The White Crow

 

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted audiobook! Happy #thrillerthursday book pals! 

I love a good police procedural. I was happy when Michael Robotham’s The White Crow published earlier this month. It’s the second book in the Philomena McCarthy series. Philomena is a young and ambitious officer in London. But she comes from a family of notorious gangsters. Her career often bumps up against the family business.

In this book, Philomena finds a little girl wandering the streets alone very early in the morning. The girl is soon connected to the robbery of a jewelry store and the murder of her mother.

The police investigation leads back to Philomena‘s father and her uncles. But the pieces of the puzzle don’t add up. Meanwhile, Philomena‘s father and uncles are dealing with an interloper who is disrupting the family business and threatening to take everything. Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

Philomena McCarthy has defied the odds to become a young officer with the Metropolitan Police despite her father and her uncles being notorious London gangsters.

On patrol one night, Philomena finds a barefoot child, covered in blood, who says she can’t wake her mother. Meanwhile, three miles away, a London jeweler has a bomb strapped to his chest in his ransacked store and millions are missing.

These two events collide and threaten Philomena’s career, her new marriage, and her life. In too deep, and falling further, Phil must decide who she can trust—her family or her colleagues—and on what side of the thin blue line she wants to live.

This is a fast paced and intricately plotted story that’s told from multiple points of view. It’s filled with tension and suspense as Philomena races to put all the pieces together. Even though this is the second book in a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone. Katy Sobey does an excellent job with the narration, conveying lots of tension and emotion. I’m definitely recommending this one. This is a great police procedural featuring a strong female main character. I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series. 

Do you like to binge read a series all at once or read as it’s published? 

#thewhitecrow #michaelrobotham #simonaudio #policeprocedural #thrillerbooks 

About the Author

Michael Robotham is a former investigative journalist whose bestselling psychological thrillers have been translated into twenty-five languages. He has twice won a Ned Kelly Award for Australia’s best crime novel, for Lost in 2005 and Shatter in 2008. His recent novels include When She Was Good, winner of the UK’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for best thriller; The Secrets She Keeps; Good Girl, Bad Girl; When You Are Mine; Lying Beside You; Storm Child; and The White Crow. After living and writing all over the world, Robotham settled his family in Sydney, Australia.

Welcome to Murder Week

 

Author: Karen Dukess

Narrator: Carlotta Brentan

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2025

Happy Wednesday book friends! Are you a fan of found family trope? Check out Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess. Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted copy! 

Cath, grieving the sudden death of her mostly absentee mother, discovers her mother planned and paid for a trip to a small English village. Cath can’t believe her mother wanted to take her on a week long murder mystery adventure the village is putting on to boost tourism. Cath goes on the trip and ends up discovering more than just whodunnit. Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

When thirty-four-year-old Cath loses her mostly absentee mother, she is ambivalent. With days of quiet, unassuming routine in Buffalo, New York, Cath consciously avoids the impulsive, thrill-seeking lifestyle that her mother once led. But when she’s forced to go through her mother’s things one afternoon, Cath is perplexed to find tickets for an upcoming “murder week” in England’s Peak District: a whole town has come together to stage a fake murder mystery to attract tourism to their quaint hamlet. Baffled but helplessly intrigued by her mother’s secret purchase, Cath decides to go on the trip herself—and begins a journey she never could have anticipated.

Teaming up with her two cottage-mates, both ardent mystery lovers—Wyatt Green, forty, who works unhappily in his husband’s birding store, and Amity Clark, fifty, a divorced romance writer struggling with her novels—Cath sets about solving the “crime” and begins to unravel shocking truths about her mother along the way. Amidst a fling—or something more—with the handsome local maker of artisanal gin, Cath and her irresistibly charming fellow sleuths will find this week of fake murder may help them face up to a very real crossroads in their own lives.

This is the charming and delightful story. It’s a murder mystery without an actual murder. Cath teams up with Wyatt snd Amity to try to solve the pretend murder. They roam the village looking for clues and interviewing “suspects.” Honestly, the whole thing sounded extremely fun. But Cath and her new friends also dive into the mystery of Cath’s mother and why she booked the trip. The village’s mystery has nothing on the mystery of Cath’s mother. It’s an emotional journey for Cath as they uncover surprising truths. Cath also surprises herself with her attraction to the handsome local pub owner. 

