This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (2026) ultimately did not win me over.

On the other hand, I got through a fantasy book. Rare for me.

The plot is interesting.

When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier.

BUT too much time is wasted world building. The story too complicated.

I won’t be reading the planned sequels.

Dumb.

I’m normally disappointed that Louise Penny books aren’t better — but this was particularly bad.

GREAT PREMISE:

The story follows Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese-American former food blogger, and her mother, Vivien Li, a legendary Tiananmen Square dissident turned world-renowned human rights activist. 

When synchronized security and fire alarms go off globally, triggering worldwide panic, the cyber signal is traced back to China. Vivien and Alice are urgently summoned to the Oval Office to help the U.S. government decode China’s intentions. What follows is a high-stakes, international race against time stretching from Washington, D.C. and Ohio to Hong Kong. To stop a global catastrophe …

But the plot itself is as absurd as any international conspiracy thriller I can recall.

Dumb.

I did enjoy insights into Chinese culture and politics provided by Mellissa Fung.

I’ve really gotten into this book series lately. Set in Alaska.

Since 1993, Dana Stabenow has been writing a series featuring Kate Shugak, a five-foot-one Aleut woman, private investigator alongside her fierce, half-wolf, half-husky companion, Mutt.

A Night Too Dark (2010) is a good one.

The Conflict: The discovery of the world’s second-largest gold mine (the Suulutaq Mine) has deeply divided the local community and attracted hostile environmental activists. 

The Mystery: Park residents, hikers, and mine workers are vanishing at an alarming rate. When an abandoned truck and a suicide note lead to a body that has been scavenged by a bear, the case seems closed—until the “dead” man walks onto Kate’s homestead weeks later. Kate and Jim must discover who the body actually belongs to while dodging an enemy willing to kill to protect the mine’s secrets

I got through this book — but never really got into it.

Amazon

Great premise ➙ “Set in 1966 California, the story follows three women—Beverley, Elsie, and Margot—whose husbands were notorious serial killers. When a new string of local murders emerges, the trio teams up to catch the killer themselves.”

But for me the pacing was too slow.

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.

This was the 1st Allison Brennan I’ve read.

NEW ➙ Netflix is producing a TV series based on Myron Bolitar.

Excellent.

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.

Mixed feelings.

American War (2017) is the first novel by the Egyptian-Canadian journalist Omar El Akkad.

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.

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.

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.