By Lisa M Matlin
** Publication Date 3 March 2026 **
​4 stars




Small fishing towns in Australia couldn’t be more foreign to me. To Minnow Goodman, it’s her home. Where she was raised and where she runs back to when things in the city get rough. There are lots of memories there. Both good and bad. 


Minnow’s mom disappeared many years ago, leaving Minnow and her brother Heath alone with their quixotic father. He was a fisherman, as most men were in the Bay. He ran a charter fishing boat. After the disappearance of his wife, his mind began to fall apart. Until one day, he disappeared as well.


After that it was just Heath and Minnow. And now Minnow has returned. To a town full of secrets that maybe she doesn’t want to uncover. Missing people, shark attacks, men with too much testosterone. But this is her town and she’s going to unearth those secrets one by one.


Really compelling story that will keep you turning the pages. Minnow is a very imperfect character. She loves her brother, but she doesn’t love the aura of her hometown. She wants to bring the domestic violence issues and strange goings on to light to maybe save the town.


I enjoyed this. I found it to be a very quick read but interesting. This isn’t a neatly wrapped package. Everyone in this story is broken or imperfect in some way. The nature of the fishing business and the ancestral history are fascinating. It’s books like this that transport you to a completely different place and offer you a look at something you might never have experienced. That’s what I liked most about it. 


Not for the faint of heart. This one has it all - violence, murder, crime. 

By Anna Quindlen
** Publication Date 24 February 2026 **
​5 stars


I love Anna Quindlen’s novels. They just hit me in a way most others don’t. More Than Enough hit me in a lot of ways.


Polly is a high school English teacher at a prestigious girls’ school in New York City. She is married to Mark, a large animal vet, who works for the Bronx Zoo. Mark is somewhat social media famous. Polly just loves teaching girls. 


In the Never Read the Book book club, Polly has three friends. Sarah, a philanthropist, is her best friend. Jamie and Helen round out the group. Every month they get together and talk about life, their marriages, their kids or lack thereof. Polly and Mark want kids, badly. Just nature and intervention hasn’t provided them with any yet. 


For her birthday, the book club women get Polly a genetic testing kit. It’s kind of a humorous gift, but Polly decides to do it. When it shows that Polly has a relative that she doesn’t know, she’s curious. Then she goes to meet this young person and is dumbfounded at what she finds. As though Polly’s life isn’t already kind of tumultuous, this adds a wrinkle she never expected.


Anna Quindlen understands how to write books from the heart. Each novel has a character that a reader can resonate with, in one way or another. For me it was the genetic testing, the breast cancer, the high school girls. I was invested from the first few pages. As with all her novels, don’t expect all happy endings. Not everything has a happy ending in this world, and that’s what makes this novel so real. Parts of it are heart wrenching. Still, it is amazing.


Highly recommend this author and novel. Breathtaking.

By Heather Fawcett
** Publication Date 17 February 2026 **
5 stars




I adored Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series. So magical. She created an amazing world where you could actually believe such things existed. I gladly jumped into her new novel.


Agnes runs a cat rescue in Montreal. It was started by Agnes and her late husband Robin, because they wanted to save the street cats. Now Agnes runs the rescue with her sister, Elise and some volunteers. It’s hard to make ends meet when you rely on charity. So when the shelter is damaged during a magical fight, Agnes doesn’t know how she’s going to keep the shelter running.


Until someone suggests she check a rental in a fancier part of town. When Agnes discovers the rent, she’s shocked, but she also can’t say no. Agnes moves the shelter into the new location. Only the location is somewhat strange. Odd characters show up night and day to find their way through a trapdoor into the basement. Eventually Agnes finds out what exactly is in the basement, and while she’s not happy about it, she doesn’t have many options.


This story wove together elements of fantasy, magic, romance, and cats. What could possibly go wrong? It’s a whimsical, wonderful novel. Agnes is a formidable heroine, especially with her sister Elise as a foil. The two appear to be well equipped to run the world. Each cat has a special personality. Truly a fun and endearing story that many will love.


I would read this one again. 
​

By Jarod K Anderson 
** Publication Date 10 February 2026 **
5 stars




My favorite book, so far, of 2026.. I love all the mythology surrounding cryptids. Yeti, Bigfoot, chupacabra, jackalopes, the Loch Ness Monster. There are so many in our folklore both here in the US and abroad. 


In Strange Animals, Green has a near-death encounter with a city bus. Though he remembers the actual experience of dying, shortly thereafter he is not under the bus, but standing on the sidewalk as though it never happened. He has memories of a crow and now has an acorn in his pocket.


This sends Green a bit over the edge. He decides to give up his bland city life and try the wilderness. He happens upon a very strange little gas station in Appalachia where he meets two locals. They direct him to a nearby off the grid campground. This campground leads to a very strange encounter with two creatures that could be called anything but ‘normal.’ And so begins Green’s new life.


From the start this book is so strange and ethereal. Green giving up all the comforts of the city to head into the unknown is mighty brave, and in a way, a little bit stupid. But what he encounters from the time he finds the Candle-fly campground is wild and spectacular. I loved all the details of the cryptids. The transformation of Green from a city dweller to one who was comfortable being in the great outdoors. I especially loved his experiences as the book goes on.


But… I certainly hope that Anderson has a sequel planned. Because while I found the final chapters fantastic, I want to know what happens next. I’m so invested in this story and the characters, I truly want to experience more of this world. 


If you love fantasy and tales of the unknown, you will probably enjoy this one. 

By L.J. Ross
** Publication Date 3 February 2026 **
​4 stars




Serial killers all have unique profiles that help explain why they commit the heinous crimes they do. Dr. Alexander Gregory once worked as a profiler, helping to solve high visibility crimes. Until a tragedy brought him down. Now he works in a mental health facility that contains many such criminals. He just wants to understand why they do what they do.


Alex gets roped into helping local Garda to solve a murder in Ireland. He’s not sure he wants to do this again, but his ability to understand the minds of these criminals makes him the perfect choice. It’s not a paying job. And the local Garda are skeptical. When he has delivered a profile to them, they are able to focus more on the people who might be capable of such a heinous crime. 


There are costs to his own mental health, though, and he must confront his old demons along the way. Hopefully he will gather the loose threads and put them all together before another crime is committed.


Great procedural novel with some interesting twists. Alex Gregory is a charming and forthright profiler with his own secrets. The town of Ballyfinny sounds like a idyllic place until these crimes begin. LJ Ross has provided a very interesting tale of psychology, and its use in the field of police work. Thinking this might be a new series, and if so I’m in. 


Recommending for those who enjoy crime solving.