Tess and Allie have been best friends since childhood. Allie is a self-made travel influencer, and Tess is a legal assistant trying to put herself through law school and working for Allie part-time. Allie and Tess go caving one day, but as they start descending into this cave, they realize they’re not alone. And when this person follows them down, what was supposed to be a fun day has turned into a race for survival. My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts about Her Last Breath: As

Slasher season has officially arrived with E. L. Chen’s new book! When small-town Cedar Lake Falls plans to tear down the infamous cabin where “Slasher” was filmed, a group of friends decides to rent it out for one last hurrah to soak in all the movie memories. At first, the friends take the creepy happenings as funny pranks. But when it becomes clear that the group is being stalked by an unknown assailant, maybe the group is getting a little too close to the events of the mo

Now, what can I say about Wolf Hour that won’t give too much away? Let’s stick to five things: This is a story set in 2016 Minneapolis, but also in 2022. Gang violence, mysterious murderers, and a very clear suspect. Cops… some great, some not so great, and one who is suspended but doesn’t really listen to that. The murderer and another main character share a tragic past. Taxidermy. That’s all I’ll say on that. My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts I thought the story was great! Th

Ernest Cunningham has never been held hostage before, but he’s getting the full real-life experience in this latest Ernest Cunningham book! And once the doors are chained shut and there’s a murder at the bank during the “heist”, we are officially in a locked-room mystery. And those are what Ernest is best at solving. But who could’ve done it? What is each person doing at the bank on this specific day? That’s what we, as readers, get to find out! My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoug

Marcus Kliewer’s The Caretaker is about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job that she found on Craigslist, who then discovers that the position has far greater consequences than she could have ever imagined. Far greater and far more dangerous. And what started as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare for Macy Mullins, and it could change her life forever. My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts There’s no way that I could give The Caretaker anything other than a

When Rain Winter was 12, she and her friends experienced something horrific: she was nearly abducted by a deranged man, and when he couldn’t get her, he took her friends. Then, after the abductor is released from prison, someone murders him. Many years later, Rain is living a nice suburban life with her husband and daughter, when another man is murdered—a man who may or may not have “deserved” his ending. Rain, who is now a journalist, is drawn to the story for some unexplain

We’re back in the world where S.C.Y.T.H.E. agents capture souls after death and transport them to the afterlife they’re destined for. This time, we’re with a completely different cast of characters, and we’re focusing on Nora, a S.C.Y.T.H.E. administrative assistant, and her brother, who is now the next on Death’s list. So what does Nora do? She steals the file, of course, and essentially kidnaps her brother and travels to Canada. And the weirdness really ramps up then. My R

We have a set-in-Canada debut thriller from Emma White that features four friends/book club besties who are about to go out for a little reading retreat on a beautiful lake, in a secluded cabin. This weekend is all about getting trashed on rosé and reading and talking about books, but one morning, a member of their group is found dead on the shore. But what really happened? These women are all hiding many, many secrets, but how far will they go to cover it all up? I had the c

The Impossible Fortune is the fifth instalment in The Thursday Murder Club series. I feel like sharing any of what the book is about will give too many spoilers for those who haven’t read the other books yet, so I’ll do my best to keep it very surface-level. This book features a wedding, and one of our Murder Club members has been busy preparing for it for a long time. Another club member is grieving and not totally themselves, but a new mystery might wake them up from their

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda is, at its core, about how far a mother will go to protect her daughter. When this mom sends her daughter off to university at her alma mater, a place she vowed never to return, things go very wrong, very quickly. And now, this little family must figure out how to get out of the mess they’re in safely. My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts You Belong Here is another book I read in my little book club with my mom, and it’s actually the third Megan Mi

Take a trip back in time with me! Where are we going? Maine, U.S.A. When are we travelling back to? 1789 Whom are we visiting? Martha Ballard and the residents of Hallowell What’s happening? It’s winter, the river is frozen, and what comes out of its depths shocks the people of the little village—a body. Was it a murder? Was it accidental? Martha begins investigating to find the truth about what happened, in addition to her roles as a midwife, a mother, a wife, a friend, and,

A family vacation gone wrong. Two dead bodies. One missing girl. Or is it two missing girls? One mother/aunt who is suspicious of everything and everyone. When Courtney, her family and her brother’s family all head out to a small resort on a small-town lake for a nice summer vacation, things turn out to be the furthest thing from nice you can get. Soon, her niece is missing, she’s keeping a close eye on three other children, and her husband is making choices that have her on

Gowns. Champagne. Murder. Hollywood… but make it French, for 12 days straight. Yes, I’m talking about the Cannes Film Festival, because that’s the setting of the book I’m reviewing today! Three young, ambitious, talented women are the focal point of this novel, but sadly, they can’t seem to climb the ladder and make it big in this industry. Now that they’re in Cannes, they see it as the perfect opportunity to bring their talents into the spotlight. But then a multi-million-do

We’re seeing Kirby Cornell in two different parts of her life: when she’s 29 and a reporter for a small, local newspaper and living with roommates in a crappy flat with a crappy landlord in a town known for some horrific murders that happened in the 90s, and suddenly, a new roommate shows up one day. Then, we also have her a year later, and she’s now 30, she hasn’t been back to the small town of Crowhurst in 12 months because of the events that happened back then. The story l

Chief Inspector Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are headed off for a little getaway to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Right before Canada Day, the pair make their way to the Manoir Bellechasse, in the thick of Quebec’s beautiful natural landscape, and find that there’s also a family reunion happening at the Manoir at the same time. Shockingly—or maybe not, since this is a Gamache book—there is a murder, and Gamache calls in his team in order to solve it. But how do t

A much beloved mother/wife/sister disappears, and the entire condo building turns into a potential crime scene. What happened to her? Is she still alive? Is she actually dead? If so, where is she? How could a potential murderer get her out of the building without anyone seeing it? How could her perfect life end in such an imperfect way? That’s what we need to figure out! My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 My Thoughts I have mixed feelings about this one. But regardless, I’m always going to

One train, no stops. We’re headed for a deadly game of survival and revenge, all set in motion by the young and beautiful Anna Matheson. This has been a plan 12 years in the making, and her only goal is to get the small group of people she’s gathered on this historic train to confess to the crimes they committed against her family. But things will quickly derail in this story. My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts This is definitely a locked room (locked train?) mystery, but I don’

“As so many fairytales point out, sometimes to slay a monster you become one, too…” Aria Stokes is living a pretty good life. She works in a bookshop—yes please!—and she’s dating a cute guy named Jasper who likes books and seems to really like her as well. On Valentine’s Day, Jasper takes Aria to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the famous Daedalus Library, a place known for its dark, haunting past. Except it’s the very last place Aria wants to be. When the power is cut and t

Welcome to “The Dominion”, where secrets lurk behind every door. It’s 1929, and The Dominion Hotel has opened on Front Street in Toronto (does that sound familiar?). Rosie Ryan has her heart set on becoming a chambermaid, and when she’s just trying make enough money to get out of her current living situation, things start to go awry. Then we have Bridget in Toronto 2024, a building inspector overseeing renovations happening at The Dominion. When she finds mysterious boxes, se

One solitary woman. One suspicious wife. One questionable husband. One business partner. One sly brother. One house full of criminals. One horrible event from the past. One murder victim. A bunch of different alibis... but that doesn't mean they're all true. And all of this comes from Ashley Elston's 2026 novel, Anatomy of an Alibi . Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My thoughts Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston was good and had a bunch of different plot lines running around the central ch