This title offers a rather dark and twisting story that will appeal to readers who don’t read cozies. This is definitely not that.
There are complex characters in these pages who are not always likeable. Watch for them in their neighborhood. Think about what it means to be a mother. Be prepared for murder and some surprises as the intricate plot unfolds.
This book is not fully for me but I definitely admire the suspenseful way in which the novel unfolds.
Publishers Weekly states “Few readers will have seen it coming, but they will, in hindsight, be impressed by Murphy’s ingenious narrative structure and clever placement of clues.”
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Description:
from the publisher
“A shocking collision made all the more satisfying by Murphy’s brilliant twists… Clear your schedule—you won’t be putting this down until that last, mesmerizing page.” —Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of Tell Me What You Did
One quiet neighborhood Three different families Bound by murder
Klara never wanted the house with the white picket fence. Troy never wanted anything else.
Nothing is quite right with this happy couple, but they fit right in. The mother in the blue house, Mary, is cleaning out her son’s old room before she sells, haunted by the mistakes of her past and afraid of what her home has become. Next door, Henry, freshly laid off and back living with his parents, has plenty of time to watch everyone—especially wives. He knows something is wrong. But then then nothing is quite as it seems, and sometimes you miss what is right in front of you.
Murder will soon thread its way through this world in ways no one will see coming—unless you’ve been plotting all along.
This sweet book celebrates the joys of reading between adults and children. The many reasons that reading can be a wonderful shared activity are nicely noted. There are suggestions of ways that stories influence the reader. The illustrations are engaging and show a diverse group of people.
This is a nice way to reinforce why we read to the kids in our lives.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Mission Point Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 12 August 2026
Description:
from the publisher
I Love It When We Read Together invites reading partners to create their own special rituals with gentle prompts and endearing illustrations that encourage kids to read along, spot animals, and spark lively conversations. This book is perfect for building fluency and connection. Inspired by the literacy challenges of the pandemic, early childhood educator Karolyn Wallace crafts a cozy experience that helps families bring the joy of reading home.
Robyn Carr is the author of several series of novels including The Grace Valley Trilogy, the Virgin River books and the Thunder Point stories. She has also written a number of standalone titles of which this is one.
This is a story about family and the ways in which people react, cope and look for happiness in their relationships. Some of the characters whom readers get to know include:
Anna-She has been recently widowed after her husband went on a dangerous white water rafting trip. What was he trying to prove? Anna, herself, was raised by a single mother and has worked hard since going back to law school. She wants and needs financial security and the knowledge that she can care for herself.. Anna is a judge who, as a lawyer, specialized in cases involving women and domestic violence.
Chad-Anna met him when she literally rescued him. He worked as a counselor but had his own issues (as counselors often do.)
Together, Anna and Chad had three children. Each of them is coping with their father’s death. Jessie is a doctor who pushes too much in her relationships; Mike is a teacher who has trouble committing and Bess, who has Asperger’s, sees life in her own unique way.
Add to this core family, Chad’s best friend Joe. He is a support to Anna but hopes for more. There is also a mysterious young, pregnant woman who appears at Chad’s funeral.
This novel tells the story of each of these people as they cope with loss and growth. Those who enjoy stories with characters about whom they will care and those who enjoy women’s fiction may want to pick up this title.
See my archive for the blog tour on this title.
Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing-Mira for this title. All opinions are my own.
Sarah Morgan has become one of my favorite authors when I want a story with good characters, plot and settings. That is definitely true in her newest novel which has all of these qualities.
Characters include two women who were best friends and are now coming back together. They are Milly and Nicole. There are other characters as well from Milly and Nicole’s lives.
Milly lives and works at her family’s lakeside resort. While no specific location is given, I would visit there if I could! Milly is recently divorced and mom to a young teen.
Nicole made it big as an actress. She has not been able to secure her mother’s admiration and, as a child, adored Milly’s more open and affectionate family.
A scandal causes Nicole to reach out to Milly. From here, the story takes off. It is one about reconciliations, friendship, living a good life even when that is not a perfect life, and more.
Highly recommended to readers of women’s fiction.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 06 May 2025
General fiction-women’s fiction
308 pages
From the Publisher
Other books by this author:
Note: While some of these are listed as e book bargains, that was true at the time of the original post and may no longer be true.
Note that I am commenting on the extended preview. ALSO NOTE: I HAVE SINCE READ AND VERY MUCH ENJOYED THE WHOLE NOVEL!
This book appears to have many elements that will make it an engrossing read. I will certainly buy the book so that I can spend more time with this book’s characters and story lines.
After an opening set in the days after WWII, the novel moves to the year 1928 when Skye and Liberty Penrose are children being raised by their single mother. Their mother Vanessa, who predicts the future for clients, is a pilot who has passed on her love of the skies to her aptly named older daughter.
When the reader first meets Skye, she is ten and unconventional. Younger sister Liberty appears prone to temper tantrums and may be less than stable. Skye meets Nick during this summer and it is clear that they will have connections throughout the entire story.
The book jumps to 2012 in the following section. In this, a descendant of one of the main characters, Kat, travels to Cornwall to visit her grandmother’s house. Grandmother Margaux has ties to Nick and Skye as I think will become clearer.
This is another story with sections set before, during and after WWII. Illuminated through Skye is a story of the women who flew planes during the war. There is a sense that Liberty and the other main characters will face many threats as the novel continues. It also feels like the past and present will tie together by the end of the book.
This appears to be an involving and interesting novel. As noted above, I will be purchasing it so that I can see how it ends.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this preview. All opinions are my own.
