HOLIDAY Reading : Gillian McAllister and Nayantara Roy

 I've been reading thrillers by Gillian McAllister over the holidays, having finished several of Shari Lapena's mysteries. 

Also, a marvelous literary novel, family drama by Nayantara Roy

That Night: Frannie is the youngest of three siblings and has been coddled by them as the baby of the family. When Frannie hits and kills someone in a car accident in Italy, the siblings fly to her rescue, to bury and hide the body.  As time goes by, family ties and loyalties are tested when the cadaver is discovered in the forest where they had buried it.

What will close family members do for each other? How far will they cover up for each other? These and other questions are posed in this novel of death and blame. The questions multiply when a blackmailer is added to the list of people who know about the accident. I found this a suspenseful and gripping plot with very good character development. 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC

Wrong Place, Wrong Time is about a woman who sees her teenage son stab someone one night. When she wakes the next morning, she finds it's yesterday, similar to the setting of Groundhog Day, so she plans to stop the stabbing from happening, by fixing the problem with her son before he commits the murder. 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ebook

 

Famous Last Words: Literary agent Camilla is confused when she finds a strange note from her husband Luke who shows up later on television as a kidnapper who has killed two hostages in a warehouse and then disappeared. Cam tells herself and everyone else that Luke is a good man, in spite of what he seems to have done.

I had expected twists in the plot but was surprised at what they turned out to be. The story keeps the reader going, as we learn whether or not Luke is a "good man." An enjoyable plot with interesting characters and plot.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC

Now ReaAn enjoyable plot with interesting characters and plot.

Caller Unknown:  When Simone's daughter Lucy is kidnapped from their rental cabin in Texas, Simone decides to follow the kidnapper's demands in order to get Lucy back home safe. Even if means driving into Mexico to pick up an unknown package for the kidnappers. 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC

Just Another Missing Person:  Julia, a detective, is being blackmailed by a kidnapper into framing someone else for the kidnaping and murder of the missing teen, Olivia.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review ebook

Finished reading -Literary Fiction

Sisters of a Halved Heart will be published June 2, 2026. Algonquin Books. 

It's available now as an advance reader copy on NetGalley. 

About: a masterful story of rivalry and conflict between two Indian-American sisters and the strength of family love in the face of heartbreaking betrayal.

My review: This story of betrayal in a family of two Indian-American sisters is heartbreaking, especially since the sisters grew up close and responsible for and to each other. When Joy, the younger sister and a successful lawyer, "takes" what her sister Mira, a poetry editor, values most in life, Mira feels betrayed and there is estrangement between the two for some time.

Determined to get back together in spite of her heartbreak, Mira mentions the sacrifices she has made for her sister Joy, but does not get into the details. This sacrifice is revealed at the end of the book, but only to the reader and not to Joy. It came as a shock, leaving the reader with a feeling that there was deserved though unintended "retribution" that one sister secretly has over the other.

A masterful story of family betrayal mixed with family love and unity, well told.

What books are on your reading list now? 

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

Tahoe Thrillers, and Thrillers by Shari Lapena

 

Tahoe Mysteries

Tahoe Speed (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller Book 23) by Todd Borg, July 21, 2025; Thriller Press

Detective Owen McKenna is determined to help a desperate woman find the killer of her famous Tahoe boyfriend speed skiier who died while in France. Plus, other skiing murders begin to happen closer by...

I have enjoyed many of the Owen McKenna mysteries set in  Nevada Tahoe and California Tahoe. The setting, plots, and writing pull you in. Click on Todd Borg to see the other books in the series, on goodreads.

Shari Lapena Thrillers

This is my holiday reading and listening - mystery thrillers by Shari Lapena of Canada, a prolific suspense writer.  

I've read

Everyone Here is Lying, which involves a missing child and suspiciously silent neighbors.  

The Couple Next Door her first book. The couple next door seem to be entangled in the lives of a new couple whose eight-month-old baby mysteriously disappeared from her crib while the two couples were having drinks and dinner together next door. There are twists and turns and surprises throughout, and I never could guess at the beginning who the culprit, kidnapper would be.

