THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS

4 stars out of 5 

Almost always, I cringe when I start to read a book that flips back and forth in time; maybe it’s my advancing age, but it takes me half the book to figure out what’s happening when, leaving not enough time to get truly invested in the story. I’m not sure why it didn’t happen here, but I’ll chalk it up to a rather unique style of writing by the author; at no time did I feel lost. Yes, the story was a bit complicated (and “dark” would be an understatement; if you don’t care for blood and guts, very large white teeth and characters who have no concept of what it means to play nice, this isn’t the book for you).

Set in Australia, almost entirely in the fishing town of Kangaroo Bay, the book showcases native daughter Minnow Greenwood, who, under a pseudonym, became a popular TV news reporter in Melbourne. When one of her interviews turned nasty, she was disgraced – and returned to her hometown nearly broke and hoping a print journalist friend could help her find work. Both her parents have been missing for years; her father ran a fishing charter but took out his frustrations on his wife – who ran away several times over the years but always returned home – and their children, Minnow and her very protective brother Heath. In fact, her father has long been suspected of killing their mother, but nothing has ever been proved. Another Kangaroo Bay fishing expert, long-time friend Terry Hargrave, finally tired of their father’s abuse and killed him; but here, too, no body has ever turned up nor any evidence that he’s not among the living somewhere.

But these days, Kangaroo Bay has a bigger problem: infestation by Great White whales, a protected species that is perpetually ravenous. Usually, they don’t hover close to shorelines, but lately they seem to have taken a liking to this town – or more specifically, a couple of humans who went swimming in the bay but should have thought better of it. Not long after Minnow returns home, one of those sharks strikes again – while she’s there to watch the gruesome chowdown.

Long confused and concerned about what really happened to her parents, Minnow begins to share childhood information with her journalist friend, hoping he’ll catch a whiff of a big story. As they poke around and interact with people Minnow knew way back when, chapters flash back to her harrowing childhood and what was really going on that made her who she is today. But as their digging – both figuratively and literally – continues, it becomes clear that someone, or several someones, will do just about anything to keep them from getting too close to the truth.

It’s truly a harrowing tale, softened only because some of the characters truly deserve what they get. A twist near the end comes as a surprise, though in retrospect, it shouldn’t have been. Definitely worth reading (it's short enough to polish off in a day), and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to sink my teeth into it.

The Only One Who Knows by Lisa M. Matlin (Bantam, March 2026); 272 pp.

REVENGE PREY

5 stars out of 5

As a frequent reviewer of ARCs (advance review copies), I keep a running list of to-read books in order of release date so I don’t miss getting a review written and posted on time. On the rare occasions that I have a few extra days to “play with,” though, it’s a real treat because I can skip ahead a bit and read the one I truly want to read next. Well, such was the case with this one (as would be for anything written by this author, who’s been a favorite for, well, never mind how long). I know I’ll get familiar characters I’ve come to love, an intriguing plot that holds my attention from beginning to end and more than a few chortles – guffaws, even  – as I move through the pages.

As this one (the 36^th) begins, Russian spy Leonard Summers, his wife Martha and grown son Barnard (not their real names) are being transferred from a CIA safe house to a U.S. Marshals Service Witness Protection Program home near Minneapolis, with marshals Lucas Davenport and Shelby White to accompany them. Suddenly, shots go boom, and one of the transferees goes down. A subsequent chase ends up wounding at least two of the shooters, but they get away. Clearly security at one or both of the U.S. agencies has sprung a leak – and just as clearly, Lucas, Shelby and CIA rep John Sherwood are certain this won’t be the last time the family is attacked.

I’ll stop for a minute to say that one of the most entertaining parts of this story is the interaction between Lucas and John – an odd couple if there ever was one since cooperation isn’t exactly the order of the day between the two agencies. But these two get along famously, thanks in large part to the kind of warped sense of humor I love (and claim for myself). Lucas even invites him to his home for dinner, and Lucas’s surgeon wife, Weather, takes a liking to John as well (hopefully, this all bodes well for future books). Even Lucas’s adopted daughter Letty, who has a series by this author all her own, gets into the investigative act and develops a “connection” with John (also boding well for future books).

