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Review

Gideon’s Ring

by Dodie Ownes

Detective Chief Inspector Conny Sjöberg and the Hammarby police squad have been pushed to the limit before, but the case before them could be the breaking point. What is the connection among an abused naked woman, a dead infant, and what appears to be a murder in a quiet suburb of Stockholm? Working amid a disturbing secret that involves influential men in the community, Sjöberg must find out why the young woman, Veronica, ran to the home of John Gideon, a local piano tuner, after she was assaulted—but Gideon’s not answering the door. Neighbors tell the police there are always young women coming and going from Gideon’s home, raising suspicions and theories. Gerhardsen expertly weaves into the story the complicated personal traumas of the squad’s members, adding layers to this Scandi-noir psychological thriller. Gideon’s Ring combines the best of police procedural with taut suspense, keeping readers rooted in the emotional aspects of these crimes as the Hammarby police tighten the noose on the bad guys—and they are really bad. Though fifth in the Hammarby Mysteries series, this title reads as a stand-alone, but readers may find themselves wanting to go back to where it all began with Gerhardsen’s 2012 (translated from Swedish) The Gingerbread House.—Dodie Ownes

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Review

Versions of a Murder

by Henrietta Thornton

Brace yourself…there’s a lot going on in this book, in the best way. Heidi Quick is a junior doctor in an understaffed English hospital. It’s the 1970s, and it’s not easy being a woman in any realm, but a woman doctor treating male patients is beyond the pale for many. After Heidi is struck by a male patient, she’s relieved to be offered a ride home by her coworker Dr. Preston. When he insists on being let into her home, she has no polite way out, and is murdered by him. That would seem to be the end of Heidi, until the next day when she wakes up in exactly the same situation, has the same conversation with her coworker, and must try to create a different route through the day so she’s not re-murdered (now there’s a word that’s normally not necessary). Over and over it goes, with Heidi slowly suspecting that Dr. Preston is a serial killer and longing to fix one of the tries at the situation so that she can make someone believe what’s going on. There’s quite the twist in one of Heidi’s later tries at life versus Preston, and with that twist, the fascinating do-overs, and the well-fleshed-out characters who populate Heidi’s strange roller coaster, this is one of the best books I’ve read in ages. Comparisons to Groundhog Day are inevitable, but this is more akin to the best time-travel dramas, such as Elly Griffiths’s The Frozen People.—Henrietta Thornton

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Review

What She Knows

by Dodie Ownes

Book of the Week October 22, 2026

Franny admits to being quite the unreliable narrator—when in the throes of addiction, she only cared about her next fix. Now clean, she is starting life back up in tiny Orion, NY and things are going well. Shortly after moving to town, she met Joshua, handsome and steady, a widower with two girls, and soon married. When Franny takes over the pharmacy where Joshua’s wife was murdered when an attempted burglary went wrong, she begins to question her own memories of that very night. She didn’t pull the trigger, did she? With only her long-distance sister Jackie and local reporter Annette as support, her paranoia becomes justified when someone starts sending threatening messages to Franny and her new family. Joshua turns cold and it seems that their perfect love story is over. But small-town secrets don’t stay secret for long, and soon the local police have another murder on their hands. Feldman gifts readers with a tense and twisty tale that has all the feels—sympathy for a recovering addict, trust in friends and family, and finally, a bullseye on the killer. A debut that hits the mark.—Dodie Ownes

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Review

The Spring

by Danise Hoover

Shay hasn’t seen her sister Phoebe in person for years; she only sees Phoebe on her Instagram page. They sometimes text, but a summons from Phoebe is something out of the blue. She’s involved with Daniel, a wealthy, powerful man; living in a remote area in Northern California; and professing to have found peace and fulfillment. But the “save me” message cannot be ignored. Against logic, Shay uses the plane ticket she’s sent and is met by Liv, a strange and hostile young woman. The compound Phoebe’s living in has primitive accommodations, and she’s nowhere to be found, though it seems that she and the mysterious Daniel are married and have a child. The compound has little contact with the outside world, making it impossible to check the truth of what’s being said. Then Phoebe’s body is found and the police arrive. The story is told from multiple points of view and it’s hard to tell which one is reliable. The setting is atmospheric, the interplay of characters odd, and the outcome hard to predict. It would be easy for readers to get lost, but Shay remains a steadying force.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Animals of the French Species

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week October 15, 2026

After the traumatic events of The Wonder Test, FBI agent Lina Connerly and her teenage son move from California to Paris, where she is posted to the American Embassy as a liaison between U.S. and French counterintelligence agencies. Mother and son are also dealing with their lingering grief over the death of Lina’s husband in a car accident two years ago. Still, the Paris they find is not a romantic refuge but a gritty and dirty metropolis (“you can almost smell the French Revolution”). The French present Lina with a 20-year-old unsolved case—the Train Fantôme—involving the bloody deaths of nine passengers in a single metro car. Could it be connected to a mysterious device found in a tunnel wall, which might be linked to a secret weapons program in Eastern Europe? Covertly, Lina is also tracking an Edward Snowden-like American intelligence agent who leaked classified documents, fled to Russia, and is now rumored to be hiding in France. Her need to find him becomes urgent when her sources start turning up dead. Richmond skillfully weaves two complex espionage plots into a touching family drama about rebuilding a life after a tragedy. Fascinating spycraft details are mixed with amusing observations about expatriate life and Franco-American cultural differences. Fans of Chris Pavone’s The Expats will enjoy this.—Willy Williams

