Book Reviews for January 2026

This was a good month for reading as well as putting books up on my TBR list. The list gets ever longer, so I’ll just mention the new ones as I go along.

📕 The Right Sort of Man is not a self-help book! Allison Montclair sets his mystery in post World War II London during which women were supposed to go back to the home and again be happy housewives. The two women protagonists of the novel are not willing to give up their independence, but each woman has a different reason. Iris had been in special forces during the war and liked the excitement of making snap decisions and having to assume different personas. Gwen’s husband had been tragically killed during the war and she was left with a baby boy to bring up. Unfortunately, she had to be hospitalized for her grief during which time her mother-in-law got custody of the little boy. When Gwen was finally declared well enough to leave the hospital she realized that the only way she would be able to get back custody of her little one was to have a source of independent means. This is the background for the bond the two women formed and the mystery begins. You’ll like this book. It’s a “take me to your world” kind of mystery and the first of a series called the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

🫖 Sophie Hannah’s (a la Agatha Christie) Closed Casket  (pub. 2016) does not disappoint. It’s not quite Agatha Christie, but oh so close. Hercule Poirot and Hastings are invited to Lady Playford’s home in Ireland. Truthfully, Poirot is not sure why the two have been invited to the house party. When they get there they discover that Lady Playford has once again changed her will, this time disinheriting her two adult children to leave her sizable estate to an invalid. Of course there’s a surprise, several red herrings, and the addition of Inspector Catchpool to try to solve the murder before Poirot and Hastings. Just as a small giveaway -- Poirot wins the solution contest! It’s one of Hannah’s first “in the style of” Agatha Christie books, and it’s quite a good addition to your Christie collection. Read it!

🍰 I chose to read Murder at the Falls by Stefanie Matteson because it had the most pleasant pale blue bookcover. It reminded me of a bedroom I once had. Fortunately, it was a fun book to read despite my silliness. When I looked at the back of the book I was smitten. The mystery takes place in New Jersey, and not Niagara Falls in New York. I’m originally from New Jersey -- not NYC as most people believe -- and this book hones in on Paterson which is a stone’s throw from Teaneck where I went to elementary school (mostly, until we moved to Macon, Georgia). Also, it’s about an artist and his peccadillos and eventual murder. The protagonists are Tom and his older friend Charlotte who witness an artist plunge into the falls in Paterson. Tom and Charlotte had been enjoying their hobby of eating in old time diners constructed out of trailers. I had never thought about that, but do remember being in Baltimore and eating at a White Castle that was a trailer made into a diner. I was too young (11) to make it into a hobby, The novel was written in 1993 so the references to current events are long ago stories, but the descriptions of scenery, the difficulty of supporting oneself as an artist, the art trends, and the ups and downs of sleuthing are all wonderful. If you enjoy a tour guide of the tri state area, this is the mystery for you!

TBR

These are on my nightstand, the floor, and various other places that are too embarrassing to share:

• Agatha Christie’s A Pocket Full of Rye

• Shéa MacLeod’s Lady Rampole and the Winter Fēte.

• Margot Douaihy’s Divine Ruin

• Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929

• E. B. Woods 

Podcasts Yelling

at Me

• Rachel Madddow’s Ultra,  Season 2

• Nicole Wallace’s The Best People

• Amy Poehler’s Good Hang