A Good Animal

 

A Good Animal by Sara Maurer
2/24/26; 288 pages
St. Martin's Press

A Good Animal by Sara Maurer is a very highly recommended, beautifully written, coming-of-age novel set in a rural farming area outside of Sault St. Marie, Michigan in 1995. This is an incredible, character driven literary debut novel which perfectly captures people in a specific place and time. I am looking forward to Sara Maurer's next novel. (This might be best appreciated by those who understand the realities of rural/small town life.)

Everett Lindt has always planed to stay on the sheep farm that has been in the family for generations, breeding and selling sheep after he finishes his senior year of high school. When he meets Mary, who has just moved to the area with her Coast Guard father for her senior year, he is immediately attracted to her, but she makes it clear that she plans to leave after high school for college in California. They stumble into dating and a relationship, with Everett secretly hoping she will stay with him and his dream, while Mary adamantly knows she is leaving for her. Then they face complications and hard choices.

A Good Animal is an exquisitely written novel with an even-paced plot. As many adults will understand, young love/first love doesn't always admit the obvious realities clearly present and the relationship between Everett and Mary showcases this fact. They may be attracted to each other, but their individual dreams are distinctly contrary. The sometimes harsh, sometimes satisfying realities of raising, showing, and selling sheep is plainly captured in detail, but readers will know that Everett's future on the farm is a well-chosen decision for his life. At the same time, Mary's obvious fear of sheep is one fact which certainly indicates she is not suited for that life. 

Everett is a well-developed character and depicted as a fully-realized individual with both strengths and weaknesses. He is young and still maturing, but indications of the man he will be one day are present. Supporting characters, including in part Everett's best friend Charlie, his younger sister Katie, and Mary, are also portrayed as realistic characters. Even some of the sheep have personalities. The well-written characters help make the plot soar in this emotionally complex coming-of-age drama. 

 A Good Animal is an excellent choice for those who enjoy well-written coming-of-age stories. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

More Than Enough

 

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen
2/24/26; 256 pages
Random House 

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen is a very highly recommended literary character-driven domestic drama of self-exploration which follows a woman dealing with infertility, a dying friend, and complicated family relationships. 

Polly Goodman, 42, is a high school English teacher happily married to Mark, a veterinarian at the Bronx Zoo. While Polly is struggling with infertility issues, she has an enviable, comfortable relationship with her brother, friends, in-laws, and her father who is in a nursing home with a failing mind. Her relationship with her mother is more complicated. When her best friends/book club buddies, Sarah, Helen, and  Jamie, give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, she takes the test and is surprised by the results. She ends up meeting with her match, a teenager, and while their connected ancestry is still not clear, the two form a connection.

This is a exceptionally well-written, touching literary examination of a slice of an individual's life. From her friends, which she can share everything with, to her interactions with her brother, parents, and in-laws, the keen observations can be touching, humorous, mundane, heart-breaking, and ultimately hopeful. While the pacing is slow through much of the book, it touches deeply on topics many women have experienced and how much interpersonal relationships with family and friendships can mean. It also demonstrates how secrets can affect other's lives.

Polly is a fully realized, well-developed character with both strengths and weaknesses. Readers should quickly finds areas in her life they can either relate to or have observed. Admittedly, while reading there were several times Polly's observations and difficulties resonated with me and hit too close to personal experiences. All of the supporting cast serve to add depth and insight into Polly's character, helping to reveal how our relationships can define us. Additionally, as a bonus it delightfully includes alpacas, humming and pronking.  

More Than Enough is a perfect choice for anyone who enjoys gentle, literary character driven dramas. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.  

The Crossroads

 

The Crossroads by C. J. Box
2/24/26; 352 pages
Putnam
Joe Pickett Series #26 

The Crossroads by C. J. Box is a very highly recommended investigative mystery and the winning 26th addition to the long running series. This time Joe's daughters lead the investigation as Joe is incapacitated.

