THE DYING LIGHT

4 stars out of 5

There’s no shortage of murder and mayhem in this, the fourth book in the Detective Matthew Venn series, but it touches on the personal as Venn’s husband, Jonathan, is more determined than ever to find his birth mother (he was adopted as a child) and Venn, who turned his back on a religious cult-like childhood to the dismay of his family, finds himself in the middle of a case involving the deaths of teenagers.

As a police detective in North Devon, Matthew is called to an elite residential area and the home of doctor and politician Paul Armstrong and his wife Cath. There, Armstrong’s daughter’s friend Lottie has been found dead in the private swimming pool – and the daughter, Hannah, is missing. An accident? Perhaps, except Lottie was an Olympic swimmer wannabe.

Also involved is farm property not far away, where a concert-like event called “Millsfest” just took place – and that could be the last time Lottie and Hannah were seen together. Also a mystery is that the farm boasts a few remote “glamping” cabins that can be rented; one was by a retired reporter and his wife, with the former reportedly planning a book about Dr. Armstrong. Mysteriously, the couple disappears – and it’s learned that their own daughter, Elizabeth, used to know Hannah and Lottie. Coincidence? Well, when you’re a detective, there’s no such thing.

And so it goes, with Matthew’s investigation – and Jonathan’s search for his birth mother – continues to the end (with a twist that no doubt will carry forward to the next installment, which I hope will come soon). Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to once again find out what one of my favorite detectives has been up to.

The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2026); 384 pp.

THE FRENCH ILLUSION

5 stars out of 5

Well, this is a bit of an unusual situation – I’m not sure whether I’m happier to have read and finished this intriguing, edge-of-seat story or the expectation that there’s another one (or two, or three or more) in the making? The latter isn’t a certainty, but since it’s billed as “The French Illusion #1,” logic tells me a #2 will follow.

Anyway, it took a while for them to show up, but I already love leading man Stuart Nash and his “future wife,” Rae-Claire Russo – even though, contrary to almost every other book I’ve read by this author, there’s no courtroom action. Nash is an ex-military man and an assistant U.S. attorney in North Carolina, though, and the soon-to-be dynamic duo “accidentally” meet each other at a cybercrime seminar in Washington, D.C.

Behind the scenes – at least the public ones – Paul and Chelsea Tanner head for Paris for their honeymoon. It’s a dream come true, till it turns into a nightmare for the couple and both sets of parents when they go missing – and said parents get ransom calls from what appears to be a network of criminals asking for millions. The money isn’t a huge issue for Chelsea’s parents – dad is an orthopedic surgeon who is financially savvy – but it’s beyond hope for Paul’s less financially well-off mother and father. And of course, all are warned not to tell anyone what’s going on, especially law enforcement.

As the story progresses, readers see what’s happening from the points of view of both the parents and the victims – and, down the road a bit, of the FBI and CIA, which agree to hold hands for once in an effort to shut down what appears to be a long-running and highly successful operation. Enter Nash and Russo (nope, not gonna explain how that came to pass), and from that point on, the action never stops – and neither did my reading about it.

All told, it’s edge-of-seat exciting, and I hope we’ll be seeing this pair again. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this one!

The French Illusion by John Grisham (Doubleday, September 2026); 352 pp.

DIE FAMOUS

4 stars out of 5

I’ve read a couple of this author’s books and a short-story collaboration (appropriately titled “Short Story”) with Karin Slaughter, but all those were several years ago so my experience isn’t recent. But the premise sounded intriguing – and I’ve never had a bad book from this publisher – so I requested a pre-release copy at NetGalley and here we are. And once again, it was an enjoyable experience overall.

It was, though, a bit difficult to “get into” – mostly, I guess, because of what actually makes the story work as well as it does: frequent switching of perspectives of three different characters. You have Savannah Cody, the mother of Alford; the father of that child, Edward “Nickel” Terhune, who’s on the run as part of the Brady Gang, wanted Bonnie and Clyde-style bank robbers; and Alford (undoubtedly the most sympathy-generating among the three).

