Can't Wait Wednesday #45

My first Can't Wait Wednesday of 2026! This weekly meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. The meme spotlights the books that we are excited about but have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. 

The 20th Cotton Malone novel will be published in about a month, on February 17, 2026. The Devil's Bible was written by Steve Berry, one of my favorite authors. He  has written twenty Cotton Malone novels, six stand-alone thrillers, two Luke Daniels adventures, and several works of short fiction. The Cotton Malone novels are treasure hunt mysteries. Cotton's character is a former Justice Department operative.

In this installment of the series Malone is called to Sweden when the younger sister of King Wilhelm I is kidnapped. The ransom demand? Hand over an 800-year-old book, the Codex Gigas—the largest illuminated medieval manuscript in the world. Claimed as war loot from Bohemia in 1648, it’s been kept in Stockholm for nearly 400 years. Along the way it also acquired another more mysterious moniker ... The Devil’s Bible.

The Codex Gigas actually exists and is located in Stockholm. The name Gigas means giant, so it's a giant codex. Per Wikipedia, "Housed in the National Library of Sweden, this colossal book (nearly a meter tall and weighing 75 kg) is renowned for its sheer size, intricate illumination, and the mysterious story surrounding its creation, making it a significant artifact in medieval history and popular legend."  The book contains a large green faced devil portrait inside. The myth states a monk, condemned to death, promised to create the book in one night; failing, he prayed to the Devil, who finished it, thus earning his depiction.

I love it when fiction is based upon fact and cannot wait to read The Devil's Bible.

The Storm

The Storm was just published a week or so ago on January 6, 2026. I selected the book as my first entry for this year's Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. The book is a suspense thriller told in a dual timeline that unravels a decades old murder mystery tied to a hurricane. 

The publisher's summary:  

Simple

St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.

When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.

As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive―and as deadly―as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…

 

I stumbled over the first couple of chapters because the story is narrated by the way people talk, not the way they would write. I adjusted though. August was a dull character but Lo more than made up for him. At age 60, Lo is still attractive with a vibrant personality. How she viewed this old hometown of hers was interesting to read about. Her perception of the changes and the things that did not change were what pushed the plot forward. In the beginning I thought Geneva was the main character since she owned the hotel but Lo was the character that was the most prominent. She is the one that all of the other characters responded to. 

The setting was well described. It was a southern Alabama beach where residents are always looking at the sky in fear of another hurricane arriving on their shores. Thunder, lightning and rain made everyone nervous. You can feel the fear and the tension in them. In this respect, I would call the book an atmospheric mystery. I have never enjoyed an atmospheric story before but The Storm pulled me in. The characters spoke southern, yes it's a language, but it made following the mystery more difficult for me. I was looking for the promise in the summary that a hurricane murder mystery would be solved but my reading speed was sidelined by all of the southernisms. 

The history of the prior hurricanes in Alabama were recited by the characters but Hurricane Marie was one that they only discussed in whispers. This hurricane was the worst and the death of the governor's son Landon Fitzroy made it all the more dramatic.

The Storm was an interesting mystery but a very slow read. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Locked Door

Freida McFadden might be the best psychologist thriller author of our times.  You can always expect a good read from her. After reading the first chapter of the book I was hooked. However, I got up to make coffee and grab a snack because I knew once I started reading that I would not stop until the book was finished. That is pretty much what happened. Below are a few details about the plot.

The publisher's summary:

While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.

Until the day the police arrived at their front door.

Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.

Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.

Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.

As long as they don’t look in her basement.

 

All I can say is wow! This is a gripping, fast paced thriller with a surprising ending. The short chapters help to maintain the suspense level which starts high, stays high and ends high. It's the perfect psychological thriller, which is what I think I said about McFadden's last novel. The story is told in a dual timeline: the present time and 26 years earlier. When the story begins it is the 26th anniversary of Nora turning in her father to the police. He killed at least 30 women in the basement of their home. The basement door was locked at all times, At the present time, someone begins killing women in the same manner that her father used. The police think that Nora is guilty but there is no evidence. 26 years ago Nora had a childhood friend named Marjorie who was bullied by every other kid at school. Marjorie was a loner with no friends and her character fit this stereotype perfectly. When Nora suggests that they play a game called Hunter and Prey, I thought that she would kill Marjorie. This game was fairly aggressive. 

