Dissection of a Murder

 

She's defending the case. He's prosecuting it. They're married.

It's her first murder trial. The prosecutor sitting across the courtroom is her husband, the man who trained her to do this job. Yeah. I was in.

Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray follows Leila Reynolds, a barrister handed a case way above her experience level: defending a former client accused of killing a well respected judge. The catch is everywhere. The client wants her and only her, and he won't talk. Her husband Julian is the lead prosecutor, posh and seasoned and exactly the opponent you don't want in your first big trial. And the tension doesn't stay in the courtroom. It follows them home.

Jo Murray is a former barrister and it shows. The legal details feel real without ever getting bogged down in procedure. The pace never sags, which is genuinely hard to pull off in a legal thriller. There's an unreliable narrator (you know how I feel about those 👏) plus a mysterious Witness X whose chapters run alongside Leila's with an agenda all their own. I blew through it.

The narrator is Joanne Froggatt, who you'll know from Downton Abbey, and she is phenomenal. She takes a sharp story and sharpens it further. Leila's composure, the parts she's hiding, and the control underneath all of it, comes alive in how Froggatt reads her. This was a binge, mostly because the plot and that voice were such a good pairing.

I won't say a word about the ending except that it landed for me. Some readers might not like on it, and that's fair. Go in knowing as little as possible and let it work on you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Perfect for legal thriller fans, domestic suspense readers, and anyone who loves a courtroom story with real bite. Out now.

If you liked this review, you might be interested in Fifty Fifty, a high stakes legal thriller by Steve Cavanagh.

About the Author

Jo Murray grew up in Teesside, England, during the ’90s, when working-class girls were told they probably shouldn’t try to become barristers. Thankfully, she ignored everyone. After studying Classics at Newcastle University, she went to law school and was a criminal barrister before leaving the profession to look after her two children. She lives in North Yorkshire.

Follow Jo on Instagram for news and information about her book.

Man of My Dreams

 

🎧 Pub Week Audiobook Review 🎧

She wrote the perfect man into her next book. Then she met him in real life. Then things got weird.

Man of My Dreams might be the most fun I've had with a thriller so far this summer, and it's not even technically summer yet.

Ivy Harcourt is a bestselling romance author drowning in second-book imposter syndrome. Then she rescues a runaway dog in the park and runs straight into Liam: charming, British, hot architect Liam, who happens to be the exact love interest she's writing into her next book. Like he walked off the page and into her life. They fall fast, but he might be too perfect. He might be hiding something. And Ivy has secrets of her own.

This is a romantic popcorn thriller in the best sense. Fast-paced, twisty, and so entertaining I tore through it. Worley tells it in a dual timeline, with flashbacks to Ivy's childhood narrated by her sister Cora, who grew up with an autoimmune disease so severe she couldn't leave the house or be around anyone outside her immediate family. That thread gets darker and more interesting as Cora grows up and grows resentful, and it pays off in an ending that goes fully unhinged. Olivia Worley really knows how to write an unhinged woman, and I say that with full respect and admiration. I loved it. Did I see where it was headed once I finally clicked into the twist? Yeah, a little. Did it matter even slightly? Not at all.

Gail Shalan absolutely nails the narration. Every character has a distinct voice, and I never once got confused between Ivy and Cora, which matters a lot in a dual-timeline story. Nine and a half hours flew by.

If you like meet-cutes gone very wrong, boyfriends as unreliable as your narrators, family secrets, witty banter, and the kind of female lead who keeps you guessing, this one's for you. It’s great choice for Olivia Worley fans, romantic suspense readers, and anyone who wants a fast, twisty book to throw in the beach bag. This is a pool read, plain and simple. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted listen. Man of My Dreams is out now.

If you liked this review, you might enjoy another book by Olivia Worley - So Happy Together.

About the Author

Olivia Worley is an author born and raised in New Orleans. A graduate of Northwestern University, she now lives in New York City, where she spends her time writing thrillers, overanalyzing episodes of The Bachelor, and hoping someone will romanticize her for reading on the subway.

Keep up with news and information about Olivia on her website and Instagram.

IG Live | a conversation with Lee Goldberg

 

I didn't expect a murder mystery to make me laugh this much. Lee Goldberg pulled it off.

I went Live with him to talk about Murder by Design, the first book in his new Edison Bixby series, and the conversation was every bit as quick and funny as the book.

Edison Bixby is a former LAPD detective who took a bullet to the face. He survived, but the brain injury left him with zero filter — he says the rudest possible thing in the room every single time. He's also wealthy, brilliant, and now works as an insurance investigator who cracks cases by spotting how the design of a building or a space can make a murder possible.

His first case looks open and shut: a woman falls down a mall staircase in front of dozens of witnesses, all of it caught on video. Everyone sees an accident. Bixby sees a murder by design, where someone quietly engineered her into causing her own death. Pair him with Wally Nash, a broke actor hired mostly to keep Bixby from insulting everyone, and you've got the strangest, most entertaining Holmes-and-Watson duo I've read in ages.

Lee talked about how he got his inspiration for the book from a quote by a famous architect and how he wanted to write a fun and unique detective. He also said he's working on a sequel already. 

It just hit shelves, so the timing couldn't be better. If you like your mysteries clever and a little tongue-in-cheek, this is your next read.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me today, Lee. I really appreciate it and I'm already looking forward to the sequel!

You can watch the replay of our conversation here. Check out my full review of Murder by Design here.

You can find Lee on Instagram and check out his website for more news about Lee and his books.

IG Live | a conversation with Andromeda Romano-Lax

 

Some thrillers entertain you. This one stays with you long after you finish. 

