It is not an uncommon cozy theme for a young woman to inherit an unusual bookstore from a nearly unknown relative. And of course, a mystery must ensue with an equally unusual bookstore-connected assistant in sleuthing, like a ghost of a sort. Zoey finds in inheriting her uncle’s Lonely Gnome Bookshop in scenic Loon Bay, Vancouver Island, that the somewhat-scruffy gnome statue that graces the shop comes alive after dark. 450 years ago, in the Black Forest, Ludwig fell afoul …

Book of the Week October 29, 2026 Sestina is the hottest pop performer of the moment; her highly personal songs capture the attention of fans who call themselves “Tinas” and flock in droves to her stadium shows. Olive, a musician herself, adores Sestina’s music, though her soulmate, Felix, simply endures it. Another concertgoer, Jeremy, does appreciate the music, but is heartbroken as his girlfriend Alma broke up with him on the way to the concert. Suddenly, a massive explosion splits …

Brilliant though he is, Charles Labelye despairs that his years-long toil, the construction of the second bridge over London’s Thames, will ever be finished. Cracks and falling masonry have bedeviled Westminster bridge and public rumors abound that it is cursed. That seems true when a girl’s body is found in an alcove on the bridge, her forehead split. The crime could be swept away—just another street urchin who met an anonymous, grisly end—but it comes to the attention of a …

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, …

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, …

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, …