I love the cover for They’ll Take Everything by C H Connor. The colors and content are eye catching. And that title…definitely draws me in. For a debut novel, C H Connor hit it out of the ballpark.
David Dale carries a heavy weight of guilt. He feels responsible for the car accident that killed his family. He decides to make a drastic change, trying to find redemption. He is going to start a charity that will help others that find it hard to move on from a tragedy. Bev, a close personal friend of thirteen years, agrees to join in. It’s not long before things begin to happen. Anonymous messages, Threats. Extortion. David stands firm on his mission.
The suspense builds slowly as the danger increases. Revenge is coming, knocking at his door.
WTF? That’s why I don’t read ahead. I love when an author can surprise me and I didn’t see it coming, though I knew who the villain was. I went back and reread the last chapter because it was just that great.
My thanks go out to C H Connor for the opportunity to read They’ll Take Everything.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
David Dale has been running from guilt for three years.
The car accident that killed his family was his fault. Now he has one chance at redemption: opening a charity for families shattered by tragedy.
But that’s made him the perfect target.
Days before the launch, anonymous messages begin. Precise. Threatening. Someone’s been watching him. Someone knows exactly how to break him. What begins as extortion becomes a calculated campaign to dismantle David’s life, piece by piece.
The charity launches to national attention — which only makes things worse.
David finds himself targeted by a criminal syndicate who don’t leave witnesses. As he unravels the conspiracy, he’s forced to confront the past he thought he’d buried. But that’s when he realises the terrifying truth.
This isn’t extortion. It’s revenge.
Three years of guilt. Two weeks of terror. One truth that changes everything.
How far would you go to turn heartbreak into hope?
Perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson and Harlan Coben, and for readers who crave layered suspense, emotional depth, and immersive, character-driven stories.
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 16, 2026
ABOUT C H CONNOR
C.H. Connor is the debut author of the psychological crime thriller, THEY’LL TAKE EVERYTHING, released 16 February 2026.
Connor built his career in software before putting pen to paper and publishing his upcoming novel. Connor lives with his partner and son in Manchester, UK.
You can connect with Connor on Instagram. To receive updates on his latest work and upcoming events, you can sign up to his spam-free newsletter at chconnor.com.
The Mistress by Tim Vee may be a quick read, but it was chock full of gruesomeness. The setting is a former penal colony on Planet B in the Proxima Centauri system, where Gravitite, a valuable ore is being mined. The descendants of the now dead and gone inmates are treated as slaves, harvesting the ore. We have the haves and the have nots.
The commanders mistress is caught in the middle of secrets, conspiracy, and danger. Sometimes you have to make a stand. Will she do what is demanded from her? Will it cost her her life?
I never saw the ending coming and I love it.
My thanks go out to Tim Vee for the opportunity to read another one of his fantastic stories.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The mistress of an important military police (Milpol) commander is pulled into a world of espionage, corporate tyranny, and danger.
The story is set at a former penal colony on Planet B in the Proxima Centauri system, where the descendants of inmates live as slave quarry workers to the powerful Kantary Corporation, under Milpol control, extracting the valuable ore Gravitite that powers interstellar travel.
Powerful forces are working simultaneously to hide and expose the existence of the slave planet, with the commander’s mistress caught in the middle.
Tim works in digital marketing in Toronto and is well-traveled, having visited over 80 countries. When he is not working or writing he likes to spend time with his family and German Shepherd – and to go cycling.
Tim has written ten books; The Secret Policemen and The Secret Service – both dystopian dark comedies; as well as seven science fiction novels – Extinction, Annabelle, Fission, The Children of the Third Reich, The Child of Mars, and The Children of Andaalwaald.
Tim has also written Magpie – a dark and intense journey into the world of international espionage and terrorism.
Tim mostly enjoys writing transgressive fiction – mainly about aliens and psychopaths.
When I grabbed Hazem Abdelmowla’s Future Novels series, I had a different thought in mind. The books are heavy on the science of things, and I kinda got lost in The Last Nuclear War and not in a good way. I had met and became interested in Mousa, the main character in The Viruses Enigma. He struggles with social justice, corruption, influence and money.
