Somebody Worth Killing

 

Mommy tracked.

By her assassin agency.

An assassin who only kills bad guys AND is a devoted mom? I was sold on page one. In Somebody Worth Killing by Jessica Payne, Nadia Davis is a devoted mom, loving wife, and a hired assassin who only takes out certified bad guys.  She’s got a code, a handler, and a school pickup schedule to juggle.

When Nadia discovers she’s been sidelined for bigger jobs because she’s a mom, she pushes back and demands a real assignment. What she gets is a mark she never saw coming. It's her own husband. 

The premise alone had me in. It delivered. Nadia is a genuinely great character. She's a devoted, loving mom who also happens to be a psychopath, and she knows it. The humor is woven in naturally, and the pacing builds steadily without feeling rushed.

My one complaint: the early chapters repeat Nadia’s backstory a few too many times. Once the plot really kicks in, though, I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down.

This is the perfect popcorn thriller. It's light on the darkness, heavy on the fun. Think Finlay Donovan vibes with a dash of Dexter. If you want something entertaining without needing a true crime recovery period after, this is your book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the gifted ARC! Somebody Worth Killing publishes June 16th.

If you enjoyed this review, you may be interested in A Sociopath's Guide to Murder.

About the Author

Jessica Payne lives in Washington State with her daughter and husband and an internet search history that would raise eyebrows. A firm believer in strong coffee and stronger women, she writes about mothers who know how to handle a sniper rifle and a carpool schedule with equal precision. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her trail running through the forests of the Pacific Northwest as she plots her next fictional murder. She is the creator of the Substack community One Tired Mother.

Best Offer Wins

 

Zillow obsession, but make it unhinged. 🏡

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino is one of the most fun, chaotic listens I’ve had in a while. What starts as a painfully relatable housing market struggle quickly spirals into something much darker and a lot more unhinged.

Margo Miyake has lost 11 bidding wars and she is done. When she gets a tip about an off-market house in the perfect neighborhood, she inserts herself into the sellers’ lives and things spiral fast. 

Watching her scheme and plot and rationalize increasingly unhinged behavior is equal parts hilarious and unsettling.

What makes Margo work as a character is that Kashino uses the house-hunting obsession to subtly examine the issues of race and class. This gives Margo more depth than you’d expect and makes her easier to root for than you probably should.

Narrator Cia Court is exceptional here. Her performance is controlled and sharp, which perfectly mirrors Margo’s increasingly desperate spiral. The pacing had a few uneven moments, but they didn’t derail my enjoyment at all. This was a bookstagram FOMO read for me and it lived up to the hype. It’s is a terrific debut. I’ll be looking forward to what comes next from Kashino. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re a fan of complicated, hard-to-root-for women, go read my review of In Her Defense next.

The Hat Man

 

Author: Greg Marchand

Publication date: March 1, 2025

Thank you Booktoktours and author Greg Marchand for the review copy of Greg’s latest book The Hat Man. 

The Hat Man is the atmospheric and creepy horror thriller. Set on a small island off the coast of Alabama, a vicious supernatural killer is unwitting unleashed. Sadie watches as the mysterious being kills her dog with a breath of smoke. As other more brutal murders occur, Sadie vows to get revenge on the spectral man wearing a tall hat and Victorian era coat. Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

After leaving her fiancé and quitting her job, veterinarian student Sadie Burrows meets with friends at a rental cabin on coastal Alabama’s Ward Island. Instead of a peaceful weekend, Sadie experiences devastation. A shadowy figure at the edge of the forest kills her best friend—her Australian Shepherd, Buddy—with a breath of smoke. The event leaves the once-reserved woman with a foggy memory of a tall man in a bowler hat and gentleman’s coat… and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

As she strives to lift the veil that shrouds the assailant’s identity, she learns he is indicated in other very recent and brutal murders on the island named for its previous Victorian owners. What’s more is GoPro footage from one of the killings, visions from a Seer boy in the Louisiana swamps, and a memoir Sadie finds in the Ward’s abandoned mansion leads her to the realization that he is not of this world and has a surreal connection to the Hat Man sleep-paralysis phenomenon and to one of the world’s oldest urban legends, that of Spring-Heeled Jack.

