No Such Thing as Monday

 

No Such Thing as Monday by Siân Hughes
11/10/26; 224 pages
Henry Holt & Company  

No Such Thing as Monday by Siân Hughes is a highly recommended literary domestic drama in which a woman looks back at her past

Stephanie (Steffie) Cartwright's father Stan has died which is the impetus for Steffie to find her long missing sister Caroline. The two grew up in the 1970s in working class Birmingham, UK, where Steffie was the favorite and Caroline experienced their father's cruel emotional and physical abuse, as did their submissive mother who died young. Caroline left home, disappeared, at 16. Stan was a bully, ran dog fights, and used others for his benefit. As Steffie looks back on her past, she clearly noted Stan's preferential treatment toward her in stark contrast with how he treated his wife and other daughter. As the story of Steffie's life is slowly revealed, it is clear she is her own worst enemy and feels guilty about her favored status by Stan.

This is a hard novel to read. Steffie is not a sympathetic character, but you will hope she gets to a good place. She is an irascible, complicated working class character who has had a hard life, made mistakes, and misjudged situations. She continually pays the price for her misdeeds while struggling to press on through the novel. In the narrative she looks back at her childhood memories and past while also struggling in the present. She also, always, wonders where is Caroline. All of her background and history has made Steffie the woman she is today, with all of her flaws, guilt, trauma, and determination. 

It is a beautifully written novel even with the subject matter. It is also a short novel, so it is a quick read. At the author's note at the end Hughes explains that the theme of laundry/cleaning which runs through the plot was inspired by a 14th-century poem known as Purity or Cleanness which is concerned with keeping up the laundry and the old, dirty, tattered clothes are a spiritual metaphor for washing your soul clean. The final denouement does bring some closure.

No Such Thing as Monday is a excellent choice for those who enjoy literary novels focused on domestic drama. Thanks to Henry Holt & Company  for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Everything Happens So Much

 

Everything Happens So Much by Andrew H. Murray
11/10/26; 336 pages
Little, Brown and Company 

Everything Happens So Much by Andrew H. Murray is a quirky, comedic science fiction adventure. It is highly recommended. Set expectations aside and meet Esme Good, who always has a look of constant, but slight panic, like she's forgot something. It is set in a different universe from you and me, it's basically the same but, as the narrator who breaks the fourth wall throughout the novel informs us, you'll notice the differences.

Esme works for the GMCL, General Municipal Complaint Line, where she takes calls and listens to complaints all day. Her supportive work friend, Talmeck, is nearby. She knows she is not living her best life ever. Her only escape, and one Esme has been exploiting for years, is Elsewhere, a drug that offers her 15 minutes out of her life and into an alternate version of herself. From these escapes she knows there are better versions of her out there. On the day she plans to quit, she ends up extending her work contract for decades. After this, on her break, she hides in the bathroom to take a dose of Elsewhere, which triggers cosmic chaos. Esme accidentally becomes the most important person in the universe. She is arrested, and eventually has a government agency called the Fabric of Reality Authority after her and her companions.

This is a creative, darkly hilarious, chaotic novel packed full of absurd, impossible situations, funny characters, and non-stop action, which does, indeed, result in everything happening so much. Included in the novel are footnotes and comments from the author, breaking the fourth wall and adding mirth and an additional reality. It can definitely be ridiculous and vexing at times, while simultaneously entertaining, delightful and wonderfully imaginative. It also tangentially explores the concept that a different life may not have made you happier. 

Esme is a messy character and won't be appealing to everyone. Her identity crisis and discontent with her life can be frustrating, especially after she becomes the most important person in the universe, along with all the chaos that entails. She does reach a place of acceptance and contentment as she understands that she does have a meaningful role to play in the life. This won't be a good fit for everyone, but those who can set any preconceived expectations aside and appreciate the journey will probably also enjoy the novel.

Everything Happens So Much is a wonderful choice for everyone who can appreciate a fanciful, quirky science fiction adventure. Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Taken Ones

 

The Taken Ones by J. A. Jance
11/10/26; 368 pages 
William Morrow
J. P. Beaumont #27 

The Taken Ones by J. A. Jance is a highly recommended investigative mystery. This is the 27th book in the series featuring the former police chief, now private investigator J. P. Beaumont.

Regina (Gina) Holt leaves Anchorage Alaska for an internship. She calls her grandmother Louise Holt to let her and her grandfather Art know she arrived in Seattle and then she disappears. When the police don't initially take it seriously, Art talks to mechanic Twinkle Winkleman, who has done investigative work in the past and is immediately concerned that something is wrong. She reaches out to her old friend private investigator J. P. Beaumont (Beau). Both Twinkle and Beau begin to look into the disappearance and it becomes clear that there has been a series of promising young college women who have disappeared.

The narrative opens with Gina's disappearance. This is followed by grandson Kyle Cartwright's plans for the large family party celebrating Beau's second wife, Melissa (Mel) Soames retirement as chief of police in Bellingham, WA. Every relative who’s been invited to her surprise party and their family connection is listed. This whole chapter can be skimmed because these people do not have anything to do with the story. Those following the series will know these characters. Those reading this as a standalone will potentially be overwhelmed with all the extraneous names and information.