The year is 2110 and viral pandemics had ravaged the world. Energy sources that you and I know, no longer exist. So…here we are…
Because he is so smart, there are those that want to use him. As I follow his life, I am more curious about him than the war that seems to be looming on the horizon. I am curious how his story will end and I kept flipping the pages for that reason.
For those who like to carry the weight on their shoulders while reading sciency novels, this may be right up your alley. For me, it was too heavy, but I am glad I read to the end.
The Last Nuclear War will definitely pose questions that are difficult to answer. My thanks go out to Hazem Abdelmowla for the opportunity to read and share his books.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
You wonder why war? But what if you are the war! What will you choose? What will you do for the sake of this world? In the future, after decades of surviving devastating viral pandemics, the world has become very different from what we know. Energy sources no longer exist like before. The world has become like a compass where its parts are looking for nuclear influence. A smart child named Mousa was born. He had difficulty understanding the world around him. Why is he treated differently in school? Why doesn’t he feel social justice? What happened to corrupt the world like this? What is happening between the parties of the world? What is the role of influence and money? The questions were getting more complex at every point in his life. But he didn’t know that the path of answers was destined to ask him for choices that could determine the fate of the last future nuclear war.
The eye catching cover and title for I Don’t Wish You Well by Jumata Emill made me curious. You can say curiosity killed the cat, because Pryce Cummings, a podcaster and aspiring journalist, starts his own investigation into Moss Pointe, Louisiana’s Trojan mask killings and someone wants to keep the secrets buried. Did they really catch the killer? There are many who believe they had convicted an innocent man, and the deeper Pryce dug, the more he is convinced they got it wrong.
Moss Pointe is a small town with small minded people. Church and football were worshiped. Being gay in a racist town had Pryce struggling to keep his sexuality secret, at least until he left for college, where he felt free to explore.
Pryce gets help from an unlikely source, free spirited Izzy. He wears his gayness in the open. Pryce slowly begins to understand what he has sacrificed to keep his secret.
“That paranoia hasn’t drained you yet? God, I felt suffocated under it when I lived here.”
Halfway through the pace picked up. Bodies fell and secrets were exposed. All the questions raised by vigilante justice arise. I love thought provoking books, and I Don’t Wish You Well by Jumata Emill had me wondering…what would I do if I walked a mile in someone’s shoes?
My thanks go out to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read I Don’t Wish You Well by Jumata Emill.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A teen investigative podcaster decides to dig into the truth behind a grisly murder spree that rocked his hometown five years ago, but soon discovers that this cold case is still hiding deadly secrets—in this chilling thriller perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Five years ago, the infamous Trojan murders turned the small town of Moss Pointe, Louisiana into a living nightmare. Four teen boys—all star players on Moss Pointe High’s football team—were murdered one after the other by a Trojan-mask wearing killer.
Eventually, the murderer was unmasked. But the community has never forgotten—and some folks in town still wonder whether the police got it right.
Eighteen-year-old Pryce Cummings is one of them. An aspiring journalist, Pryce is pretty sure he just stumbled upon evidence that throws the killer’s guilt into question. It’s the perfect story for his own podcast, and a reason to go back to the hometown he’s avoided since coming to terms with his sexuality while at college.
But in Moss Pointe, digging into the past is anything but welcome. There’s so much more to what happened in there five years ago, and Pryce is ready to crack it all wide open . . . if he lives to tell the tale.
First published January 20, 2026 by Delacorte Press
ABOUT JUMATA EMILL
Jumata Emill is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his BA in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and a member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the author of The Black Queen and Wander in the Dark.
The first sentence of the book wrapped it’s hooks around me and it didn’t take long for me to be hanging on every word.
I love books where the characters are forced to face life altering decisions, so Songbird Of The Sorrows by Braidee Otto was a wonderful choice. This romantic fantasy will challenge Princess Aella. She is torn from the palace, the only world she has ever known, and sent to the Aviary to be trained as an assassin. She is not only a princess in hiding, only a few people knowing who she really is, but she is to be trained to be a scout, a spy, an assassin, a thief, a songbird.