With help from a local fishing charter captain, a witch-proficient police officer, and her two faithful friends, Sadie will either see to the destruction of the so-called Hat Man or die trying.

I really enjoyed this fast paced mix of horror and thriller. Sadie went from a down on her luck main character to a brave kick butt heroine looking for revenge. I’d be motived for revenge too if something or something harmed one of my dogs. I really liked how the author incorporated the urban legend of Spring-Heeled Jack, a sleep paralysis demon, into the story. This is a quick read that you can binge in a day. It offers lots of bloody scares, a cryptic and menacing killer, and a main character you’ll definitely root for. This is a perfect book to pick up during spooky season.

Do you have a favorite urban legend? 

We always told stories about the maniacal killer with a hook for a hand when we were kids. 

#thehatman #gregmarchand #booktour #horrorfiction #springheeledjack #urbanlegend 

About the Author

Greg Marchand is a Western Kentucky University Alum, U.S. Army veteran, and former Yellowstone sous chef living on Alabama's Gulf Coast. Vivid descriptions of natural scenery and clever twists highlight his supernatural and sometimes horrifying stories. Marchand’s accolades include a glowing Kirkus Review, five-star Readers’ Favorite reviews, a Screencraft’s Cinematic Book Semi-finalist qualification, and Garth Brooks waved at him once. The Indiana-born author’s dream is to have one of his stories made into a movie or television series.

The Secret Van Tams

Author: Carly Bishop

Publisher: Valente Press

Year: 2025

 

🚨Book Tour🚨

Thank you Carly Bishop and @novel.tours for inviting me to be part of the book tour for The Secret Van Tams! 

This is a multigenerational family drama that has a bit of mystery. Remi has spent her life longing for family she didn’t have. Her grandmother had been killed in a freak accident years ago or so Remi’s mother has said. When Remi discovers her grandmother is really alive, her whole world is turned upside. Here’s the full summary from the publisher: 

Twenty-one-year-old Remi wants nothing more than a family. She's an only child who feels suffocated by her wealthy, overbearing mother and haunted by the story of how her grandmother, Johanna, died - a death described as grisly and unfortunate.

But when she learns that Johanna is alive, and that her mother is now missing, so begins a quest for the Van Tams and the uncovering of toxic secrets that will leave her wondering whether family was what she wanted after all.

This book is filled with family drama and secrets. Remi and her mom often have a tense relationship. When Remi connects with her aunt and discovers her grandmother is still alive, she begins a journey to meet her grandmother and uncover the truth surrounding long buried family secrets. This was a steadily paced book filled with twists and turns. I really liked Remi. She’s a girl a verge of adulthood who decides to be brave and defy her mother to find her grandmother. But Remi ends up finding so much more. 

The Secret Van Tams is out now. Pick this one up if you’re in the mood for a coming of age road trip filled with family dysfunction and intrigue. 

#thesecretvantams #carlybishop #booktour #contemporaryfiction  #familydrama #noveltours #debutnovel

About the Author

Carly Bishop lives outside London with her family. The Secret Van Tams is her debut novel. 

Beneath the Sicilian Stars

 

Author: Lindsay Marie Morris

Publisher: Storm Books

Year: 2025

Thank you Lindsay Marie Morris,  Storm Books and Novel Tours for including me on this book tour for Under the Sicilian Stars! The book is available now. 

The book flows an Italian family divided by WWII. One branch of the family is in America. The other branch  is in Italy. Both families encounter devastating consequences of the war. Here’s the summary from the publisher: 

1941, Pittsburg, California. Sixteen-year-old Annalisa Aiello huddles around the radio with her family when a special announcement shatters her world: Pearl Harbor has been bombed – where her brother is stationed on the USS Arizona. After the United States declares war, Annalisa watches in horror as her father, a Sicilian fisherman, is arrested as an "enemy alien". Grappling with grief and harsh wartime restrictions, Annalisa is forced to undertake an unexpected journey across the country to find her father and uncover the sacrifices of the past.

