Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr

Started: 10/20/2026

Finished: 10/25/2026

Year: 1993

Pages: 245

Genre: mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Patrolling the remote West Texas backcountry, Anna’s first job as a national park ranger is marred by violence she thought she had left behind: the brutal death of a fellow ranger. When the cause of death is chalked up to a mountain lion attack, Anna’s rage knows no bounds. It’s up to her to save the protected cats from the politics and prejudices of the locals—and prove the kill was the work of a species far less rare…"

Opinion: A lot of strange time jumps. Interesting murders.

Trailed by Kathryn Miles

Started: 10/13/2026

Finished: 10/19/2026

Year: 2022

Pages: 283

Genre: true crime

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot. After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite, their tent slashed open, their beloved dog missing, and both women dead in their sleeping bags. The unsolved murders of Winans and Williams continue to haunt all who had encountered them or knew their story.

"When award-winning journalist and outdoors expert Kathryn Miles begins looking into the case, she discovers conflicting evidence, mismatched timelines, and details that just don’t add up. With unprecedented access to crucial crime-scene forensics and key witnesses—and with a growing sense of both mission and obsession—she begins to uncover the truth. An innocent man, Miles is convinced, has been under suspicion for decades, while the true culprit is a known serial killer, if only authorities would take a closer look."

Opinion: Not quite what I was expecting. Very obvious that a lot of research was done.

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

Started: 10/11/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 1979

Pages: 513

Genre: thriller

Grade: D

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "When Johnny Smith was six years old, head trauma caused by a bad ice-skating accident left him with a nasty bruise on his forehead and, from time to time, those hunches…infrequent but accurate snippets of things to come. But it isn’t until Johnny’s a grown man—now having survived a horrifying auto injury that plunged him into a coma lasting four-and-a-half years—that his special abilities really push to the fore. Johnny Smith has come back from the void with an extraordinary gift that becomes his life’s curse…presenting visions of what was and what will be for both the innocent and guilty alike. But when he encounters a ruthlessly ambitious and amoral man who promises a terrifying fate for all humanity, Johnny must find a way to prevent a harrowing predestination from becoming reality…"

Opinion: I had recently watched the movie so the book wasn't keeping my attention...shouldn't have watched it.

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started: 10/8/2026

Finished: 10/11/2026

Year: 2011

Pages: 322

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: continuing with the series, library book

Blurb (from Amazon): "Hannah Swensen must admit that her life is pretty sweet. Things are going well in the romance department, and her bakery’s delectable confections are selling almost as fast as she can bake them. Even her good friend Claire is on cloud nine, head over heels with her new husband, Reverend Bob Knudson. If only they could find time to take their honeymoon!

"When Bob’s childhood friend Matthew Walters comes to town, it seems like divine intervention. Matthew, like Bob, is a Lutheran minister with a stubborn sweet tooth. Since he’s on sabbatical, Matthew is happy to fill in for Bob while he and Claire take that long-awaited honeymoon. It sounds like the perfect plan—until Hannah finds Matthew dead in the rectory, face-down in a plate full of Devil’s Food Cake.

"Determined to find out who killed Matthew, Hannah starts asking questions—and discovers that the good Reverend wasn’t quite the saintly fellow he appeared to be. It will take some more digging to find out, but Hannah is sure of one thing: even the most half-baked murder plot can be oh so deadly . . ."

Opinion: Lots of going back and forth. Ending leaves something interesting for future books.

One Good Eye by Kevin Wade

Started: 10/3/2026

Finished: 10/5/2026

Year: 2026

Pages: 231

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "As a hurricane makes landfall on Long Island’s Gold Coast, Police Chief Jeep Mullane responds to a plea for help at the estate of his longtime friend Jenny Racine, who has been violently assaulted in a home invasion. Jenny was the girl next door growing up, is now a rich and famous entrepreneur, and has always been a compelling, infuriating, and magnetic presence in his life.

"Though Jenny is adamant she wants no investigation of the incident, Jeep sets off on a lonely and dangerous path to find out who attacked her. As he makes alarming discoveries, he must pry open the secrets of Jenny’s ex-military ex-husband, a fugitive police captain, officious federal agents, steely blue-blooded women, and two local biker gangs, casting aside his protocol as a police chief to challenge the criminals himself."

