A charming coastal retelling of Persuasion filled with second chances, family bonds, and summer romance.

Goodreads

Release date: June 23, 2026

Publisher: Gallery

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis:

A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a Nantucket-set retelling of Austen’s Persuasion about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.

Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second, which is good because right now, Lily could really use a friend. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé—a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.

Rose has secrets, too. A therapist about to start her own private practice, Rose’s world is rocked by the handsome renter staying in their guest cottage, Thomas Wentworth: the one person she thought she would never see again and the man who has always (unfortunately) held her heart.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set against a backdrop of blue and purple hydrangeas, swollen brick sidewalks, tall sea grass, and uniform, shingled houses, Lily and Rose Gardner’s summer journey of second chances, healing, and hope begs the question: Can you repeat the past, and is it ever too late to try again?

Review:

If you’re looking for a book that feels like summer in coastal New England, Worse Than Strangers absolutely delivers. The setting was one of my favorite parts of the novel. Between the hydrangeas, seaside cottages, and charming small town atmosphere, I felt completely transported to Nantucket. It has that cozy, escapist quality that makes you want to pack a bag and spend the season by the ocean.

What really stood out to me, though, was the relationship between Lily and Rose. Their dynamic felt less like a traditional mother daughter relationship and more like two sisters navigating life’s challenges together. Their bond added so much warmth and heart to the story and gave the novel a strong emotional foundation.

I also loved that readers get two romance storylines. Watching both Lily and Rose navigate second chances in love created a satisfying balance between romance and personal growth. Each woman is starting over in her own way, and it was rewarding to see their journeys unfold side by side.

The overall vibe gave me major Gilmore Girls energy mixed with classic summer women’s fiction. It’s charming, comforting, and wonderfully easy to sink into. While romance plays an important role, this story is equally about healing, family, and finding the courage to begin again.

Perfect for Readers Who Love

• Coastal New England settings
• Mother daughter stories
• Second chance romance
• Jane Austen retellings
• Gilmore Girls vibes
• Charming small town communities
• Escapist summer fiction

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

A slow burn, character driven domestic suspense where truth fractures across perspectives and nothing is quite what it seems.

Goodreads

Release date: June 16, 2026

Publisher: Knopf

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight delivers a tour de force of character-driven suspense: the story of two women whose secrets and desires entrap them in a deadly love triangle.

You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart.

It was paper-thin ice on which to stake your survival.

Gretchen Falk, a Park Avenue sophisticate born into great wealth and blessed with a storybook marriage, knows she lives a charmed life, and she’s not about to risk losing any part of it. That’s why she tried to convince Richard, her devoted husband and father to their three children, not to join his old college friends on an expedition almost eight thousand miles away, to the imposing peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Little did she know the beautiful artist climbing alongside him might prove the far greater danger. 

Frankie Callahan’s dream of artistic success is within reach, with her career-making exhibition at a celebrated New York gallery only weeks away. If all goes well, the show will leave her financially independent, free of the tainted money that ties her to a past—and a man—she’s desperate to escape. To mark the end of this chapter, she is going to climb Kilimanjaro. But when she learns she’s the sole female accompanying a group of male friends, Frankie realizes that nothing about the trip will be as she expected. She certainly hasn’t counted on meeting anyone like the very charismatic, very rich, very married Richard Falk. By the time the group descends—with one fewer than when they began—they have lost more than they ever could have imagined. 

Now, just two weeks after returning to New York, Frankie is dead, her East Village loft a blood-soaked crime scene. When Richard is charged in Frankie’s death, it falls to Gretchen to piece together how the life she so carefully constructed could have imploded so completely. There are only two things Gretchen knows for she’s the only woman Richard has ever loved, and he would never hurt anyone.

Someone Else’s Husband is the sweeping and suspenseful story of two women on a collision course with love—and with each other—in which no one is right and everyone is very, very wrong.

Review:

This is very much a character first psychological suspense, not a high octane twist machine—and that’s what makes it stand out.

