A Dog Mystery and a Magical Romance: Sunday Salon

 

Currently reading

Cat on a Hot Tin Woof: Chet & Bernie Mystery 

by Spencer Quinn

Not yet published

 Expected 14 Apr 26, 2026

Join Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner Bernie as they scramble to solve a case exposing the dark side of internet fame.

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong. (publisher)

I just love Chet, the narrator of this mystery series, as he is funny, astute, and innocent all at once. The books are entertaining because the people, the surroundings, and the detecting are seen through his eyes, the eyes of this clever but un-human dog detective. 

This book will not be printed till next spring, but I am reading the advance unedited version, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

I am also still reading last Sunday's posted books about the Camino Way, the pilgrimages made across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela and the cathedral there that honors Saint James. (See last week's Sunday Salon). 

Finished reading

Skip to the End by Molly James, Aug. 2023, Forever

This is a delightful romance with a touch of magic. Amy can tell by a kiss what the future would be with the man she kisses. She hasn't found Mr. Right as yet, who would promise true love and happiness. 

When she sees a happy ending with a kiss at her friend's wedding, Amy is at her wits end to figure out just which of the three men she kissed that night showed that happy future. 

The rest of the story is fun to read. 

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday, Book Blogger Hop

Sunday Salon: Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Currently Reading

Pilgrimage through Northern Spain  to Santiago de Compostela

The Way is a River of Stars: A Buddhist's Journey, a travel memoir by Helen Burns.

 Pilgrimages have been made since medieval times from east to west across Northern Spain on the Camino Way, a path of some 500 miles trekked in honor of Saint James the Great, one of the twelve apostles.

His tomb and relics are in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the goal of pilgrims on the path. The cathedral  has been named a UNESCO world heritage site.

‘Just as I walked from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela - a different woman now to the one who began - I also traveled from one religion to another. Perhaps I put on pilgrim boots to better understand the message of each - the verbs of their prayers - what it means to engage with life, the joys of aloneness and the delights of company.’ (Helen Burns)

Call of the Camino: A Novel by Suzanne Redfearn, Oct. 25, 2025,  Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley. Not yet published

Book description: Reina Watkins lost her father when she was eight. Seventeen years later, she still carries that grief. Her budding journalism career leads her to the ancient five-hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. Now she finds herself embarking on the same pilgrimage that her father made at her age, unaware of how profoundly it will change her. A parallel story, set some 15 years earlier, has young Isabel running for her life from her Spanish village, finding hope and safety on the pilgrimage's Camino Way.

I am reading both books interchangeably and not getting confused, as the first is a travel memoir and the other, a novel. I found out about the Camino  de Santiago many years too late to try to attempt it, but it would have been a walking experience that I would just loved. The challenge and the meeting of people from all over the world would have added to the  idea of making that pilgrimage.

Anyway, that's what books are for! Armchair travel and experiences! 

The Winners by Fredrik Backman, Jan. 1, 2022; Simon & Schuster, NetGalley. 

 I found this in my TBR pile, and though I've not read the first two books in the award-winning Beartown series, I'm sure the stories of the residents there can be read as a stand alone work. Have you read any in the series? 

 

 What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday, Book Blogger Hop

Sunday Salon: Thrillers and Literary Fiction

 

Not Yet Published Mystery Novels Read

The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera 

Feb. 10, 2026, Berkley, NetGalley  Not yet published

Genre: mystery and thrillers, multicultural interest

Sri Lankan-American taxi driver Siriwathi is one of the few NYC female taxi drivers, but she is determined to help her struggling family by driving at all hours of the night. Her love of true crime podcasts, which she listens to in her taxi, helps her when a midnight passenger in her locked cab is stabbed and killed while she is driving him to his destination. She meets another Sri Lankan in NYC, public defender Amaya Fernando, who offers to represent Siri pro bono. Together they set out to solve the crime themselves. 

As there is no obvious reason, method, or culprit for the murder, the dead man's past and his acquaintances probably hold the key to the solution of his murder.

This is the first in a mystery series featuring Siri. I am looking forward to reading more adventures with her and Amaya. These two characters are realistic and likeable, and Siri in particular is a sympathetic and gutsy personality. Her descriptions of NYC and its areas are an interesting part of the novel, as she narrates the book.

How to Survive in the Woods by Kat Rosenfield 

March 10, 2026; Harper, NetGalley  Not yet published

genre: thriller, mystery 


I was intrigued by the story of hunter turned prey turned hunter again in this novel set in the Maine wilderness of the Appalachian Trail. Emma and her friend Taylor gang up on Emma's tyrannical and abusive husband Logan and plan to get their revenge on this trip. The story of the three, the women against the lone man, has a lot of twists and turns that make it interesting. Getting lost, trying to survive each other and the harsh wilderness, makes for suspenseful reading.

Even though the ordeal in the woods seems similar to other wilderness mysteries, there is still good storytelling that will keep the reader interested in the outcome. I liked that the trail itself turned out to be an important part in the mystery . The last leg of the trail, the Hundred Mile Wilderness, plays a key role in their survival or death.

