The Anniversary Alex Finlay Copyright 2026 322 Pages Alright, this book had me standing up and pacing my living room like a Victorian ghost as everything unraveled. Woof. Five stars for the ending alone. Spoilers incoming, so if you’re still reading without finishing the book, that’s on you. First of all… Uncle Pat? I mean, be honest: name one Uncle Pat in the history of Uncle Pats who isn’t a drunk, vaguely creepy dude who smells like gasoline and bad decisions. Should’ve se

The Anniversary Alex Finlay Copyright 2026 322 Pages We’ve got ourselves a small‑town serial killer, folks. I know — statistically this should never happen, but here we are, clutching our mugs of lukewarm diner coffee and whispering theories like we’re auditioning for a true‑crime podcast no one asked for. In this delightfully horrifying tale, we follow Jules and Quinn through their post‑high‑school “we survived but at what cost” era as they try to cope with the crimes that h

Yesteryear Caro Claire Burke Copyright 2026 391 pages Alrighty, this one did not stroll down the path I thought we were taking. I expected a gentle wander through influencer drama, maybe a little light chaos, and instead we took a hard left into what in the farmhouse fever dream is happening. Tradwife influencer turned actual tradwife turned… well, someone who’s cracked under pressure like a farm‑fresh egg dropped on a hot skillet. We open with Natalie filming her “perfect fa

Yesteryear Caro Claire Burke Copyright 2026 391 pages Well, well, well… the universe delivered us the most practically perfect momfluencer to ever grace a ring light. According to herself — and only herself — Natalie has crafted a faith‑soaked, hand‑embroidered, ethically sourced childhood for her family. “Perfect,” she says. Repeatedly. So repeatedly it stops sounding like a descriptor and starts sounding like a nervous tic. The kind of tic you hear right before a time bomb

Kill for Me Kill for You Steve Cavanagh Copyright 2023 338 Pages Okay, 4 stars for this one. Maybe even 4 and a half. I’d read it again — which, if you know me, means this book basically crawled out of the pages, slapped me across the face, and said “respect me.” This story had me spinning in circles going “wut??” like a toddler who just discovered dizziness. The twisty‑tangly who’s‑who of it all? Art. Ruth = Wendy = Naomi = possibly your neighbor’s cousin wearing a metapho

Kill for Me Kill for You Steve Cavanagh Copyright 2023 338 Pages This book gets me on board with murder in record time — like, “didn’t even stretch first” record time. And here’s my usual disclaimer: it’s fiction, therefore I am legally, morally, and spiritually allowed to say unhinged things. Step right up, folks, today’s special is Murder Swap. Honestly? New theme unlocked for your next white elephant party. Granny might clutch her pearls so hard they snap, though. Maybe ke

The Club Ellery Lloyd Copyright 2022 305 Pages I’m kicking the door down with spoilers because… obviously Ned is dead. You knew by the end of chapter 1 that this man was not surviving Launch Weekend. He had the energy of someone who confidently walks into a lion enclosure holding a steak. Did he really think he could blackmail a bunch of rich people and then just… vibe? Absolutely no shot. That’s not bravery — that’s natural selection doing its job. Honestly? Deserved. RIP to

The Club Ellery Lloyd Copyright 2022 305 Pages We open with a dead body before chapter 1 even shows up to work. The author didn’t just drop us into the story — they shoved us face‑first into a murder scene like, “Surprise, babe!” And listen… this murder? Art. An underwater restaurant? The vibes must’ve been immaculate if you could ignore the corpses doing a slow‑motion interpretive dance overhead. Imagine paying for a luxury dining experience and getting a side of floating de

Mad Mabel By Sally Hepworth Copyright 2026 344 Pages Five stars and a bouquet of roses for Mad Mabel — and honestly, someone go ahead and embroider her name on the June Hall of Fame because I somehow stumbled into three five‑star reads this month. The bar is rising, the stakes are high, and Mabel is hanging off the top rung upside down like a feral acrobat who refuses to age gracefully. Spoilers incoming. If you haven’t read it yet, avert your eyes and go peek at my preview i

Mad Mabel By Sally Hepworth Copyright 2026 344 Pages I’m only on page one, and I’ve already decided that if I don’t grow up to have the personality of Mabel, I’ll simply pack my things and go live in the woods as a failure. She is hilarious. Not “exhale slightly through your nose” funny — I mean full‑volume, unattractive cackling. And I’m barely past the opening chapters. I’ve said it before, but spicy old ladies are my Roman Empire. My comfort genre. My emotional support dem