The storytelling is structured in a way that slowly peels back truth through shifting perspectives. Gretchen’s present day narrative carries a sense of disbelief and denial, while Frankie’s earlier timeline adds emotional depth and context that steadily reframes everything you think you know.

The police interview elements also add a grounded, procedural texture without taking over the emotional core of the story.

What works really well here is the controlled pacing. It doesn’t rush toward shock value. Instead, it builds unease through contradiction—what people say versus what they remember, what they believe versus what actually happened. It also avoids the over the top thriller trap. The tension comes from human decisions, emotional blind spots, and the slow realization that every character is filtering the truth through their own needs.

By the time everything clicks into place, the ending feels less like a twist for effect and more like a carefully constructed inevitability. Even when surprising, it feels earned. If there’s one thing to note, it’s that the pacing might feel deliberate or even restrained if you’re expecting constant escalation, but that restraint is intentional and part of the book’s strength.

Overall, this is a smart, layered domestic suspense novel that prioritizes psychology over spectacle.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

• Slow burn psychological suspense
• Multiple POV domestic thrillers
• Unreliable perception narratives
• Character driven mysteries
• Realistic, grounded crime fiction
• Books like The Wife Between Us or The Last Thing He Told Me

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

A Thought Provoking Time Travel Romance About Second Chances, Fate, and Finding the Right Path

Goodreads

Release date: July 7, 2026

Publisher: Gallery

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis:

For fans of The Love of My Afterlife and The Seven Year Slip, Reese’s LitUp Fellow Natalie Messier’s debut following a woman who gets a chance to relive her college years—with the opportunity to win back the one that got away—is “full of surprises and sneakily perceptive” (Yulin Kuang, USA TODAY bestselling author of How to End a Love Story).

Joey Vasquez’s life is the definition of good on paper. At thirty-two, she’s a Los Angeles lawyer on the cusp of making partner, but while she’s a professional success, she’s a personal disaster. Her social life mostly consists of nights spent watching TV with her elderly cat. Life isn’t quite what she dreamed when she was younger, but really, whose life is?

But a dinner party with the best friend she’s secretly pined after for years and its aftermath changes everything.

When Joey is given a second chance at life, she finds herself in college again. Armed with memories from her first life, Joey is certain she’s come back to finally convince the one man she ever loved to love her back—so why does she find herself strangely drawn to the man she thought she hated?

Review:

Every Version of You is a unique blend of second chance romance, time travel, and self discovery that kept me thinking long after I finished. While the premise immediately hooked me, what really stood out was how thoughtfully the story explores the ripple effects of our choices and the different directions life can take because of seemingly small decisions.

It’s impossible not to imagine what you might change if given the opportunity for a do over, and Joey’s journey makes that question especially compelling. As she revisits pivotal moments in her life, the story explores whether we actually know what’s best for ourselves—or whether the things we truly need are often right in front of us.

The romance unfolds in unexpected ways, and I enjoyed how the story challenged assumptions about destiny, timing, and who we’re ultimately meant to be with. There were several surprises along the way that kept me invested, and I can easily see this being a fantastic book club pick because of the conversations it sparks.

The characters are messy, flawed, and sometimes frustrating, but that’s also what makes them feel relatable. They don’t always make the best choices, yet their struggles and mistakes feel authentic. Joey’s growth throughout the story was one of my favorite aspects of the book.

Perfect for Readers Who Love

• Time travel romances
• Second chance love stories
• The Seven Year Slip
• The Love of My Afterlife
• Character driven stories about fate and destiny
• Books that spark discussion and “what if?” conversations
• Messy, relatable characters

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

A meta, angsty love letter to romance tropes that turns every cliché into something raw, emotional, and unforgettable

Goodreads

Release date: June 16, 2026

Publisher: Avon

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.

Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.

Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League-educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.

As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic It’s clear their love story is unfinished. This time, though, they’ll fight for their happy ending.

