3.5 Stars This novel follows the lives of two friends, Mara and Jen, after the sudden, violent death of a third friend, Claire.  Now in the...

4 Stars This is an emotionally complex novel which examines the messy truth of feelings and relationships. When the novel begins, Wolo L...

4.5 Stars I finally met Russell Quant, the “wine-swilling, wise-cracking, world-travelling, winsomely gay, half Irish, half Ukrainian, ex-...

4 Stars This well-crafted police procedural is the fourth in the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Venn and ...

3.5 Stars  This book explores a number of environmental, social, and political issues. In 1985, Trevor Westmore, a former veterinarian, is...

4 Stars This is a psychological thriller with lots of social commentary. Alyssa and Less (Alessandro) are college students living in Los ...

4 Stars This is the sixth book in the Forbidden Iceland series and, like the others, a compelling read. The remains of a young woman and...

4.5 Stars I kept coming across this title but didn’t pay too much attention until I learned it won the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. As...

4 Stars I’m not a fan of romance novels, but this poignant love story won me over. Clara Wagenbach, in her late forties, is a photographe...

4 Stars  This novel, by the author of The Berry Pickers , is rooted in Mi’kmaq culture, specifically birthing trees. Women gave birth outdo...

3.5 Stars This is the last book of the Cold Case Quartet featuring William Wisting. Wisting is on vacation but he receives anonymous note...

3.5 Stars I really looked forward to reading this novel since I very much enjoyed previous books by the author such as Little Cruelties a...

3.5 Stars  The psychological suspense novels of Canadian author Nicole Lundrigan have become my go-to books when I’m looking for an audiobo...

4 Stars This is a gentle, comforting read. During a museum visit, Daphne Fuller reconnects with her former stepfather, Eddie Triplett. Th...

4 Stars This is the seventh book in the Skelfs series which follows a multi-generational family of female funeral directors and private in...

4 Stars  I’ve read all of Anita Rau Badami’s novels ( Tamarind Mem , The Hero’s Walk , Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? and Tell it to the...

3.5 Stars This is the third book of the Nordic noir series the Cold Case Quartet featuring William Wisting. A serial killer, Tom Kerr, ha...

3.5 Stars This psychological suspense novel is set in Iceland. In 2018 Unnur is a single mother to seven-year-old Lilja. She lives a qui...

3 Stars This book is historical fiction but based on the author’s family letters. Klara and Julius own a bakery in Feldenheim, Germany. T...

3.5 Stars  This is another domestic suspense novel by an author considered by many to be a master of the genre. Jill and Ted Westcott love...

3.5 Stars I prefer my audiobooks to be escapist, and this one fit the bill. Beginning in 1958, the story is narrated by 11-year-old Tommi...

3 Stars I had the same issues with this novel as I did with the first book in the series, Thirty Days of Darkness ( https://schatjesshelv...

3.5 Stars  This is a coming-of-age story set in 1986 in Maine. Fourteen-year-old Frances is hired by Regina and Forrest Emerson to be a mo...

3.5 Stars This novel made me think of the conflict between passion and reason and even reminded me of Romeo and Juliet and their rash deci...

3 Stars This is a mystery with some elements of Southern Gothic, especially its use of a key trope: the oppressive presence of the past. ...

4 Stars This is classic Strout – a character-driven novel, focused on an ordinary life, with psychological depth. Fifty-seven-year-old Ar...

4 Stars This is the second in the Iceland Mysteries series, set three years after Dead Sweet which I reviewed in 2024 ( https://schatjess...

2 Stars This audiobook accompanied me on my morning walks, but it was not the most entertaining of companions. Murial Blossom is going on...

3.5 Stars I’m a latecomer to this cozy mystery series which has had many rave reviews. The novel is set at Coopers Chase, a British retir...

3.5 Stars I’ve read all of Val é rie Perrin’s previous novels so was anxious to read her latest. In the fall of 2010, thirty-eight-year-o...

3.5 Stars As the title clearly suggests, this novel is about the bond between sisters and how difficult it can be to repair that bond if b...

2.5 Stars This novel with its meandering plot touches on a number of issues; unfortunately, it feels unfocused and scattered. It is set i...

4 Stars This book is perfect for Gothic fiction lovers. If you enjoyed Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights b...

3.5 Stars  Lisa See’s latest historical fiction begins in 1870 and is set primarily in Los Angeles which at the time had a population of ab...

4 Stars O’Farrell’s latest novel is historical fiction and a family drama with a touch of magic realism. It opens in IreLAND in 1865, ab...

3 Stars I’ve read four of Claire Fuller’s novels so was interested in her latest offering. Unfortunately, this psychological horror was n...

3 Stars This book is an account of the life of a young doctor working for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It is struct...

3.5 Stars Let me begin by stating that I have read two of Schofield’s previous novels ( Martin John and Bina ) and both of them left me ...

4 Stars A couple of years ago I read A Man Downstairs , a psychological thriller by this Canadian author, and I really enjoyed it. When ...

2.5 Stars This book was not for me. I found it a tedious read and I kept checking to see how many more pages there were left until the en...

4 Stars I’ve read three of Donal Ryan’s novels and have loved them all. The Spinning Heart is his debut novel from 2012 which is being re...

2.5 Stars This novel was not for me; its pace is so slow and its main character could be a case study for psychological/emotional arrested...

3.5 Stars This is the second book by the author known for her 2008 novel, The Help . The Calamity Club is a dual perspective novel set ...

4.5 Stars I was amazed by Douglas Stuart’s previous novels, Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo , which I found emotionally intense. This, his ...

2.5 Stars This is a book with great intentions: shining a spotlight on the experiences of a woman in the Vietnam War and how they impact h...

4 Stars Readers who enjoyed the author’s previous novel, The Good Women of Safe Harbour , will also like this one. It is 1999 in St. Joh...

3.5 Stars This is the second book in the Arctic Mysteries series after Into Thin Air which I reviewed a few days ago. In the small coast...

3.5 Stars This is the first of a new series known as Arctic Mysteries set in northern Norway. A young woman, Iselin Hanssen, disappears d...

4 Stars  I’ve read and loved many of Wayne Johnston’s novels so I was pleased to receive a copy of his latest. It did not disappoint. Thi...