The Minotaur Sampler-Volume 19

My thoughts:

I smile when I see one of these samplers posted on NetGalley. I always enjoy having an early look at some new mysteries.

For each title, find out what the book is about, read a sample and learn a little about the author. Then decide if you would like to read the full novel.

I always find that I am adding to my reading list after looking at this free resource. This time, I am interested in most of the titles.

Take a look. What might you like to read?

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 15 November 2025

About this title:

from the publisher

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The nineteenth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of 6 can’t-miss novels publishing April 2026 for free and easy sampling.

Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips is a hilarious mystery following an amateur private investigator and new father as he gets more than he bargained for when agreeing to track down a young girl’s missing father.

In Spencer Quinn’s Cat on a Hot Tin Woof, Chet, a dog investigator, and his human partner scramble to solve the case of a missing kitty that exposes the dark side of internet fame.

Rebecca Sharpe’s Harmless Women is a pacy thriller that follows a female con artist who chooses the wrong woman as her target, resulting in both women ending up on the run for their lives.

Liar’s Creek by Matt Goldman is a sweeping thriller where three generations of a strained family embark on a search for their missing relative in a picturesque small town that hides grave danger just below the surface of its beauty.

Jenny Elder Moke’s Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies is an engaging mystery rom-com where a no-nonsense woman in the publishing world must catch a killer in order to land the deal of a century, all while avoiding arrest and love.

Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce follows a woman’s search for her sister who goes missing shortly after a long-awaited return to her hometown in the English countryside, where the woods may be even darker than they seem.