Can't Wait Wednesday #55

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.

Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a sequel to Matcha on Monday. It is a collection of six short stories by Japanese author Michiko Aoyama. This type of book is known as a healing book. Each of the stories has a character learn something new about themselves. There isn't much mystery but rather character development. Most of the characters appear in all six stories and it's always interesting to see how the story arcs intersect. A cat usually involved in the plot.

I have been searching for a copy of this book for several weeks. I finally ordered it from Amazon and will probably read one chapter every evening. Her next book will be published in March 2027!

Can't Wait Wednesday #53

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.

Nancy Bilyeau is one of my favorite authors. She is coming out with a new book on September 1, 2026. The Heiress of Northanger Abbey is a Jane Austen sequel concerning Catherine Morland. Twenty-two years after her marriage to Henry Tilney, the imposing estate of Northanger Abbey will pass to a new generation. Catherine's daughter Phoebe is expected to inherit the grand estate. However, she inherits more than just the estate. Phoebe uncovers long-buried secrets, hidden corridors, and haunting secrets. 

Here is the publisher's blurb. 

Gloucestershire, 1820: Catherine Tilney receives a letter that resurrects her darkest fears. Her daughter Phoebe has fallen under the influence of the unscrupulous Thorpe family-the very figures who once nearly destroyed Catherine's happiness.

Determined to protect her child from dangerous fortune hunters, Catherine follows Phoebe to an isolated manor on Dartmoor. There, she finds a landscape of reckless passions, family secrets, and a dangerously charming aristocratic neighbor. It all feels eerily like the plot of the latest Gothic sensation, The Vampyre - but is Catherine once again letting her imagination run wild?

In this psychologically charged sequel to Jane Austen's classic, award-winning historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau transforms Catherine's youthful adventures into a mystery with the highest of stakes. The Heiress of Northanger Abbey is a story of mothers and daughters, deception and desire-and of a woman who must learn to trust her power of perception before it's too late.

So my friends, what book(s) are you anxiously awaiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #52

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.

This week I want to feature Eat, Drink and Get Buried by Cleo Coyle. The book is the authors' 22nd coffeehouse mystery and it will be published on September 22, 2026. I cannot wait. The coffeehouse mysteries are my favorite cozy mystery series of all time. 

In this installment of the series the Village Blend caters a rooftop party gone wrong. During the party a woman is thrown off her balcony to her death. Clare Cosi agrees to help clear the name of the accused because it is the boyfriend of a family friend. However, Clare's investigation leads her to a deadly event that her daughter Joy and Joy's friend Ava were involved in years ago when they were teenagers.

I am looking forward to the recipes at the back of the book also. In the past I have discovered new recipes that are loved by friends, giving me a reputation as a good baker. 

If you have not yet read the series, note that it is a contemporary cozy. There is no gore or sexy scenes but sex between the characters will be mentioned.

What books are you waiting to be published?

Can't Wait Wednesday #51

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.

This week I want to feature John Grisham's upcoming book The French Illusion. In this novel Grisham departs from his usual legal thriller genre and presents a suspenseful story about a honeymoon gone wrong. 

The main characters are Paul and Chelsea Tanner. They have just celebrated their wedding but after arriving in Paris they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. The search for clues soon stretches across borders, with the FBI, CIA, and French Intelligence trying to work together to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In an effort to find answers, a young lawyer is recruited to be the bait in an elaborate CIA operation.

It sounds like this is a spy thriller given the involvement of the international agencies. I am looking forward to reading it. The book will be published on September 30, 2026. 

Can't Wait Wednesday #50

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.

This week I want to highlight Wanda Brunstetter's newest novel Melody of Love. It was published two days ago on June 15, 2026. It is about a widowed mother, Amelia Miller, finding love while she is on vacation with her sister. The two of them have traveled to Ohio where Amelia meets Christian Yoder. Their attraction soon turns more serious and when Christian receives an opportunity to relocate to Indiana where Amelia lives, he takes it. What's the conflict in the story? Amelia has an autistic son who doesn't like Christian.

Wanda Brunstetter is the best author writing Amish fiction. I don’t have the book yet but cannot wait to read it.

How about you? What books are you waiting to explore?

Can't Wait Wednesday #49

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.