Marybeth Pickett gets the call she has always dreaded when her husband, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett, is found in his pickup at Antler Creek Junction, shot in the head, unconscious and barely holding on to life. He is airlifted to the hospital in Billings, Montana, accompanied by Marybeth, where he remains in critical condition and in a medically induced coma while being treated. The couples three daughters, Sheridan, April, and Lucy,  converge on the family home, determined to investigate who was responsible for what happened to their father.

The three determine that the owners of the three ranches that connect off of Antler Creek Junction may have something to do with Joe's ambush. They talk to the new sheriff for the county of Twelve Sleep, Steve Sondergard, and they all agree to share any information they uncover in their investigations. The identity of the hired assassins, Dorn Peddy and James Dale O’Bryan, are identified early on in some chapters from their perspective but the identity of who hired them is kept a secret. Also included are chapters from Joe's point-of-view dating back before the ambush which provide extra information for readers.

The pace is fast and the tension rises as the suspects are delved into in this well-written installment of the series. The owners of the three ranches all have a reason to be implicated in Joe's ambush and need to be carefully questioned. The new Sheriff Sondergard has barely had time to settle in when he is confronted with this case and informed by Sheridan that she and her sisters will be investigating it too, with or without his approval. It is entertaining to follow Joe's daughters while they investigate and they prove to be insightful and intuitive, but Joe will be missed by those following the series. Who knew Wyoming could continue to be such a dangerous place to live.

The Crossroads is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys investigative mysteries set in a rural area and, of course,  for everyone following the Joe Pickett series. Thanks to Putnam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.  

The Fatal Confidant

 

The Fatal Confidant by Debra Webb
2/17/26; 335 pages 
Thomas & Mercer 

The Fatal Confidant by Debra Webb is a very highly recommended thriller. This is the revised edition of the previously published Faceless. 

Deputy district attorney Carson Tanner is a tenacious prosecutor whose persistence has earned him the nickname the Avenger. His determination to seek justice is driven by the horrific murder of his family fifteen years. His current case involves Birmingham crime boss Otis Fleming. The key to crack open the case may lie with Fleming's staunch confidant and fixer for the wealthy, Annette Baxter. Annette knows who Carson is, intimately initiates contact, and soon it becomes clear that there is more treachery, secrets, manipulation, betrayal and danger than Carson could have ever imagined.

Suspicion and secrets immediately set the tone to this well-written novel. The plot becomes more complex with each chapter as yet another new revelation, secret, threat, and twist occurs. The truth lies somewhere in a twisted maze of personal contacts and private obligations among an elite, wealthy, and well-connected group of people. Annette knows many of their covert actions and the information they need to conceal, but she also know the treachery and misdirection they are capable of initiating. Carson is being thrust into the reality of what may actually be going on behind the scenes.

At first I'll admit I was put off the novel in the beginning by Carson's actions when he succumbed to Annette's overt seduction. It did take awhile to set the distaste of the seduction incident aside, but as the complications, tensions, and danger increased, the incident became less annoying. It certainly sheds light on Annette and Carson's character. When she intimates that she has information about the murder of his family, the question is always how trustworthy is she? Then things begin to become increasingly dangerous and lethal, indicating that there is more going on than he realizes.

Both Carson and Annette are portrayed as fully-realized characters with strengths and weaknesses. Various other characters slowly reveal parts of their true nature along the way. The connections and schemes between all the players in the narrative is intricate and layered, ultimately leading to a shocking final twist.

The Fatal Confidant is a great choice for anyone who enjoys complex thrillers full of secrets and intrigue. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.  

When I Kill You

 

When I Kill You by B.A. Paris
2/17/26; 304 pages
St. Martin's Press

When I Kill You by B.A. Paris is a recommended psychological thriller where stalking/stalkers is the focus.