As the actual plot unfolds, the narrative switches between the investigations conducted by both Beau and Twinkle, and the point-of-view of Gina who has been kidnapped and is being moved across the country, restrained and blindfolded. Gina remembers her great-grandfather Lars Larson who survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in WWII, and is determined to follow his fortitude to survive. These alternates viewpoints work quite well as Gina's situation is terrifying and the stress and tension surrounding the search for her increases. 

Admittedly, you do have to set some disbelief aside and ignore a few factual errors. This is easily done if you just focus on the mystery, including the investigation, the information uncovered, the search, and the nefarious reason for the young women being kidnapped. The pace moves quickly and there is a satisfying final denouement. 

The Taken Ones is a great choice for those who enjoy mysteries and especially for everyone following the J. P. Beaumont series. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Cold Read

 

The Cold Read by Tara Laskowski
11/10/26; 368 pages
Park Row Books  

The Cold Read by Tara Laskowski is a highly recommended popcorn thriller. This locked-room mystery is set at an old ski lodge and features the cast of actors who have returned to film the sequel to a horror movie set there a decade ago.

Izzy Bingham, the podcaster of Horrified Fans, has been asked by director Esme Duncan to be at the Frostmourne Lodge and ready to announce at midnight on January 10th the sequel to one of the scariest horror movies of the 21st century, No One Can Hear You Scream. It is noted not only for the horror but also for the disappearance of one of the cast members, Theo Cloutier, who's body was never found. The stars of the film are returning, including the scream queen Cassidy White, model and actress Ruby Morales, action heart throb Jake Abbot, smoldering Ben Hartman, and the lumberjack himself David Belfardy. Esme has bought the lodge for this purpose, while David is financing the sequel. 

When they are filming the announcement at midnight online with horror fans across the country watching, something happens and the feed is cut. Izzy comes on again briefly and then a voice is heard saying, "Shut it down, now." The Horrified.com forum goes crazy with comments from the participants speculating what has happened at the lodge. Those at the lodge also don't know what is going on. It appears they may be in a real horror novel and someone came for revenge, but who?

This is truly a well-written popcorn thriller for horror movie fans. The action starts quickly with the threatening weather as well as between the characters with all the secrets they have and the history between them, especially with the unsolved, presumed death of Theo the last time they filmed together. None of these characters are particularly likable or trustworthy and with all the bad memories of the first film it is a wonder they'd return for a second, but they all have their reasons. Esme causes turmoil briefly at the beginning and then disappears before the midnight announcement. 

The chapters in the narrative alternate between the point-of-view of several characters. It also includes several Interstitial chapters which include some of the online comments from the Horrified Fans forum. Making this a locked-room mystery, where they are stuck at the lodge due to the frigid, snowy weather, helps keep the characters on edge with the tension and suspicion high. The question is always there, is it one of them or an outside force?

The Cold Read is a great choice for those who enjoy horror movies and popcorn thrillers. Thanks to Park Row Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Body in the Bath

 

The Body in the Bath by Ragnar Jónasson
11/10/26; 288 pages
St. Martin's Press
Detective Helgi Reykdal #3 

The Body in the Bath by Ragnar Jónasson is a highly recommended mystery set in Iceland. This is the third book in the series featuring Detective Helgi Reykdal. 

On 12/20/2012 Detective Helgi Reykdal is heading to Litla-Hraun prison by colleagues Mani and Alexander under suspicion for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Bergþóra Úlfsdóttir. A month earlier Helgi's girlfriend Anita was deliberately run over and killed by Bergþóra, a violent, abusive alcoholic. Bergþóra claims it was an accident and is not charged. After a month off, Helgi has finally returned to work in Reykjavík on 12/14/2012. To distract himself, Helgi begins investigating the unsolved case of his predecessor, Hulda Hermannsdóttir. She disappeared and it was presumed to be a suicide but Helgi is unconvinced. He has begun to read Hulda's case files, starting back in 1980, but before he determines anything certain, Bergþóra is found dead in her bath and suspicion immediately falls on Helgi.

This is a well-written, very tightly-plotted mystery. From the prologue readers know right at the start what is going to happen to Helgi soon after he returns to work, so that tension is ever present and overwhelming until additional information can be found. At the same time we follow Helgi looking into an old case of Hulda's, where a young woman Rúna, claims that she found a body in her bathtub but after she ran off, it disappeared. There are questions, intrigue, and tension rising based on both cases, present and past, although Helgi's current situation will weigh heavy on you.

The book opens with a reading list of Helgi and Hulda, featuring classic whodunits. Helgi's love of reading mysteries is well known and mentioned frequently in the plot. The classic plots are an inspiration for parts of the novels. Readers perhaps would benefit from reading the previous novel before the current one. The series is: Death at the Sanatorium, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer, and The Body in the Bath. Also, be forewarned that The Body in the Bath ends on a cliffhanger. I am assuming that the trilogy will continue with a fourth novel.