Opinion: Interesting mix of two different mysteries going on-one based on childhood, one based on current day.

Cold Burn by A. J. Landau

Started: 9/26/2026

Finished: 10/3/2026

Year: 2025

Pages: 317

Genre: Mystery/thriller

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "National Park Service investigator Michael Walker is battling smugglers stealing priceless artifacts when he’s dispatched to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, where, in the first stage of a potential global disaster, a team of scientists has gone missing.

"Meanwhile, in Florida’s Everglades National Park, FBI special investigator Gina Delgado traces the murder of an environmental science intern back to another U.S. Geological Survey team’s ongoing experiments that are decimating the fragile ecosystem. That is before she’s dispatched to the scene of a sunken U.S. nuclear submarine, the entire crew of which has inexplicably been killed.

"The connection between these disparate investigations lies in a deadly prehistoric organism, frozen for thousands of years in the ice until global warming brings it back to life in what could mean the death of all life on Earth. An organism that a rogue billionaire sees as the ultimate fuel source and a Russian strongman views as the ultimate weapon that can shift the global balance of power forever. Against that backdrop, Walker and Delgado find themselves desperately doing battle across multiple fronts against an ancient, unstoppable enemy."

Opinion: 2 of the farthest away National Parks, affected by the same thing....add in climate change, greedy Americans and some Russians.

Brain Damage by Freida McFadden

Started: 9/19/2026

Finished: 9/26/2026

Year: 2016

Pages: 360

Genre: mystery/thriller

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Dr. Charly McKenna had the perfect life: a thriving dermatology practice, a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park, and a handsome husband who adored her.

"Until the night a bullet tore through her skull… and stole everything.

"Now Charly wakes in a rehabilitation hospital unable to walk, speak, or remember her own name. All she knows is that someone tried to kill her―and they may still be out there. As fragments of memory surface, so do unsettling questions about the people around her, including the attentive man who keeps appearing at her bedside.

"The truth of what happened that night lives somewhere inside her brain. And as Charly pieces together the jagged edges of her past, she begins to realize the most terrifying possibility: the person who wants her dead might be the one she once trusted most."

Opinion: Definitely a decent thriller with a heartwarming ending. Things people do.

Gingerdead Man by Maya Corrigan

Started: 9/13/2026

Finished: 9/19/2026

Year: 2020

Pages: 268

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing the series, library book

Typer: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "This holiday season Bayport, Maryland, is a dead ringer for Victorian London. Val and her grandfather are taking part in the Dickens of a Holiday festival. Val is hosting a private tea party serving the festival's costumed volunteers, who range from Dickens divas like Madame Defarge and Miss Havisham to Ebenezer Scrooge and old St. Nick himself.

"But one costumed reveler may have gotten the holidays mixed up. The winner of the creepiest outfit, robed in black with a gift bag covering the head—okay, Ghost of Christmas Present, Val gets it—hands out gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. This year's sour Santa has none of the big fellow's mirth but plenty of his appetite, and it's no secret Santa loves cookies. But when the man in red turns blue, Val and Granddad have a cookie-cutter killer to catch before the New Year . . ."

Opinion: A decent mystery where connections are not obvious. The relationship between Val and Baum is blah.

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey

Started: 9/13/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 2023

Pages: 390

Genre: horror

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Julie is a coked-up, burnt-out thirty-year-old whose only retirement plan is dying early. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs, exorcize the nastiest demons, and make deals with the cruelest gods to claw her way to the top. But nothing can prepare her for the toughest job yet: when her best friend, Sarah, shows up at her door in need of help. Keeping Sarah safe becomes top priority.

"Julie is desperate for a quick fix to break the dead-end grind and save her friend. But her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts Sarah – and the entire world - directly in the path of annihilation."

Opinion: Just yeah no. Not a fan of Julie's character. Her job is rather interesting but not enough to keep me reading.

Death Row by Freida McFadden

Started: 9/13/2026

Finished: 9/13/2026

Year: 2026

Pages: 73

Genre: novella, literature

Grade: 

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Death is coming for her… unless she finds the truth first.

"Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband. She had an alibi and no known motive, yet Talia's unwavering protestations of innocence have always been ignored.

"Then one day in the visiting area, she sees a man she's certain is her husband. The person she's been convicted of killing may not be dead after all.

"But as the days tick away toward Talia's execution, what will it take for her to be believed?"