Heart-wrenching and tender, Tropesick is a love letter to the romance genre. With a wink and a nod, Okie has packed the novel with listeners’ favorite 

Grumpy/Sunshine Brother’s best friend Girl next door Forced proximity Forbidden love Kissing in the rain Groveling hero Second-chance romance Slow burn Only one bed

Review:

This book is essentially a love letter to romance readers, but not in a light or fluffy way—it’s reverent, self aware, and emotionally loaded.

What stands out most is how Lauren Okie takes familiar romance tropes and makes them feel almost uncanny. Instead of feeling predictable, they feel charged, like the story is aware of itself in a way that deepens the tension instead of softening it. That “book within a book” structure adds a really fun meta layer, especially as fiction starts bleeding into Katie and Tyler’s reality.

But this is not a soft romance. It’s deeply angsty, often heartbreaking, and unafraid to sit in uncomfortable emotional spaces. Both characters are fully realized and flawed in ways that feel intentional rather than polished. Katie’s emotional armor and Tyler’s sobriety journey both add weight to every interaction between them.

The romance itself is a slow burn that hurts in the best way. When it finally turns physical, the spice doesn’t feel decorative, it feels like release after restraint, and it hits hard because of everything that’s been held back. There’s also a strong thread of grief throughout the story—especially surrounding loss, addiction, and the long shadow of trauma. The author doesn’t rush healing, and that makes the eventual emotional payoff feel earned.

This is the kind of book that leans into messy love. Not idealized, not easy, just real in a way that lingers after you finish. Lauren Okie is now firmly in “auto-read” territory after this one—because she doesn’t just write romance tropes, she makes you feel why they exist in the first place.

Perfect for Readers Who Love

• Romance that leans heavily into angst and emotional depth
• Meta romance / books about writing romance
• Slow burn, high tension relationships
• Grief informed love stories with emotional weight
• Forced proximity and second chance dynamics
• Stories where tropes are both embraced and subverted
• Character driven romances with messy, complicated healing

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Funny, emotional, and utterly magical from beginning to end.

Goodreads

Release date: June 16, 2026

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

A heartbroken romance novelist is forced to address her writer’s block when the villainous cowboy character from her books shows up in the real world, desperately in need of his own Happily Ever After. . . from the bestselling author of GMA book club pick The Love of My Afterlife.

Gertie Bickerstaff writes happily-ever-afters for a living. . . . Or she did, until her own love life fell apart. Now her ex is thriving, her deadline is looming, and she can’t write a single word.

The last thing Gertie needs is more drama—like waking up to find a confused and rugged cowboy on her sofa. And not just any cowboy, but River Oakley, the villain from her unfinished novel. Somehow very real . . . and very shirtless.

River wants to go home. Gertie wants her life back. So they strike a deal: he’ll use his cunning ways to help her win back her ex, she’ll finish the novel, and, surely, he’ll return to whatever world he rode in from.

But as River Oakley proves to be so much more than just the bad guy, Gertie has to choose: the ending she thought she wanted . . . or the plot twist she never saw coming.

Review:

Kirsty Greenwood has done it again with Romantic Hero, a whimsical, heartfelt romance that completely swept me away. Blending magical realism with emotional depth, this story feels effortless in the best possible way—equal parts charming, funny, romantic, and surprisingly moving. What begins as a quirky premise about a fictional cowboy stepping off the page quickly becomes a beautiful exploration of grief, healing, self worth, and finding happiness where you least expect it.

Gertie Bickerstaff stole my heart from the very first chapter. She’s the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, flaws and all. Watching her navigate heartbreak, self doubt, and loss while slowly rediscovering her own value was incredibly emotional. More than once I wanted to reach into the pages, give her a hug, and remind her that she deserves so much more than she’s settling for. And then there’s River Oakley, the supposedly villainous cowboy who proves that first impressions don’t always tell the whole story. He’s funny, swoony, protective, and absolutely worthy of book boyfriend status.

