October 2026 Reads

 

Desperately wanting to watch the film, I finally got around to reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and I’m kicking myself that I let this gorgeous, heart-warming story linger on my TBR pile for so long. Tova has never got over the loss of her teenage son. She has a small group of friends, but prefers to keep to herself, hence her evening job as the cleaner at an aquarium. Here she meets a mischievous octopus whose days are numbered. The book is far, far better than the film.

Another book I needed to read before watching the film is The Whisper Man by Alex North. Traumatic memories lead single father Tom and his young son Jake to move to a new home. What they don’t realise is that a young boy was recently abducted nearby, and all the hallmarks point to a serial killer known as ‘The Whisper Man’. When Jake goes missing, it becomes a race against time to find him. I found this really creepy, I haven’t summoned up the courage to watch the film yet.

Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child is the thirtieth book in the Jack Reacher series, and a disappointing one at that. A case of mistaken identity has Reacher helping a man who is convinced he has a target on his back. The whole plot was very disjointed, there just wasn’t a strong enough plot to carry a full-length novel. The final showdown was over in the blink of an eye, and surprisingly, I found the violence a little too extreme.

I love the Skelfs series by Doug Johnstone, books about a family of women who combine the running of their funeral business with a side line as private investigators. Blackmail, a face from the past, and the use of AI all feature this time around in Ghost Notes, book 7 in the series, but it was the use of AI to help the grieving process that I found extremely thought-provoking. Alongside this, the author manages to inform the reader about the ways in which the funeral business is constantly developing.

Welcome To The Kokoro Cat Clinic by Syou Ishida is the third book in the We’ll Prescribe You A Cat series. This one varies slightly from the previous two books in that only two of the people are prescribed a cat to look after. Fuke is nervous about giving a presentation at work, and Orie has lost focus regarding her life choices. A third story has a stressed new father learning ‘how to cat’, and a fourth gives us the backstory about the hoarding situation that was mentioned in the previous books. All the usual charm is present, but I found this volume to be far more emotional than the earlier books.

There have been some riveting legal thrillers published recently, and This Jury Is Guilty by Laurie Blake can certainly be added to the list. It’s the trial of the century, a huge Hollywood star is accused of the attempted murder of his equally famous wife. With the trial being livestreamed, not only is this a ‘trial by media’, but it’s also being judged by a compromised jury. The book follows four of the jurors who all have an ulterior motive for being part of the trial.

I’ve finally got back to reading the David Raker series by Tim Weaver. Book 5 in the series, Fall From Grace, was superb. A retired police officer vanished in the middle of nowhere. Nine months on his daughter, another police officer, asks Raker for help. Danger is never far away as Raker looks for the smallest clue to uncover what happened. Suspicion falls on everyone close to the missing person, and there are some eerie scenes. The twists at the end made my jaw drop.

I really enjoyed the first two books in The Martini Coast series by Tess Gerritsen, so was pleased to pick up the third book, The Shadow Friends. The idea of five retired CIA operatives living in a small town gives off a ‘cosy’ vibe, but this was anything but cosy. A global affairs conference nearby sparks off a bioweapon scare which sees some of the group jetting off to Europe to protect Russian defectors. It was good to see a story centred around someone other than Maggie. I didn’t have a clue who the villain was until the big reveal.

I finished the month off with my book group read, The Thread by Victoria Hislop. This is a sweeping love story, set against a tumultuous period in Greece’s history. The story didn’t really grab me. There was some overlap with a book I read a couple of months ago, a book which gave far more detail about some of the historical events. Maybe the lack of depth in this book added to the reason I wasn’t gripped by it.

My first audiobook of the month was Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child. As I approached book 31 in the Reacher series, I was a little apprehensive after being so disappointed by the previous book. I’m happy to report that this was a vast improvement. A face from the past asks for Reacher’s help – tracking down Reacher is not easy! This is a fast-paced story, with no obvious motive. And Reacher doing what he does best; keen observation, analytical thinking, and swift, decisive action.

A return visit to Maple Falls featured in my second audiobook of the month, The Sugar And Spice Kitchen by Harper Graham. Emily and Cole were childhood best friends until a feud developed. Luckily, things quietened down when Cole and his family left the town. Seventeen years later, he’s returned as fire chief and a snow storm forces him to work closely with Emily. There’s nothing new in this spicy romance, featuring forced proximity and a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story, but I do love dropping in to the idyllic little town of Maple Falls.

Publication dates to look out for:

This Jury Is Guilty by Laurie Blake will be published on 3/11/26 in paperback, ebook, and audio format.

The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen will be published 14/1/27 in hardback, ebook, and audio format.