How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold

 

 How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold. Poisoned Pen Press, 2025. Adult fiction. Mystery. Horror.

 After the death of Mortimer Queen, the king of horror novelists, seven people are invited to his estate with promise that they have been left something. One by one, si of them meet untimely ends in gruesome ways. Interspersed with "chapters" about the seven that are seemingly written by Mortimer Queen, readers learn how they were all connected to the writer, his work, or his family. Proceeding from room to room and trying to solve a riddle, the narrative moves forward.  Readers can have fun marking up their books, counting down the characters, and trying to decide who will survive this horror story.

You Should Have Known by Rebecca A. Keller

 

 You Should Have Known by Rebecca A. Keller. 2023, Crooked Lane, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox and Company. Adult fiction. Mystery.

When Francine Greene, age 72, is talked into moving into the senior adult assistive/independent living facility, Ridgewood, she struggles to make friends. Her son and  daughter are attentive to her, but it's hard to get over the death of her teen granddaughter four years before. When Francine recognizes someone from the past who is probably connected to the crime, it's hard to think of anything else. She vows to get revenge.

While it may be true that few really notice the elderly, when Francine plots to switch up the medicines of others with leftover prescription drugs from her own beloved dead husband, the story takes a sinister turn. She is a believable, vulnerable character. The residents are described with respect and small details make them seem like readers know these people. 

This is a debut novel and bodes well for the author. Although readers may think the letters to or from her cousin will add new details, not really. Although a possible romantic interest with handsome Evan is hinted at, Francine's problems take precedence. If all families were as connected with seniors in placement, life might be diffferent. Let's hope this author keeps going! 

Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean

 

 Dinner with King Tut:  How Rogue Archaeologists Are re-Creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations by Sam Kean. Little Brown and Company, 2025. Nonfiction.

Have you ever heard of "experimental archaeology"? Follow Sam Kean through different time periods and cultures to learn how scientists, historians, and other professionals are learning about the past by recreating some of what they have only read about. Using all five senses, they make mummies, create their own weapons and go hunting and then prepare their kills, and try to actually experience what life was like in the past. A teacher and her students actually build a Roman road! In alternate chapters of fiction, each time period is brought to life by story.

Not all readers will be interested in every chapter so it is easy to skip around. Ancient Egypt? Viking life? Early Alaska? Even South American cultures? They are all here. This is one book that is NOT boring and learning something you did not already know is guaranteed! 

The Tides of Time by Sarah M. Eden

 The Tides of Time by Sarah M.Eden. Shadow Mountain, 2025. 

Adult fiction. A Storm Tide Romance part of series. 

  When the French Revolution is at its worst, Lili Minet must leave her home and take a ship to England. Unfortunately, the ship is wrecked near shore. Fortunately, Lili is rescued by Armitage Pierce, who with his grandfather, keeps a lighthouse in 1873! Somehow Lili has travelled through time eighty years into the future! Of course, since this is billed as a romance, the two young people fall in love. But life is complicated. When Lili's wicked brother, who is part of the Tribunal in Paris, arrives in the present and challenges their simple life, they must decide whether time travel works backward and if they can change the past by going back to rescue others. 

Fans of the Outlander series will enjoy another time travel story. Fans of the French Revolution times will appreciate the details about life then. Fans of lighthouses will like the details about life in a lighthouse. And, of course, who doesn't like a little romance? This book really may have something for everyone! 

I Wish I Didn't Hae to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin

 

I Wish I Didn't Hae to Tell You This by  Eugene Yelchin. Candlewick Press, 2025.Graphic Novel. Memoir. Young Adult.

In his THE GENIUS UNDER THE TABLE, Eugene Yelchin describes his childhood passion for art and his life in the Soviet Union. In this graphic novel, he continues his life story as he becomes a young adult in the oppressing regime. He meets a young American woman and works through his feelings for her. He still lives with his mother and grandmother and does not want to  become a Russian soldier! He dreams of being an artist and living as an adult, perhaps as a theater designer and artist. Unfortunately, he comes under scrutiny of the government and sent to Siberia and even placed in a mental asylum. His finally escape into freedom is bittersweet.

The illustrations add a great deal to the words. The book moves along with humor and wit.(Grandmother's words and expressions are a highlight!) Readers who are not familiar with the Russian state may be surprised at the hard life of citizens. The scenes in Siberia are both challenging and sad. The book is perfect for adults who think graphic novels are just for children!

The Crime Brulee Bake Off by Rebecca Connolly

 

 The Crime Brulee Bake Off by Rebecca Connolly. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2025. A Claire Walker Mystery. Adult fiction. Mystery.

Baker Claire Walker accepts an opportunity to be on Britain's Battle of the Bakers which means several weeks at a beautiful castle. The local viscount has reluctantly agreed to the show taking over, but when one of the bakers is killed and it resembles a long ago murder in his family, he must get involved to help solve the crime. It doesn't hurt that Claire also attracts his attention and the two become partners to help the police...and maybe more.

A cute cozy mystery, the first in a series, this novel has touches of humor as well as mystery. Claire's use of food and baking terms instead of "bad" language is contagious! 

The Miniaturist's Assistant by Katherine Scott Crawford

 

The Miniaturist's Assistant by Katherine Scott Crawford. Regal House Publishing, 2025. Adult fiction. Historical fiction.

 When art conservator Gamble Vance sees a young woman in 2004 Charleston, she realizes the young woman looks like a miniature portrait Gamble has worked to restore. With a recent miscarriage and divorce, Gamble feels fragile and uncertain and leans on her handsome friend and art professor Tolliver Jackson for support. But, nothing is as it seems when Gamble's work and life collide in 1804 style. For witty, sexy, smart Gamble is a time traveler. 

The descriptions of Charleston make the old city come alive. The problems of slavery and the interracial love story at the novel's center provide a historic context to Gamble's life. A lovely fairy tale of a book that readers will not want to end, fans of the Outlander series will enjoy this very different look into the past and present.