This book has a something for everyone. A cleaver fake murder mystery, family secrets, romance, jocular humor provided by Wyatt and Amity, and emotion. This one tugs at the heartstrings as Cath opens herself up to new friends and love while coming to terms with the mystery of her mother. Narrator Carlotta Brentan does a fantastic job voicing the many different characters and bringing the story to life. 

I really don’t know why this book hasn’t gotten the attention from bookstagram that it deserves. Do yourself a favor and pick up this lovely, witty, and heartfelt book asap. 

What’s an underrated book you think deserves more booksta love? 

About the Author

Karen Dukess is the author of The Last Book Partyand Welcome to Murder Week. Karen has been a newspaper reporter in Florida, a magazine publisher in Russia, and a speechwriter on gender equality for the United Nations. She has a degree in Russian studies from Brown University and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. She lives outside of New York City and in Truro on Cape Cod, where she interviews some of today’s most acclaimed writers as host of the Castle Hill Author Talks for the Truro Center for the Arts.

Fiend

 

Author: Alma Katsu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publication date: September 16, 2025

Happy Tuesday bookish friends!Thank you GP Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the e-arc! 

What do you get when you cross the Roy family from the show Succession with the supernatural? You get author Alma Katsu upcoming book Fiend. It comes out September 16. 

Zef Berisha is the patriarch of a massively successful import export company. The family and their company have been in business for generations and are staggering wealthy. They’ve always been lucky too. Their business rivals always suffer- from illness, natural disasters, or some kind of unexplainable calamity. Zef says their family is blessed and family legend says they have a protector. Oldest son Darden is preparing to be the keeper of the family’s secrets and to take over one day. Middle child Maris thinks she’s better suited to run the company instead of just marrying well. And youngest sibling Nora is basically ignored. When Maris goes against her brother to ingratiate herself with Zef, the family begins to experience unexpected tragedies. 

This a fast paced and entertaining light horror novel that combines family and boardroom drama and backstabbing with the supernatural. The characters are pretty cliched - a cold and distant father, a complacent mother, a son chaffing against family expectations, a daughter who wants daddy’s love and power, and another daughter who’d rather party than do business. The characters and the plot are all pretty surface level. There’s not a lot of depth here. This is definitely a bubblegum book. I could see all the twists and turns coming, but it was still a fun read. Hard core horror fans might find it disappointing, but if you want something filled with family drama with a smidge of supernatural this one fits the bill. 

Do you read horror? If you give me a recommendation. Or what are you reading this week? 

About the Author

Alma Katsu is the award-winning author of eight novels, most recently Red London, The Fervor, and Red Widow. Prior to the publication of her first novel, she had a thirty-five-year career as a senior intelligence analyst for several U.S. agencies, including the CIA and NSA, as well as RAND, the global policy think tank. Katsu is a graduate of the masters writing program at the Johns Hopkins University and received her bachelors degree from Brandeis University. She lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband, where she is a consultant to government and private industry on future trends and analytic methods.

Someone Knows

 

Author: Vi Keeland

Narrators: Leslie Howard and Aiden Snow

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2025

Happy Monday book peeps! Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted audiobook! If you’re looking for a dark and twisty psychological thriller, look no further than Someone Knows by Vi Keeland. 

A NYC English professor returns to her small hometown when she discovers one of her students knows her darkest secret. 

This one is dark, full of suspense, and a little spicy. 🌶️ Elizabeth is suspicious of everyone in town as she tries to figure out who is sending her chapters of a book that details how she killed her high school English teacher twenty earlier to save her best friend Jocelyn. Can she find Jocelyn and figure out who else knows what happened all those years ago? Elizabeth must also untangle her feelings for Noah,a man she’s immediately attracted to, and who’s the son of the man she killed. 

This book kept me on my toes and on the edge of my seat. It’s been awhile since a psychological thriller has kept me this engaged in the story. Keeland keeps the plot moving at fast pace. There’s plenty of secrets to uncover and the list of suspects grows as Elizabeth realizes her closely guarded secret isn’t as safe as she thought it was. Keeland deftly pulls off quite an ending for this addictive and unsettling thriller. Narrator Leslie Howard does a fantastic job. Her performance portrays Elizabeth as tough and vulnerable as she confronts many issues in her past. Pick this one up asap! 