I liked the characters. Nora is interesting because it seems that she might have desires to kill or at the very least is afraid that she has the same desire to kill that her father had. Her personality has been sorely affected by a childhood with a killer parent. I half expected her to turn out to be a killer too. Nora's college boyfriend Brady was creepy. He was highly educated but was working as a bartender so there is a story there that made Nora nervous. Every conversation that Nora had with him made her think that Brady was dangerous. While she slept with him a few times she was also running away from him. Go figure.

Several secondary characters are possible killers of two of Nora's patients. Brady was my main suspect and until the last chapter I thought that he was. One of Nora's patients, Henry Callahan, was another suspect because Nora believed that he was following her home after work.Toward the end of the story Nora's business partner Philip Corey looked suspicious too. The reveal of the whodunnit was shocking.

When I began reading the book I said "OMG." When I finished the book I said it again. I cannot recommend this book more highly. It is a fantastic story.  5 out of 5 stars.

Spasm

Robin Cook's latest medical thriller Spasm was recently published on December 9, 2025. It is his 42nd novel to date and the 15th novel featuring medical examiners Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery. The medical mystery to be solved in this novel involves prions, ie, proteins and infections, that cause dementia symptoms and muscle spasms. 

The publisher's summary:

When Laurie Montgomery temporarily steps down from her position as Chief Medical Examiner, she and Jack find themselves uncharacteristically free for a couple of weeks. And the timing couldn’t be better when they receive a call from Jack’s former medical school classmate, Robert Neilson, who is the sole family practitioner in Essex Falls, an idyllic town tucked away in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. Serving also as the Hamilton County coroner, Dr. Neilson is in over his head trying to explain the sudden death of a young, healthy pest control worker on top of an outbreak of rapidly progressive Alzheimer’s-like cases, and he pleads with Jack and Laurie to come lend a professional hand. Unable to resist a good mystery and a vacation in one, Laurie and Jack agree to help and head upstate.

Essex Falls is beautiful enough and their accommodations are even better than they imagined. But they soon learn the town has suffered a major economic and social setback, which has shaken its residents to their cores. When the body of the pest control worker disappears without a trace just prior to an autopsy, Jack’s penchant for solving forensic conundrums launches him into a full-scale investigation that uncovers the most frightening modus operandi of his career so far.

I am pleased that this novel does not involve Laurie being her husband Jack’s boss. I don't think that those stories were as successful as others. In Spasm, they are once again working together to solve a death investigation. It is nice that they are on a vacation of sorts, a working one. The usual stress of working at the New York Medical Examiner Office is removed. What the reader gets is just the mystery, which is all I am ever interested in. 

The investigation was different from earlier novels. In the past, Cook had his characters searching for a cause of death. In Spasm, Jack and his friend Bob Neilson know pretty quickly that prions are the reason two people died and several others developed alzheimer-related symptoms and died shortly thereafter. What Jack doesn't know is how the people of Essex Falls are getting prion infections. It's not an airborne infection. The investigation in this story is into how the prions were released in Essex Falls and how did the corpse of a pest control worker and local militiaman Ethan Jameson disappear from Dr. Neilson's morgue. While the intensity of the investigation is decreased, there is still a mystery to resolve. I read the book in one sitting. It was not any less riveting for me because the medical investigation was not a howdunnit but a whodunnit.

The story is timely. Ethan Jameson was the president of a local militia in Essex Falls. His group, the Diehard Patriots, are a ragtag group of seventeen men who mainly drink beer and shoot off their rifles in the early hours of the night when most people are asleep.  However, on this particular week Ethan hired four Russian men to train them in combat maneuvers. The Russians slipped into the U.S. from Canada fairly easily. They walked across the border. Two of these men were more interested in brewing beer than teaching the Diehard Patriots. Yes, it was not beer they were brewing but a biological weapon.

I enjoyed this book and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Darjeeling Inheritance

From award-winning author of The Linford Series, Liz Harris, comes this intriguing tale of love and malice, set in the shadow of the Himalayas. I love reading fiction set in India so I was immediately drawn to the book. The book was published on April 23, 2021. With 404 pages, it's almost a chunkster.

The publisher's summary:

Darjeeling, 1930

After eleven years in school in England, Charlotte Lawrence returns to Sundar, the tea plantation owned by her family, and finds an empty house. She learns that her beloved father died a couple of days earlier and that he left her his estate. She learns also that it was his wish that she marry Andrew McAllister, the good-looking younger son from a neighbouring plantation.