Opinion: Interesting how two very different concepts become one...then you realize that they could very well be the same type of concept.

Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander

S

tarted: 9/6/2026

Finished: 9/12/2026

Year: 2016

Pages: 288

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos’s return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there’s no rest for the weary…especially when murder is thrown into the mix.

"When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens. Jules knows that there was bad blood between Mindy and others in town, and tracking down the killer could prove to be an unwelcome treat. And to top it all off, there’s Carlos, who is pleading―with those delicious dark eyes and sexy Spanish accent―for Jules to take him back. Is home where the heart is or will she make a fresh start…and risk getting burned?"

Opinion: A decent murder mystery which was told in the beginning if you paid attention. The outside story of Jules, Carlos, Thomas doesn't quite take away from the mystery but it's getting close.

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon

Started: 9/6/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 2025

Pages: 288

Genre: fantasty

Grade: D

Reason for reading: fan of Critical Role, library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.

"Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

"Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.

"Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance."

Opinion: The writing was fine. I didn't care about the main characters...or the fantasy world even though I have enjoyed the Critical Role campaigns that were held in the same world.

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About by Isabel Klee

Started: 9/4/2026

Finished: 9/6/2026

Year: 2026

Pages: 274

Genre: Memoir/biography

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book

Blurb (from Amazon): "A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream

"Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.

"Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams

"In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome—with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions, and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself."

Opinion: I follow Isabel on IG and of course had heard about her memoir. I'm a lover of pups, like she and was interested in her backstory. Simon has unfortunately passed but he was a great helper to Isabel and all the fosters that she brought in when he was alive.

Backtrack by Marc Cameron

Started: August 23, 2026

Finished: September 3, 2026

Year: 2026

Pages: 354

Genre: mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "1977. D Wayne Cutter is a former U.S. Army Green Beret, part-time horseshoer, and a full-time Texas deputy sheriff with a second grandchild on the way when a quiet Sunday morning ends in murder and a manhunt. The theft of five million dollars in diamonds from an armored truck leaves two guards dead, one outlaw tracked down and taken out by Cutter, and another, Ricky Lee Pink—two-hundred-forty pounds of teenage rage—sentenced to life. The diamonds were never recovered. And Pinky never forgot that heist gone violently wrong.

"2026. Following in the righteous footsteps of his late grandfather, Deputy U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter gets word that Pinky has been granted release. Nursing a grudge for decades, Pinky vows to avenge the murder of his criminal mentor and find the whereabouts of the stolen gems that he believes is a buried Cutter family secret. Boarding an Alaskan cruise ship, and joined by two miscreant cellmates and his penpal girlfriend, Pinky aims for Anchorge—home to his ultimate target: everyone Arliss holds near and dear. Arliss must move fast because Pinky has the edge. And he has the mind to make the last living Cutter pay."

Opinion: There seems to be a lot of misconnects for me-why would they connect Cutter with the diamonds? Why the introduction of Russians at the end? Still lots of good action.

Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton

Started: 8/23/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 2025

Pages: 176

Genre: "horror"

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Thea’s third pregnancy was her easiest. She wasn’t consumed with anxiety about the baby. She wasn’t convinced it was going to be born green, or have a third eye, or have tentacles sprouting from its torso. Thea was fine. Her baby would be fine.

"But when the nurses handed Lucia to her, Thea just knew. Her baby girl was a monster. Not only was Lucia born with a full set of teeth and a devilish glint in her eye, but she’s always hungry. Indiscriminately so. One day Lucia pointed at her baby brother, looked Thea dead in the eye and said, “I eat.”

"Thea doesn’t know whether to be terrified or proud of her rapacious baby girl. And as Lucia starts growing faster and talking more, dark memories bubble to the surface--flashes from Thea’s childhood that won’t release their hooks from her heart. Lucia wants to eat the world. Thea might just let her."

Opinion: A lot of eye rolling. A lot of ridiculousness. Not scary, Not horror....just annoying.

Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell

Started: 8/16/2026

Finished: 8/23/2026

Year: 1998

Pages: 272

Genre: mystery/thriller

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "The devastating fire tore through the horse farm, destroying everything it touched. Picking through the wreckage, Dr. Kay Scarpetta uncovers human remains—the work of an audacious and wily killer who uses fire to mask his brutal murders. And when Scarpetta learns that her old nemesis, Carrie Grethen, has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is somehow involved, the investigation becomes personal. Tragedy strikes close to home. And Scarpetta must match Grethen’s every move with one of her own to douse the inferno of evil that threatens everyone around her. . . ."