Just Another Missing Person Gillian McAllister Copyright 2023 377 pages Sorry Gillian, babe, but who signed off on this title? Because this is NOT just another missing‑person story. This book grabbed me by the throat, dragged me through 24 hours of pure narrative mayhem, and spat me out a re‑forged creature. I am not the same woman I was when I cracked page one. I’ve shed a whole personality like a snake in a thriller‑induced spiritual awakening. Spoilers ahead, darling. Buck

Just Another Missing Person Gillian McAllister Copyright 2023 377 pages Here we have a missing girl. Shocking, I know — the title was so subtle. But this isn’t your run‑of‑the‑mill missing‑girl situation. No, no. This is the kind where she strolls into a dead‑end alley and then… simply does not stroll back out. Vanishes. Poof. Gone. Did she teleport? Slip into a parallel universe? Get abducted by aliens who were running behind schedule? I had questions. I still have questions

The Caretaker Marcus Kliewer Copyright 2026 295 Pages This one absolutely lives in the eerie‑spooky‑“did I just hear something in the hallway?” category. It pairs beautifully with a warm cup of coffee, a chunky sweater, and a cozy blanket — as long as every door is locked, deadbolted, and maybe blessed with holy water. Because what we’ve got here is a list of Rites you’re supposed to follow for a “lovely weekend in the cabin,” and by “lovely” I mean “follow them or invite evi

The Caretaker Marcus Kliewer Copyright 2026 295 Pages The prologue in this one kicks open the door with every cliché question imaginable. Who? Where? WHAT fresh supernatural nonsense is happening in these woods and why does it feel like the trees are judging me. Something weird is brewing out there — and honestly, if you tell me it’s happening on the coast of Oregon (which sounds like a place you reach only by taking a wrong turn in a fairy tale), I’m not surprised. Nothing i

The Passengers John Marrs Copyright 2019 337 Pages Okay, I devoured that ending like it was the last slice of cheesecake at a family gathering. Yes, the middle was stuffed with suspense, secrets, moral dilemmas, and all the other nutritious food groups of a good thriller — but I’m skipping straight to dessert. That finale did not quit. No dragging, no “let’s tie up every subplot with a lukewarm bow,” none of that nonsense. Everyone got the ending they deserved. Justice served

The Passengers John Marrs Copyright 2019 337 Pages This is book two in the “Dark Future” series, and let me tell you: the future of self‑driving cars has officially swerved off the highway, through a guardrail, and into a flaming ditch. The supposedly unhackable cars? Yeah, they’ve been hacked. And instead of taking their Passengers to Target or soccer practice, they’re chauffeuring them straight to their deaths. Very “Titanic,” except the iceberg is Wi‑Fi. We get to watch th

Wanting Daisy Dead Sue Watson Copyright 2025 296 Pages Welp. Without my bulletin board, red string, and a corkboard big enough to qualify as a fire hazard, I would not have survived this book. This wasn’t a mystery — this was a full‑blown relationship spiderweb with a body count. And the unravel was for the ages. I’m proud to announce that for the first time in my entire reading career, I guessed the culprit… and I’m still giving it 5 stars. Growth. In other words: library, b

Wanting Daisy Dead Sue Watson Copyright 2025 296 Pages Okay, Daisy. Sweetie. Gurl. What on EARTH were you doing in your early twenties to rack up this many people who would happily shove you off a cliff? I mean… respect, I guess? Most of us are out here trying to keep one group chat from turning against us, and she’s collecting murder motives like they’re Pokémon cards. Truly iconic behavior. Six college housemates went in. Five came out. And those five? Oh, they are a buffet

Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell Copyright 2017 356 Pages Okay, deep breath. This book did not just hit me in the feels — it drop‑kicked me into an emotional bounce house and locked the door behind me. I was somber, nervous, happy, concerned, worried, skeptical, happy again, nervous again, sad again, MAD. In that order, and also in every other order known to humankind. Spoilers ahead. If you haven’t read the book yet, turn back now and go hydrate or something. For a hot second,

Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell Copyright 2017 356 Pages We start this one off on a somber note. A tragic story of a daughter, vanished. At 15, Ellie left for the library and never returned home. Her family, shattered in that uniquely silent way grief tends to settle, never stopped hoping she’d walk back through the door. We get glimpses of Ellie’s life before — GCSE stress, first‑boyfriend butterflies — but the story really follows her mother, Laurel, ten years later, trying t