Meanwhile, in war-torn Sicily, her cousin Alberto navigates bombing raids as ancient fishing traditions crumble around him. But the forces tearing this family apart began decades earlier with a desperate choice made on a Sicilian shore – a secret pact sealed beneath the stars that promised a brighter future across the sea.

As Annalisa searches for her father and Alberto seeks his place in a changing world, they both discover that even in the darkest times, hope for a better future can endure.

This story pulled me right in and I flew through it! There’s family drama, the hardship and devastation of the war, determination, and love. This is an atmospheric and well researched historical fiction novel. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings. The story unfolds through alternating chapters set in the U.S. and Italy and has a steady pace. 

Definitely pick this one up if you’re looking for an emotional journey of resilience, family, and love. 

Do you like historical fiction? Do you have a particular time period you like to read about? 

#beneaththesicilianstars #lindsaymariemorris #stormbooks #noveltours #booktour #historicalfiction #wwiifiction #familydrama 

About the Author

Lindsay Marie Morris is a novelist and journalist. Based in Los Angeles, she brings a dynamic storytelling voice to every project, whether she's crafting historical fiction set in Italy or reporting on health, wellness, travel, and small business for modern readers. A graduate of Marquette University with a B.A. in Communications, Lindsay began her editorial career in magazine publishing, serving as travel editor at Shape magazine before expanding into digital media, editorial project management, and non-profit marketing and communications. Her work has appeared in Forks Over Knives, The Chicago Tribune, and other publications. 

Mississippi Blue 42

 

Author: Eli Cranor

Publisher: SoHo Press

Publication date: August 5, 2025

Must a talented athlete make a deal with the devil to make his dream come true? 

Long before the landscape of college sports changed with the advent of the NIL and transfer portal, there were bagmen. Shady figures who made sure superstar college athletes got money- bags full of money. In Mississippi Blue 42, Rae Johnson, a hard charging rookie FBI agent, is assigned to investigate illicit money flowing through a small college town with a team looking to repeat as national champion. Rae’s investigation isn’t as easy as she thought it was going to be-especially when the star quarterback dies next to a bag full of money. Was it an accident or murder? 

Cranor delivers a fast paced story filled with over the top characters. The head coach is an empty-headed chameleon who’s more interested in bible verses and his next gig. The local sheriff is a bully who’ll cover up any crimes necessary. The bagman will go to any extent to help the team- even pimping out his own daughter. And the man who keeping the wheels greased and machine running is a shadowy politician. 

Beyond the farcical characters and the craziness of college football is Carnor’s examination of poverty, racism, and chasing dreams. Cranor’s a master storyteller who knows how to entertain and make the reader look at uncomfortable truths. He definitely delivers a game winner with this book. 

Mississippi Blue 42 is out August 5. Thank you SoHo Press and NetGalley for the ARC. 

#mississippiblue42 #elicranor #sohopress #netgalley #crimefiction #collegefootball #contemporaryfiction #mysteriesandthrillers #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bagman #collegesports 

Madame Pommery

 

Author: Rebecca Rosenberg

Narrator: Katherine Anderson

Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing

Year: 2024

🥂𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿🥂

Thank you @bookandwinelovers and 

@rebeccarosenbergnovelist for the #giftedcopy audiobook. 

Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and mother of two, must support her family after the death of her husband. In the Champagne region of France in 1860, that is no easy task. Madame Pommery decides, with no experience, to convert her husband’s small wine making business to making champagne. When she gets no help from others in the champagne business, Madame Pommery forges ahead and learns the intricacies of making champagne.

She perseveres through war and occupation, keeping her business going when most of her workers were conscripted into the army. She ignored the naysayers and created brute (dry) champagne which became wildly popular. She trusted her instincts, creating an innovative & incredibly successful business. 

