Throw Away the Key

Throw Away the Key by Jason M. Hough, 320 pages

Lars Bergman was once part of the CIA's "surreptitious entry team," the group assigned to sneak in and steal, plant, or replace documents or other things during spy operations. But now, he's semi-retired, putting his skills to use as the main locksmith at CIA's headquarters. When a woman near the top of the CIA hierarchy dies and leaves hints that only Lars would understand in her office safe, he begins to suspect that her death is tied to a failed operation from decades earlier.

This is simultaneously a throwback to old-school Cold War spy thrillers and a nesting doll of heists. I loved the twists and turns, as well as the details about locks and how to pick them. Yeah, there are a lot of spy tropes here, but they're done so well. A wonderful escapist novel that you can just sink into. I recommend it for fans of Alma Katsu's CIA thrillers.

The 10:12

The 10:12 by Anna Maloney, 320 pages

Retired art professor Claire was on the titular train between Manchester and London when it was hijacked by a group of armed men. When she encounters one of the hijackers near the restroom, she's faced with a choice: stand by passively or fight back. Claire chose to fight, and for the first half of the book, we have a fast-paced thriller akin to Speed in a train. But once the train reaches London, the pace slows down as Claire navigates the legal proceedings afterward in which she is seen as both a hero and a villain, depending on who's talking. It's an interesting way of presenting a hijack story, and one that I'm not sure I fully enjoyed, especially with the rapid slowdown. Meh.

This book will be published Oct. 20, 2026.

The Whisper Man

 The Whisper Man by Alex North (2019), 384 pages

Tom and his son, Jake, move to a new town to regroup and re-establish their lives after the sudden death of his wife and Jake's mom. Unbeknownst to them, the town has a dark past that appears to be re-emerging. Twenty years ago, a serial killer was luring his child victims by whispering to them through their window. Is he back??

The Whisper Man is creepy with some pretty unsettling rhymes and "imaginary" friends to keep you feeling a little off. It is also about families and relationships that were broken and are slowly being rebuilt. All this to say, that the novel has more emotional heft than you might expect from a thriller. 

Please Enjoy Your Stay

Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen, 320 pages

When Mia was a child, her cousin was murdered while they stayed at a remote Austrian inn. Mia's aunt was a true crime writer planning a book about the inn's sordid history when it happened, and while Mia's testimony put the killer behind bars, the court of public opinion pinned the blame on Mia's aunt. While things have died down over the past several years, a new true crime podcast is reopening the case and casting doubt on Mia's testimony. In an attempt to shield her aunt from further scrutiny, Mia finagles her way into a job as a nanny for the influencer who is renovating the inn, hoping that by being back at the scene of the crime, she can find some more proof.

As with a lot of thrillers, there's a serious disconnect between reality and the high-stakes antics of the plot. Most of them, I can forgive. However, the one that I just can't buy is that the helicopter mom influencer would hire a woman with ZERO childcare abilities as the new nanny in a construction zone. It was a good escape, but nothing amazing.

The Women in White

 The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen (2026), 291 pages

Riley is a recently divorced, living out of her car caregiver. Betty is a wheelchair bound octogenarian who is in need of help. They click instantly and Riley soon discovers there is a lot more to Betty's story. 

I am on the fence about this one. The novel follows two-timelines: the 1960s and present day. I really enjoyed the parts of the novel based in the 60s, especially the relationship between the four central women who became part of a scientific study looking into parapsychology. Unfortunately, the rest of the novel fell flat. I think I expected more exploration into their supernatural cognitive abilities and was disappointed that didn't happen. The present-day relationship between Riley and Betty felt incomplete and rushed. The ending also wrapped up too quickly. It was an interesting read, but I felt it could have been more fleshed out. 

The Secret Dinner

The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes, translated by Zoe Perry, 352 pages 

Four friends find themselves struggling to cover their rent in Copacabana, Rio, Brazil. They are young, broke and really don't want to go back to the rural countryside they fled. A solution presents itself. That solution? Secret "seagull" meat dinner parties. And by seagull, I don't mean seagull. Montes does an excellent job of capturing the protagonists’ desperation and their moral (and immoral) quandary as they try to make it in the big city. 

I enjoyed this book. Parts of it were certainly uncomfortable to visualize, but the characters were well done and I did like the final twist. I will say that I am very glad that I am a vegetarian and do not have to ever worry about being unknowingly fed "seagull" meat. 