What’s the most recent book you just couldn’t put down? 

About the Author

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-six languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

 

Author: V.E. Schwab 

Narrators: Julia Whelan, Marisa Calin, Katie Leung

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Year: 2025

Happy Thursday book pals! This book needs no introduction since it’s been one of this year’s biggest releases. Of course, there’s been the inevitable comparison between Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Do they have the same vibe? Maybe a little. I think the difference is Addie worked to keep her humanity in spite of her loneliness, while Sabine lost hers all together. I’ve seen some mixed reviews of Bury Our Bones. I really enjoyed it. Did I love it like I loved Addie LaRue? No, but that’s ok. Bones pulled me right in. Schwab’s writing is beautiful and atmospheric. The characters were great. I loved the shifting timeline and how it all came crashing together at the end. The narration by Julia Whelan, Marisa Calin, and Katie Leung was excellent. This is a big sweeping story that spans generations and pulls the reader along for the ride. 

I would really love a sequel to find out how Alice copes with being a vampire. Unlike Sabine and Lottie, Alice wasn’t desperate to escape a marriage or change her life. What book do you think needs a sequel because you want to know what happens to a character beyond the original story? 

About the Author

Victoria “V. E.” Schwab is the #1 New York Timesbestselling author of more than twenty books. Schwab's series and standalone titles for readers of all ages have made her a major literary figure, whose notable works include the Villains series, the Shades of Magic universe, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. When not haunting Paris streets or writing in the corner of her favorite coffee shop, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Doorman

 

Author: Chris Pavone

Publisher: MCD

Year: 2025

Happy Wednesday book lovers! What do you do when a new book by an author you like disappoints you? Do you consider it a one off and give them another chance or is it a break up? Asking for a friend. It’s me. I’m the friend. I was looking forward to Chris Pavone’s latest book The Doorman. I’ve like his previous books. And you know I’m always down for a good rich people behaving badly story. The summary for this new book sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. 

Most of the characters in this one were very one dimensional. The only character I liked was Chicky. He felt the most realistic. The other characters just felt like stereotypes. Emily is the always the seemly perfect wife and mother. Her husband is the typical ultra wealthy villain. Their neighbor Julian felt like a woe-is-me-sad-sack. I thought the set up took way too long. Most of the book felt more like character study instead of a thriller. And then there’s just a weird political vibe. That’s the only way I can describe it. It fluctuates between bashing the too woke agenda and at other times skewers the conservative right. I think it was supposed to be some kind of think piece on clashing politics, race, and wealth. But it all sort of just fizzled out. The ending felt incredibly rushed for as long as it took to set up. It was a satisfying ending though, but overall an unsatisfying book for me. 

#librarybook #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #lovemylibrary #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #richpeoplebehavingbadly 

About the Author

Chris Pavone is the author of The Paris Diversion, The Travelers, The Accident, and The Expats. His novels have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal; have won both the Edgar and Anthony awards; are in development for film and television; and have been translated into two dozen languages. Chris grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Cornell, and worked as a book editor for nearly two decades. He lives in New York City and on the North Fork of Long Island with his family.

Death at the White Hart

 

Author: Chris Chibnall

Narrator: Jessica Gunning

Publisher: Penguin Audio 

Year: 2025

Happy Tuesday bookish friends! There’s just something about a police procedural set in a small English village. In Chris Chibnall’s Death at the White Hart, a picturesque coastal village is rocked when one of their own is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road, with deer antlers attached to his head. A bizarre and disturbing scene.

Det. Nicola Bridge, still reeling from her husband’s infidelity, and novice DC Harry Ward are on the case. I really liked this pairing. Nicola is a skilled officer with big city experience. She and her family returned to her small hometown in an attempt to start fresh. Harry is younger and inexperienced, but eager to learn. The duo have a wide list of suspects- basically the whole village. The pace of the investigation is steady with plenty of red herrings and twists and turns. I listened to the audiobook and I was a bit overwhelmed keeping track of the characters at first, but I quickly figured out who was who. Jessica Gunning’s narration was great and very enjoyable. I highly recommend this one. It’s a quick read with a cast of interesting characters and a beguiling mystery. 