This is a well researched and entertaining book. I could tell author Rebecca Rosenberg did a deep dive into the time period, the events taking place, and the intricacies of making champagne. It all comes together in  an extremely engaging look at the life of a trailblazing woman. Katherine Anderson provides a wonderful narration, really bringing the woman and the story to life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read this one if you’re looking for: 

🍾 Historical fiction

🍾Strong female character 

🍾Family drama

🍾A little romance 

Madame Pommery is available now in all formats. 

QOTD: Have you ever been to France?  If so, what did you love about it?

I’ve never been, but would love to go. 

#bookandwinelovers #bookandwineloversmarketing #booktours #bookstagram #audiobooktour #audiobook #france #historicalfiction  #historicalfrenchfiction #rebeccarosenberg

#madamepommery #champagnewidowsseries #champagne #author #authorofinstagram #bookclubpick #wine 

Book Tour-The Scandalous Hamiltons

 

Author: Bill Shaffer

Publisher: Kensington Publishing 

Year: 2022

🎊 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 🎊

Thank you @kensingtonpublishing @BetweentheChapters & @tlcbookktours for my #gifted copy & having me on this tour. Can’t wait to start this! It’s perfect for fans of The Gilded Age & Inventing Anna! It published tomorrow so be sure to grab a copy. 

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: An Alexander Hamilton heir, a beautiful female con artist, an abandoned baby, & the shocking courtroom drama that was splashed across front pages from coast to coast—this is the fascinating true story behind one of the greatest scandals of the Gilded Age . . .


It’s a story almost too tawdry to be true—a con woman prostitute who met the descendant of a Founding Father in a brothel, duped him into marriage using an infant purchased from a baby farm, then went to prison for stabbing the couple’s baby nurse—all while in a common-law marriage with another man. The scandal surrounding Evangeline and Robert Ray Hamilton, though little known today, was one of the sensations of the Gilded Age, a sordid, gripping tale involving bigamy, bribery, sex, and violence.

When the salacious Hamilton story emerged in during Eva’s trial for the August 1889 stabbing, it commanded unprecedented national and international newspaper coverage thanks to the telegraph and the recently founded Associated Press. For the New York dailies, eager to capture readers through provocative headlines, Ray and Eva were a godsend.

As lurid details emerged, the public’s fascination grew—how did a man of Hamilton’s stature become entangled with such an adventuress? Nellie Bly, the world-famous investigative reporter, finagled an exclusive interview with Eva after her conviction. Hamilton’s death under mysterious circumstances, a year after the stabbing, added to the intrigue.

Through personal correspondence, court records, and sensational newspaper accounts, The Scandalous Hamiltons explores not only the full, riveting saga of ill-fated Ray and Eva, but the rise of tabloid journalism and celebrity in a story that is both a fascinating slice of pop culture history and a timeless tale of ambition, greed, and obsession. 

QOTD: what are you reading this week? 

I’m reading Lessons in Chemistry and loving it.

#thescandaloushamiltons #billshaffer #kensingtonpublishing #betweenthechapters #tlcbooktours #gildedage #hamilton #conartist #scandal #nelliebly #tabloidjournalsim #truthisstrangerthanfiction

The Woman Underwater

 

🎊 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫 🎊

Thank you to Secret Harbor Press author @pennygoetjenmysteryauthor and @prbythebook for inviting me to be part of this tour and the #giftedcopy of The Woman Underwater. This looks like a perfect contemporary mystery to read by the pool or on the beach this summer. 

Here’s the synopsis: 

No one disappears without a trace....

Don't try to tell Victoria Sands that time heals all wounds. It doesn't work that way for a woman who's lost her husband the way she did. She was never able to say goodbye. Never able to arrange a memorial. Receive friends at the service. Write thank-you notes for the flowers and donations sent in his name. Because it didn't happen that way.

Victoria's husband never returned home at the end of a work day. And no one seems to know what happened to him.

In the seven years since his disappearance, no witnesses have stepped forward and no credible evidence has been collected-not even his car. The few tenuous leads the police had are now ice cold. He simply vanished on a field trip with the private boarding school where he taught behind stone walls-the same school their son now attends.