I went Live with Andromeda Romano-Lax to talk about What Boys Learn. The conversation got just as intense as her book. In a good way, of course. 

Abby Rosso is a high school counselor and a single mom raising her teenage son in a wealthy Chicago suburb. Then two teenage girls are found dead over one weekend, and Abby starts to suspect her own son is tangled up in it. Maybe even responsible.

It's a psychological thriller, but it's really chewing on something bigger. How well do we actually know the people we love the most, and how far would a mother go before she let herself believe the worst?

Andromeda talked how one of her previous books, The Deepest Lake, sparked What Boys Learn. 

If you've got a thriller lover in your life, or you're raising boys yourself, this is the one to put in their hands next.

You can watch the replay of our conversation here. Check out my review of What Boys Learn here. 

You can find Andromeda on Instagram and on Substack.

Ironwood

 

Ironwood by Michael Connelly is the second book in his Catalina Island series featuring Sergeant Stilwell, a mainland cop exiled to a tiny island sheriff's post who has no interest in leaving. When a drug sting at the Catalina airport goes sideways, the story takes off and rarely slows down. 

Stillwell is a tenacious investigator. He'll sidestep orders from his boss to find answers. His curiosity and instincts lead him from an item sitting in the station's lost-and-found to a serial killer. 

My favorite part was the crossover. Renée Ballard arrives to investigate a cold case connected to bones discovered on the island, bringing one of Connelly's other series into the mix. It's the kind of crossover that makes his entire universe feel connected.

Will Damron's narration is excellent and made this one incredibly easy to binge.

Can you read it as a standalone? Absolutely. Should you start with Nightshade first? Probably.

Am I a Connelly fangirl? Also yes. But I’d be giving this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ either way. Ironwood is out now. 

This is perfect for fans of police procedurals, crime fiction, and anyone already living somewhere in the Connelly universe.

If you liked this review, you might be interested in Wild Instinct, another police procedural set in California.

About the Author

Michael Connelly is the author of thirty-eight previous novels, including #1 New York Times bestsellers Desert Star, The Dark Hours, and The Law of Innocence. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series, the Lincoln Lawyer series, and the Renée Ballard series, have sold more than eighty million copies worldwide. Connelly is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels. He is the executive producer of three television series: Bosch, Bosch: Legacy, and The Lincoln Lawyer. He spends his time in California and Florida.

IG Live | a conversation with Amin Ahmad

 

IG Live with author Amin Ahmad

Some books just make for great conversation. This was one of them.

I had there great pleasure of talking with author Amin Ahmad this morning. We talked about A Killer in the Family, his ultra-wealthy immigrant family at the center of the story, the Succession-meets-Crazy Rich Asians vibe, and his inspiration for Abbas Kahn the head the of family, his writing process, and joy he gets from teaching creative writing at the college level.

Amin was such a genuinely warm and thoughtful guest. One of those conversations where an hour flies by.

If you haven't picked this one up yet, you should.It's a twisty thriller wrapped around a really sharp look at power, family secrets, and the American dream. The kind of book that keeps you second-guessing everyone. A Killer in the Family is out now.

You can watch the replay of our conversation here. And if you missed my review of A Killer in the Family, you can find it here.

About the Author

Amin Ahmad was raised in India and came to the United States at the age of seventeen. He worked as an architect for many years before turning to writing. He teaches creative writing at Duke University and lives in Durham, North Carolina with his family and a very mischievous cat.

Follow Amin on Instagram. For news and information on Amin and his books, visit his website.

The Tuxedo Society

 

Be gay. Do espionage. Save the world.

A down-on-his-luck actor thinks he’s going to a fancy dinner. He’s actually being recruited into America’s most fabulous covert operation.

The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick is the most fun I’ve had with an audiobook in a long time, and I need everyone to know about it.

Andrew, a struggling actor and candle shop employee, is invited by his best friend Brock to what he assumes is just a really nice dinner with a group of very gay, very stylish guys. What it actually is? An introduction to the Tuxedo Society: a secret government intelligence network made up entirely of LGBTQ+ members. Licensed to kill. Impeccably dressed.

From the White House to the Vatican to the Summer Olympic Games, Andrew ends up tackling spies, thwarting assassinations, and facing off against oligarchs, crooked senators, and a smarmy televangelist with sinister plans for world domination.  Oh, and at one point he has to pose as a US Olympic diver and actually dive in competition. It’s exactly as chaotic and hilarious as it sounds.

This book is completely over the top, and it knows it. That’s the whole point. The characters are all wildly likable: Andrew, Brock, Reggie the Navy SEAL with a black-tie obsession, and a First Lady who also happens to be a world-leading archaeologist. The pace never lets up. The wit is sharp. The social commentary sneaks up on you in the middle of all the absurdity.

Narrator Daniel Henning is pitch-perfect. There are a lot of characters to track and I never lost a single one. That’s not easy to pull off.

If you’ve been looking for a summer read that’s pure, unapologetic fun, this is it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted early listen. The Tuxedo Society is out today!

For more laughs with an LGBTQ+ lead, check out my review of I Might Be in Trouble.

About the Author

Paul Rudnick is the author of What Is Wrong With You? and Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. His plays have been produced on and off Broadway and include Jeffrey, I Hate Hamlet, Regrets Only, and The New Century. He is the author of eight books, and he’s a frequent contributor to The New Yorker; his writing has also appeared in Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and more. His screenplays include Addams Family Values, Coastal Elites, In & Out, Sister Act, and the film adaptation of Jeffrey. Find more information about Paul and his work at his website.