The House of Lies

As soon as I heard about this book I immediately pre-ordered a copy. The author's Alardyce House series was incredibly good. The prospect of reading another story about this family was too good to be true. The book was published on February 6, 2026.

The publisher's summary:  

For generations, the Alardyce family have lived under the shadow of a curse. Some say it died with Robert Alardyce - the ruthless patriarch whose name was whispered in fear - but others know darkness like his never truly fades.

Decades later, Alardyce House stands empty, its secrets lost behind its walls. Until Kate Alardyce - Robert’s sharp and ambitious great-granddaughter - decides it’s time to reclaim her family’s legacy. And Kate always gets what she wants...

As the family gathers, old secrets resurface, loyalties fracture and the air thickens with menace. When Kate's cousin, Cameron Alardyce walks through the door, his resemblance to Robert sends a chill through them all…and it isn’t long before history begins to repeat itself.

But is the infamous curse really to blame… or is someone alive, watching, and ready to make the Alardyces pay in blood?

I enjoyed the first half of the story but it lacked the suspense and tension of the previous Alardyce novels. Kate wants to make a movie about the family, which is why she invited her cousins to the house. Lucy, Cameron, Simon, Harry and Jenna became reacquainted with each other and with Kate during this weekend. There were special family dinners, tours of the house as well as tours of the local village. The first third of the book was devoted to introducing the idea of the film to the cousins and convincing them to not only agree to the film but also to be a part of it. Kate wanted Cameron to play the role of the evil Robert Alardyce. Cameron looks exactly like a painting of Robert which hangs in the dining room. Robert’s eyes are dark, like evil lurking within them. With some prompting by Kate, Cameron easily becomes angry and impulsive like his doppelganger. Kate obviously inherited a dark side too. She knows how to manipulate people and events in order to get her way. 

At the halfway point I realized there wouldn't be any action. The book is solely about the reunion of the cousins. Most of the book is dialogue between them on mundane topics. There is alot of discussion concerning the Alardyce curse. It really is the Alardyce mental illness that seems to always skip a generation. 

I am not sure whether attempting to replay family events is sufficient to make a good psychological thriller. Kate's idea that the Robert painting can come to real life is loony. It's not plausible. It might work in a cozy mystery but not a psychological thriller. Another thing, Alardyce House seems to be haunted. Sightings of serial killer Edward Alardyce have been seen in the house. It would have been interesting if the ghost was also a serial killer as Edward was. I am not sure whether this fifth installment of the Alardyce House series was meant to merely bridge the gap from Victorian England to the present for future installments or to present a new mystery for us to resolve. Either way, The House of Lies falls short.

2.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Want to Know a Secret

I was lucky to receive an advanced review copy of Freida McFadden's newest novel from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The book was self-published in 2021 but will be re-released by Poison Pen Press in March 2026. It's unclear if any changes were made to the manuscript but the copyright page indicates it is the final manuscript approved for pre-publication by Poison Pen Press. I requested the book because I knew it would be riveting. Freida McFadden has never written a book that wasn't engrossing. Want to Know a Secret fit the bill. 

The story opened spectacularly.  YouTuber April Masterson received a threatening text message from an anonymous person, someone close enough to see what's happening in her backyard and that her son Bobby was not where she thought he was at. April was distracted while filming an episode of her baking channel and wasn't watching him. A frantic search by April and husband Elliott only ended when April knocked on a new neighbor's door. She was about to ask neighbor Maria if she had seen her son when April eyes him playing with Maria's son Owen in their living room. April continued to receive anonymous texts but then began receiving negative comments on her You Tube videos. Some intimated knowledge of April's personal affairs and stated she was a fraud. April's private musings admitted that they were factual. She continued receiving texts about her flirting and about something buried in her backyard.

April appears to the outside world as the perfect woman. I fell for it in the beginning of the story but after awhile it seemed that something was off. No one is that perfect. April's new neighbor Maria definitely gives off bad vibes and we are led to believe that Maria might be the villain who is sending the text messages. I fell for that too. Initially it appeared that Maria had more secrets than April but then came Part 2. And Part 3.

This story is a perfect psychological thriller. It was hard to tell who all the psychopaths were. The plot twists began early but the ending was so surprising I read the last chapters twice. All this leaves me to wonder how the author comes up with her story ideas. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Beginner's Quilt

I received an advanced review copy of The Beginner's Quilt from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The book will be released next month. I love Wanda Brunstetter's novels. She writes Amish fiction and has 147 books under her belt. The Beginner's Quilt is a prequel to Brunstetter's Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club series. This installment of the series focuses on Emma Bontrager's lack of interest in  performing household tasks such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. Her mother hasn't been able to teach her daughter these skills because Emma is always busy with the outdoors. The story shows her transition to domesticity. Emma's mother hopes that she will learn how to be an Amish wife.

Emma is a tomboy who loves fishing, baseball and any outdoors activity. Her mother sends her to her grandmother’s house in Arthur, IL for the summer in order to learn to cook and sew. Emma's grandmother is a great cook and seamstress. She soon meets grandma's friend Ida Mae Yoder who is an accomplished quilter. After admiring one of Ida Mae's Quilts she is offered lessons. Emma accepts immediately and begins making a quilt from the tree of life quilt block. Her new interest blossoms into a passion and after a few successes in the kitchen, Emma concentrates more and more on learning new recipes.

Emma is shy and has many inhibitions. When she meets Ida Mae's son Ivan, Emma feels an attraction but isn't cognizant of it. She only knows that she is tongue tied around him. Ivan, on the other hand, is bold in speaking and asserting his desires. They are complete opposites. After finding their footing as a couple something awful occurs that ends up separating them. Both are learning how to practice forgiveness while they journey through their time together.

This story is strictly romance. There are no modern problems involved in the plot which we have seen from earlier Brunstetter novels. It is a relaxing story to read. 4 out of 5 stars.

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.

2026 New Release Reading Challenge

I will be rejoining the New Release Reading Challenge in 2026. Sign-ups opened today at the Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. Since most of the books I read in any given year are new releases this should be an easy challenge to complete. My participation level is New Release Veteran which requires me to read 61 - 100 books. 

Challenge Rules 

1) The challenge runs the calendar year from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.

2) Books must be published in 2026.

3) Books can count towards more than one challenge, meme, book-tag, or book-list.

4) The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages and can be in any format such as physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook, in any genre (including graphic novels and comics), set in any era (past, present, or future), and written for any reading age group.

5) You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes or anywhere that you post a review of a newly released book.

6) If you want to spread the love, please use #2026NewReleaseChallenge on any and all social media sites where you promote your reviews.

7) There is a Facebook Group for the New Release Challenge, to have a place where we can keep up with each other, cheer each other on, and get to know each other better. It is also a place where we can help each other find even more new releases. For those of you who have already participated, it’s the same group as before.

8) You can also link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes or anywhere that you post a review of a newly released book.

9) There are five levels in the New Release Challenge:

1-30 books per year – New Release Newbie

31-60 books per year – New Release Pro

61-100 books per year – New Release Veteran (my personal goal)

101-200 books per year – New Release Enthusiast

200+ books per year – New Release Obsessed

Please consider joining the challenge with me. It's a fun way to find new books that interest you. You can sign up for the challenge here.