The rules: Don’t ask questions. Obey your orders. Respect your masters. Most of all, love no one.
“…I know the rules.” I’m just not very good at following them…
Nyssa cracks me up. She’s Aella’s friend and knows her true identity. She will stick by her side, no matter what the outcome will cost her.
Forbidden love. Does that peak your interest? It did mine. I love to see how the characters figure out what is most important in their life and then find a course of action that will allow them to get it. I love to watch characters grow and develop as fully fledged characters.
Aella is tasked with competing in the bridal trials held by the Prince of Eritrea…as herself.
I love when an author creates a world I want to get lost in. Where the characters have me holding my breath in anticipation, waiting to find out what happens next. The adventure is filled with danger and betrayal. Will there be war?
OMG…talk about a cliffhanger. I can hardly wait for the next book, Myths of the Empyrieos.
I am so glad I saw this on NetGalley and grabbed a copy for myself.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
An outcast princess turned spy embarks on a mission to infiltrate a rival kingdom, but the secrets she uncovers force her to decide whether to follow orders or defy them.
Ask no questions. Obey your orders. Respect your masters. But most of all, love no one.
Spy. Thief. Princess. Songbird.
Princess Aella was ousted from the Palace of Sorrows as a child, shattering her world and forcing her to abandon the truth of her royal lineage. Instead, she was raised in The Aviary, which disguises itself as a school for orphaned children but is actually a secret order designed to train its students as spies for an intelligence network embedded throughout the Empyrieos.
Now twenty-three years old and having completed her final tests, Aella is summoned to join Alpha Flight, the Aviary’s elite team of assassins that’s led by none other than her former flame, Raven. Everything about him calls to her—he’s brave, loyal, and lethal. But is Raven worth breaking the rules and risking everything she’s worked so hard to achieve?
Before she can decide, the Alpha Flight team is sent on a dangerous mission that tests Aella’s resolve in every way. Her role is crucial and she must assume her former title of Princess of the Sorrows, the identity she once had to forsake, to compete in the bridal trials held by the Prince of Eretria. As old sparks reignite and the harsh realities of the realm reveal themselves, the mission begins to unravel, and Aella must decide if she is brave enough to disobey her superiors in order to do what she believes is right.
Songbird of the Sorrows is the first book in Myths of the Empyrieos, an epic romantic fantasy series that follows a feisty heroine through trials, a perilous heist, court intrigue, kingdom politics, and a journey of self-discovery, true love, and redemption.
A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, Braidee Otto combines her academic background in Literary Studies with a deep passion for storytelling to create heartfelt, immersive narratives. Songbird of the Sorrows is the first installment in her debut adult romantic fantasy series, Myths of the Empyrieos. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her partner, two beloved dogs, and a cat that appeared in her backyard on the winter solstice.
I will start off by saying that Caged In Desire by Sadie Winchester is recommended for those eighteen and over. When you read the sexy scenes, you will know why.
Caged In Desire by Sadie Winchester is a story about gods and godesses and I loved it. It has a very pretty cover. We meet Charlee Amoretti, who is better known as Cupid. It’s Valentine’s Day, so she is happily delivering the Double Tap, where two hearts will beat as one. She knows it will never happen for her…When she meets a grouchy Eryx Nightvale, the God of Discord, both their lives will be changed forever.
The story may be a quick read, but it is full of love and laughs. That twist at the end…I love it! Makes me want more of Sadie Winchester’s world of gods and godesses.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Born among the gods and bound for eternity as a matchmaker to the mortals, my life has been dedicated to pairing hearts and souls. But these powers come at a high cost. By bonding couples together, I’ve been robbed of having that same connection with another.
Valentine’s Day has come around, as it always does, filling people with a deep desire to find true love. And just when I think this will be another successful year, I find myself on the doorstep of a man whose heart and life have been cast in darkness.
Eryx Nightvale isn’t just any man—he’s the god of discord, everything I’m not, and he’s determined to break everything I represent.
Now I’m caged, my heart and body trapped behind bars. Will I be able to charm my captor into opening the lock keeping me prisoner? Or will we both be lost to the shattered remains of our own making?
