Make It Out Alive (2026) is one of the Quinn & Costa series by Allison Brennan.
Kinda dumb. But never boring.
Detective Kara Quinn and FBI Agent Matt Costa find themselves in a deadly predicament.
After successfully capturing a serial killer targeting newlyweds at a Florida resort, they are kidnapped by the killer’s partner. Forced into a sadistic, “Saw-like” escape room, the duo must rely on their skills and each other to survive before time runs out
Praise from Reviewers
High-Stakes Tension: Critics frequently describe the book as a “propulsive read” and a “well-paced thrill ride”. The central “escape room” scenario is noted for creating a stressful, claustrophobic atmosphere that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
Season 1 of Widow’s Bay is a 10-episode comedy-horror television series.
Something like a Stephen King horror, but more fun.
Surprisingly, it works.
Stephen Root is excellent as Wyck Crawford, the ranting, superstitious local sea dog.
Kate O’Flynn should win awards as Patricia, Tom’s awkward, cynical, and fan-favourite assistant.
I appreciate that the cast actually look like normal people, not movie stars.
The Positives: Viewers have fallen in love with the atmospheric New England setting and the quirky, deeply-layered side characters—especially the dry assistant, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn). Fans on Reddit and social media heavily praised the background clues and overarching puzzle box mystery.
Back Spin (1997) is the 4th novel in Coben’s excellent series of a crime solver and sports agent named Myron Bolitar.
It’s at least as good as any of the rest.
The story pulls sports agent turned accidental detective Myron Bolitar into the elite and high-stakes world of professional golf.
During the U.S. Open, the teenage son of superstar golfers Linda and Jack Coldren is kidnapped. Myron is hired to find the boy, dragging him from wealthy Main Line mansions into local, seedy motels.
As he digs deeper, he must untangle a web of decades-old family secrets, lies, and a historical sports failure that ties directly to a modern-day murder.
Hiking great. 17 days in the tent, walking deserts in California and Nevada.
Cycling was the most problematic. But I still made it 11 days on the Trans Canada Great Trail, starting in Vernon and ending up in Fernie (with a busted bike).
What’s next?
Still considering my options.
The only thing fixed for sure is World Gymnastics Championships in Netherlands Oct. 2026.
It’s BIG. A deeply fractured, dystopian version of America between the years 2074 and 2095.
The Second American Civil War erupts when the federal Northern government outlaws the use of fossil fuels due to catastrophic climate changes. A bloc of southern states (the “Free Southern State”) secedes to protect their oil-reliant economy.
The weakened, war-torn America is no longer a superpower. Instead, it has become a playground for foreign intervention, with dominant new global empires from North Africa and Asia meddling in its internal affairs.
All that was interesting.
What the book lacks, in my opinion, is coherent technological consistency. For some reason, people no longer use or have forgotten technology from 2026.
The plot centers on Sarat Chestnut, a lesbian over six feet tall. Fascinating.
But the rest of the people in the story did not interest me much. Not enough of a clear story line. Too rambling.
A brave attempt — but ultimately more flawed than successful.
State of Wonder (2011) by Ann Patchett, set in the Amazon, is an interesting book.
Dr. Marina Singh is a 42-year-old research pharmacologist working for Vogel, a large pharmaceutical corporation based in Minnesota.
Her stable, quiet life is upended when she learns that her lab partner and close friend, Anders Eckman, has died of a mysterious fever deep in the Amazon rainforest. Anders had been sent there to investigate the progress of a highly secretive, multi-million-dollar research project funded by Vogel.
The Mission
At the center of this project is Dr. Annick Swenson, a brilliant, uncompromising 73-year-old gynecologist and Marina’s former medical school mentor. Dr. Swenson has cut off all communication with the outside world while living among the remote Lakashi tribe.
The tribe’s women possess a miraculous trait: they remain fertile and can bear children well into their seventies. Vogel wants to harness this trait to create a revolutionary, multi-billion-dollar fertility drug.
Driven by grief and pressured by her boss (with whom she is having a secret affair), Marina is sent to Brazil.
The Journey
When Marina arrives in the sweltering, chaotic port city of Manaus, she finds herself deliberately stonewalled by Dr. Swenson’s eccentric gatekeepers. To get answers, Marina must leave civilization behind and journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.
Once she reaches the remote Lakashi village, Marina is forced to confront the harsh realities of the rainforest—poisonous insects, treacherous rivers, and overwhelming isolation. More importantly, she must face Dr. Swenson herself, a formidable woman who rules her research camp like a private fiefdom. As Marina embeds herself with the tribe, she uncovers shocking ethical dilemmas, medical secrets, and unexpected truths about her own past that force her to question the true cost of human progress.
Published in 2020, this anthology serves as the first dedicated short story collection in the popular Rivers of London (Peter Grant) urban fantasy series by Ben Aaronovitch.
In some ways, the short stories are better than the novels because they stick to one story line.
Ben Aaronovitch includes a new, personal introduction for each tale, providing unique behind-the-scenes anecdotes that fans thoroughly enjoy.
Of course, you need to know the Rivers of London universe before diving into short stories.
… a story about several people who, while traveling along the desolated Highway 50 in Nevada, get abducted by Collie Entragian, the deputy of the fictional mining town of Desperation.
Entragian uses various pretexts for the abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to “rescuing” a family from a nonexistent gunman.
It becomes clear to the captives that Entragian has been possessed by an evil being named Tak, who has control over the surrounding desert wildlife and must change hosts to keep itself alive.
They begin to fight for their freedom, sanity and lives before realizing that if they are ever to escape Desperation, they must trap Tak in the place from which he came.
The Lesser Devil is a science fantasy spin-off novel by Christopher Ruocchio, officially designated as Book 1.5 in his acclaimed Sun Eater space opera series.
First published on April 14, 2020, the book shifts focus away from the main series protagonist, Hadrian Marlowe, to tell a self-contained story from the perspective of his younger brother.
I actually liked this novella better than the original book.
Shorter. Simpler. Fast paced.
The Protagonist: Crispin Marlowe, House Marlowe’s least famous son, who has lived long in his brother’s shadow.
The Plot: Crispin answers a deathbed summons from his grandmother, the Duchess of Delos, only to fly directly into a political trap orchestrated by rivals and family factions.
The Conflict: Stranded with only his sister, Sabine, and a few injured guards, Crispin must defend a remote town and battle a mysterious pagan cult dwelling in the mountains.
The Themes: The narrative heavily explores legacy, leadership, class systems, and the friction between the state’s Chantry religion and a surviving enclave of Old Earth Catholicism.
Rick McCharles 