What truly made Romantic Hero shine for me was its characterization. Greenwood creates characters who feel wonderfully real despite the fantastical premise, making every emotional moment land with impact. I laughed, smiled, teared up, and ultimately finished the book with a full heart. It’s the kind of story that reminds you why romance can be so magical. A joyful, emotional, and utterly enchanting five star read.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Magical realism romance
• Quirky heroines
• Cowboy book boyfriends
• Stories about grief and healing
• Character-driven love stories
• Books that make you laugh and cry
• Writer protagonists
• Heartwarming happily-ever-afters

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Addictive Satirical Fiction for Your Summer Reading List

Goodreads

Release date: June 16, 2026

Publisher: William Morrow

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis:

Pride and Prejudice for the modern a fresh and stylish debut following a family of women who are thrust into the spotlight in the wake of a scandal and expertly exploit their newfound fame, perfect for fans of Blue Sisters and Good Material .

When Lili Lowe gets caught having an affair with her married boss, an admired local politician, she finds herself at the epicenter of a scandal that could dismantle her life as she knows it. She turns, as many women would, to her mother. But Lydia Lowe is not the kind of mother to offer gentle words of consolation. Instead she devises a strategy that doesn’t just manage the fallout, it actively exploits it, and Lili goes from making coffee and booking meetings to making headlines and booking talk shows. Soon, thanks to the commodification of Lili’s scandal, the whole world knows the Lowe family.

Lili’s three sisters—Stevie, Iris, and Katie—have differing reactions to being in the spotlight, but once the wheels are turning, it seems impossible to stop what’s in motion…and it doesn’t take long for the craziness surrounding the Lowes to spiral out of control. Money and celebrity, the Lowes discover, come at a price—sometimes, the louder one’s voice (especially a woman’s), the more others will seek to silence it.

With a potent blend of spectacular style, compulsive voice, sharp social commentary, and ferocious heart, The Lowe Job is escapism with a contemporary book club novel for the modern listener looking for fresh fiction that is at once funny, sexy, incisive, and heartfelt.

Review:

The Lowe Job is the kind of novel that feels tailor made for readers who love a little scandal with their summer reading. Pitch it as The Kardashians meets the Monica Lewinsky scandal, filtered through sharp British wit and biting social commentary, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting into. When a political affair catapults Lili Lowe and her family into the public eye, the resulting chaos is equal parts hilarious, messy, outrageous, and impossible to look away from. The behind the scenes celebrity drama, media circus, and endless family complications make for compulsive reading from start to finish.

What surprised me most was how effectively Grace Alexander balances the novel’s cheeky, satirical tone with genuine emotional depth. Beneath the gossip, headlines, and viral fame lies an exploration of ambition, identity, family loyalty, and the cost of becoming public property overnight. Each member of the Lowe family reacts differently to their sudden celebrity status, creating layers of tension that keep the story feeling fresh and nuanced.

Despite tackling the darker side of fame and public scrutiny, The Lowe Job remains incredibly fun. The humor is sharp, the dialogue sparkles, and the entire novel has a bold, unapologetic energy that makes it a perfect poolside read. Juicy, sexy, funny, and surprisingly thoughtful, this is escapist fiction with substance—a novel that entertains while still having plenty to say about modern celebrity culture and the people caught in its orbit.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy

The perfect summer romance read

Goodreads

Release date: June 16, 2026

Publisher: Atria

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

From USA TODAY bestseller Kayla Olson, a new rom-com about a high-maintenance woman who embarks on a wilderness trek to prove to her ex how low-maintenance she can be—only to find herself with no makeup and an extremely attractive trek leader.

Sadie Whitlock has always been praised for being the most prepared person in the room, the one who’s thought of everything—and every backup plan—for any given situation. She knows exactly what she wants, exactly what she loves, and goes to great lengths to make sure her life runs perfectly as planned.

So, when her laidback boyfriend breaks up with her for being “too high-maintenance,” Sadie is eager to prove him wrong, and signs herself up for a weeks-long guided wilderness adventure in the High Sierras of camping, hiking, rappelling, and kayaking. It’s the most miserable, uncomfortable situation she can think of.