*This book is intended for mature audiences 18+ years. Please check the trigger and content warnings on the author’s website.*
Genre: Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, Romance
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2026
ABOUT SADIE WINCHESTER
A dark romance author, Sadie Winchester is looking forward to sharing the stories living in her head rent-free with the rest of the world. She writes across a variety of sub-genres, including mafia romance and paranormal romance.
During her high school years, she fell in love with writing short stories which continued on/off into adulthood. Finally, she decided to pursue her dream in 2023, and the rest is history.
Sadie lives in the Pine Barrens with her husband and son. When she’s not reading and writing, she enjoys spending time outdoors, sipping local brews, and binge-watching her favorite shows.
Well, the whole elite criminal profiling unit shut down because of scandal caught my eye, so I grabbed a copy from NetGalley. I have never read any of L J R Ross’s work, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I am always open to reading new author’s work, especially when they write about murder and mayhem.
Small town mysteries are fun to read. Everyone knows everyone else, so you may think it would be easy to figure out who the murderer is, but I think it would be harder. Just like your neighbor, your friend, or you significant other…you think you know everything about them, but…do you? Everyone has secrets.
L J Ross does a good job of hiding who the villain is. Could it be the police that Dr Alex Gregory is working with? Could it be one of the neighbors? And…Dr Alex Gregory has his own secrets. I love watching him work through his own haunted past.
The humor is dark.
I never saw the end coming. I love when an author can surprise me.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
There’s a killer inside all of us…
After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation.
In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community and the Garda are running out of time. Gregory has sworn to follow a quiet life but, when the call comes, can he refuse to help their desperate search for justice?
Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Irish landscape.
LJ Ross is an internationally bestselling author, whose books have sold over 7 million copies worldwide.
Her debut, Holy Island, was released in 2015 and became an instant, international bestseller. Since then, a further eighteen of her novels have gone on to take the coveted #1 spot, some even before general release and whilst only available to ‘pre-order’. The Bookseller magazine has reported on Louise having topped the ‘Most Read’ and ‘Most Sold’ fiction charts, and she has garnered an army of loyal fans who love her atmospheric and addictive storytelling.
Her eleventh novel, The Infirmary, is a prequel story to the DCI Ryan series and is available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.
The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor, narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category.
In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award, which recognises an author’s entire body of work having been consistently enjoyed by library borrowers around the United Kingdom, and an author’s longstanding support of libraries.
Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland and Edinburgh. She enjoys reading all manner of books, painting, travelling and spending time with family and friends.
To find out more about the many philanthropic ventures Louise has founded and sponsored through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, please visit ‘Philanthropy’.
If you would like to connect with LJ Ross, she would be very happy to hear from you:
I have been reading J D Robb’s and Nora Robert’s work for many years now, and she has never let me down. That makes it easy to snatch a copy of one of her books whenever I see it. I want to thank NetGalley for my copy.
“You’re here. No dead bodies.” “Night’s young,” Eve said.
I love the Eve Dallas and Roarke stories. Eve is a homicide police lieutenant and Roarke is a retired billionaire thief. When murder and a hidden safe holding many valuable objects is discovered, Eve is on the case. Roarke’s expertise will come in handy. Roarke’s past can sometimes make Eve’s life more complicated, but she couldn’t be sorry about it. I’m glad, because they make an intriguing couple.
I was waiting for something to happen, and now, we’re off and running.
The year is 2061, and while most things are the same, there are some things that bode well for the future. Such as, the AutoChef. Hungry? How about a burger from the AutoChef? Thirsty? How about a tube of Pepsi? I love it, seeing I am not a very good cook and a little on the lazy side when it comes to preparing food. And prison? How about an off planet cage for criminals?
J D Robb doesn’t waste any time setting the hook for her futuristic suspense, In Death, thriller series. The pacing makes the story flow smoothly, and the mystery growing. Stolen In Death may be J D Robb’s 62nd book in the series, but it still has a lot of bite.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A violent death and a vault of stolen treasures has Eve Dallas struggling to solve crimes old and new in the latest thriller in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.
