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Book Reviews by vicki rock
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The Burning Side
by
Sarah Damoff, Simon & Schuster
Published
May 19, 2026
336
Pages
It is June 10, 2022. When April and Leo Torres’ house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children, Otto and Sadie. The fire started in the kitchen and April wonders if she turned off the burner after Leo told her that he wants a divorce.
They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, about an hour away. April’s sister, Josie, and brother, Cameron, are there with their parents, Bill and Deb Russo. Bill was recently diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. He isn’t even 60.
The story then goes back to 2011, when April, a reading specialist, is interning at a high school where Leo teaches history. It moves through time, with different chapters told by the characters. Leo’s parents abandoned him when he was a child and he then lived with an aunt and uncle.
The characters are wonderful and it is well-written, but overall the story is very sad. The themes are family, sacrifices, losses and love for parents, siblings and spouses.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Ironwood
by
Michael Connelly, Little, Brown and Company
Published
May 19, 2026
336
Pages
Detective Sergeant Stephen Stilwell and two deputies watch a plane land at night in a remote mountain airstrip on Catalina Island because of information that came from Deputy Alton Quigley’s confidential informant. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and a man on an ATV moves in to pick it up.
Stilwell chases the ATV as Quigley and Deputy Issa Ramirez block the airplane from taking off. The ATV operator abandons it and runs. Stilwell then gets a radio report that his deputies were shot. Stilwell returns to the scene. Quigley is dead and Ramirez is severely injured.
While under orders to remain in the sheriff’s substation during the internal investigation, Stilwell sorts through the station’s lost and found department. He comes across a valuable backpack and traces it to Angela Metier who disappeared while hiking four years ago. But the backpack was only turned in two months back. Now intrigued, he follows the mystery to the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.
As Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, they soon realize the criminal is taunting the police. Meanwhile, Stilwell is conducting his own investigation into the deputies’ shooting.
The plotting is excellent. The characters are not as strong as those in Connelly’s other series featuring Renée Ballard, Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller, but that may just because this is only the second novel in this series. Readers who like detective novels will enjoy any of Michael Connelly’s novels.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
The Last Mandarin
by
Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung, Minotaur Books
Published
May 12, 2026
400
Pages
Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese-American, is a food blogger who has lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien Li, a Chinese dissident who escaped China after Tiananmen Square. Vivien is now a human rights activist.
Alice agrees to meet her mother at a restaurant in D.C. They have a strained relationship as Vivien always makes Alice feel like she is a child again. Alice is dating Liam Palmer, who is an account manager for a food distribution company. They met as students at Columbia University.
While Vivien and Alice are in the restaurant, security and fire alarms go off simultaneously all around the world. Countries are under attack, possibly by China. They go to Vivien’s Georgetown home where they meet up with Kevin, Alice’s younger brother, and his partner.
Vivien goes into her study, then comes out and tells Alice to come with her. They’ve been called to the White House in the hopes that Madame Li can decode the Chinese intentions. While it makes sense that the President would turn to Vivien since she regularly advises world leaders on the actions of the Chinese government, what isn’t clear is why they want to talk to Alice.
President Fraser Pardington assures the nation that the administration will get to the bottom of what happened. The British say the attack originated in Fujian, China, so he calls Chinese President Chen. Then there is another attack. Vivien and Alice go to China to find out what group is attacking other countries.
This is well plotted and intense, with a big twist about halfway through. There are some amusing parts, like the way the U.S. and Chinese presidents set up back channels to each other. Overall, it is a story of family, memory, myths and greed. It is a very compelling thriller.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
How to Cheat Your Own Death
by
Kristen Perrin, Dutton
Published
April 28, 2026
336
Pages
It is 1968 and socialite Vera Huntington lives in Soho, London. She loves Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. Her new friend, Frances Adams, is there. But now Vera is in trouble and asks Frances if she has a friend who can help her. Frances is majoring in psychology and works at a diner.
Fast forward to present day. When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her mother, Laura, a famous artist, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura’s new protégée, Felicity Rowe.
Felicity was the ex-girlfriend of Castle Knoll Detective Rowan Crane, who Annie has worked with to solve murders. Felicity also was suspected of having stolen money from the Crane family. And the odder thing is Annie’s late great-aunt Frances wrote in her journal about a similar murder that happened to her friend, Vera Huntington. Dr. Alastair Huntington, Vera’s husband who was a heart surgeon, was convicted of her murder.
Annie’s father, Sam Arlington, left her mother when Annie was a baby, after losing money in a Ponzi scheme. When Laura refuses to talk to Annie about Felicity, Annie calls Sam to find out what information she and Rowan can get from him.