Unwilling to commit to a wedding for which she doesn't feel ready, Charlotte pleads with Dan Fitzgerald, the assistant manager of Sundar, to teach her how to run the plantation while she gets to know Andrew. Although reluctant as he knew that a woman would never be accepted as manager by the local merchants and workers, Dan agrees.

Charlotte's chaperone on the journey from England, Ada Eastman, who during the long voyage, has become a friend, has journeyed to Darjeeling to marry Harry Banning, the owner of a neighbouring tea garden.

When Ada marries Harry, she's determined to be a loyal and faithful wife. And to be a good friend to Charlotte. And nothing, but nothing, was going to stand in the way of that.

The story begins with a bang. When Charlotte returns home she is immediately told that her beloved father died two days earlier. In addition, she is the heir to the tea plantation. About an hour later her mother tells Charlotte that she is to marry Andrew McAllister. Charlotte has not seen Andrew since she was a young child and does not wish to marry any time soon. This is alot for her to absorb in the first few minutes at home. Charlotte, though, plans to learn everything about the tea business before she marries.

As a tea aficionado I appreciated all the information on what makes a great tea leaf. From the age and height of the tea bushes to the lack of moisture coming from the Himalayas, I learned alot about my favorite tea. Darjeeling has been my go to tea for years. There are, of course, unpleasant jobs that tea planters have to do. Manuring sections of the terraces (yes, I made up that word), lopping and shaping the leaves must be done on a regular basis. The leaves are then plucked every five to seven days, thirty or forty times a year. No wonder it is expensive.

Charlotte continued to learn a new aspect of tea planting every week. Each week's lessons were fully described. While I enjoyed this, readers who are not into tea might find all this information boring. Charlotte had other lessons from her mother on how to run a household as well as knowing how to mix drinks for her future husband. 

The setting is a dream. . . for the wealthy. The oppressive heat was difficult for manual laborers in the tea fields. The wealthy, however, had beautiful homes with servants who catered to their every need and desire. Also, India has plenty of private clubs for the English to join that bar Indians. The English certainly set up a fine social network for themselves. Unfortunately, their Indian employees worked long hours with little pay. When I say the setting is a dream, I am imagining that I am a wealthy Englishwoman living in a plantation home. 

The romance among the characters was messed up. New bride Ada is attracted to Andrew. Andrew feels the same for Ada even though he plans to marry Charlotte. Dan develops feelings for Charlotte during their educational sessions which eventually are reciprocated. While Charlotte is the main character, the story heavily features Ada and her new husband Harry. I did not understand Ada's prominence until the midway point when these attractions became physical. 

All in all Darjeeling Inheritance was an enjoyable read. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Realtor

I have had this book on my TBR list for almost a year. Finally, I got around to reading it. The main character is Celine Bauman. Celine has a five year old daughter Alyssa who is about to hegin kindergarten. Her job as a real estate agent allows Celine the time to drop Alyssa off at school in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. On the first day of school Celine sees an unkempt woman by a fence. It is Hannah, a wealthy client buying a $400,000 house from her with cash. Celine stands to earn a $24,000 commission on the sale. Hannah's behavior is creepy so Celine talks to her best friend Jill almost daily about her. While at the school, an old friend tells Celine that her old boyfriend Brad Dowling has woken up from a five year coma. This news sends Celine spinning. The next day she receives a text stating "I know what you did. Murderer." From here the plot takes off. 

The story was riveting. I could not stop reading as each chapter ended with suspense. Two friends of Celine were murdered. Both of these ladies had dated Brad. Rosalie Phillips had killed herself but a few of the officers in the local police department believed otherwise. Then, Teryn Holmes, a nurse at the hospital where Brad is a patient is found dead. Teryn, was also a former girlfriend of Brad. There were alot of twists in the story and as the plot was winding down, I was excited to find out the whodunnit and the whydunnit. However, the denoument was a bit weird. I was disappointed. 

Note that the book is a revised edition of The Life She Stole. While the book was mainly gripping, because of the ending I have to reduce my rating to 4 out of 5 stars. Parts of the ending were satisfying but other parts were bizarre.

At Death's Dough

At Death's Dough is the 5th Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley. I love this series. It takes place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin which is a resort town that I have visited and am familiar with. The pizzeria scenes make me hungry as pizza is my favorite food group. What's not to like? The book was published in October 2025.