A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead―while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke―who misspent his youth in Ireland as a scrappy thief―recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. The crime scene suggests a burglar caught in the act. But only one item seems to be missing.
Then it’s revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim’s late father―and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they’d been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. But now the police are all over their elegant house, and have a bigger, bloodier mystery to solve.
By all accounts, Nathan Barrister was a good man, a generous employer, a devoted husband and father. As for his father―he clearly had secrets. Now it’s up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed―and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.
Publication February 3, 2026 by St. Martin’s Press
Series: In Death #62
ABOUT J D ROBB
J.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Stolen in Death (St. Martin’s Press, February 2026) will be the 62nd entry in the series.
I love stories about serial killers, but The Profiler’s Daughter by Sabrina Wade is a bit different. Alexandra Monroe is an FBI trainer. Her father had been a famous FBI profiler and she was following in his footsteps. During a training exerciase, she comes across a cold case that was never solved, three missing women from Midland State Psychiatric Hospital.
Alexandra had a past she wanted to keep buried. I love damaged characters and she carries a heavy load. It might be what makes her so good at her job. She wants answers and her persistence will prevail. She will face her demons and come out the other side whole. Answers will be found and they will come from a surprising source. The danger will come from an unexpected villain and I do love surprises.
When I began reading, Alexandra made me think of Clarissa, from the Hannibal series. And…we do have a serial killer that has her in his sights. What will he do with her, if he gets the opportunity? After all, his is locked up….for now.
How about a little romance? Just enough to round out the story, hitting all the elements that I love in a story like The Profiler’s Daughter by Sabrina Wade.
I was quickly drawn into The Profiler’s Daughter by Sabrina Wade. It was more than I expected and it kept me turning the pages the deeper I got into the story. The suspense rose as Alexandra faced her past, up front and personal. I wondered who would betray her and Sabrina Wade did a good job of keeping the doubt alive…was it him…or him…or someone else entirely? I was completely satisfied with the ending and want to congratulate Sabrina Wade for a job well done.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
HER FATHER HUNTED MONSTERS. NOW ONE IS WAITING FOR HER.
Quantico, Virginia. 1990.
Alexandra (Alex) Monroe is an FBI trainee whose father was a famous FBI profiler from the late 70s and early 80s.
But during a forensics exercise in the FBI’s cold case archive, Alex stumbles on a file bearing her father’s three missing women from Midland State Psychiatric Hospital in Chicago, 1975–76.
No bodies. No answers.
Buried in the interviews is a detail that makes her blood run cold, a thread that ties the case to something far too close to home.
And when Alex is chosen to accompany an agent into live inmate interviews, she’s given a chance her father never Look the monster in the eye, and find out what really happened.
With the past closing in and new evidence emerging from the DNA lab, Alex must decide who to trust, what to believe, and how far she’s willing to go to finish the work that shattered her family.
Because the truth about her father’s case isn’t just buried in the files.
It’s been waiting for his daughter.
Genre: Police Procedural, Psychological
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2026
ABOUT SABRINA WADE (from Amazon)
Sabrina is a retail pharmacist from the Midwest who has always loved mystery and suspense movies and books. She’s been writing poetry and short stories since grade school and is really excited to start this publishing journey! She hopes to one day meet her favorite screenwriter/producer, M. Knight Shyamalan.
She loves National Parks, hot tubs in cold weather, searching for seashells on the beach, unsweet tea, and chocolate mixed with peanut butter. She lives in Missouri with her husband, three kids, rescue pit bull mix, and tuxedo cat.
I am familiar with the authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, but have not read any of their work recently, so it was a great surprise to see Pendergast: The Beginning up for grabs on NetGalley. I get an introduction to Pendergast through the experience of his first case. And what a whopper of a case it is.
FBI Special Agent Dwight Chambers’ life has fallen into a shamble, and, on top of that, he is assigned a new agent as his partner, A X L Pendergast. When Pendergast pulls a stunt, they are told to go work on something and stay away from the office. Pendergast loves the opportunity to work on a cold case that caught his attention. Neither him nor Chambers could have foreseen what was to come…and I wasn’t either.