The Death Row Club

The Death Row Club by V.A. Vazquez (2026), 323 pages

This book seemed like a cool concept. The adult children of death row inmates get to spend a weekend together away from the pressures and prying eyes (and judgement) of the public. While that eventually happened, it really follows two women whose fathers' commit murders while they come to terms with their unknowing roles in them. In some ways, the book does touch upon the family members of convicted murderers and the complicated relationship that they may have with each other and the convicted member, but I think I was hoping that there would be more of that angle. Instead, it quickly touches upon that issue and slowly (then dramatically) ends with a murder at the retreat and a quick resolution to the whole thing. It was an ok book, I just found myself a bit disappointed in it.

The Trip

The Trip by Audrey J. Cole, 303 pages

Twenty years after a whitewater rafting trip that left a friend for dead, four women have gathered for a luxury sailing trip. Each has her own reasons for attending, and none of those reasons are to rekindle their friendship. However, nobody expects things to go sideways so quickly, with death, storms, and an almost complete lack of sailing ability aboard (though you'd think that one would've given them a clue). What becomes obvious is that someone aboard the sailboat wants revenge.

There is absolutely nobody likeable in this book, which mentions Starlink enough that I'm really hoping it was a paid advertisement. I read it a couple months ago and I honestly can't remember who the bad guy is, and really, I don't care. If you're looking for a hate read, give this one a go. Otherwise, skip it.

Such a Perfect Family

Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh, 384 pages

After a whirlwind romance, Tavish has married the woman of his dreams and moved in with her parents on the other side of the world while the newlyweds try to find a home of their own. However, it literally all goes up in flames when Tavish returns home from an errand to find the house ablaze, killing his new in-laws and putting his wife in a coma. While he tries to figure out exactly who may have set this fire, Tavish's checkered past (full of wealthy women dying and leaving him all kinds of riches) may be catching up to him, making him a prime suspect in the arson.

I read this a couple months back and I'll admit that I had to look up the summary to get that paragraph written. It was a disjointed story with unreliable and largely unlikeable characters, and other than the exotic locale (Philippines? New Zealand? Maybe both?), it's completely forgettable. Meh.

 

The Last Mandarin

The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Melissa Fung, 400 pages

Food blogger Alice and her mother, famous dissident and human rights activist Vivien, have never really gotten along. Yet when mysterious global attacks traced back to China start setting off alarms worldwide and stopping all the elevators simultaneously, they learn that they are closer to the source of these attacks than they thought. The mother-daughter pair must work together, with or without the help of the U.S. and Chinese governments, to determine who is behind the attacks before something truly devastating happens.

This would make an excellent summer blockbuster along the lines of Indiana Jones or National Treasure or The Mummy. However, there are just too many improbable or downright impossible things to suspend disbelief for the length of time it takes to read a book. Wait for the inevitable film adaptation and read one of Penny's other books instead.

The Final Target

 The Final Target by Nora Roberts (2026), 419 pages

Arden Bowie's first book has just been published and her book signing was a success; except that it is also the first time she meets her future stalker. 

This is a somewhat new genre for me as I didn't realize Romance Thriller is a thing. Now that I know it is, I understand the book better. I couldn't figure out why there was this crime, but a lot of the book centers around her meeting nice guy Gideon. The parts surrounding the stalker were pretty intense, but then the book would refocus to Gideon and it was like a nice Hallmark show. So, if this is your thing, it was a good summer read. If it isn't, I would move on. 

Please See Us

 Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen (2020), 341 pages

Clara, a teenage psychic/prostitute, and Lily, an embarrassed art gallerist, form an unlikely friendship to reluctantly solve a string of Jane Doe murders in down and out Atlantic City. I really didn't care for this novel. The writing was clunky, the character arcs both tropey and unbelievable, and it was told from too many points of view. Definitely not one I will be recommending. 

It's Not Her

It's Not Her by Mary Kubica, 352 pages

Courtney thought the family trip to the lake was going just fine until she woke to find her brother and sister-in-law murdered in their cabin. To make things worse, her teenage niece is missing, and her nephew managed to sleep through the whole thing. As Courtney works with local authorities to search for her niece and figure out who killed her relatives, she discovers that things weren't quite as rosy as they seemed, and the list of suspects could include just about everyone.

Interspersed with flashback chapters from the missing niece's point of view, this thriller certainly keeps the reader guessing and the plot zooming along. The problem comes when all the cards are finally on the table and we learn exactly what happened, as the culprits feel a bit random (did the author throw names in a hat and pick someone out? It's possible!). I read this a few weeks ago, and I honestly couldn't remember the particulars until I looked it up. So maybe pass on this one. (Unless you really want to read every book about a missing teenage girl, then sure, add this to your TBR for completion's sake.)