The publisher's summary:  

It’s February in the ritzy lakeside resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and love is in the air. Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is gearing up to celebrate her first Valentine’s Day with hunky police detective Calvin Capone, great-grandson of the infamous Chicago mobster. But their romance is put on ice when a shocking discovery plunges them into a century-old crime with ties to Capone’s notorious forefather.

As old secrets surface, Delilah realizes that nearly everyone in town―from Capone’s cagey cousin to her own quirky customers―has something to hide. With the pressure mounting and the past closing in, Delilah must help Capone follow a trail of clues that could lead them to a priceless treasure... or into a deadly trap. Can Delilah serve up justice before history repeats itself? Or will she and Capone end up sleeping with the anchovies?

I enjoyed getting reacquainted with my favorite characters. Delilah is the main character and she is dating a police officer who is Al Capone’s grandson; Calvin Capone. Her sous chef and best friend Sonya is rather quirky. Sonya is always doing something new and exciting and the something usually ends up being related somehow to the murder. In this installment of the series, the death did not occur until the one third point in the story and we don't know whether it's a murder just yet. Normally I get prickly when the death/murder doesn't happen in the first couple of chapters. That did not happen because I was enjoying the setting and the characters. Another fun character is Delilah’s Aunt Biz. Biz is an octogenarian with a sassy mouth and zest for life. It seems that Delilah is the only character with common sense. She navigates all of these fun folks with aplomb.

The death investigation didn't actually happen. No witnesses were interviewed. I found this unbelievable but remembered that cozies require a suspension of belief. It seems that Capone’s shady cousin Dominic was secretly in town for an unknown reason. Delilah believes that he was searching for a treasure that disappeared after a train robbery 100 years ago because who, in their right mind, would scuba dive under a frozen lake in the winter. When Delilah and company realized that the treasure might be stashed in Geneva, she and friend Daniel dived under the ice to see if it was buried there. The results of the dive could determine whether Dominic was murdered or accidentally drowned under the ice.

I loved this cozy mystery and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Hildegard Seeds

I have one additional books to read in Gary McAvoy's Vatican Secret Archives Mystery series. I will then begin reading his Vatican Archaeology series. I have enjoyed every book he has written to date and The Hildegard Seeds is no different. It was awesome. 

The publisher's summary:

When investigative journalist Hana Sinclair uncovers a cryptic reference to an ancient botanical manuscript left to by her late grandfather, she unravels a thread tied to Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century abbess, healer, and mystic. Her findings reveal that Hildegard’s work holds more than historical value—it may conceal the key to curing some of humanity’s most devastating diseases. But someone is determined to ensure her secrets stay buried.

As Hana teams up with Father Michael Dominic, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, and Marcus Russo, a Vatican archaeologist, they discover that a powerful biotech corporation, Zentara, has been systematically suppressing cancer cures for profit. Zentara’s reach is vast, its operatives ruthless, and its agenda clear: control the narrative of medical progress at any cost.

The team races to uncover and protect Hildegard’s work, their journey taking them from Geneva to Rupertsberg Abbey, where Hildegard lived and worked, to Zentara’s high-tech laboratories. Along the way, they face betrayal, danger, and the weight of their own convictions. For Hana, the fight becomes deeply personal, challenging her notions of justice and the role of science in society.

But when Zentara accelerates its plans and begins human trials with catastrophic consequences, the stakes grow even higher. Can the team expose the corporation’s crimes, safeguard Hildegard’s legacy, and ensure her healing vision is not lost to history?

A gripping tale of courage, faith, and the pursuit of truth, The Hildegard Seeds explores the timeless struggle between greed and the greater good, weaving historical intrigue with modern-day suspense in a story that will resonate long after the final page.

The action in this story began in the first chapter, must sooner than in previous novels which is a good thing.  My interest in the story began quickly as the short chapters brought the suspense level up. It was impossible to put the book down. The vial referenced in the summary above contained a substance that Hildegard's manuscript promised to be able to cure tumors.  A substance that can cure cancer would be coveted by every pharmaceutical company in the world which naturally created danger for Hana and Michael. 

