Bad Like Me

 

Bad Like Me by Louise Griffin
10/13/26; 352 pages
Union Square & Co 

Bad Like Me by Louise Griffin is a recommended domestic popcorn thriller. If you enjoy soapy dramas featuring suburbanites full of existential angst and behaving badly, this may be for you. It starts with a murder to keep you reading. Oh, and prepare yourself for a swarm of characters to track.

Opening with Larchwood's neighborhood hot dad, Sam, being found stabbed behind the playground bathrooms, the narrative jumps back in time and introduces us to a curated group of local moms, caregivers/babysitters, and children who usually gather in the park after school. Here is a helpful guide to the cast of unreliable and unlikable characters:

We have Rachel, mom to Augie, wife of Elliot, a doctor, and full of social anxiety while wanting to control people and raccoons. She leads, plans events, and actively recruits help for the local Parents Club (PC). Rachel runs everything past her husband for his approval. 
Meg is a down-to-earth caregiver/nanny/babysitter for various moms, usually Rachel. She also works other places and is the only likable character.
Lucy is mom to Bee, wife of Nathan, who is portrayed as a great guy. She's the local hot mom Sam is pursuing and she is responding. She frequently writes/addresses diary entries to her sister Joanna in the plot but didn't listen to her advice to "make good choices."
Sam is married to Grace, a lawyer. He is the main caregiver for Leo and Sorrel, but they also hire a nanny Mariposa. Sam is a complete jerk so its inconceivable that anyone would be attracted to him. You will feel sympathy for Grace.
Carmen is a real estate agent and single mom to Jade. They often go to the park after school even though it's not her neighborhood or Jades school. She's stalking Grace, who was her lawyer. She and Meg get along.
Auxiliary characters: Ashley, son Rider, Fiona and Harmony.

There, that will help you follow the multi-point-of-view narrative which is firmly set in suburbia and involves people with no interests or common sense, and too much time on their hands. There is a surprising investigation opened to an event which happened years earlier. Then the murder happens late in the novel, changing the tone and setting of the whole narrative and it becomes more of a thriller/hostage situation.

Honestly, two important points to make. First. what kept me reading is the fact that Bad Like Me is undeniably a very entertaining novel following people making poor choices, being stupid, and behaving badly. You've met these people before. Second, I finished this novel and thought "I've read this before. Was it a reprint." I checked and, no, it's new, but it the plot is very, very similar to something I've read before, rather recently. I was unable to figure out what novel due to the number of books I read each year, but it was in the similar vein, entertaining but ultimately forgettable.

Bad Like Me is a great choice for those who enjoy domestic popcorn thrillers/soapy dramas full of unreliable/unlikable characters. Thanks to Union Square & Co for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The River Runs Black

 

The River Runs Black by Tessa Wegert
10/6/26; 288 pages
Severn House
North Country #2

The River Runs Black by Tessa Wegert is a highly recommended police procedural/thriller set in New York’s Thousand Islands area. This is the second book in the North Country series following In the Bones, but it can be read as a standalone novel.

Bobby, 16, and her mother Valerie Ott, a NY State criminal investigator, are attending the Punkin' Chunkin' event by the St. Lawrence River in Clayton. It should be a fun day but the talk of the town is about the overdose of local teen Drew Fielding. Then the two see a shoeless young woman in a bikini walking down the street looking beaten up and like a zombie. When Valerie offers to help, telling her she is a police officer, the young woman runs. 

Three days earlier the team, New York State’s criminal investigators Tim Wellington, Shana Merchant, Jeremy Solomon and Valerie, had just celebrated a huge drug bust, but clearly the drug problem is still ongoing in the small town of Alexandria Bay. The drug involved in the smuggling operation is cocaine. Valerie is in a relationship with Raymond Stoll and it is revealed to readers that he is hiding something from her. Then Bruce Milton, the new Jefferson County Sheriff threatens to blackmail him with the information Raymond wants to hide. Maureen McIntyre (Mac) the previous sheriff knows Bruce is a fraud and liar. Then Bobby disappears, kidnapped, and the search is on.

Clearly, there is a whole lot going on in this well-written procedural, which features an involved investigation, atmospheric setting, and a large cast of characters to follow. While in the middle of the investigation the pace does even out for a time, but there is also a plethora of information being uncovered during this time. The narrative is told through multiple points-of-view as several different inquiries are followed in the investigation. The setting in the Thousand Island area plays an important role in the plot. 

The cast of characters is large, which can be initially off-putting, but they do sort themselves out as individuals while you are reading. This is, perhaps, the one thing that would make The River Runs Black more challenging to read as a standalone since  being acquainted with the characters from previous novels can help. Bobby's safety after her kidnapping kept me personally glued to the pages and interested in the investigation.

There are little clues dropped along the way, plenty of secrets, as well as suspicious characters which all work together to keep both your interest and the suspense high. Expect plenty of twists and surprises at the end. I thought I had most of the plot figured out but there was one twist which surprised me and some information that could become very important in a future novel. 