Needless to say, the suspicion that whoever’s out to get the defecting spy isn’t about to stop trying is spot on, so Lucas, John and an array of representatives from the Marshals, CIA and FBI, some of whom are familiar characters from previous books, get to play at playing nice (which in and of itself is a treat to read). The rest of the book deals with the art of the chase, with plenty of shoot-‘em-ups and the usual nonstop, edge-of-seat action. All told, another good one is now in the books – and I’m already looking forward to the next. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for another opportunity to meet up with one of my favorite characters by way of a pre-release copy.

Revenge Prey by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, April 2026); 400 pp.

THE CROSSROADS

4 stars out of 5

Every once in a while, IMHO, all long-running series need a creativity kick in the derriere. Even loyal fans (as I most certainly am of this series) get a little tired of the same place, same people chasing different bad guys and gals. In this one, the 26^th, Three Sleep County, Wisconsin, game warden Joe Pickett doesn’t get much page time except in flashbacks, nor does his off-the-grid “outlaw” buddy and falconer, Nate Romanowski – it’s Joe’s three daughters – Sheridan, April and Lucy - who take center stage.

Joe, you see, is being held elsewhere – a hospital in nearby Billings, Montana – and his family, including his wife Marybeth, don’t know whether he’ll live or die (or what his life will be like if he does make it). At the moment, he’s in an induced coma as a result of being shot through the windshield of his truck at the Antler Creek Junction – a (ahem!) crossroads where three roads split off, each leading to a large ranch owned by wealthy, powerful and very secretive people. Which of the three ranches he was planning to visit is unknown, as is the reason for his visit.

Leading the investigation is the new kid in town – Sheriff Steve Sondergard, who hasn’t even had time to organize his office. Steve has met and seems intrigued by Sheridan, who is heading up the bird abatement company owned by Romanowski while he remains off the grid with his young daughter Kestral. April works in Bozeman, Montana, at a private investigation agency, while Lucy attends the University of Wisconsin. When they get the news, April and Lucy waste no time returning home to help in any way they can.

That turns out to be running their own full-on investigation, with agreement – though grudgingly – from the sheriff. It doesn’t take long before Joe’s long-time friend Nate makes his presence known as well, offering a few suggestions and tidbits of advice. With almost nothing to go on – Joe’s phone and daily journal are nowhere to be found – the girls begin by making plans to independently interview each of the ranch owners; not an easy task since none are friends of Joe or any other law enforcement officials. Along the way, a couple of other dead bodies turn up that seem to be related to Joe’s shooting. Overarching the entire story, of course, is Joe’s condition; all that’s known till the end is that he’s in very capable hands at the hospital.

Also of course, any other details from me will not be forthcoming (especially the ending) so as not to spoil things for other readers, but I certainly enjoyed it myself and thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. But while this one was highly entertaining, I’m ready for Joe to stand front and center in the next one. Pretty please?

The Crossroads by C.J. Box (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, February 2026); 352 pp.

ANTIHERO

5 stars out of 5

Those who know me and/or follow my book reviews know I rarely stray from my favorite mystery/thriller genre, especially those with a legal or medical bent. Well, for the record, there’s one kind from which I typically shy away; those with mayhem that leaves body parts strewn all over four continents and humans who have unbelievable super-human capabilities. You’d think, then, that this series – which is loaded with all that “stuff” - wouldn’t have a lot of appeal.