The story contained alot of scientific information concerning botanicals, such as ferns and ricinus aureum as well as the scientific method of isolating the properties of these plants. Ricinus aureum isn't a recognized plant name, but likely refers to ricinus communis, the castor bean plant, known for its stunning foliage (often purplish, hence "aureum" might imply golden/colorful) and highly poisonous seeds, containing the toxin ricin, used medicinally and industrially for castor oil but dangerous if ingested. In this novel the ricinum aureum plant is referred to as a "golden castor, " so I assume we are referring to the same plant.

Also, the story includes Hildegard’s mystical language Lingua Ignota (Latin for "unknown language") which consists of 23 letters and a vocabulary with no known grammar. The only known text are individual words embedded in Latin. To write it, Hildegard used denominated litterae ignotae (Latin for "unknown letters"). It was pretty cool to see how Father Michael Dominic deciphered it. The story also contained several of the riddles in Hildegard’s writings that Hana and Michael had to decipher making this book a first rate mystery.

As I usually do when reading McAvoy's novels, I stopped reading in the middle of the book to check Wikipedia in order to determine what is true in the story and what isn't. While I know that I will find this info at the end of the story, I am too impatient to wait.

This installment of the series may be the best. The plot is more intricate and together with all the science behind Hildegard’s ideas, I was fascinated with the story. The twists and turns are ramped up and Hana and Michael find their lives in mortal danger multiple times. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. 

The Quiet Wife

The Quiet Wife was published in January 2023. It was written by one of my favorite authors so I had high expectations for this book. It was fantastic!

The publisher's summary:

At 36, Katie Cope isn’t where she thought she’d be. Somehow the things she was supposed to have slipped by. Her dream of being a journalist was reduced to writing pop culture pieces. Her dream of being a mother stalled in a faltering marriage. And when her husband sells his business, reaching success she never has, she feels more pressed than ever to make something of her life.

When she discovers a disturbing connection between a wealthy housing project in the Colorado mountains and missing girls, she knows she might have a chance at a big story. But after joining the community, what she sees in her neighbor’s windows and the strange footsteps in the snow that come out of the woods and linger at her backdoor have her wondering if the success is worth her safety.

Something is fatally wrong in the mountains of Carson’s Pass, and when she realizes her own past might have everything to do with the vanished girls, she must risk going missing herself to find out what.

This story is a slow burn. In fact, I was rather bored until page 70 when Katie finds a secret room behind a wall. The developer had a reputation for building secret tunnels behind the walls of homes that he built. 2 girls had gone missing years earlier from houses that he constructed. Katie and her best friend Miranda came to Carson’s Pass to determine whether the homes in this development had secret tunnels. They planned in taking photos of these spaces and sending them to a journalist friend back in San Diego. While in the secret room Katie found a box filled with photos of young girls. She was shocked to discover a picture of her friend Claire, who it was assumed killed herself in the Colorado mountains. 

This story was so eerie it could have been written by Alfred Hitchcock. Toward the end I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone when what was real became unreal. I had goosebumps. Aside from the initial chapters the book was perfectly plotted. The pace was fast but at the end it was racing to the finish line. It was very rewarding. This author is well known for his psychological thrillers but The Quiet Wife may be one of his best. 

The characters were well drawn. The story is told from Katie's perspective. She is somewhat estranged from her family. Katie wants to avoid her prevocative sister but finds herself inviting her sister to family events. The relationship with her husband was hard to decipher. Both of them wanted to reconcile but not really. They thought it would be the right thing to do but their hearts are not in it. Katie is obviously the "quiet wife" but she has started to express her feelings more. No one cares though. Secondary character Phillip Pope, the developer of Carson’s Pass, is the primary villain of the book. There has been alot of gossip about him for years because of the missing girls. Some went missing from houses that he built in Colorado and no can figure out how anyone could have taken them. 

I cannot say enough good things about the book but because the opening was slow I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

A Killer in the Family

I received a free copy of this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review. The book got lost during my move and I recently came across it. It's an intoxicating drama about South East India immigrants to the U.S. and their life in New York City.

The publisher's summary:

It’s time for Ali, a good-natured Mumbai party-boy, to grow up. The first step to settling down is an arranged marriage to Maryam, the daughter of Abbas Khan, a New York real estate tycoon. She’s pretty, demure, and respectable—unlike her sister, Farhan, a sexy, rebellious divorcée.