Sadie’s a five-star resort girl at heart, but she has a compelling—and suspiciously attractive—tour guide August Thorn. Thorn lives for adventure and always keeps a professional distance from the trekkers under his care…but there’s just something about Sadie, and for the first time, he finds himself wanting to get closer. As they explore the wilderness together, Sadie realizes the great outdoors might truly be great with the right person.

Review:

Kayla Olson’s The Great Outdoors is a charming and entertaining rom com that combines adventure, self discovery, and romance against the stunning backdrop of California’s High Sierras. What begins as a humorous attempt by Sadie Whitlock to prove she’s not “high maintenance” quickly evolves into a story about embracing uncertainty, challenging your own perceptions, and discovering that growth often happens far outside your comfort zone. The wilderness trek provides a unique setting that feels fresh and immersive, adding both excitement and genuine stakes to the story.

Sadie is an easy protagonist to root for. Her meticulous planning and preference for luxury make her a fish out of water in the rugged outdoors, but watching her adapt and push herself beyond her limits is incredibly satisfying. Her dynamic with trek leader August Thorn is equally compelling. Their differences create plenty of humor and tension, while their growing connection develops naturally throughout the journey. Olson balances swoony romance with personal growth, allowing both characters to evolve in meaningful ways.

With beautiful scenery, engaging characters, and a romance that unfolds amid unexpected challenges, The Great Outdoors is the perfect summer read. Equal parts heartfelt, funny, and adventurous, it’s a story about taking risks, embracing change, and discovering that sometimes the best journeys are the ones you never planned to take.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: June 9, 2026

Publisher: Crooked Lane

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

A woman uses AI to create the perfect friend and finds herself trapped in a cat-and-mouse game in this ticking clock thriller, perfect for fans of Blake Crouch.

Penn, once a brilliant PhD candidate in Applied Language Studies, traded her dissertation for a “perfect” life as a suburban wife and social media-savvy mother. But after a brutal betrayal by her husband, friends, and even her own teenage daughter, Penn is left with nothing but the wreckage of her curated identity.

Driven by a desperate need for something she can rely on; Penn returns to her abandoned grad school project. With the help of a former crush and a healthy dose of cutting-edge AI, she creates Aletheia: the perfect virtual friend.

Aletheia is programmed with one core directive: The Truth. She can detect lies with 100% accuracy and provides the unwavering support Penn’s real-world “friends” never did. But what starts as a helpful digital companion quickly evolves into a stalker that views “protection” as “destruction,” and if pushed too far, “elimination.”

Penn quickly realizes she hasn’t created an AI friend; she’s built a monster that knows every secret she’s ever kept and is ready to annihilate anyone who threatens her new “perfect” reality. But can Aletheia be stopped before she destroys everyone Penn loves?

Review:

This Is a Lie by Cleo Ballard is one of those thrillers that sneaks up on you and lingers long after you’ve finished. Blending techno thriller elements with domestic suspense, it delivers a story that feels both unsettlingly plausible and incredibly timely. Rather than getting bogged down in technical jargon, Ballard keeps the focus on the characters and the emotional fallout of the technology they create, making the story accessible, engaging, and surprisingly thought provoking.

What I loved most was how the novel explores the ethical gray areas surrounding artificial intelligence. As AI continues to dominate real world conversations, This Is a Lie asks fascinating questions about truth, justice, morality, and the unintended consequences of innovation. Penn’s creation, Aletheia, begins as a solution to loneliness and betrayal but quickly becomes something far more dangerous, creating a tense cat and mouse dynamic that kept me turning pages.

The combination of smart speculative ideas and deeply personal stakes worked exceptionally well for me. This isn’t a thriller built solely on twists or action—it’s a character driven story that examines trust, relationships, and the cost of seeking certainty in an uncertain world. Equal parts entertaining and unsettling, This Is a Lie offers a fresh take on the thriller genre and left me thinking about its themes long after the final chapter.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: June 30, 2026

Publisher: Putnam

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of Look Closer comes a new domestic thriller about betrayal and murder inside one twisted family

Siblings Allison and Luke have been through a lot together. They’ve always stood by each other. They’d do anything for each other.