Today I want to highlight a book that I plan to read next month for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. A River Red With Blood will be published on June 2, 2026. It is part of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly and takes place in Maine’s rural Kennebec River Valley. The plot is interesting. Two teen girls disappear and one of them attends a troubled teens school. Her body is later found in the water and the police assume that she has drowned. However, Detective Parker finds a connection between the two girls, one new and one ancient. I am particularly interested in the ancient connection and can't wait to find out what happened to the girls.

What book(s) are you anxiously awaiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #48

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.

I am excited to read R. G. Kuang's newest novel Taipei Story. It won't be published until September 8, 2026 so I have a few months to wait. I read his novel Yellowface last year and loved it. Even if I hadn't read any of his earlier works, I would probably want to read this novel because the book cover is gorgeous.

The story takes place during one summer in the Taiwan capital city Taipei. Lily Chen is  the main character. She's a college freshman who is studying a language program in order to connect with her Chinese heritage. It’s a difficult transition for Lily who feels like a foreigner in a country she thought she would feel at home.  Her classes are grueling and she can't stand her roommate. After her grandfather passes away, Lily mourns the fact that she will not be able to ask him questions about their family history. Lily soon realizes that knowing the Chinese language will not bring her closer to her relatives.

What book(s) are you waiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #48

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. 

Hidden Poison is the second book in the Amish Book Club Mystery series by Tracy Fredrychowski. I read the first book a few days ago and loved it.

The publisher summarized the plot: A poisoned pot of cream. A bishop with too much power. And one woman’s race to save her friend before the town turns against her.

Rosie Weaver finds joy in her garden, hosting book club, and sharing slow, simple mornings at the Buttered Biscuit. But her peaceful routine shatters when the bishop collapses and dies during breakfast, and the two ministers seated beside him fall ill themselves.

The town is stunned. But while some mourn the loss, others quietly admit the bishop had made enemies with his heavy-handed ways. When whispers begin to blame Lucy Fisher, the former Amish woman who owns the cafe, Rosie, Lovina Frey, and Irma Gingerich refuse to stay silent.

With the sheriff closing the diner and rumors spreading like wildfire, Rosie enlists her book club friends to help clear Lucy’s name. But the deeper they dig into the bishop’s secrets, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Can they uncover the real poisoner before Lucy loses everything… including her place in Sweet Briar?

If you love Amish small-town cozy mystery suspense, tight-knit friendships, and heartwarming sleuths, this book will keep you turning pages long into the night.

What book(s) are waiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #47

 

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. 

Ruins will be published on March 31, 2026. It is a quest story about an  archaeologist, Professor Ember Agni, who seeks a lost civilization. Along the way she is forced to confront her crumbling marriage and personal life. The genre is literary adventure and mystery.

The publisher's summary:  Professor Ember Agni is a rising star in archeology, trying to balance an unfulfilling career in academia and a crumbling marriage, all while pursuing her true passion: unearthing a lost empire that no one else believes existed. Just as she’s about to give up on the ambitious expedition she spent a decade trying to fund, a message arrives from overseas. A former student claims to have found something extraordinary—an artifact that hints at the forgotten world lying beneath history’s tidy surface.

​

With vindication finally within reach, Ember risks everything for the sake of discovery and undertakes an odyssey that will either make her name or ruin her. Driven by unwavering faith in her vision of the past, she challenges the limits of her nation, her colleagues, and herself in order to exhume the missing pieces of how humanity began. But as she journeys deep into an untouched wilderness, in dogged pursuit of a dead civilization, she collides with the wreckage of her own life. On the brink of either discovery or destruction, Ember must choose who she wants to be, and to what kind of world she wants to belong.

I think that I will enjoy it. How about you? What book are you waiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #46

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. 

This week I am anxiously awaiting the publication of Marie Benedict's Daughter of Egypt. It will be published on March 24, 2026. 

Lady Evelyn Herbert becomes obsessed with finding Queen Hatshepsut’s secret tomb. Evelyn is the daughter of Lord Carnarvon who discovered the tomb of King Tut. Evelyn risks everything to uncover the truth about Hatshepsut's reign and to keep her artifacts inside Egypt, which is their rightful home. Danger closes in on Evelyn and with  political tensions rising she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy or forge her own.

Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived three centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever.

I am looking forward to discovering how the lives of these two ladies are similar.

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.

Can't Wait Wednesday #45

Freida McFadden is the queen of psychological thrillers. On October 7, 2025 her newest book will be published. The Intruder is a tale of survival where our protagonist Casey has to determine how far she will go to save herself.