The River Runs Black is a great choice for those who enjoy police procedurals and everyone already following the series. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Silent Embers

 

Silent Embers by John Carson
10/4/26; 368 pages
Boldwood Books
DCI LIam Brody #3 

Silent Embers by John Carson is a highly recommended police procedural/crime thriller and the third novel in the DCI Liam Brodie series set in Scotland.

On Halloween night in Kirkcadly, Fife, 29-year-old Rachel Turner is late meeting her friends Emma and Jess for drinks at The Robert Nairn. She decides to take the shortcut through the graveyard where she is killed and buried in a shallow grave. A blue and white dress, a theatrical costume, is left handing on a tree branch above her, which is a clear message for the investigators. Her body is later discovered by a man walking his dog and DCI Liam Brodie and his team are called in to investigate.

The dress is obviously a major clue that leads the investigation back five years earlier when a devastating fire burned down a local theater, leaving two dead and others injured. Rachel and her two friends were active in the theater before the fire. Eventually there  are several ongoing investigations that merge in this suspenseful investigative thriller that also offers some humor along the way. There are also basically three different investigations going on simultaneously. Everything does come together in the end to a satisfying conclusion.

This is another well-written addition to the series. The investigations logically follow the clues and follow up on their instincts and all information they uncover. The characters continue to be portrayed as realistic individuals and the whole team works very well together.  As I have read all three of the novels in the series, I know these characters and their backgrounds, but I still think this could be read as a standalone. The pacing seemed a bit slow half way through the novel this time, but I'm looking forward to their next investigation. The series includes: Broken Bones, False Witness, Silent Embers, and the upcoming fourth book, Dead Locked.

Silent Embers is a great choice for those who enjoy procedurals/crime thrillers. Thanks to Boldwood Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

When the Birds Don't Sing

 

When the Birds Don't Sing by Imran Mahmood
12/1/26; 496 pages
Ballantine 

When the Birds Don't Sing by Imran Mahmood is a highly recommended literary coming-of-age and revenge novel. The narrative follows a dual-timeline, starting in present day Yorkshire, England and flashing back in time starting to the 1980s in Montana, USA.

In the present day Yorkshire, England, the wife of Caleb Silver, a mycology professor, has passed away. Her death starts him on a quest to seek justice/revenge for the ones who wounded her in their past as he travels to bury her in Montana.

In 1980 Caleb is known as "Silver" to his best friend Honey Childs and their new best friend Malaika (Malia) Khan. The three meet when they are all in 6th grade. While Honey is out going and a force of nature, Silver is hesitant and guarded. Malai is very sensitive, feels everything deeply, and is said to have the power of being sad. When they are in middle school a bully steals Silver's lighter. A fire breaks out the same day and Silver saves Malai leaving both of them injured. Silver's lighter is later found leading to a court case. This incident is the impetus for Silver's quest for revenge years later. 

This is a beautifully written literary novel that uses the dual-timelines in the narrative exceptionally well. The headers on each chapter tell readers the year and location so there is no question about where and when as you bare reading, although actually this is also clear from the narrative. The focus is on deep psychological character development, but there is also action mixed into the story. It is an even-paced, sometimes very slow, plot, where secrets are kept and held, but the ending is worth the journey. 

Character development is a key component to this novel, and all of them are portrayed as fully-realized unique, flawed individuals with both strengths and weaknesses. They are all also carrying their own secrets and suspicions. We uniquely don't know who Silver married until late in the novel, which added an additional layer of mystery to the plot and the revenge plan. We know that events from the past deeply damaged her and Silver blames them for this.

There was one plot twist that was clear early on, so the reveal wasn't shocking later in the novel. At almost 500 pages, it could have been edited down a little as the middle did drag a bit for me. Finally, this may have been caught in the final published version, but fig, pomegranate, and olive trees are NOT grow outdoors in Montana as they will not survive the winter, so, perhaps a bit more research if you are setting a novel in an unfamiliar area, or make it clear that they are potted and will be hauled in and out each year. 

When the Birds Don't Sing is a wonderful choice for everyone who enjoys literary novels and coming-of-age stories mixed with a good revenge tale. Thanks to Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Where There's Smoke

Where There's Smoke by Rachel Louise Adams
10/6/26; 320 pages
St. Martin's Press
Coldren County #2     

Where There's Smoke by Rachel Louise Adams is a highly recommended investigative thriller and is the second novel in the Coldren County series following No Rest for the Wicked (2025).

Dr. Dolores Diaz (Hawthorne) has divorced Max and moved to Circe, Wisconsin in Coldren County where she is working as a medical examiner. It is near Little Horton where her surviving family lives. Immediately upon her return from California, Sheriff Kreme calls her. A body has been found by the night time cleaning crew at Mercy's, which is what the locals call the local slaughterhouse, Marcy's Meats. The body is identified as owner Benedict Marcy II and it was murder, not accidental, based on the ligature marks on his wrists. 

FBI agents Paul Turner and his new partner Kate Butcher are assigned the case. Magnus Peterson, manager of Marcy's blames the protesting animal rights activists who made a performative slaughter video. The case is clearly more complicated than that simple when a local cop who was transporting evidence samples is killed and most of the evidence is missing. It will take the intelligence of Dolores, Paul, and Kate to collect enough evidence and follow the clues to discover what is really going on.