This is the third book in the cozy mystery series. You don’t have to read the others in the series to follow the plot. The two timelines are woven together well and the art angle adds to the story.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
A Deadly Episode
by
Anthony Horowitz, Harper
Published
April 28, 2026
384
Pages
This is the sixth novel in the series in which Anthony Horowitz features himself as a fictionalized Watson to former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne’s Sherlock Holmes.
It is the third week of production on the film adaptation of “The Word is Murder,” the first book. They are filming in Hastings, on the south coast of England. Actor David Caine is playing Hawthorne and Ralph Seymour is playing Horowitz. Cy Truman is the director and Shanika Harris is the screenwriter.
Izzy Mays, a production runner, goes onto the set and screams that Caine has been stabbed. He is dead.
It seems that everyone on the set had a motive to kill him. Caine had just fired Izzy Mays. He had fallen out with Cy Truman, slept with Shanika Harris, humiliated Ralph Seymour and dropped James Auburn as his agent days before he was about to sign a multimillion-dollar deal to appear in the next Spider-Man movie.
Detective Superintendent Sarah Milnes and Detective Constable Joe Fuller are investigating. Hawthorne is called in as a consultant although he is no longer with the police. He calls Horowitz and they go to Hastings.
But what if Caine’s murderer made a mistake? It’s Hawthorne’s name on the trailer where Caine was killed because the producers list actors by the characters they are playing. Maybe he was the intended target. Could it be linked to his first case as a private investigator?
This has good dialogue and a great plot, with red herrings mixed in with logic. I did guess the older part of the mystery, but not the newer one. You almost have to feel sorry for the character of Horowitz as he doesn’t figure out what is happening until Hawthorne tells him. We get some insight to Hawthorne’s background, which is complex. Readers who have followed the series and those who haven’t will enjoy this one.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
Livonia Chow Mein
by
Abigail Savitch-Lew, Simon & Schuster
Published
April 21, 2026
368
Pages
In 1978, two tenements on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville burn to the ground, killing one resident and displacing dozens of others. Survivors are convinced that Mr. Wong set the fire.
Community organizer Lina Rodriguez Armstrong was also displaced by that fire. She spends years fighting for the residents’ rights.
The novel follows four generations of the Wong family, starting with immigrant Koon Lai. It is his great-granddaughter, Sadie, a journalist, who returns to Brownsville years later to try to unravel the mystery of what really happened.
The story skips around in timeline and points of view, making it difficult to follow. In addition to the non-linear timeline, the multiple characters aren’t well developed and I didn’t connect with them. Others may like this one, but I didn’t.
I rate it three out of five stars. a review.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Hope Rises
by
David Baldacci, Grand Central Publishing
Published
April 14, 2026
432
Pages
In the first novel in this series, “Nash Falls,” Walter Nash is approached by the FBI. They want him to become their inside man to bring down a criminal money laundering and drug trafficking organization headed by Victoria Steers.
As “Hope Rises” begins, Walter is on Steers’ private jet, along with Rhett Temple, CEO of Sybaritic Investments and Lynn Ryder, who works for Steers. Walter is using the alias of Dillon Hope and is posing as Temple’s bodyguard.
They are going to Hong Kong to meet with Steers, who wants them to get her mother, Masuyo, out of a Myanmar prison. When they succeed, Steers demands that Walter stay on as her bodyguard.
This is an intense, fast-moving escapist thriller. While the plot is riveting and the book is difficult to put down, it is also violent and implausible. If you go with the flow and not expect a totally rational story, you’ll enjoy it. I didn’t like it as much as I liked “Nash Falls,” but it is a engrossing sequel.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
Last One Out
by
Jane Harper, Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar
Published
April 14, 2026
368
Pages
Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, is now almost abandoned. Only a few residents remain since the Lentzer mining company bought most of the residents out.
Sam Crowley loved Carralon Ridge. He was working on his thesis, an oral history of the town. On his 21st birthday, during a break from college, he drove a rental car there, parked the car, got out and vanished. That was five years ago.
Sam’s parents have since separated. His mother, Rowena, returns to Carralon Ridge from Sydney to be with her estranged husband, Griffith, and their daughter, Della, on the anniversary of Sam’s disappearance. Before Sam disappeared Griffith’s cousin, Warren, killed himself.
Ro is a doctor. Griff is employed by Lentzer as the community fire safety officer. As Ro and Della talk to others, Ro begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in Sam’s case. People are protecting family secrets.