The publisher's summary:

Who knows what the storm will blow in… Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window. She's young. She's alone. And she's covered in blood. The girl won't explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse. The girl has a dark secret. One she'll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

 

This sounds pretty eerie to me and I wonder if the book will give me nightmares.

What books are you waiting for?

Can't Wait Wednesday #44

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

This week I am highlighting Gary McAvoy's first book in his Vatican Archeology series: Covenant of the Iron Cross. He has previously written the Mary Magdalene series and the Vatican Secret Archives series. All three series feature Father Michael Dominic as the main character. The book was published on February 18, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

When Vatican archaeologist Marcus Russo uncovers the fabled Nazi Gold Train buried deep within the Owl Mountains of Poland, he expects to find a forgotten trove of looted treasures. Instead, he unearths a chilling codex that points to a dark and dangerous legacy: Operation Eisenkreuz, a Nazi plan to seed chaos and power across the globe long after their fall. But Marcus soon realizes the train’s secrets are only the beginning. Shadowed by an elusive and ruthless faction known as the Covenant of the Iron Cross, Marcus and his allies—Father Michael Dominic and journalist Hana Sinclair—must race against time to stop the Covenant from using the artifacts to reignite their deadly ambitions.

As Marcus pieces together the codex’s fragmented clues, he discovers it holds more than history—it holds the key to a network of hidden Nazi caches and an unfinished plan that could shift the global balance of power. But the Covenant will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried, infiltrating even the highest echelons of the Vatican itself. From the war-torn archives of Rome to the frozen depths of Eastern Europe, Marcus, Michael, and Hana are drawn into a treacherous game of cat and mouse, where every discovery raises new questions. Who can they trust, and how deep does the Covenant’s influence run?

In Covenant of the Iron Cross, suspense and intrigue collide in a race to unravel a conspiracy decades in the making. Combining historical mysteries with modern stakes, this gripping novel explores the cost of uncovering forbidden truths—and the resilience of those who dare to stand against evil. This thriller delves into the shadows of history, challenging readers to confront how the echoes of the past still shape the present.

So, what books are you waiting to read? 

Can’t Wait Wednesday #43

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

This week I want to feature Bad Lands by authors Preston & Child. The book will be published on June 3, 2025. It is a Nora Kelly Novel wherein archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, while investigating bizarre deaths in the desert, awaken an ancient evil more terrifying than anything they’ve faced before.

The story takes place in the New Mexico badlands, obviously given the title. The skeleton of a woman is found and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. After the victim walked into the desert, she died of heatstroke. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands. They are lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods.

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. A second body is later found exactly like the other. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation by visiting remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power.

I have read most of Preston and Child's novels and all of them were entertaining. I am looking forward to reading the novel. What books are you looking to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #42

This week I am dying to read a new book from Laura Morrelli, The Keeper of Lost Art. It will be published next week on April 22, 2025. Morrelli writes art themed mysteries. Usually the time period is the Renaissance but this newborn takes place during WWII. Below is the publisher's summary of the plot.

As Allied bombs rain down on Torino in the autumn of 1942, Stella Costa’s mother sends her to safety with distant relatives in a Tuscan villa. There, Stella finds her family tasked with a great responsibility: hiding nearly 300 priceless masterpieces from Florence, including Botticelli’s famous Primavera.

With the arrival of German troops imminent, Stella finds herself a stranger in her family’s villa and she struggles to understand why her aunt doesn’t like her. She knows it has something to do with her parents—and the fact that her father, who is currently fighting at the front, has been largely absent from her life.

When a wave of refugees seeks shelter in the villa, Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned boy with remarkable artistic talent. Amid the growing threats, Sandro and Stella take refuge in the villa’s “treasure room,” where the paintings are hidden. There, Botticelli’s masterpiece and other works of art become a solace, an inspiration, and the glue that bonds Stella and Sandro as the dangers grow.

A troop of German soldiers requisitions the villa and puts everyone to forced labor. Now, with the villa full of German soldiers, refugees, a secret guest, and hundreds of priceless treasures, no one knows who will emerge unscathed, and whether the paintings will be taken as spoils or become unintended casualties.