The Body in the Bath is a great choice for those who enjoy tightly plotted mysteries and fans of Agatha Christie. 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 Not So Happy Couple

 

The Not So Happy Couple by Emily Shiner
10/30/26; 300 pages
Bookouture 

The Not So Happy Couple by Emily Shiner is a recommended domestic drama for the right reader. 

Marissa and Bradley are taking out his 50 ft. yacht "Surprise of the Seas" for a long weekend to celebrate their first anniversary even though she hates being on the water. Once they are far out to sea (because Bradley's trying to out run a storm he neglected to mention to her) she discovers a dead body in the master bedroom. She screams, Bradley comes running and when he uncovers the face, he claims to Marissa he doesn't recognize the dead woman, but she can tell he does. The thing is, she also recognizes her. The body is of Evelyn Borth. Bradley contacts the Coast Guard, they have problems with the boat, but eventually get back to land. Now the game of secrets and deception begins in earnest.

The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Marissa, Bradley, and Cami. Early on there are also love letters written to Bradley from a former girl friend. Readers will know from the start that Cami, Marissa's friend, is not trustworthy as she made Marissa promise to never tell Bradley about her, claiming they were estranged siblings. (Yeah, right, I have a bridge I could sell you too, Marissa.) Set disbelief aside. The short chapters do keep the pace steady at first, but after the body was found, Marissa freaks out, and they are back on land, the plot lags. 

It's at this point it becomes a slow moving plot that loops continually on a chorus of "Oh, we don't trust each other; oh, we all have secrets; distrust; suspicious; secrets" - on repeat, but nothing really happens until the twisty, explosive ending. There is no doubt that a bunch of people who are purposefully keeping secrets from each other while planning and scheming can be compelling and keep you reading to see what they do next. This is the reason I kept reading because every single character is has some sort of subterfuge underway. However, this is also a plot that requires you to set a huge dose of disbelief aside. None of the characters are even remotely believable or likable, which made any deep investment in the plot difficult. I've enjoyed other books by Emily Shiner much more and look forward to her next book.

The Not So Happy Couple is recommended for readers who like domestic dramas with deceptive characters. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Monsters of Ohio

 

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi
11/3/26; 272 pages
Tor Publishing Group 

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi is a very highly recommended quirky monster story. Chose your own adventure: this can be an entertaining farcical science fiction story about an amicable, but bloody monster outbreak in a small town, or it could be allegorical tale about contemporary politics. I chose the hilarious, entertaining sci fi option.

The appealing prologue featuring the story of a rabbit, provided a quote (censored and abbreviated) that left me laughing, in tears: "Rabbits absolutely ___ swear. You're a prey animal for ___'s sake, and everything.... is trying to eat you every single moment you exist. You aren't made for any existential crisis." Following this we are introduced to Richland, Ohio, a small town, population 2800, in Darke County. With the impending loss of jobs from the closing of the local meat processing plant Bradson Foods, what the town doesn't need, but finds itself facing, is something strange and explosive happening to animals and people while some other underhanded fraud is underway.

Mike Boyd, a furloughed government USDA employee, is returning to stay with his Dad, Harv, and Harv's wife, Barb in Richland while he looks for a new job in Ohio. Even though he graduated from high school 20 years ago, Mike's immediately recognized by Bill at the gas station and his old friend, Dave Prost, now the Police Chief, has fun pulling him over. Dave and Mike make plans to meet later at Club 713. It is there they run into the new Mayo Caleb Huber, Bret Lawrence, who is there representing Leyton Capital as they prepare to close the Bradson Foods Plant, and Andi Sunders who was brought in to plan the fall festival, the Monster Mash. While there Caleb is call out to the Keller's farm. Something awful has happened to young Jeremy's favorite cow and best friend, Cassie. This portends the messy, but congenial monster outbreak.

I was entertained throughout this well written, fast-paced science fiction story about a bloody, explosive monster outbreak, with tentacles and all, that actually results in everything improving in Richland. There is a plethora of characters introduced, but in a small town everyone pretty much knows everyone else and all their business. The actual narrative focuses on several main characters and it is easy to remember who's who as they are all portrayed as unique individuals with their own distinct voices. The dialogue between characters is natural and flows smoothly. There is a reason for the outbreak that is clearly introduced early in the narrative. The ending ties everything up nicely.

Scalzi's gonna Scalzi (sigh) but I've given Scalzi a hall pass. I have a fluid rule that authors need to keep their editorializing on personal social/political views on contemporary topics to themselves and out of books to extend the longevity of the novel. Most readers will know his opinions will be present in some form, but at least he's talented enough to integrate his allegorical and satirical take on contemporary societal ills into the story and keep it entertaining. Adding the storyline involving executive theft and corporate greed gets a pass too. He should count himself as lucky because I haven't given out many of these special exceptions at all. 

Monsters of Ohio is an excellent choice for fans of quirky monster and science fiction stories along with those who enjoy Scalzi's oeuvre. Thanks to Tor Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.