Eat, Drink, and Get Buried by Cleo Coyle

Eat, Drink, and Get Buried
by Cleo Coyle

ISBN-13: 9780593642313
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: September 22, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Years ago, when master roaster Clare Cosi was a newly divorced mom raising her daughter, Joy, Ava Welsh became Joy's best friend. Now the painfully shy girl next door has grown into a successful New York businesswoman, and Clare is delighted to be catering Ava's coffee-themed party, especially when her boyfriend, Ryan, confides his plan to propose that very night.

Then a scream shatters the celebration. A woman is thrown off the balcony to her death, and Ryan—who abruptly flees the party—is accused of murder. Clare vows to help Ava clear his name.

Her digging uncovers suspicious connections to a deadly event from which a teenaged Joy and Ava barely escaped with their lives. The stakes rise ever higher as a ruthless killer attempts to keep the ugly truth buried—even if it means sending Clare and her caffeinated crew six feet under.


My Review:
Eat, Drink, and Get Buried is a cozy mystery. This novel is the 22th in the series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand the mystery, though you'll probably understand the main character's relationships better if you've read some of the previous books. This story didn't spoil the whodunits of the previous books.

Clare was the one primarily investigating, poking into the clues that she could get her hands on. Some of her employees helped sort through social media posts or in other small ways. However, in the end, Ryan found the proof of whodunit for the current crime and a past crime.

There were only a few uses of bad language. There were no graphic sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Missing in New Mexico by Kathleen Tailer

Missing in New Mexico
by Kathleen Tailer
Caroline Turner Cole (Narrator)

ISBN-13: 9781488240218
Audiobook, Unabridged: 288 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: Sept. 29, 2026

Source: audiobook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Sheriff Joaquin Fuentes stumbles upon a desert car crash in New Mexico, rescuing Luann St. John from the smoking wreckage—but this was no accident. Someone sabotaged her vehicle to stop her from uncovering the truth about a twenty-year-old plane crash tied to her father’s disappearance and diamond smuggling accusations. As danger closes in, Joaquin is determined to protect Luann, even as they’re hunted at every turn. The truth could clear her father’s name—or drag Joaquin and Luann into a deadly grave.


My Review:
Missing in New Mexico is a Christian romantic suspense. Joaquin was abandoned by his wife, who divorced him and left him and their daughter behind. Luann has wondered for 20 years if her father abandoned her mother and her, stealing diamonds and fleeing the country. The loving father she remembers would have contacted them if he was still alive. Convinced that her father was forced by the true thief to board a small plane that later crashed, she traveled to the crash area to find out the truth. As soon as she started asking questions about the crash, someone started trying to kill her and Sheriff Joaquin became involved.

The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. The suspense came from the attacks on Luann, from car crashes to arson to shooting. Joaquin was attracted by her beauty and determination to find the truth. She appreciated that he was willing to protect her even to the point of potentially dying to save her. They came to care about each other as they spent time investigating what happened to her father. They were both Christians and asked God for guidance and protection. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense novel.

The narrator of the audiobook did a good job, making it easy to follow who was talking and what was going on. She used different voices for the different characters and narrated the story in a way that allowed me to become immersed in the story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Refuge by Carly Hillman

The Refuge
by Carly Hillman

ISBN-13: 9798892426824
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: September 8, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When wildlife ranger Johnny Hayward discovers a terrified young girl hiding in the grasses, he investigates how the girl, Maeve, came to their land. But when the police arrive, she tells them that Johnny is her father. He goes along with the lie.

Decades later, Maeve’s daughter, Ava, grows up believing that same lie. Ava’s love for the Refuge, where she lives in the staff cabins with her mother and is a tour ranger, prevents her from dwelling on the fact that her mother never leaves the grounds—and won’t explain why. But after crushing on a temporary security guard about her age, Ava begins to question her sheltered upbringing. What is her mother so afraid of?

Angry that her mother and Johnny won’t give her answers, Ava turns to the internet to connect with her extended family, accidently revealing their location to a man still hunting for them.


My Review:
The Refuge is general fiction. It's told from five different viewpoints and jumped around in time. It's not really a mystery as Johnny quickly uncovered what probably happened and that's why they allowed Maeve to stay on the wildlife refuge rather than trying to find her parents. But Ava's never told the truth and, at 18 years old, she finally questioned living in such isolation. She started pressing for true answers rather than the obvious lies she'd been told. The wildlife refuge was a nice backdrop for the story, but it's more an explanation of how a person could live in isolation. It's a huge chunk of land and the staff lives on site, so a person doesn't have to leave. It even has security guards to keep out poachers, so it's safe.