Pendergast is a quirky character, and I love him. He sees more than meets the eye, and he will need every bit of his inner sight to battle evil. Why would a person as rich as Pendergast, want to be an FBI agent? You will need to read the story to find out why. It will test all his skills.
Chambers was a puzzle to me and I will solve it…maybe. Still, at the end, I am not sure what to make of him. Is he clueless, gullible?
The villains are awesome, and I mean that in the worst possible way. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have created some of the most intriguing characters. None of them are perfect in any way.
Wow. I knew some things before they happened. I have read so many books, it is hard to totally surprise me, but that ending. Fantastic. I think I have read some of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s work, but I will definitely be reading more, now that he is in my sights.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
From the #1 New York Times bestselling duo Preston and Child comes the Agent Pendergast origin story—a golden opportunity for longtime fans and new readers to learn about Agent Pendergast’s strange and shocking first case.
It only took six months for the life of Special Agent Dwight Chambers to crumble around him. First, he lost his partner, and then, tragically, his wife. Returning to work at the New Orleans Field Office, Chambers is dismayed to find himself saddled with mentoring a brand new FBI agent—a certain A. X. L. Pendergast. As Chambers tries to pull himself together, his enigmatic and exasperating junior partner pulls an outrageous stunt that gets both of them suspended.
Pendergast welcomes the banishment, because it gives him the opportunity to investigate a peculiar murder in Mississippi that has captured his fancy. Chambers grudgingly goes along. What starts off as a whimsical quest swiftly turns into a terrifying pursuit, as Chambers and Pendergast uncover a string of grisly, ritualistic killings that defy any known serial killer profile.
Thanks in large part to Pendergast’s brilliance and unorthodox methods, they solve the case and find the killer… and that is when the true horror begins.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
380 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 27, 2026 by Grand Central Publishing
Series: Pendergast #23
ABOUT DOUGLAS PRESTON
Douglas Preston is the author of forty books, both fiction and nonfiction, thirty-two of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a major television series from Apple. His latest nonfiction book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in an unexplored valley deep in the Honduran jungle. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian magazines. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including a shared Edgar Award and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College. From 2019 to 2023 he served as president of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists. Website: http://www.prestonchild.com/
ABOUT LINCOLN CHILD
Lincoln Child was born in Westport, Connecticut, which he still calls his hometown (despite the fact that he left the place before he reached his first birthday and now only goes back for weekends).
Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkeinesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.
After a childhood that is of interest only to himself, Lincoln graduated from Carleton College (huh?) in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in English. Discovering a fascination for words, and their habit of turning up in so many books, he made his way to New York in the summer of 1979, intent on finding a job in publishing. He was lucky enough to secure a position as editorial assistant at St. Martin’s Press.
Over the next several years, he clawed his way up the editorial hierarchy, moving to assistant editor to associate editor before becoming a full editor in 1984. While at St. Martin’s, he was associated with the work of many authors, including that of James Herriot and M. M. Kaye. He edited well over a hundred books–with titles as diverse as The Notation of Western Music and Hitler’s Rocket Sites–but focused primarily on American and English popular fiction.
While at St. Martin’s, Lincoln assembled several collections of ghost and horror stories, beginning with the hardcover collections Dark Company (1984) and Dark Banquet (1985). Later, when he founded the company’s mass-market horror division, he edited three more collections of ghost stories, Tales of the Dark 1-3.
In 1987, Lincoln left trade publishing to work at MetLife. In a rather sudden transition, he went from editing manuscripts, speaking at sales conferences, and wining/dining agents to doing highly technical programming and systems analysis. Though the switch might seem bizarre, Lincoln was a propeller-head from a very early age, and his extensive programming experience dates back to high school, when he worked with DEC minis and the now-prehistoric IBM 1620, so antique it actually had an electric typewriter mounted into its front panel. Away from the world of publishing, Lincoln’s own nascent interests in writing returned. While at MetLife, Relic was published, and within a few years Lincoln had left the company to write full time. He now lives in New Jersey (under protest–just kidding) with his wife and daughter.
A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln’s interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and multiplayer deathmatching. Website: http://lincolnchild.com/