Still TBR either audio or paper book are:

and her most recent book, published 2025, 

To see details of her books on goodreads, click on Shari Lapena. 

I am finding them excellent reading and listening, especially good now, in the lull between the old and the new year. 

I'm grateful that my library has all these books and audios available over the holidays!

What books are on your reading list now? 

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

Sunday Salon: Taipei, Los Angeles, France - Soho Press mysteries

 

Thanks to Soho Press for these galleys and ARCs

The Dead Can't Make a Living by Ed Lin

Genre: mystery and thrillers, April 7, 2026

Setting: Taipei, Taiwan night market

Description

“A unique blend of tension, charm, tragedy, and optimism, with characters you’ll love and a setting so real you’ll think you’ve been there. Highly recommended.”—Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series

Ed Lin's big-hearted, eye-opening fifth installment in the fan-favorite Taipei Night Market series

Crown City, a Japantown Mystery, Book 3, Feb 20, 2026

Two Japanese American men hired to investigate an art theft discover something much more sinister in turn-of-the-century California.

Huguette by Cara Black, Dec. 2, 2025; Soho Press

Genre: mystery and thriller, historical fiction

Description

In the lawlessness of post–World War II France, a resilient young woman fights to survive and make a living, no matter the cost—from the New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris and the Aimée Leduc series

Also reading

The Fortune Flip by Lauren Kung Jessen, March 17, 2026; NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing)

Genre: romance, women's fiction, multicultural

This charming rom-com from an author whose writing is “deeply romantic, real, funny, and heartfelt” (Christina Lauren) is filled with Chinese traditions, second chances, and a luck-changing love story that will appeal to readers of Helen Hoang, Jasmine Guillory, and Sarah Adams.

What books are on your reading list now? 

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

The History of Slavery in Guadeloupe

 Currently reading 

I’m

Les Assassins de L'Aube by Michel Bussi

Location: Guadeloupe 

Murders today on a Caribbean island which has a horrific history of slavery, due to the fact that Napoleon ruled to continue the practice of slavery in Guadeloupe, a territory of France, even after the official abolition of slavery in the 19th century. 

Someone wants to bring this history to

light by leaving dead bodies on the monuments that 

had been erected to honor the  brutal slave enforcers of that time.

Island police and French police try to solve the murders in this murder mystery thriller.

Island magic and traditions and the setting make this novel more interesting. 

I am reading this in French, though slowly.

What books are on your reading list now? 

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

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series of Books - Sunday Salon

 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Healing fiction books

Post copied from my other book blog Book Dilettante (BookBirdDog)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is the first of the five books in the series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I have listed the books in reverse order. 

Genre: healing fiction

I have Before Your Memory Fades and Before We Forget Kindness, the third and fifth books. I think there is no need to read them in order as the stories are separate, but there are several coffeeshop workers who appear in all the books, so it might be useful to start with the first book, Before the Coffee Gets Cold. 

What is the series about? In each book, people visit a mysterious cafe, hoping to go back or forward in time for a very brief time. They are given a cup of steaming coffee  at a special table, are then transported to the past, and must return to the present time before their coffee gets cold. There are other strict rules for this to work, however.

I have read only a couple books in the series but I have found the themes - life lessons learned by the ones who time travel to meet loved ones. Relationships don't end with death, for example. Indecisiveness is self destructive. Each story gives a different lesson, and some show the dilemmas of having to make certain choices in life. 

Before We Forget Kindness has stories that explore Memories, Family Bonds, and Forgiveness. Before Your Memory Fades explores Grief, Healing, and Second Chances.

This next book is to be published May 2026

Comparable books with stories about people being helped in a magical place are the full moon coffee shop books include The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura and the Full Moon Coffee Shop two-book series by Mai Mochizuki, which focuses on personal astrology.

 I was entertained by the books I've read so far in both series of books, and also intrigued by thoughtful stories that present life lessons as you read. 

What books are on your reading list now? 

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