The main theme is that Savannah decided, as she tells an interrogator after the fact, that Eddie – the now most-wanted man she loved and who still loves her – needs to die, and she’ll be the one to do the dirty deed. But even the FBI can’t find Eddie, who was the Brady gang’s getaway car driver – so how can she?

Actually, she knows something others don’t: there’s a place in the United States Eddie dreamed of – and Savannah shared that dream. When push comes to shove, then, she’s convinced that’s where Eddie would head next – or die trying. The question is, by whose hand?

I wish I could be more specific, but that would ruin the story for others. As I mentioned earlier, there are a few too many backward jumps to suit my style, but they do get the job done in the end with a few twists and quite a few turns along the way. Well worth a read, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to tag along on the journey by way of a pre-release copy.

Die Famous by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown and Co., September 2026); 415 pp.

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK

4 stars out of 5

This story started off on such a sad note that I don’t think I ever fully recovered despite a satisfactory ending under the circumstances. It’s a murder mystery, yes, but it seems more about racism than just following a trail to find whodunit.

Nadeeka Prasanna, a Pakistani divorcee with two young daughters, is living with James Golding (Jamie) with hopes for a bright future together. But seemingly out of the blue, Jamie begins to act strangely like her ex; not so strangely, Nadeeka begins to suspect he’s having an affair. One day, she’s pretty sure she can catch him in the act and makes a beeline for their residence. She’s surprised, all right, but in the worst way; Jamie, the love of her life, has been murdered right in their living room. Police are everywhere, one of whom, Detective Inspector Burton, politely asks that she turn over her phone and laptop, saying it will be returned soon. Shortly thereafter, she’s relieved to find those same police have thoroughly cleaned up the entire mess and restored some semblance of order.

Unable to return to her home despite the clean-up, Nadeeka stays with her former mother-in-law, with whom she remained friendly. And her mind wanders wildly; is it possible Jamie was at home with his new lover – when she called him on the phone, she’d heard a female voice, after all? And why had he brought home – and put away in a drawer - a photo of him, her and the girls that he’d had on his desk at work?

Hearing nothing from Burton about her electronic devices after several days, she visits the police station to ask if she can have them back. Here, she gets yet another shock: according to the desk clerk, no such detective is employed here and – even more puzzling – they have no record of Jamie’s murder. Nadeeka is turned over to Detective Lauren Caldwell, head of the Major Crimes Unit; she and her lower-grade partner, Fraser Hogan (also Lauren’s significant other and near-future husband) will be taking over the case. But investigation won’t be easy since those phantom police thoroughly cleaned up the crime scene, destroying any real or potential evidence.

What they do find, though, is both confusing and deeply upsetting to Nadeeka. Jamie worked for a company involved with brownfield development; police learn the firm’s head honcho deleted some of Jamie’s files, raising significant questions. But more disconcerting is what they learn about Jamie himself; could it be that he isn’t the loving, accepting partner Nadeeka believes in her heart of hearts that he is?

The answer to that and other weighty questions is for other readers to find out; suffice it to say there are more than a few twists as the investigation progresses and a whopper at the end. The whole thing was a bit heavy on the political aspect, but I’ll give that a pass just because it really is an important issue. And the story itself is well-written enough to grab my attention and hold it throughout (actually, that part came as no surprise; I’ve read five of this talented author’s other books and enjoyed every single one). Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh (Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2026); 413 pp.

ONE SPLIT SECOND

5 stars out of 5

Seattle police detective Tracy Crosswhite has come a long way since I met her 11 books ago (My Sister’s Grave, 2014). Back then, her mission was to find out what really happened in the disappearance of her sister, Sarah. Fast-forward to this latest book, when Tracy – long since married to attorney Dan O’Leary and with a five-year-old daughter - works exclusively with cold cases.

But it’s a new case that has caught her attention this time; her old friend, Sheriff of Klickitat County Jennie Almond, has just been charged with the murder of local military veteran Anthony Alvarez, who apparently suffers from PTSD. Jennie swears Alvarez had a gun, but evidence – including a gunshot from another angle – tell a different story.

