backstory and the reason for Camille's behavior.  This one took a slow turn in the middle, but the ending more than made up for that.  I wouldn't be sad if there were more to come, but it all came to a very satisfying ending.  Great series!

7.22.2026 - The New People

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Andrea Uptmor.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Newlyweds Emma and Rachel move from Chicago to a conservative Indiana college town when Rachel, a best-selling novelist, gets a job as a tenure-track professor.  Emma is struggling in her job as an adjunct professor at the college, desperate for something to call her own.  The house they bought cheap when the housing bubble burst and the recession hit, seems to have a new issue daily, and Emma feels a strange presence in the house.  Maybe it's because they aren't alone.  Charlotte and Dirk lost the house to foreclosure and are secretly living in the attic above the garage.  Charlotte is desperate to make the new people leave.

This book was fabulous and it's hard to believe it's a debut.  Told from the alternating POV of Emma and Charlotte, it is an emotional read, without ever veering into maudlin or sappy territory.  I felt so invested in these characters, and felt especially bad for Charlotte and Dirk.  They are representative of so many stories from that time, when greed ruled and individuals didn't matter.  It's definitely an exploration of grief and loss, but it's so much more.  It's filled with bright spots, humor, empathy for others, and the ending had me crying happy tears.  I loved this book and highly recommend it - I'm here anxiously awaiting for more from this author!

7.22.2026 - Indie Darling

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the new book by Lauren Nossett with the audiobook perfectly narrated by Amara Jasper.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Kelly Williams is a private investigator in Nashville who only takes women for clients.  Her latest client, Sarah-Faith, comes to her after receiving threatening messages, and Kelly soon realizes that she is better known as Seraph, the lead singer of the indie music sensation The Garden Snakes.  After an incident at a performance, Kelly is soon pulled into a dangerous web of secrets and lies.

So creative and inventive - I loved the Nashville music scene as well as the lyrics that give hints to the story.  This one is a little hard to review without inadvertently giving anything away, but it's a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.  Then, once you're done reading, be sure and check out the author's website for a final clue!  Kelly was such a great main character - I'd love to see this be the start of a series featuring her investigations.  The narrator did a great job voicing all the characters.