As the leaves turn orange and the air becomes chilly, there’s no better time to snuggle up with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. But with so many options available, it can be hard to know where to start. So, allow me to present you with a curated list of nine captivating reads just in time for Fall.
Holly
For you King fans—You have met Holly Gibney in Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and in the Outsider. Now she premieres in her own Novel, Holly.
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.
Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.
Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King. (Via Amazon)
This book available now
Murder in the Family
ONE BODY. SIX EXPERTS. CAN YOU SOLVE THE CASE BEFORE THEY DO?
Mega-bestselling British crime novelist Cara Hunter makes her big American debut with a wholly immersive thriller like none you’ve seen before: written as the teleplay of a true-crime documentary, it has the reader puzzling away, reviewing photos, maps, coroner’s reports and other evidence as they read. The exciting multi-narrator audio book features five actors telling the story from different perspectives. Can you tell who’s lying?
“An excellent, wholly original whodunnit! You won’t have read a mystery like this, and you’ll be kept in the dark right to the end.” –Gilly MacMillan, bestselling author of The Long Weekend
It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.
Luke Ryder’s murder has never been solved. Guy Howard’s mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder—but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.
But some murder cases are simply too big to forget…
Now comes the sensational new streaming series Infamous, dedicated to investigating—and perhaps cracking—this famous cold case. Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?
True crime lovers and savvy readers, you can review the evidence and testimony at the same time as the experts. But can you solve the case before they do? (Via Amazon)
This book will be available September 19th, 2023
The Stranger Upstairs
Most people wouldn’t buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun . . . but Sarah Slade is not most people.
A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, Sarah Slade has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a decent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is just as filthy as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.
But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew: Something is very wrong in that house.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available September 12th, 2023
You Always Come Back
In the vein of Kathleen Barber and Julia Heaberlin comes an electrifying debut suspense that pits the inhabitants of a small town against each other.
Nine years ago, July Weaver’s little sister was one of the first victims of the Pacific Lake Killer, a serial killer in Georgia. When other girls began to disappear and were found dead, it was July’s testimony that put her own father into prison for the crimes. After the sentencing, she fled to Nashville to focus on her music career and to try to forget the horrible past. But when her brother tries to kill himself, July is forced to come back home and reunite with her four remaining siblings.
What she isn’t expecting is to uncover new evidence that makes her question everything that happened to her sister nine years ago. Is it possible that July blamed the wrong person? Is it possible that the Pacific Lake Killer is still out there? As the linchpin to the case against her father—and the reason the Pacific Lake Killer case is closed—July knows it isn’t long before the killer will set their eyes back on her.
If they’re really still out there. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available October 10th, 2023
Leave the Lights On: A Novel
Cape Morgan, Maine, is the utopian ideal for a charmed life, and Beatrice Wicker knows it. The multi-million-dollar house on the seacoast. The joint bank accounts. The safety and security that go along with being married to an esteemed architect and community leader. The scenic coastline, perfect for her ambitious plan to turn an abandoned asylum into an artists’ retreat. So what if her husband sneaks off to see his second family now and again? Beatrice is willing to look the other way. It’s simply the price she must pay to keep their life together.
Josh doesn’t realize that Beatrice knows about his other life. That’s just one of Beatrice’s secrets. And now, that truth—along with a deadly host of other secrets from the past—is about to upend their false paradise.
When there’s an explosion at the local elementary school playground, and a two-year-old boy is abducted, it doesn’t take Beatrice long to make the connection between the missing boy and her husband. It was the son from Josh’s other life who was kidnapped, and Josh can’t do anything about it without revealing the truth.
Helping Josh find his son would destroy the façade of her perfect marriage and put more children’s lives in danger. But that’s not all. It would reveal her deeper secret: Beatrice Wicker is not who she claims to be. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available October 17th, 2023
The Last Close Call
A talented genetic analyst and a detective who’s haunted by an elusive cold case team up in the new standalone romantic suspense fromNew York Timesbestselling author Laura Griffin.
Forensic genealogist Rowan Healy has made a name for herself by helping investigators trace the family trees of violent criminals who have eluded justice for years. But the pressure of police cases left her burned out, and she’s shifted her focus to helping adoptees find their biological parents.
Austin detective Jack Bruner has spent his career successfully tracking down vicious criminals—with the notable exception of the West Campus Rapist, a meticulous offender in Texas who has never been identified. When the latest two victims come to light, Jack sees his target is escalating his violent behavior—and only with Rowan’s help does he stand a chance of cracking this case.
Moved by Jack’s dedication and the brutal details of the attacks he lays out, Rowan agrees to help. When her ground-breaking DNA research sheds new light on the criminal’s background and helps them zero in on a search radius, Rowan and Jack must race against the clock to find a ruthless killer who’s growing bolder the longer he evades the law. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available October 24th, 2023
The Trap
From award-winning, internationally bestselling crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard comes The Trap. An unsettling mystery inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the nineties wherein one young woman risks everything to catch a faceless killer.
One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So, she’s going to take matters into her own hands.
Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully-fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open—and destroy her chances of ever joining the force.
A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He’s going to tell her everything, from the beginning. And soon, she’ll realize, what you don’t know can hurt you … (Via Amazon)
This book will be available September 6th, 2023
Delicate Condition
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK!
The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens―while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.
Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life as an indie actress with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure that never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. Cryptic warnings have her jumping at shadows. And despite everything she’s gone through to make this pregnancy a reality, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone is playing twisted games with her.
Then her doctor tells her she’s had a miscarriage―except Anna’s convinced she’s still pregnant despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. She can feel the baby moving inside her, can see the strain it’s taking on her weakening body. Vague warnings become direct threats as someone stalks her through the bleak ghost town of the snowy Hamptons. As her symptoms and sense of danger grow ever more horrifying, Anna can’t help but wonder what exactly she’s carrying inside of her…and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available September 11th, 2023
Alex Cross Must Die
Detective Alex Cross is in the sights of the Dead Hours Killer, a serial murderer on a ruthless mission.
This is the latest installment in the Alex Cross Series. I love these books!
An airport killer targeting pilots expands his scope. Alex Cross Must Die.
“Drop whatever you’re doing, Detective Cross, and head to Reagan Airport,” DC Metro Police dispatch says. “A jet just crashed and exploded on the runway. The chief and the FBI want you and John Sampson there pronto.”
Cross and Sampson race to the crash site. The plane didn’t fail—it was shot down by a stolen Vietnam War–era machine gun.
The list of experts who can operate the weapon is short. And time before another lethal strike runs even shorter. Especially for Detective Cross.
Alex Cross Must Die. (Via Amazon)
This book will be available November 20th, 2023
These nine books are only a fraction of the extraordinary literature awaiting exploration. Whether you crave a gripping thriller or a cozy mystery, this list is sure to get you started! So, snuggle under a warm blanket and immerse yourself in the captivating allure of the falling orange and red leaves. Oh, and one of these fabulous books wouldn’t hurt either.
If you don’t already have them, you can get any of these books here on Amazon. Or get one for free when you sign up for a free trial from Audible.
Until next time, stay brash, stay bookish and stay true to you! And while you’re at it, have a fantastic Fall!