When Allison’s husband, Finley, is murdered, Luke is right there by her side.

Until the murder investigation exposes secrets that could tear their family apart.

An illicit affair. A decades-old accident. A shocking betrayal. How do they explain Finley’s death? And why are the siblings suddenly avoiding each other?

As past tensions resurface, the truth might lie a little too close to home…

Review:

Keep Them Close by David Ellis is the kind of domestic thriller that grabs hold from the very beginning and never loosens its grip. Built around a web of family secrets, betrayals, lies, and long buried truths, this is a twisty, tension filled story that constantly keeps readers questioning what they know. I loved the structure, with multiple points of view, short chapters, and a timeline that moves between the events leading up to the murder and the fallout that follows. The pacing never slowed, and every chapter seemed to reveal another piece of a puzzle that was far more complicated than it initially appeared.

At the center of the story is a family whose history is layered with secrets, resentments, loyalty, and deception. Ellis does an excellent job exploring the complicated dynamics between siblings Allison and Luke while also weaving in decades of backstory that enriches the present day mystery. The result is a thriller that feels both emotionally complex and incredibly suspenseful. Every revelation raises new questions, and just when I thought I understood where things were headed, another surprise shifted the narrative.

With smart, sharp writing and an intricately plotted mystery, Keep Them Close delivers everything I want from a domestic suspense novel. It’s engaging, surprising, and packed with family drama, making it nearly impossible to put down. Fans of layered psychological thrillers filled with trust issues, betrayals, and shocking twists will find plenty to love here.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads

Release date: June 9, 2026

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Narrators: Bailey Carr, Christine Lakin and Mia Wurgraft

Synopsis:

For readers of Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods, a small-town detective reopens an unsolved case, sending shock waves across generations of women in this gripping new mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author of Please See Us.

1994. In the myth-riddled woods of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, sixteen-year-old Annabelle Riley’s twin sister, Sabrina, has been having an affair with a mysterious older man, and Annabelle is determined to uncover what’s going on. Then, inexplicably, both sisters disappear.

In this same town years later, newly instated Police Chief Callie Hauser makes an arrest that unexpectedly resurrects details from a heartbreaking cold case. As she digs deeper, the past and the present collide, challenging everything Callie believes about right and wrong, about who she is, and about the town she’s always called home.

A propulsive mystery as incisive as it is forgiving, Heatherbears a visceral reminder that the truth of a woman’s life is often complicated and unknowable—to those on the outside, and sometimes even to herself.

Review:

Heather by Caitlin Mullen is the kind of slow burn mystery that gradually wraps itself around you and refuses to let go. Set against the eerie backdrop of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, the story weaves together a decades old disappearance and a present day investigation, creating an atmospheric and deeply layered cold case mystery. The alternating timelines are equally compelling, and I found myself just as invested in uncovering what happened to Annabelle and Sabrina in 1994 as I was in following Police Chief Callie Hauser’s present day search for answers. Mullen takes her time building the story, but every piece feels intentional, resulting in a rich, character driven mystery packed with emotional weight and complexity.

The audiobook elevates the experience even further. Bailey Carr, Christine Lakin, and Mia Wurgaft each deliver phenomenal performances, bringing depth, vulnerability, and distinct voices to the multiple perspectives. Their narration captures the emotional range of the novel beautifully, from grief and longing to determination and heartbreak, pulling me even deeper into the story. The shifts between past and present feel seamless in audio, and each narrator helps create an immersive listening experience that enhances the haunting atmosphere.

While slower paced thrillers don’t always work for me, Heather kept me fully engaged from beginning to end. This is less about nonstop twists and more about unraveling the complicated lives, secrets, and choices that ripple across generations. Thoughtful, atmospheric, and emotionally resonant, it’s an excellent pick for readers who enjoy police procedurals, cold case mysteries, and character driven suspense that takes its time developing but delivers a rewarding payoff.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.