The Storm

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (2026), 277 pages 

As the title suggests, a storm, plays a prominent role in this ok thriller. Set in St. Medard's Bay, Alabama, it follows the lives of three generations of townspeople who have survived (or not) the frequent hurricanes that hit the area. One in particular saw the death of a well-known politician's son and now a journalist has shown up to investigate what might have actually happened. This is one of those books that feels like it was really written to be a Netflix limited series. The visuals sound amazing, but the actual story is a bit contrived and not super engaging. It was a fine, quick read, but it lacked any real depth.

The Girls Before

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall, 320 pages

When Audrey was a teenager, her ex-best friend Janie went missing, and nobody looked for her. Janie was almost 17 and it wasn't unheard of for her to disappear for a few weeks without anyone noticing or caring when she returned, but this time, she completely vanished. Close to 20 years later, Audrey still can't forgive herself for not seeking out her ex-friend, and now volunteers for search and rescue missions any time she can. When the latest disappearance occurs, Audrey sees some disturbing similarities to Janie, from the age and description to the girls' obsession with a local witch of legend.

I liked that this book was largely from the point of view of someone on the search and rescue team, and I REALLY liked that the dog survived (phew!), but some of the twists played out a bit oddly, and I'm honestly having trouble remembering the details of this one. So it's good for a quick thrilling read, but don't expect it to stay with you.

The Edge

The Edge (The 6:20 Man #2) by David Baldacci, 417 pages

While Baldacci does tend to be a bit formulaic and his character writing, to me, a little stilted, I did enjoy this follow-up to the 6:20 Man. I actually think it is better than the first book. It was a good twisty mystery with some heft. Baldacci even gives a shout out to his second cousin (former Governor of Maine). I do wish he would lay-off the ex-military, but super nice guy tropes. If you enjoy this genre of books, I think you will enjoy The Edge.

The Eyre Affair

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (2001), 374 pages

In this very clever book, we follow Special Operative Thursday Next as she tracks down Acheron Hades before he can snatch Jane Eyre out of the novel Jane Eyre. It is a fun fantasy/sci-fi novel that imagines 1985 England as a place where people can travel in and out of time and in and out of literature. It is creative (real life bookworms!), silly, and fun for folks who love to pick up on classic literature references. My only real criticism is that the actual Jane Eyre plot line doesn't pick up until the second half of the book. I kept thinking I had missed it somewhere. Also - I listened to the audio book version. The narrator, Susan Duerden did a wonderful job. Her voice, though, has such a soothing, classic British sound to it that I sometimes felt like the characters were woodland creatures a la Peter Rabbit. 

Hope Rises (Walter Nash #2)

Hope Rises by David Baldacci (2026), 420 pages 

If this is your genre of book, then you will enjoy Hope Rises. You may remember that I recently reviewed Nash Falls (book one of the two) and had some strong criticisms. This one, though, is just all over the place. I am not sure you can pack anymore twists, turns, and tropes into it. Much of it was unbelievable, but in a way that just added to the fun (as long as you went with it and did not overthink it). If you read Nash Falls, then you will definitely need to read Hope Rises. 

Think Twice (Myron Bolitar #12)

Think Twice by Harlan Coben (2024), 368 pages 

Again, I have fallen into a book that I did not realize was a whole series. My father often gives me boxes of books when he is finished with them and this was included. I think if I had read the previous novels, this one would have been more impactful. It was a fine read. Coben is always a master of a twisty tale and this is no exception. Was it believable - no. Was the ending a bit of a stretch - yes. So, if you are a fan of the Bolitar series, give it a go. I think you will find it entertaining. If you are jumping into it like me, you might want to reconsider and start with book one. 

Nash Falls

Nash Falls (Walter Nash #1) by David Baldacci (2025), 438 pages

I am hit and miss with Baldacci books. I sporadically read them, so I don't consider myself to be a die-hard fan, but I do enjoy them on occasion. I am going to point out some big plot issues (to me), but weirdly, I still liked the book and will definitely read the next one in this two-part series. 

First issue is the age of Nash and that of his father. He continually notes that his father served in Vietnam, but Nash is only 40-41. Was his dad a super old dad? It felt like the timeline wasn't quite jiving with their ages. Maybe if Baldacci used the first Gulf War as the reference, it wouldn't have felt off. 

Second issue is Nash's wife. It feels like Baldacci isn't 100% sure what to do with her. She needs to be in the story, but feels secondary. Also - I don't know of any mother who is cool with her child disappearing and just accepting it. 

Third issue is that Nash spends a YEAR bulking up and preparing for his revenge. What dad waits a year before he looks for his kidnapped daughter?! This is crazy and such a distraction that it is hard to continue.  

I did continue, though, and am reluctantly invested into seeing how this all plays out.