At the same time, Dolores is still receiving threatening Halloween cards based on an incident that happened when she was a teen in the area. She has brought the case to the attention of law enforcement which is why she is being threatened. This was likely started in the first book of the series, which I missed, but the general information is here. Her stepmother, Charlotte, is still scheming and threatening. Josie, her half sister does come to stay at Dolores's house to escape her mom. 

There are plenty of plot twists and, along with several very intuitive actions, the clues are logically followed up on in the investigation. At the opening of the novel is a long list of content warnings for things that could trigger readers. (Personally, just looking at the cover of the book should be warning enough.) After things get moving, the pace moves quickly, along with the twists and revelations. The ending is explosive, action-packed, and the plot twists unpredictable. 

Dolores is an interesting character who is clearly dealing with damage from her past while still doing exceptional work at her job. She is very intelligent and intuitive. Kate is a clever character and apparently had a backstory with Dolores that they are setting aside as adults. Paul is also intelligent and capable. It seems that these three characters will likely be back together working on another case.

Where There's Smoke is a great choice for everyone who read No Rest for the Wicked and can also be enjoyed by those who enjoy twisty investigative thrillers. 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.

Partita

 

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver
10/6/26; 352 pages
HarperCollins 

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver is very highly recommended literary fiction following the story of a woman's life. This is a stunningly beautifully written, heartbreaking novel and will definitely be on my list of the best novels of the year.

Livia Cable is now comfortably married to Charlie. They make modest livelihood in the farm country where they both grew up and she offers piano lessons to interested students. When Livia receives a phone call from an old lover it shakes her to her core. Decades ago, in 1989 when she was 20 years-old, in college, and on track to be a concert pianist, Sigurd knew her as Livia Bohusz. He discovered her again from her maiden name in her mother's published obituary. 

Sigurd will be in the area and wants to see Livia. She needs to think about it. This request brings up tumultuous memories from her past. The brief time when she knew him represents one of the best/worst times in her life, a time when Livia was traversing unknown territory and class barriers. She was a passionate and gifted pianist, a scholarships student, and estranged from her parents. 

The narrative alternates between the past and present as it follows Livia's life and also is a coming-of-age tale told from the distance time allows. The plot follows her childhood, passion for music, her mother's dismissive behavior, the death of her brother Cyrus (18) when she was 11, the devastation which followed her relationship with Sigurd, and her return to Tennessee and the life she has made there. As Livia considers whether she want to see Sigurd again or not, she is also trying to clean out her hoarder mother's house and surprises await her there too. 

The novel opens with a listening list and structures the novel with musical terms. The classical-music vocabulary is present throughout and will add depth for those well acquainted with it. As Kingsolver tells the reader early in the narrative,  A partita is a composition made of many parts with different paces and moods. All readers can appreciate the insight into the special world classical music inhabits. (Those of us with different background/education will understand the terms we know and take for granted aren't commonly used or understood by others.)

The class distinction evident between characters is sharply captured and handled with the wisdom and understanding time grants to all of us. Not all professors, as well as college kids, understand the working class or those doing shift work and they can sometimes judge them from that high lofty place and lack of true understanding. Running a dairy operation does require knowledge, skill, and dedication and true intelligence would allow one to comprehend this without  judgement. 

Livia is a survivor. She is a fully realized character with a rich history that helps comprise the adult woman she is when we meet her. Partita tells her story, all the bits and pieces that compose her personality. I'll admit there was a brief time in the novel when I was furious with her, but then forgave her while in tears while reading. Accompanying youth can be poor judgement. A life is never so simple that it can be reduced to a few facts. All the hurts, struggles, loves, losses, and experiences over a lifetime form the person you meet as an older adult.  

There were so many passages I highlighted while reading that hit close to home. Here are a few: "I heard a lot of news that year that began with, 'Don't take this the wrong way.'" Unspoken to her mother, "What is my offense? My music or me?" Her tall brother Cyrus being expected to play basketball, but he hated sports, "Everybody was judging the book by its cover, but nobody wanted to read the book." And, "You don't stop talking to people just because they're dead. When you miss them, you have things to say."  The ending was so perfect I was left in tears as there is genuine closure. 

Partita is a perfect choice for those who enjoy beautifully written literary novels. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Life Out of Order

 

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger
10/6/26; 560 pages
Hanover Square Press 

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger is a dystopian/speculative story where virtual reality and real life converge. It is not recommended. 

This is a purported sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003), which I loved, but actually it isn't a sequel. If you are looking for a continuation of the The Time Traveler’s Wife, this time following Alba, forget it because that is not what is here. What slops our direction is w-a-y too long, too political, too convoluted, too annoying, too pretentious, too self-righteous, too much. In order to finish, I ended up skimming through this nonsense looking for the connection I sought because I loved the Time Traveler's Wife when I read it over a decade ago. 

This one is a treatise on political propaganda that pretends to be a novel and is so bad it tempts me to lower my rating of The Time Traveler’s Wife. No thanks. Do not read this. Ever.