Last, Now, Next

 

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Last: The Hollows by Michael Connelly - Connelly is the best mystery writer in the business today. 

Now: Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen - a buzzy debut! Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted listen!

Next: Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding - my library hold is ready 

Grab a copy of these books at Bookshop.org and help an indie bookstore while you're at it.

Thriller Confusion

 

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In my desense, my TBR did this to me.

📖 Big & Lily by Lisa Roe

📖 My Sister IS Going to Kill Me by Nina Simon

🎧 The Last to Drown by Noelle Ihli

You can grab a copy of these book at Bookshop.org and help an indie bookstore while you're at it.

The Pirate Queen

 

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☘️🏴‍☠️ Five stars for The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon!

 A rebellious Irish legend, atmospheric storytelling, and fantastic narration by Tara Flynn. 

Don’t be a feckin’ eegit. Just read it! 😂

Grab a copy of The Pirate Queen at Bookshop.org and help an indie bookstore while you're at it.

About the Author

Ariel Lawhon is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have been Good Morning America, LibraryReads, and One Book One County selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. Follow Ariel on Instagram and visit her website for more news and information about her books.

My Sister Is Going to Kill Me

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Thank you Kathleen Carter Communications and William Morrow Books for the gifted copy.

Corporate intrigue, family drama, and outdoor adventure make this an entertaining whodunit. 

My Sister Is Going to Kill Me by Nina Simon follows two sisters who couldn't be more different. Liv is the buttoned-up planner, Mandy's the free spirit. Every year they take a sister trip, and this year Mandy books them on a whitewater rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. It's a launch event for a buzzy new wellness product from a charismatic CEO, so what could go wrong? 

There's plenty of finger-pointing and enough suspects to keep most armchair detectives guessing. I loved the Grand Canyon and Colorado River setting, which Nina Simon describes beautifully.

A great pick if you like isolated settings, family drama, corporate intrigue, and as many twists and turns as the river. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grab a copy at Bookshop.org and help an indie bookstore while you're at it.

About the Author
Follow Nina on Instagram and visit her website for more news and information about her books.

Reader Advisory | Halloweem Edition 🎃

 

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Twenty years as librarian doing readers' advisory, and I can tell what you should read by your Halloween costume.

Witch → The Year of the Witching, Alexis Henderson. Puritan-flavored folk horror.

Detective → Sherlock Holmes? You've already read Doyle, so here's what's next. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (2011). It was authorized by the Conan Doyle estate and reads like a lost Holmes case. 

Ghost → The Sun Down Motel, Simone St. James. A ghost story and a cold case together, which fits your audience well.

Vampire → The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix. Funny, gory, and a book club that actually does something.

Wednesday Addams → We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson. Merricat is basically Wednesday's spiritual ancestor.

Mummy → Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie.

Zombie → The Girl with All the Gifts, M.R. Carey. Or Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Couples costume → The Couple Next Door, Shari Lapena. Good luck to your marriage.

Not dressing up, just handing out candy → Trick or Treat and Murder by Kathleen Suzette. Cozy, and you'll want to stay on the couch anyway.

Sad Panda who did not consent to wearing a Halloween costume → Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.

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Last, Now, Next

 

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Last: Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus - The audio narration is superb. Thanks to my friends at Simon Audio for the gifted listen,

Now: When They Find Me by Carter Wilson - I'm 18% in and hooked. Out November 10. Than you Poisoned Penn Press for the gifted digital ARC.

Next: If They Knew by A.J. Wooding - @upstatebookbitch and @iheartagoodthriller put this one on my radar and I can't wait to dive in. 

Shop my Bookshop.org for these titles and help an indie bookstore while you're at it.

Off the Reservation

 

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Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

 

Off the Reservation was my first Stephen Graham Jones book. It's the sequel to Only the Good Indians, but there's enough background woven in that I never felt lost jumping in here.

Nathan Yellow Tail and his best friend Sebby rob an isolated cabin owned by a "weekend Indian" on the reservation. While fleeing, they crash, and Sebby ends up in a coma, kept alive by machines. Nathan barely survives, but his life is out of balance. Nurse Seine offers him a way to set things right and pull Sebby back from the brink. All he has to do is join her on a road trip to return the bones of a young Blackfeet boy who died after being taken to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Along for the ride are Christian, a young man who doesn't speak, and Mooch, a grieving mother who lost her husband and sons. Nurse Seine and Mooch each have their own hidden reasons for going.

This was the weirdest road trip ever, and I had no idea where it was headed. I knew I was getting horror. I didn't expect possession. When they dug up the boy's bones at Carlisle, they dug up something else too.

But the real horror here is the oppression inflicted on tribal peoples, and the racism and injustice Native Americans still face today.

🎧 The full cast narration was exceptional. Every narrator gave a fantastic performance and made it easy to keep the characters straight.

It's atmospheric and character-driven, with dark humor running all the way through. A few spots dragged for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grab a copy at Bookshop.org and help out an indie bookstore while you're at it.

About the Author

Stephen Graham Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, and I Was a Teenage Slasher. He has been an NEA fellowship recipient and a recipient of several awards including the Ray Bradbury Award from the Los Angeles Times, the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, and the Alex Award from American Library Association. He is the Ivena Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder. Follow Stephen on Instagram and visit his website for more news and information about his books.