Nell Masters' life is going well now and she's in a good relationship with Alex. She also knows someone is following her, she just doesn't know who it is or why it is happening, but all the indications are there. Fourteen years ago Alex was Elle Nugent. After she saw  Bryony Sanders, who was later found murdered, get into a stranger’s car, Elle became obsessed with the man driving the car and relentlessly stalked him. This experience ended badly, thus her name change, but it is also this experience years earlier that fuels her certainty that she is currently being stalked. 

The glacially slow but entertaining plot unfolds through chapters that alternate between the past and present, telling the story of Elle/Nell. Included in between the earlier/later chapters are chapters through the voice of Nell's stalker, which always end with the words, "when I kill you." There are plenty of secrets held by everyone and more than one suspect for the current stalker. The chapters are short, which helps hold your attention.

Nell's anxiety does increase, but the slow pace kept much of the tension at bay for this reader. Younger Elle is immature and her obsession can be annoying while, as Nell, she has a reason for her current paranoia. This one lost the thrill early on and the suspense and trepidation about the identity of the stalker was slow building. Not a bad novel, but B.A. Paris has written much better. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.  

The New Neighbors

 

The New Neighbors by Claire Douglas
2/17/26; 400 pages
HarperCollins 

The New Neighbors by Claire Douglas is a highly recommended domestic soap opera focusing on suspicious new neighbors.

Henry and Mariella Morgan, in their sixties, have moved in to the neighborhood on a suburban street in Bristol. They are next door to Lena, mother to seventeen-year old son Rufus, who separated from her husband Charlie seven months earlier. The Morgans seemed nice after Lena briefly met them, but later when she is setting up a microphone to record daytime noises for Rufus's film project, she accidentally picks up a disturbing private conversation they were having. This starts Lena covertly looking into the Morgans while simultaneously seeing suspicious behavior in their words and behavior while she is advised by those she tells to be careful.

The plot unfolds through multiple timelines and narrators. Chapters are from the point-of-view of Lena (who has some chapters set in the past), Henry (whose chapters start back in the 1980's), and an unknown woman named Natalie. The chapters set in the past provide the background information needed to understand. Lena is an emotionally conflicted character whose life, between Rufus going to the university and her separation, is heading toward a transition. 

This is a another well-written, entertaining domestic drama that reads like a soap opera. It might be easy to pick apart the character's actions and thoughts, and there are several things that could be targeted, but it is much more entertaining to set all disbelief aside and just follow the intricate plot and action to the exciting conclusion. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.  

Ashland

 

Ashland by Dan Simon
2/17/26; 208 pages
Europa Editions 

Ashland by Dan Simon is a highly recommended literary family drama following the intimate, accepting bonds built between mothers, sisters, and cousins, as well as the story of the small town of Ashland, New Hampshire.

Carolyn, born to an unwed teenager, grows up along side her mother Ellie, her aunt Jennie, who also had children as a teenager, and her cousins in the small declining town of Asland. The inclusive family love and support each other always and through everything over the years. Carolyn, who loves writing, audits writing classes at the local university taught by writing instructor, Geoff. Also told is the story of other characters, including Edith and Gordon, a couple who meet in a 1920s tuberculosis sanatorium. All the stories together tell not only her family's history but also the history of Ashland.

This beautifully written, poetic literary novel tells the desperate story of quiet lives, or perhaps demonstrates Thoreau's "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Carolyn herself finds contentment and peace in the present even while others wistfully recall the past and she writes about her experiences and the people she knows. The novel develops both the individual characters and the setting/place of Ashland.

The narrative unfolds in chapters through several first-person narrators who tell their own stories through their own thoughts. It also jumps around switching narrators and time periods throughout. This can feel a little disconcerting as if it holds the reader at arms length keeping a distance between them and the characters. It does cover a wide variety of experiences they endure over times. The ending ties all the stories together beautifully.

Ashland will be best appreciated by those who enjoy literary fiction told through multiple narrators. Thanks to Europa Editions for providing me with an advance reader's copy. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.