The lives of four sleepless strangers intersect late at night as they attempt to solve not just their own anxieties but also the mysterious disappearance of one of their own, from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.
In the city that never sleeps, it’s not always easy to share what’s on your mind with the people who know you best. Huddled in an all-night diner over coffee and pancakes, a lonely middle-aged mom, an injured baseball pro, an elusive retiree, and a young waitress examine the thoughts that plague them in the middle of the night.
Empty-nester Sybil does what she does best: rolls up her sleeves and spearheads the efforts to turn this group of strangers into friends. Aimless after an injury threatens to ruin his career, Zeke finds genuine connection among the unlikely group. Tight-lipped Julian, who’s seemingly adrift in retirement and attempting to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, expands their circle when he takes their cagey diner waitress, Betty, under his wing. Betty, cautious about strangers and uncertain about strokes of good luck, entertains the trio in an attempt to resolve her own problems, which she keeps close to the vest.
Within a few restless months, the group of strangers have become a fragile family. And when one of them goes missing in the dead of night, they’re thrust into a propulsive mystery pulled straight from the true-crime podcasts Sybil obsesses over. Though ill-prepared and unequipped for the job, they begin to piece together the clues left behind. In chasing down answers, they uncover a reason for their friend’s disappearance, and are forced to wrestle with the question of how well you can really know anyone—and once you do, how much are you willing to risk to save them? And in doing so, save yourself?
From the Publisher:
From Kirkus Reviews:
Told in close third person throughout, the book follows each of the four main characters, letting readers into their thoughts as they navigate personal drama, insomnia, and emerging group dynamics. Full of nuanced real-life issues, like caring for ungrateful family members, making complex and long-ranging career choices, and learning to separate those choices from a sense of self, the book is also filled with gripping suspense as the friends attempt to locate Betty.
My thoughts:
Successful author, Allison Winn Scotch has tried something new here and, no surprise to her readership, she has done it well. I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters and found the plot to be engaging (even if it did require some suspension of disbelief). If AWS writes more suspense novels, I will definitely be reading them.
Many thanks to Berkley for the invitation to this blog tour. All thoughts are my own.
The Dentist is the first book in Sullivan’s series featuring Detective George Cross. He is an interesting character who sees the world through the prism of his autism. Sullivan does an excellent job of bringing the reader into George’s perspective and way of working. Readers also get a sense of how challenging autism can be.
In addition to George, I enjoyed spending time with the other members of the squad. They give the book that police procedural quality.
In these pages are murder, suspects and a possible link to an old crime. Will George’s methodical persistence help him to solve the case? (Yes, as this is the first in a series and I think readers will want to pick up some of the others after finishing this one). The fun is in watching what unfurls.
I very much enjoyed this title. Each of the following books also has a profession in the title. Watch out for who the dentist is here and who the others are in the rest of the series. For example, there are the teacher, the politician and the tailor to name a few.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic Atlantic Crime for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 21 October 2025
Post first published on 22 April 2026
About the book:
from the publisher
The first book in Tim Sullivan’s bestselling series starring the brilliant Detective Sergeant George Cross, with over 1,000,000 copies sold, now published for the first time in the US
George Cross is on the autism spectrum. He struggles with simple daily interactions but his single-mindedness, attention to detail and fierce persistence make him the most successful detective in the Bristol station with a 97% conviction rate.
When the body of an elderly homeless man is discovered on the edge of Clifton Downs, George insists on scrutinizing the smallest details, even after his fellow officers dismiss the murder as an act of random violence. As he delves into the dead man’s past, he discovers a connection to a case that has been cold for fifteen years. The same tragedy that led to the victim’s homelessness may have also led to his death. Despite skepticism from his colleagues, including his partner Josie who as usual is both exasperated by and protective of George, he is determined to solve both cases – and finally arrest the murderer who has roamed free.
A “perfect detective for our time and for all time” (Stephen Fry), George Cross has been embraced by authors, booksellers, reviewers, and readers across the UK. The Dentist marks the launch of Tim Sullivan’s brilliant series in the US, where it is certain to find a wide audience.
About the Author:
Tim Sullivan is an acclaimed screenwriter, whose credits include A Handful of Dust, starring Kristen Scott Thomas, Where Angels Fear to Tread, starring Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter, Jack and Sarah (which he also directed) starring Richard E Grant, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen and Letters to Juliet, with Amanda Seyfried. He is also a Television director whose credits include Sherlock Holmes and Cold Feet. He has written extensively in Hollywood in both live action and animation, working with Ron Howard, Scott Rudin and with Jeffrey Katzenberg on the fourth Shrek movie. He has now embarked on a series of crime novels featuring the autistic, and brilliantly persistent DS George Cross. The Dentist is the first in the series. Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy award-winning producer of The Barefoot Contessa and Pioneer Woman.
Editorial Reviews:
Praise for The Dentist:
One of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2025
One of Kirkus Reviews Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2025
“Sullivan has created a wholly three-dimensional protagonist, equal parts charming and maddening”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Excellent… Sullivan strikes gold his first time out, injecting investigative scenes with a cinematic flair and firmly establishing Cross as a quirky, lovable lead.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Crime-fiction fans will keep guessing until the very end and thoroughly enjoy Sullivan’s complex plotline and mosaic of characters that propel the story to its thrilling conclusion”— Booklist (starred review)
“A satisfyingly complex police procedural”—Washington Post
“You’ll crave more George Cross once you’ve finished this meticulously wrought police procedural”—Air Mail
“A multifaceted murder puzzle anchored by a compelling pair of sleuths”—Kirkus Reviews
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 