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Review

Saved by the Spell

by Dodie Ownes

It’s a fantasy cozy mystery in a magical high school—heard this one before? Wrong! Huff combines the best of homeroom gossip with teacher’s lounge drama, tossing in an overbearing parent and a Hero/Villain situation for good measure, with lots of fun swearing (“Tree and f**k**g leaf!”) to boot. Somewhat-veteran teacher Abby has a new class of Nines, the youngest in the school, and Rebecca, aka Bex, starts showing Hero potential early, which is problematic at the High School for Magical Arts because if there is a Hero, there must be a Villain. Set against a chorus of chirping and wise-assing teenagers, the story flies as Abby realizes that she is responsible for Bex (and the school) surviving the semester, and nearly everyone is suspect. And there are the NOMs (non-magicals) to consider, who are both adjacent to and against the magical community. As the list grows shorter, thanks to a few more-than-avid students and teachers, the school comes together to defend its community and root out the Villain. Huff perfected cozy horror with Direct Descendant, and she gives this genre-blending story an extra boost of snark with actual empathy for teens. Readers might be surprised when the villain is revealed. For fans of Quan Barry’s We Ride Upon Sticks and Grady Hendrix’ Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Just delightful!—Dodie Ownes

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Review

Persephone

by Jeff Ayers

A voyage to Mars becomes a descent into paranoia and possible madness in this science-fiction thriller. Daniel Richland never wanted to be an astronaut, but his wife, Sarah, commanded an earlier mission to colonize the Red Planet, and now he is flying with five others to deliver supplies and reunite with her. As chief medical officer, he guides the crew through a deadly solar flare. Then he glimpses something outside the window that shakes his grip on reality: a twin of the Persephone, the very ship Sarah commanded. When a crewmate sees it too, everything comes into question, including the true purpose of the mission, the billionaire who bankrolled it, and the sanity of everyone aboard. The ship’s AIs detect nothing wrong, and on every video call, Sarah assures Daniel she is anxiously waiting for him to arrive. But space is unforgiving. Can the six astronauts set aside their suspicions before they destroy themselves? The authors deliver a locked-room mystery among the stars, packed with twists that will blindside even the savviest reader. And that ending! It’s as if Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary and Rob Hart and Jeff Rake’s Detour had a child.—Jeff Ayers

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Review

The Midsummer Girls

by Danise Hoover

This book has so many twists and turns that it may not be possible to define. Allissa has been searching for her sister, Shannon, since her disappearance 12 years ago. The disappearance upended their family, shattering what had been a happy life. An unexpected message from a supposed friend of Shannon’s sets Alissa on a path that may lead to destruction and that involves a rich man, simple naïve young women, and a mysterious remote island somewhere near Gurnsey. The island, it seems, has spiritual control of those who come. Who is trustworthy, who is real? What has happened for all these years? Not an easy book, but starkly compelling to read.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Nothing Human Left

by Dodie Ownes

Book of the Week October 8, 2026

Gracie is constantly under her mother’s surveillance. If it weren’t for her cousin Desi and her brother Kit, she would have no friends—or protection—at school, where most consider Grace and Marge weirdos. But Marge is sure that there are enemies out there, whom she calls People Faces, waiting to hurt them. Moving through dual timelines, readers meet grown up Gracie, now a social worker with friends and a job she enjoys, trying hard to put her past behind her—a past that includes her mother murdering her best friends in the most horrific ways. When Marge is given early release because she is dying and asks to see Gracie once again, the memories come flooding back. As her mother denies the murders, the events of 20 years ago start to come into focus, and even though she thought Marge completely insane, incidents begin to make Gracie think otherwise. The flips between past and present serve to build incredible tension as each unknown is teased out and the psychological twists become more and more tangled. When Gracie decides to visit her former home, the murder scene, she is no longer sure whom she can trust, including herself. The monsters that Hart has created will leave readers gasping at their cruelty, intent, and complete lack of humanity. Can old wounds still heal?—Dodie Ownes

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Review

Murder in the Upper Crust

by Danise Hoover

Small towns like Geneva Bay, Wisconsin shouldn’t be the source of so much murder and mayhem, but alas, this town is seeing more than its share. Delilah, our intrepid and creative chef and restauranteur, is stuck catering a posh wellness retreat. The fascinating and compelling guru leading the retreat seems to have everyone but Delilah following her mindlessly, but there is a personal connection to consider. The new love interest of Sonya, Delilah’s partner and sous chef, is working for the guru, so Delilah takes on the job. As usual, chaos and murder ensue, and it is up to her to help police detective/boyfriend put the pieces together. Old boyfriend and landlord, Sam, is also on the scene to complicate everything. Clues along with really tasty-sounding menus abound. With fun characters, and recipes at the end, this is sure to please.—Danise Hoover

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