Currently reading

  

Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh

April 1, 2025, Little, Brown & Company, NetGalley

Genre: adult fiction, literary fiction

Description

A tense, propulsive drama set in Shanghai, about a fractured American family, secret lives, and the unbreakable bond between two sisters, from the bestselling author of Mercy Street.

One daughter is in a coma after a serious car accident in Shanghai; the other daughter, an adoptee from China, is in the US at summer camp. The parents rush to their injured daughter, Lindsay, an ESL teacher.  

Read my review on Goodreads...

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday, Book Blogger Hop

Books Reviewed - Thrillers and a Rom-Com: Sunday Salon

Books I recently reviewed

After the Party by C.L. Swatman, NetGalley book

The book theme is not unusual in thrillers. Several people get in touch with each other again after many years, in this case, 20 years, because the cause of the death of one of their group that long time ago has resurfaced. Hannah is knocking on their doors, intent on writing about the death of the girl found in the lake. When everyone starts getting anonymous notes that threaten their loved ones if they reveal anything to Hannah, things become difficult for the group.

I was surprised by the so called culprit in the death, but the twist at the very end really threw me for a loop, so to speak. A book not only about a mystery death, but also a look at individual personalities, how they interact or fit together, and some times the unintended consequences.

The Dinner Party by Viola van de Sandt, NetGalley book

Franca's experience with fiance Andrew at a dinner party she is cooking for leads to her sessions with a psychiatrist Stella. 

The back and forth in time in the telling of Stella's past and present made me skip pages and fast forward to get to the heart of the story. The book is more than that dinner party, however, but the problems Franca has with Andrew and male aggression is clear cut. I was glad to see how she manages to find her true self and her future going forward.

The Doorman by Chris Pavone, NetGalley book 

Chicky Diaz, the doorman at an exclusive New York City building, has all the info on the famous and wealthy tenants to give him insights into their lives, their prejudices, their penchants. 

The tenants of each apartment are varied, but in total they show much of current big city culture, lifestyle, prejudices, attitudes, likes and dislikes. We also see society and its levels and their interactions or non-interaction. The exclusive apartment building and its tenants' attitudes and lives show many aspects of modern society as it is.

Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm, NetGalley book

Frances Silberstein and Theodore Lewis North, two neuroscientists, sit next to each other on the plane heading to a scientific conference, and begin their academic-rival-to-lovers romance in this rom-com novel.

At the beginning, Frances is angry with Theodore, aka Lewis, because he used some of her research in his own very successful paper four years ago without giving her credit for it.

I liked the slow way these two worked their way towards each other, in spite of Frances' resentment. They begin by fake dating at the conference to protect their reputations and jobs. The ending was a little slow in coming, but this was a satisfying rom com read overall, especially as the main characters were brain scientists who shared aspects of their knowledge, of memory and how it works, with the reader.

Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum, NetGalley

Sam Vetiver, a fairly new author, with a writing block meets successful writer, William Corwyn, who promises to help and mentor her while she finishes her book. They become close and romantic, even when they become threatened by a stalker they call The Rabbit.

The suspense that builds up in the novel, with the stalking of the couple and the break ins, leads to an unexpected ending, which I loved. The surprise was really that, a genuine and genius surprise!
I loved the inside look at how authors work and write, and the publishing world of editors, book agents, publicists interacting with writers to produce a printed book.

NOTE: The above books are Not yet published

Currently reading

The Once and Future Me by Melisssa Page, NetGalley

Genre: sci-fi, thriller, mystery 

Description

Dark Matter meets Girl, Interrupted in this gripping psychological thriller about a young woman teetering on the edge of reality.

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday, Book Blogger Hop

Sunday Salon: New Book Titles - Memoir, Sci-Fi, Romance

 

New book finds

Letter from Japan by Marie Kondo: Not yet published expected Oct. 21, 2025; Crown Publishing, NetGalley

Genre: Memoirs, multicultural, travel

Book description: Marie reflects on the myriad questions she received about her inspirations by examining the Japanese customs that she grew up with—minute details of tea ceremonies, the art of taking care of gardens, and the power of passing seasons. 

“This book represents guiding principles by which I lead my life every day. They also define, at least for me, the values that flow through the customs, traditions, arts and sensibilities of Japan.”

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu, Not yet published Oct. 14, 2025; Saga Press, NetGalley.

I don't normally read sci-fi, or speculative fiction, but the description of this book caught my attention. 

Julia Z must use her AI-whispering skills to unravel a virtual reality mystery and rescue the kidnapped Elli, who is an oneirofex, a dream artist who can weave the dreams of an audience together through a shared virtual landscape, live, in a concert-like experience by tapping into attendees 'memories. 

The Making of Us by Diane Hawley Nagatomo. Published Sept. 4, 2025; Black Rose Writing.

Genre: women's fiction, romance, travel

Description: After being dumped by her fiance just before her wedding, Rose Millstone travels to teach English in Japan, where she finds romance again and has to decide on a commitment, not just to a person, but to Japan and a new way of life.  

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday, Book Blogger Hop