Opinion: Tragedy. Makes the TV series a little wrong. Good mystery

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier

Started: August 13, 2026

Finished: August 16, 2026

Year: 2010

Pages: 359

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with Fluke series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): ""Gingerbread Cookie Murder" By Joanne Fluke

"When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah's Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that's as long as her holiday shopping list.

"The Dangers Of Gingerbread Cookies" By Laura Levine

"Jaine Austen has been enlisted to help with her parents' retirement community's play The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas. Playboy Dr. Preston McCay is playing the role of the gingerbread cookie when he "accidentally" falls to his death during the final act. Now Jaine must figure out if one of the doctor's jealous lovers was capable of murder.

"Gingerbread Cookies And Gunshots" By Leslie Meier

"When Lucy Stone discovers the body of Rick Juergens, whose five-year-old son Nemo disappeared, she senses foul play. Crumbs from a gingerbread cookie Lucy gave to Nemo are found in the back seat of Rick's car. With the hours quickly ticking till Christmas, Lucy races against the clock to find a killer before he strikes again."

Opinion: Some of these were more enjoyable than others. All were fairly predictable but stil a decent read.

Night Shift by Stephen King

Started: 8/10/2026

Finished: 8/10/2026

Year: 1978

Pages: 344

Genre: short stories

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Night Shift is Stephen King's first collection of short stories--a perfect showcase of just how far King's dark imagination can go. Here we see mutated rats gone bad ("Graveyard Shift"); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity ("Night Surf," the basis for The Stand); a possessed, evil lawnmower ("The Lawnmower Man"); unsettling children from the heartland ("Children of the Corn"); a smoker who will try anything to stop ("Quitters, Inc."); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation ("Gray Matter"); and many more. This is Stephen King at his horrifying best."

Opinion: As with any collection, some stores grabbed me, others did not-some I didn't finish because they didn't grab me.

Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney

Started: 8/9/2026

Finished: 8/10/2026

Year: 2026

Pages: 282

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "As Halloween approaches, Ravensea Castle is bustling with excitement as Nora Asquith welcomes the fall season guests to her family's newly converted bed and breakfast. A historian studying the movements of the Vikings has traced their exploits to Ravensea. A certain Viking woman, known as the Red Maiden, landed here and the historian believes she buried a treasure hoard before the castle was built. He is hopeful he can find the hoard now. Nora can't help but wonder if the enigmatic castle ghost she's always referred to as the woman in red could be this very Viking?

"Meanwhile, a team of four ghost hunters is coming to stay at Ravensea for the filming of Britain's Got Ghosts. Former students of the historian, the group arrives with their own rivalries and baggage. They try to see who can make the most paranormal contacts and end up getting more than they bargained for.

"When the historian is murdered during a Viking festival on castle grounds and his notes go missing, Nora can't help but wonder if the treasure was why he was killed . . . and could it be connected to the visiting ghost hunters? Additional "accidents" befalling the hunters raise the stakes as Nora races to find the killer―and the treasure―before another death occurs."

Opinion: A fun mystery wrapped with Viking lore and ghost hunting.

Leave No Trace by A. J. Landau

Started: 8/1/2026

Finished: 8/8/2026

Year: 2024

Pages: 341

Genre: mystery, thriller

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "In a daring, brutal act of terrorism, an explosion rocks and topples the Statue of Liberty. Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is awakened by his boss with that news and sent to New York as the agent-in-charge. Not long after he lands, he learns two things - one that Gina Delgado of the FBI has been placed in charge of the investigation as the lead of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and two, that threats of a second terrorism attack are already being called into the media. While barred from the meetings of the Joint Task Force for his lack of security clearance, Walker finds a young boy among the survivors with a critical piece of information - a video linking the attackers to the assault.

"As a radical domestic terrorist group, led by a shadowy figure known only as Jeremiah, threatens further attacks against America's cultural symbols, powerful forces within the government are misleading the investigation to further their own radical agenda."

Opinion: Each chapter begins with a fact about where that particular chapter takes place-I liked learning the little facts. Decent suspenseful mystery.