Well, think again. From the moment I picked up my first – which in fact was the sixth in the series (this is the 11^th) – I couldn’t get enough of Evan Smoak, a.k.a. the Nowhere Man. Groomed from a young age through the Orphan X program to be a killer, he can (and often does) totally incapacitate a much bigger human opponent in 5 seconds flat with what appears to be the touch of a finger. These days, having broken away with the agency that taught him how to deal with danger and kill with no emotion before, during or after, he’s a sort of fixer-upon request for the downtrodden. He’s also wanted by the feds as well as that top-secret agency from which he escaped, so let’s just say life ain’t easy. But he’s got plenty of money, a virtually impenetrable penthouse and close friends who can infiltrate just about any system to retrieve information (or destroy it).

He’s got a few truly strange cohorts and friends, one of whom, Luke Devine, is a super-powerful hedge fund dude (actually, Evan once was charged with killing Devine, but he sort of took a liking to him and spared his life). The guy is seriously psychologically screwed up, though, and contacts Evan for help with getting back to his concept of normal. Evan complies, taking along his No. 1 sidekick, teenager and Orphan X program dropout Josephine Morales (Joey). Just as they’re assessing the Luke situation, Evan learns of a young disabled woman, Anca Dimitrescu, who’s been kidnapped from a subway and brutally assaulted. Helping people who have no one else to turn for help is Evan’s purpose in life, so he leaves Joey to deal with Luke (and use his wild array of tech tools to help Evan find Anca and the four young men who need to be, shall we say, prevented from doing anything that dastardly ever again). He finds her, of course, but she immediately reins in his fury by insisting that he not kill the boys when he and Joey identify and locate them.

Needless to say, from this point on it gets pretty complicated – and unraveling it all for readers is the author’s job, not mine. Suffice it to say it’s a heck of a journey that kept me on the edge of my seat – as always – right up to the end. What I can say, though, is thank you once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get in on the plentiful action by way of a pre-release copy. And, once again, wow!

Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (Minotaur Books, February 2026); 416 pp.

ROBERT B. PARKER'S BIG SHOT

4 stars out of 5

This is the author’s second shot at the series, and from the chair I sat in while reading, he’s doing a pretty darn good job. It’s always fun to see small-town Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone give a few bad guys (and slimy local politicians) their comeuppance, and he does it in spades in this one.

Ever since he became the police chief in the wealth-invested community of Paradise, former alcoholic Jesse Stone has bumped heads with the best of ‘em; not a few community leaders, including the town mayor, have done their best to get him fired – or make him so mad at them that he’ll quit on his own. That’s an ongoing theme throughout much of the series, but this time out, Jesse takes on a new opponent: ultra-wealthy Ramsey Devlin, who’s built a honker of a home (most will say a total eyesore) in Paradise who recently was acquitted of fraud under federal law – think Bernie Madoff times at least two. Construction of his new home clearly violates community standards, if not most of the local zoning laws, but he appears to have greased the palms of the “right” people to git ‘er done – most notably, perhaps, the mayor of Paradise, who’s never exactly been a Jesse fan.

Right off the bat, Jesse clashes with Ramsey, both by way of a physical altercation and letting him know in no uncertain terms his money doesn’t put him above the law. Needless to say, getting knocked on his kiester doesn’t (ahem) sit well with Ramsey, who makes it his mission to get even. Still another wedge comes between the two when Ramsey’s like-father-like-son kid bullies the son of Jesse’s current main squeeze and ER doctor, Rachel Lowenthal.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Jesse, a herd of drug dealers and pushers are making their way from Florida to Paradise. The reason isn’t clear – until it is. Before they hit the town limits, though, rich guy Ramsey disappears, leaving a boatload of blood on his home office floor that’s (oops!) discovered by Jesse. Suddenly, Jesse finds himself at the center of a suspected murder once again – but this time as the prime suspect.

How will it all work out? Is this the end of Jesse’s long career in law enforcement? All I can reveal is that the investigation heats up pretty fast, and readers have the pleasure of being in on the action as it unfolds. It’s another engaging and entertaining adventure, and I’m delighted to be one of those readers by way of a pre-release copy in exchange for an honest review. Good job!

Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot by Christopher Farnsworth (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, February 2026); 320 pp.