But someone has to know what happened. And that someone may be closer to Victoria than she realizes.

I can’t wait to dive into this atmospheric mystery that features a strong female main character. The Woman Underwater publishes on July 26th, so make sure you add it to your #TBR. 

QOTD: How’s everyone doing? 

I’m good, just been busy with stuff. 

#TheWomanUnderwater #contemporaryfiction #mystery #bookstagram #pennygoetjen #disappearance #igreads #TBR #giftedcopy #booksbooksbooks #booknerd #alwaysreading #greatful #somanybookssolittletime #bibliophile #readerlife #suspensefiction #mysteryfiction #publishingsoon

The Mozart Code

 

Author: Rachel McMillan

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Year: 2022

🎹 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 🎹

Thank you Thomas Nelson, Rachel McMillan, and TLC Book Tours for the gifted copy and having me on this tour. 

𝑵𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅.

Lady Sophia Huntington Villiers is no stranger to intrigue, as her work with Alan Turing’s Bombe Machines at Bletchley Park during the war attests. Now, as part of Simon Barre’s covert team in post-war Vienna, she uses her inimitable charm and code name Starling to infiltrate the world of relics: uncovering vital information that could tilt the stakes of the mounting Cold War. When several influential men charge her with finding the death mask of Mozart, Sophie wonders if there is more than the composer’s legacy at stake and finds herself drawn to potential answers in Prague.

Simon Barrington, the illegitimate heir of one of Sussex’s oldest estates, used the previous war to hide his insecurities about his past. Now, he uses his high breeding to gain access to all four allied quarters of the ruined city in an attempt to slow the fall of the Iron Curtain. He has been in love with Sophie Villiers since the moment he met her, and a marriage of convenience to save Simon’s estate has always kept her close. Until now, when Sophie’s mysterious client in Prague forces him to wonder if her allegiance to him—and their cause—is in question. Torn between his loyalty to his cause and his heart, Simon seeks answers about Sophie only to learn that everything he thought he knew about his involvement in both wars is based on a lie.

I love that this book is set after the end of WWII and at the start of the Cold War. Such a unique time period for the setting. Can’t wait to dive into this book and get lost in post-war Vienna. 

Do you like historical fiction?

The time period and espionage aspect of this book really appeals to me. 

#themozartcode #rachelmcmillan #thomasnelsonpublishing #tlcbooktours #historicalfiction #vienna #cityofmusic #coldwar #postwwii #mozart #austria #prague #espionage #bookfeature #booktour #bibliophile #alwaysreading

Ink and Shadows

 

Author: Ellery Adams

Publisher: Kensington Books

Year: 2021

📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒓 📚

Thank you @kensingtonbooks @elleryadamsofficial & @tlcbooktours for the #gifted copy & having me on the tour! 

How could I not be interested in a book about a book-selling former librarian who solves murders?! 

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘆 𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿--𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱…

Known for her window displays, Nora Pennington decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda & Madeline Miller’s Circe for Halloween. But a family-values group disapproves of the magical themes & wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora & Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who’s been selling CBD oil products.

Nora & her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife--but then someone puts an end to a life. Declared an accident, the ruling can’t explain the old book page covered with strange symbols and disturbing drawings left under Nora’s doormat. It’s up to Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society to sort out the clues before more bodies turn up and the secrets from Celeste’s past come back to haunt them all…

Even though this is the fourth book in the series, I had no problem jumping right in. I loved how Nora and all her friends were so supportive of each other. I could so relate to Nora’s love of books and her desire to put the right book into the right person’s hands. This #cozymystery is all about friendship, books, reading, and solving murders. I definitely have to read the rest of this delightful series now!

Happy Friday! QOTD: any plans for the weekend? 

Today is our son’s birthday. We’re watching the weather to see if we can take a road trip to celebrate. 

#InkandShadows #elleryadams #kensingtonbooks #KensingtonCozies #cozymystery #bookstore #bookseller #mysteryfiction #miraclebookstore #murdermystery #bookstagram 

#readerlife #bibliophile