I enjoyed the first book in this series — Nash Falls — so downloaded the 2026 sequel.

Hope Rises finds our hero, Walter Nash, living under the alias Dillon Hope.

Having transformed from a gentle businessman into a skilled operative, Nash is working as an FBI informant to infiltrate the inner circle of global criminal leader Victoria Steers.

Nash’s primary mission is to dismantle Steers’ empire and exact revenge for the loss of his family. However, as he penetrates her operation, he uncovers shocking truths that force him to choose between completing his mission and protecting the woman he previously viewed only as a monster.

Baldacci’s books have been improving in recent years.

This one, too, is far more sophisticated than his shoot-em-up, save the world thrillers of old.

I give him A for effort.

BUT … the book is far inferior to Nash Falls.

If you think of the complicated plot for even 30 seconds, you’ll see it makes no sense. NONE of the characters act logically.

OK, Thura: penniless guy from Burma acts logically.

related – a positive review

Buckeye (2025) is bestselling historical fiction by Patrick Ryan.

No car crashes. No murders. Everyday suburban life, for the most part.

Listening to this book is relaxing.

It’s long. But so fast paced that I never found it to drag.

NPR: “A superb novel… captures both the sweep of history and the mundane”

… an intergenerational family saga set in the fictional small town of Bonhomie, Ohio.

Spanning roughly 60 years—from just before World War II to the early 1980s—it traces the interwoven lives of two families bound by a long-held secret.

• The Plot: The story begins on the day of the Allied victory in Europe. An impulsive, life-altering moment between Cal Jenkins and Margaret Salt creates a secret that echoes through their lives and the next generation.
• Key Characters:
  • Cal Jenkins: A man unable to serve in WWII due to a physical disability (one leg shorter than the other), which leaves him with a sense of failure.
  • Becky Jenkins: Cal’s wife, a “seer” with a spiritual gift for communicating with the dead.
  • Margaret Salt: A woman attempting to outrun a mysterious past.
  • Felix Salt: Margaret’s husband, serving in the Navy, who carries his own secret regarding his identity.
• Major Themes: The narrative explores forgiveness, the long-term consequences of secrets, the ripple effects of war (from WWI to Vietnam), and the complexities of small-town life.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Spellman Files (2007) is hilarious.  

First book in a comedic mystery series by Lisa Lutz that follows the chaotic lives of a family of private investigators in San Francisco.

The story is narrated by Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, a 28-year-old PI with a checkered past who works for her parents’ firm, Spellman Investigations. In a family where snooping, tailing, and wiretapping one another is the norm.

If you are looking for an easy read with a lot of laughs, check it out.

Originally published in 2009, it is the fourth and final book in his Oxford Investigations (or Zoë Boehm) series.

The story follows Sarah Tucker as she travels to Newcastle to identify a body pulled from the River Tyne—a woman who appears to be her friend, private investigator Zoë Boehm.

As usual with Mick Herron books, the writing is excellent.

The story telling far too slow and confusing for this reader.

Watch the TV show instead ➙ Down Cemetery Road staring Emma Thompson as Zoë Boehm.

Quite good. I got through this psychological thriller easily despite the fact that there is nobody to cheer for.

First released as an Audible Original in March 2020 before its print publication in December 2020. The novel was shortlisted for both the Ned Kelly Award and the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel. 

The story follows Margot Scott, a successful psychologist living a seemingly perfect life in the Melbourne suburbs with her husband and two children. 

The book opens with a shocking scene where Margot pushes a man in front of an oncoming train. 

The story reveals how and why Margot made such a desperate decision.

Interesting twists and turns.