The truth of what happened to Sam and why it happened is shocking. This is expertly plotted. The descriptions of the town are vivid; you feel the heat of the weather, the disruption of community and the desperation of the people who stayed behind.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
Death Times Seven
by
Anne Perry and Victoria Zackheim, Ballantine Books
Published
April 14, 2026
288
Pages
It is 1913. London junior attorney Daniel Pitt must step in for his friend, fellow attorney Toby Kitteridge, whose parents have been brutally attacked in rural Ipswich. Toby's mother, Delia, is dead and his father, Justin, a village vicar, is barely alive.
With Toby returning to the family home in rural Ipswich, Daniel remains in London to defend Peter Ward, on trial for the sexual assault and murder of a young woman, Alexandra Stanton.
Toby has a younger sister, Alberta, who is married to Esmond Walsh. The police believe that the vicar shot his wife, then tried to kill himself. Daniel’s wife, Miriam fford Croft, is a pathologist. Toby had asked Miriam to rerun tests on Alexandra’s body. Evelyn Hall, Miriam’s mentor, is still recovering from an earlier attack. Daniel asks Miriam to perform an autopsy on Delia.
When Miriam returns to London, she and Eve find that other pathologists have purposefully omitted information from several autopsy reports. They wonder what could be behind that ethical violation.
Anne Perry died in 2023. She had written half of this book. Her friend, Victoria Zackheim, an author, finished it. It’s sad to know that I’ve read my last Anne Perry novel. Her characters were always strong, although plots were often easy to figure out.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
When the Wolves Are Silent
by
C.S. Harris, Berkley
Published
April 14, 2026
400
Pages
London, Nov. 23, 1816. Bayard Wilcox is passed out drunk. When he comes to, he finds himself outside, on the ground at Primrose Hill. He was with his friend, Marcus Toole, and left to get more firewood before he passed out.
The young men were at Primrose Hill because of the rumored Druid ceremonies. Wilcox heads towards the campfire and realizes there is a body that was set on fire. It’s Toole. Wilcox races to his grandfather’s house because he hopes his uncle, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, will be there. He’s correct. Sebastian, a former calvary captain, has done some private investigations.
Toole was the son of Sir Samuel Toole, who is a landowner and a member of Parliment. Wilcox tells them of his friend’s murder and reminds them that it’s only two weeks since his other friend, Gilbert Keebles, was fatally stabbed.
Sebastian’s wife, Hero, tells him that Keebles’ mother was good friends with her mother, so she can find out more about his death. Phineas Upcott, a friend of Toole’s, asks Sebastian to investigate. As he does, Sebastian learns that Bayard may not be as innocent as he pretends.
The writing is very good and the history was well-researched. The characters are true to life. The mystery is complicated.
I rate it four out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
The Left and the Lucky
by
Willy Vlautin, Harper
Published
April 14, 2026
256
Pages
Eddie Wilkens is a divorced workaholic house painter in Portland. He is thoughtful and rarely gets angry.
A woman and her two sons move in next door with her frail and aging mother. Russell is eight and is terrified of his brother Curtis, 15. They moved into the grandmother’s house beside Eddie’s after Curtis’ girlfriend, Yvette, got pregnant. They can’t afford child support.
As their mother struggles to keep the family together and the grandmother’s health declines, they find themselves unable to protect Russell and themselves from Curtis’s cruelty. While Russell’s home life disintegrates he begins waiting in Eddie’s backyard for him to home from work. In return, Russell gives Eddie a reason to carry on.
The themes are friendship and found family. While many people will enjoy this novel, I found it too depressing.
I rate it three out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
The Keeper
by
Tana French, Viking
Published
March 31, 2026
496
Pages
Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper lives in the remote Irish village of Arknakelty and is engaged to Lena Dunne. The two of them help Trey Reedy, a teenager who lives with Cal part time.
After a soccer match one day, Lena drops Trey off at Cal’s house and drives home. She finds Rachel Holohan sitting on her doorstep. She wants Lena to look at her cat because the vet’s office is closed.
Early the next morning, Cal’s phone rings. Rachel Holohan has disappeared. She was about to be engaged to Eugene Moynihan, the son of the local big shot, Tommy Moynihan. Tommy has been buying up land, but nobody knows why. He owns a meat processing plant that employs a lot of local men.
Some of the searchers find Rachel’s body in the river. In a close-knit small town, a death like this isn’t simple. It comes wrapped in generations-old grudges and power struggles, and it splits the town in two. Lena’s sister, Noreen, who owns the general store, pushes her to visit Rachel’s mother and wants her to push Cal into contacting police for information. People are upset about Rachel’s death and some blame the Moynihans. When they realize what’s behind her death, people rise up.
The characters are really true and the setting is beautifully written. While the plot moves slower than French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, this plot is complex and well-drawn. There are twists and turns as the story develops with a surprise towards the end. This is the third in the Cal Hooper series.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