After the wedding, Ali moves to New York and enjoys the privileges of being an honorary Khan: private helicopters, supertall skyscrapers, and a Gatsbyesque house in the Hamptons. But soon rumors begin to surface about Abbas Khan—accusations of corruption and hidden affairs—and Farhan hints that a violent secret underlies Abbas's success. Though Ali's wife insists the insinuations are unfounded, he can't shake the feeling that there's something he doesn't know.

To uncover the truth, Ali launches his own investigation, which takes him deep into Abbas’s dealings and past. As he closes in on the truth, Ali must decide: Can he remain part of the Khan family, and pay the moral price demanded by unimaginable wealth and power?

A Killer in the Family is quite the page turner. The suspense was built up slowly and there were many twists. I was confused throughout the story as to the identity of the villain. It seemed that every character could have been the primary villain but when the real one was revealed in the last chapter I was stunned.

This is a character driven story. All of them are complex and make the book irresistible. Ali's failure to launch and uncertainty about everything in life have handicapped his career moves. He is meek. His doctor wife, however, turns out to be ruthless in her maneuvering to gain control of the Khan family business. I didn't see this coming but should have given her devotion to her job in a hospital. Maryam hides underneath a patina of politeness though. Her sister Farhan is the typical drug addled person who has been unstable her entire life. In this respect she is like Ali which is probably why they had a lengthy affair. Ali's father in law is the consummate tycoon. He is always working and has been rewarded with riches the rest of us can only dream of. 

The murders are first mentioned at the 100 page mark. It was hard to determine how they were related to the Khan family or their employees. Around the 70% mark of the plot the possible killers were fleshed out. The big reveal was not too exciting. What was exciting was the evolution of the characters. 

The glittery setting of New York City's wealthy homes and lifestyles was enticing. I really wanted to have those big homes, expensive artworks, to eat at those restaurants and have the power to change people's lives for better or worse. Sadly, I am a poor blogger. 

A Killer in the Family is an intriguing read. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers. 5 out of 5 stars.

Midnight

I bought an ecopy of this book last year, thinking I could use it for the Color Coded Reading Challenge. Can midnight be a black shade?  I didn't get around to reading it until this week. It's awful I hate to say. If I hadn't read the publisher's summary before beginning this read, I would have no idea what it is about. 

The publisher's summary:

In the frigid summers of the Antarctic continent, the sun never sets, and Olivia Campbell has long dreamed of spending a sunlit night in this beautiful, remote place. So when her boyfriend—a high-powered art dealer with a taste for the finer things in life—decides to stage an ostentatious, career-making auction aboard a luxury cruise liner to Antarctica, Olivia can hardly believe her luck. That is, until the ship sets sail and her boyfriend is nowhere to be found, and she is left to manage both the auction and her own creeping fear of the open ocean entirely alone. And as though that weren’t enough, the first bodies turn up soon after. 

It seems like a terrible accident. This is the Drake Passage, after all, one of the most notorious bodies of water on the planet, and there are always risks in such extreme conditions. But as the situation deteriorates, it soon becomes clear that there is real danger on board—and that the closest help is hundreds of miles away. With tensions rising and temperatures plummeting, Olivia wonders whether she’s booked a fabulous adventure . . . or a one-way ticket to her own destruction.

The dialogue between the characters seemed to take precedence over plot action. Nothing really happened during the first half of the story. Also, Olivia is not an interesting character. She has PTSD from being on a ship years earlier with her father, who died on the trip. This could have been better written into her character but it wasn't. So why bring it up? As for the pace, I did not see any pace; just character dialogue that did not even move the plot.

The setting descriptions were spot on. I loved reading about Antarctica. I also enjoyed the cruise ship descriptions, including the activities onboard. Another aspect of the book that I liked was seeing how the art market works. It was informative. 

This book fell short. I don't know why I didn't DNF it. As for the rating, I am giving it a 1.7, one of the lowest ratings I have ever given a book. 

The Fourth Daughter

The Fourth Daughter is a family saga that takes place in Taiwan. It's an enjoyable book. As you can tell from the summary, life was not easy for women, even in the 1960s when the main story takes place.

The publisher's summary:

In Taiwan, the bond between grandmother and granddaughter opens up a healing world for them both in an inspiring family saga about the comfort of food, untold histories, and indomitable mother love.

