I ended the year with completing five books in December. While there were no true standouts and nothing rose to the 4 or 5 range – I did have four fairly solid 3 1/2’s – which means I did like them, they were entertaining and I feel they are worth reading but I can’t raise them into the “I loved it!’ categories. Most of these I read some or all in the audio format – I had a good deal of traveling, cleaning and decorating this month and audio books are a great way for me to pass the time during these activities. I do want to note, and you can see further below, that I strongly dislike books that make a full audio productions out of their story. Sound effects and other gimmicks just don’t work for me, in fact – the opposite. I strongly dislike them, they can be very dangerous (horns and crashing sounds when driving!) and are a big turn off for me. Authors: save your money!! All I want is someone with a pleasant voice to read me the book.
Here are the books I read in December.
Too Old For This – Samantha Downing
Fairly dark in a light, almost satire-y way. Lottie Jones is an aging serial killer who wishes she could stay in retirement. But when young, spunk investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up at her door researching a piece on past wrongly accused criminals, she is forced out of retirement. No one in this book is quite likable, however the writing is clever and you may find a soft spot in your hear for Lottie.
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Anatomy of an Alibi – Ashley Elston
Elston’s follow up to her runaway hit, First Lie Wins is a smart and twisty suspense thriller that features two women that are taking matters into their own hands. I was very entertained through most of it but there was a little something as it wraps up that kept it from a true 4 (I loved it) rating. I will leave it at that as I don’t wish to spoil anything but I was left wanting more from how it wrapped up. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Anatomy of an Alibi will be available on 1/13/26.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
My Husband’s Wife – Alice Feeney
This is specifically for the audio book. before even talking about the story – I HATED the sound effects of this audio book. Hated. First, I just want someone to read me the book. Stop wasting money with the sound effects and production. A total waste (for me). But even worse, they were so distracting and sometimes a bit abrupt and jarring that on 2 occasions when listening while driving they scared the crap out of me and I actually thought someone had hit my car.
Now, back to the story, I thought I knew what I read, but now I am not even sure. I was pretty entertained until the last 20% or so. Then I was just confused. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest opinion. My Husband’s Wife will be available on 1/20/26.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Days You Were Mine – Clare Leslie Hall
Days You Were Mine is the first book written by the author of Broken Country and I believe it is being re-released. This was the final book of 2025 for me and while it is a very slow, deep character study of Luke, Alice, Rick and Jake (with a strong supporting cast of characters as well) it tells a story that is worth reading. I would skip reading the official summary that is out there on most sites, it contains too many spoilers in my opinion. I was entertained and interested but the grief is so, so deep that it was a difficult read. There are major triggers of mental illness and the story does revolve around adoption. While those parts were difficult at times, they were done well. This is a very sad book.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
The Castaways – Lucy Clarke
I have a feeling this may have been my last attempt at a Clarke book. I don’t think we are a fit. It sounded good and started out very good (as it often does) – two sisters are going to take a vacation to a remote island in Fiji – one boards the plane, the other does not. The plane disappears and remains a mystery for years to come. This leads us to 2 timelines, the past of the flight and the current with sister #2 searching for answers. While is started so strong, it fizzled out a bit pretty quickly for me and I became pretty bored fairly fast. Additionally, I originally thought this was a new release, but I don’t think it is. She must be re-releasing it and it’s one of her earlier books. Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Castaways will be available (re-released? Not sure?) 1/6/26.
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