Tracy is sure her friend is innocent, but proving it is another issue entirely. Since she’s so familiar with cold cases now, this one reminds Tracy of one Jenny’s late father was involved in as a police investigator something like 45 years earlier. At that time, a teenage babysitter disappeared, and the prime suspect was – you guessed it – the man Jenny is charged with killing. Jenny’s father, though, always believed Alvarez was innocent.

From that point on, chapters shift from the time of the babysitter’s disappearance to the present, as Tracy tries to connect the dots and her husband prepares to defend Jenny in court. Helping out is young autistic girl Lydia, who has become a friend of Tracy’s because of her shooting and video game skills. She is, BTW, an interesting character whom I suspect readers will be reading more about in upcoming installments – and to which I’m looking forward.

The rest of the book follows Tracy’s investigations of both past and present – the latter of which put her in more than a bit of danger – and Dan’s very capable defense of their friend. Of course, I can’t provide details without spoiling things for other readers, but I can say thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to catch up on the latest happenings in the life of a favorite character. Well done once again!

One Split Second by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer, September 2026); 387 pp.

UNTAMED COAST

4 stars out of 5

If I’m honest, I have to say it took me a while to “get into” this book, though in the end I can say I enjoyed it and consider it to be well-written. That’s mostly, I think, because there are three timelines, three different scenarios and three different sets of characters to keep straight; at my age, some days I have trouble remembering how to spell my own name.

It’s 1938, and a man is working at a gold mine, with a couple of partners in crime who are running a skimming scam. Then it’s 1982, when a beautiful young wife and the abusive husband she wants to get away from are operating a successful fishing business. Then it’s 2017, when a man caught in a violent storm in the Alaskan Sea hears an almost unintelligible radio message from a woman calling for help and can’t give up trying to find her – if she really exists.

At the heart of the matter is a seemingly abandoned island known as Radioville – from which Alaskan boater and widower Marco Franco picks up some kind of distress signal. Trying to track it down nearly kills him, but for some strange reason he’s certain the signal he heard was real so he refuses to give up. That leads to discovery of gold robbers and a woman - Anya Baron – who lives with a nasty husband who abuses her to the point that she fears for her life.

Of course, readers can expect all three scenarios to be somehow connected; and of course, they are. Shifting from scenario to scenario, clues emerge and merge; but although everything was brought to a conclusion in the end that was, at least for me, satisfying, the ride to get there was a bit bumpy. But for those who stick with it, as I did, it’s definitely worth reading. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris (Ballantine Books, September 2027); 304 pp.

FURY IN DEATH

5 stars out of 5

It doesn’t seem possible that there have been 62 previous books in this series, though I know I’ve read my share. Set in the fairly near future, they’re guaranteed to be both intriguing and fun – and I can’t ignore the fact that police lieutenant Eve Dallas’s hunky husband, filthy rich Irish rogue turned police consultant Roarke, has long held a near-the-top spot on my all-time list of male book heroes (if anyone cares, No. 1 is fine art restorer and former Israeli spy Gabriel Allon, a best-selling series by Daniel Silva). 

This latest installment of this series carries on the tradition in fine fettle, starting with the death of a man who apparently fell accidentally, followed closely by the death of Lawrence Chu, a wealthy executive who’s been beaten so badly he’s nearly unrecognizable in his ultra-secure building. Someone must have had super-human strength plus more than a little fury (a nod to the title) – an emotion Eve knows all too well given her background - but how in the world did he or she get into the building to do the deed?

When still another body turns up beaten to an unrecognizable pulp, Eve learns they were both from the same company. And what’s that old chestnut – always follow the money? Connections begin to form with help from trusty Roarke, whose company is a rival with the one that employed the two dead men. The rest of the story basically follows the investigation led by Eve with help from Roarke and her coworkers (a favorite of mine is Dr. Charlotte Mira) - with a bit of diversion by way of an upcoming bash hosted by good friends. As always, it was tough to put it down, though I won’t call it the most edge-of-seat book in the series I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Love it, though, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Fury in Death by J.D. Robb (St. Martin’s Press, September 2026); 368 pp.