Chef Liv Kuo’s star is on the rise…until a traumatic incident leaves her emotionally unable to venture outside her Manhattan apartment. But an unexpected reason to break free comes from Ah-Ma, Liv’s6 beloved grandmother in Taiwan. Ah-Ma needs Liv’s help in finding her fourth daughter, taken from her when the girl was an infant. After all these years, it seems impossible. It’s also a mystery: Ah-Ma’s fourth daughter is an aunt Liv never even knew existed.

After landing in Taiwan, Liv hears the heartbreaking story of her grandmother’s plight in a country once under martial law, of choices made for her, and of the hopeful search for a lost girl that has endured for more than sixty years. Like the enriching food and traditions that bind Liv and Ah-Ma, their journey for answers brings them together.

And it’s a quest that turns up both a precious old cookbook and a tale of fatal betrayal that shakes everything Liv believed about her family—revelations that could also give her the courage to face the trauma she left behind.

This heartwarming story is told in a dual timeline. The chapters alternate from 1960s Taiwan to New York in the current time period. The earlier timeline details how grandmother Yi-ping's fourth daughter, Yili, was stolen, while the present day timeline covers the search for the girl who is now in her 60s. I love dual timelines because they make the pace faster and I like how these storres unfold.

I loved the Taiwan setting. I learned alot about Taiwanese history, which was exciting for me as I am traveling there next year. The descriptions of all of the food Liv ate while in Taiwan were mouthwatering. The spices in each dish were described as the food entered her mouth as well as the aftertaste. If there was anything negative about the setting it was the number of people wandering in the streets. Liv has panic attacks when in crowds. I felt her vertigo as well. The author did a great job describing the setting, which is appropriate since she was born in Taiwan.

The politics of the country was well-described. Liv's family were associated with the KMT who had control of the government during the time period of the story. Liv's grandfather, Wang Po-Wei, was connected with them. The KMT were known to be brutal, killing people or making people disappear on a whim from officials. This association made it difficult to get information about Yili as people refused to help because of anger over relatives who had disappeared. 

SPOILER ALERT!  The story has a happy ending. Everyone lives happily ever after. It's nice to read something that ends well. It's even nicer when all of the characters get along. I don't see this often but I love it when it happens.

5 out of 5 stars.

Death on a Scottish Train

I have anxiously been awaiting the publication of this book. Death in a Scottish Train is the 4th book in Lucy Connelly's Scottish Isles Mystery series. It is a cozy mystery featuring Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American who moved to Scotland for a new start in life. She acts as both a physician and the coroner in the village of Sea Isle. The book was published on October 14, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American in Scotland, has a killer in sight in the fourth installment of the Scottish Isle mystery series, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and Connie Berry.

Summer is coming to a close on beautiful Sea Isle in Scotland, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is celebrating one year since her big move. With a weeklong festival to end the season, the town gathers for a magical ride on the newly refurbished Storyteller’s Train, but the launch’s success is dampened by an unexpected death.

What appears to be a case of deadly allergies is soon revealed as murder. As Emilia, her assistant Abigail, and the local constable Ewan McGregor unravel the mystery, the killer sets their murderous intentions on them.

If they want to survive, they will need the help of all of their friends—before they become the latest victims.

While the story is a mystery, what I immediately feel when I open any book in this series is the coziness of the Sea Isle village. Everyone gets along and they all look out for each other. Everyone also seems to be happy. If I could move there I would. This is the only cozy mystery that gives me that feeling.

The plot was captivating. It revolved around the investigation of the death of accountant Donald Jacks. Jacks was scheduled to be a storyteller for a vintage train ride. While he was seen at the train station, he didn't board the train. He was later found stuffed in a cupboard at the station. Em and Ewen quickly learn that he invested several residents' retirement funds in risky schemes and they lost everything. The pool of suspects is wide but perhaps Jacks just met his karma. Jacks had an allergy to bees that few people knew about. Since he constantly put lip balm on his lips, the killer decided put bee venom in the lip balm. As Jacks used it he was not aware that he was killing himself with it. There were plenty of suspects and red herrings as Emilia and Ewen investigated the death, The big reveal is in the last chapter.

Emilia has now resided in Sea Isle for one year. There is a hint of her having romantic feelings for Ewen who has been always been a  annoyance to her. I think we are going to see these two characters becoming close in future installments of the series.

Death on a Scottish Train was a fun and relaxing read. Cozy lovers who haven't read the series yet should look into it. 5 out of 5 stars.