Inspired by the incredible true story of a single Tuscan villa used as a hiding place for the treasures of Florentine art during World War II, The Keeper of Lost Art takes readers on a breathtaking journey into one of the darkest chapters of Italy’s history, highlighting the incredible courage of everyday people to protect some of the most important works of art in western civilization. 

I haven't pre-ordered the book yet but have made a note on my calendar to buy it. What book are you anxiously awaiting?

Can't Wait Wednesday #41

I recently discovered that Alka Joshi has a new book coming out on 2 weeks. I loved her book The Henna Artist and have high hopes for Six Days in Bombay.

When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and her nurse, Sona, is excited to learn more about the vivacious artist who shares her half-Indian identity. Sona, yearning for a larger life, finds herself carried away by Mira's stories of her travels and exploits and is shocked by accounts of the many lovers the painter has left scattered throughout Europe. When Mira dies quite suddenly and mysteriously, Sona falls under suspicion, and her quiet life is upended. 
 
The key to proving Sona's innocence may lie in a cryptic note and four paintings Mira left in her care, sending the young woman on a mission to visit the painter's former friends and lovers across a tumultuous Europe teetering toward war. On the precipice of discovering her own identity, Sona learns that the painter's charming facade hid a far more complicated, troubled soul. 
 
I might have time next week to read the book. We shall see.

Can't Wait Wednesday #40

My favorite cozy mystery author has a new book coming out on April 1, 2025. Cleo Coyle's No Roast for the Weary is the 21st installment of her coffeehouse mystery series. Coyle is the pen name of husband and wife writing team of Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. The main character is Clare Cosi. Along with her ex-husband Clare operates her mother-in-law's Village Blend coffeehouse.

The publisher's summary: When the Village Blend opens a Writer's Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won't survive if she doesn't sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend's customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer's Block Lounge is born. Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop's second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward...

Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day. Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest. 

I pre-ordered a copy of the book awhile ago and cannot wait to start reading.

Can't Wait Wednesday #39

I have been in a reading slump all week so it's hard to think about any book I might want to read in the future. However, Sue Hincenberg's The Retirement Plan sounds like a good story. Three wives approaching retirement with three husbands in the way. This novel will be published on May 6, 2025 and with 544 pages it's definitely a chunkster.

The story concerns three middle-aged best friends who turn to murder in order to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies. The ladies, though, are unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own. After thirty years of friendship, Pam dreams of her perfect retirement with Nancy, Shalisa, Marlene, and their husbands, until their husbands pool their funds for an investment that goes terribly wrong, and their dreams of beachfront condos and a sunny, carefree retirement vanish. When one husband dies in a freak accident, the other three women are shocked to see his widow rebound with a huge life insurance payout and a new life in Florida. In the aftermath, the women discover that their husbands have identical, seven-figure life insurance policies. A new dream forms, and this time, it involves a hitman.

Meanwhile, their husbands have a secret retirement plan of their own. So, when things begin to go awry, they fear their own scheme may have backfired with deadly consequences. The husbands scramble to stay alive, but they may not be fast enough to outmaneuver their wives. What follows is a high-stakes tale of cat and mouse, both laugh-out-loud funny and unbearably tense, while ultimately a bighearted look at marriage, friendship, and middle-age. 

I retired a year ago so this book sounds fabulous.

Can't Wait Wednesday #38

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at the Wishful Endings blog to spotlight the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. 

This week I am excited about the newest installment of the Indigo Teashop series by Laura Childs. High Tea and Misdemeanors was published yesterday and I will most likely be reading it in a few days.

The story is about a wedding where the amateur sleuth Theodosia Browning is catering the reception. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Theo owns a teashop in Charleston. Her tea sommelier Drayton helps her investigate murders. Sometimes they occur on the premises. In this installment of the series she and Drayton are setting up their catering area when they hear a crash coming from a greenhouse. You guessed it, the greenhouse roof collapsed on a bridesmaid and groom. I am assuming the two of them should not be together but we shall see.

What book(s) are you looking forward to read?

Can’t Wait Wednesday #37

A new book in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series will be published in September 2025. The Secret of Secrets is the 7th book in the series and at 704 pages it's a chunkster. It is always hard to summarize Brown's novels so here is the publisher's summary.

Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.

We readers wait a year or more for our favorite authors to publish new books. Then we read them in a flourish and must wait a long time for the next one.  I fear this will happen with The Secret of Secrets. What book(s) are you waiting to read?