What’s more dangerous: an unsolved mystery or a village that refuses to talk about it? Why? 

About the Author: 

Chris Chibnall is a BAFTA-, Peabody-, and Royal Television Society-Award winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright. He is the creator of the internationally acclaimed Broadchurch. Chibnall was also the showrunner of the BBC’s Doctor Who. He has honorary doctorates from Edge Hill University and Sheffield Hallam University. Chibnall lives in West Dorset, England.

Never Flinch

 

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2025

I think it’s time for the good people of Buckeye City and Mr. Stephen King to burn Mingo Auditorium to the ground. Clearly the place is haunted or cursed and it’s a magnet for killers. It’s time to turn the page and start anew. I like Holly Gibney and have  enjoyed watching her character grow over time, but this new adventure is just kind of boring with a side of messy.

A serial killer is stalking the greater Buckeye City area. It’s not Holly’s case, but she’s interested in it and has thoughts about it. Her actual case is being bodyguard for an outspoken women’s rights activist who’s on a multi-state speaking tour. Someone’s targeting her and things are starting to escalate. So Holly goes on a boring road trip with the unlikable speaker and her overworked personal assistant. Meanwhile Buckeye City is all a flutter because the police department and the fire department are holding a charity softball game and it involves a lot of trash talking. At the same time, the notorious Mingo will kickoff the tour of a famous gospel singer. The gospel singer takes Holly’s pal Barbara the poet under her wing, invites her to join the tour as a backup singer, turns one of Barbara’s poems into a song, and insists Barbara sing it with her as a duet. She also wants Barbara to join her tour. That seemed like a lot. 

Anyway, all the story lines come crashing together at an abandoned hockey rink close to the Mingo. But it’s still all the Mingo’s fault. It should be demolished and Mr. King needs take a break from Holly and the gang for a while because Holly deserves better than this. 

I can’t think of a QOTD. So tell me something interesting or a weird fact you know. 

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York TimesNotable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties(cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles TimesBook Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

American Sky

 

Author: James Grady

Publisher: Pegasus Books

Year: 2025

Thank you Booksparks, author James Grady, and Pegasus Books for the #src2025 #gifted book!

American Sky follows Luc, a small town Montana teen, through his high school and college years. In that brief time, Luc and the country witness sweeping changes across America. From the JFK assassination, to the moon landing, the Viet Nam War, to Kent State, to the Summer of Love. 

Luc is a great main character. He’s kind of nerdy. He’s not an athlete, but rides the bench for the football team just to prove to himself and others that he’s tough enough. He’s smart, polite, and friendly. His life revolves around school, after school and summer jobs, his friends, and girls. He’s a kid trying to make sense of a quickly changing world and his place in it. 

Grady’s storytelling is powerful and his writing really conveys the frantic feeling of teenage years. The chapters are short. The sentences are even shorter often jumping from an inner thought to spoken dialogue. It gives off big teen energy of trying to think of the right thing to say or do before just blurting something out or making the wrong move. The setting is small town America all the way. Everybody knows everyone’s business, things happen, and certain things never get talked about. And Luc is just trying to figure it all out. 

Pick this one up for:

☮️ a sweeping coming of age story

☮️ a very well written and likable main character 

☮️ the turbulent time period of the 1960s

☮️ a book that perfectly captures a unique moment in time in a country that’s facing uncertain ltimes, the horrors or war, changing social norms, and yet somehow still clings to optimism

☮️ a story about growing up and getting out

Do you read historical fiction? Do you have a particular time period that interests you? 

#americansky #jamesgrady #hisoricalfiction #comingofagestory 

#montana #literaryfiction 

About the Author

James Grady’s first novel Six Days Of The Condor became the classic Robert Redford movie Three Days Of The Condor and the current Max Irons TV series Condor. Grady has received Italy’s Raymond Chandler Award, France’s Grand Prix Du Roman Noir,Japan’s Baka-Misu literature award, two Regardie's magazine short story awards, and been a Mystery Writers of America Edgar finalist. He's published more than a dozen novels and three times that many short stories, been a muckraker journalist, and a scriptwriter for film and television. In 2008, London’s Daily Telegraph named Grady as one of the “50 crime writers to read before you die.” In 2015, The Washington Post compared his prose to George Orwell and Bob Dylan.