While the main characters were well-developed, complex people and I always understood why they acted the way they did, I didn't really enjoy the story. It was like watching a slow train wreck. Maeve's mother, Evelyn, made a series of bad choices, made it free into a good life, but choose to be pulled in again. She paid a high price to get Maeve free from the consequences of her actions, but Maeve also made bad choices and lied to those she loved. She had a one night stand to get pregnant because she wanted a baby. Because Ava didn't know why they didn't have contact with her relatives or why they hid on the refuge, she made a series of bad decisions. With the exception of Maeve's father and Johnny, men are hardly mentioned.

The police seemed remarkably inept in this story. They're told Maeve was a lost child and the other staff knew it, but the police just dropped the case when told it was a misunderstanding. We're never told how the bad guy got away with killing a person. And even if a bear mauled the dead body at the end, I'd think the police would know a gun shot wound when they saw it and not just dismiss the case.

There was one almost-sex scene (not particularly graphic). There was occasional use of bad language. It was a decent story, it just didn't appeal to me, especially as I was expecting an actual mystery genre novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander

Murder on the Sacred River
by Tasha Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781250375018
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: September 22, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1908: Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves, along with an eccentric group of English tourists, are vacationing in India at Ahilya Fort, the old home to the Maharaja’s family, when a man is found shot along the Narmada River. Emily and Colin jump into action, but their suspect list is large, including a wonderful spinster and her not-so-wonderful companion; a local doctor; a widow who lives nearby; an English explorer; and an Englishman who now runs a tea plantation near Darjeeling.

1740: Fifteen-year-old Ahilyabai has been married to the son of Malharrao Holkar, the Lord of the Malwa territory, for seven years. Now the time has finally come to produce an heir. But though Ahilya’s in-laws have shown her nothing but kindness, her notoriously-drunken husband remains a mystery to her, having rarely spoken to Ahilya since their wedding as children. Faced with this tortured and distant man, Ahilya’s sense of loyalty is tested as she attempts to balance fulfilling her duty with forging her own destiny.

Lady Emily’s case takes a dramatic turn when a shocking new person arrives at the fort—and when the killer strikes again shortly afterwards, she and Colin must race to uncover the villain’s identity before it’s too late.


My Review:
Murder on the Sacred River is a mystery set in 1908 in India. There's also a secondary story going on in the 1740's that explained the origin of the treasure legend referenced in the 1908 story. The secondary story could have been completely removed without needing to change anything in the main story, but I did enjoy Ahilya's story nonetheless. This book is the 20th in a series. You can understand this book without reading the previous ones, and this story didn't spoil the mysteries of the previous books.

Historical and setting details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Emily and Colin asked good questions, but due to several people lying or omitting useful information, they had trouble knowing what information really needed to be uncovered. Once they got the initial confusions straightened out, the clues needed to narrow down whodunit came pretty quickly.

There were no sex scenes, though married sex was implied. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fatal Pattern by Kate Angelo

Fatal Patter
by Kate Angelo

ISBN-13: 9780800746643
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: September 15, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A stalker attacks forensic psychologist Dr. Tori Crew at knifepoint, shattering the strong independence she's built since her parents' unsolved murder. Forced into an off-the-books criminal investigation, Tori must push her expertise—and her fiercely guarded heart—to the breaking point as a killer's pattern emerges.

Homicide Detective Blade St. James has been Tori's friend and protector since childhood. Haunted by his own past of parental abandonment, Blade is determined to build a stable life and find the peace that always seems just out of reach. But when Tori's life is threatened, his protective instincts shift into overdrive. As they are plunged deep into a conspiracy with roots in her past, the boundary of their friendship blurs as danger closes in and their hearts reveal a truth they can no longer deny. Can they unmask the sophisticated serial killer before they become the final, fatal piece in the pattern?


My Review:
Fatal Pattern is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the second book in the series. Even though this book had different main characters than the first book, I felt like I was missing a lot of information because I hadn't read it. For example, the main criminal of the first book was killed while in prison. I only knew of one criminal in that case (whom Tori and Blade had just interviewed in prison, the interview cut short due to a lockdown). I assumed he was dead until they went to talk with him again! Also, people and the author kept commenting about how Tori and Blade's shared past gave them a close bond but this past wasn't described until near the end. Anyway, I'd recommend reading these books in order.

While there was suspense from repeated attacks by Tori's stalker, the pacing felt slow. The author included a lot of unnecessary details, like a description of every car Blade drove around. When they interviewed a prisoner who knew about the death's of Tori's parents, he talked about how interested he was in fractals. They dismissed his comments as delay tactics. Then Blade saw a fractal painting during another interview (about a murder), and Tori dismissed it as a distraction. After yet another interview where fractals were mentioned, they finally caught on. Basically, it just seemed like they didn't catch on to significant things very quickly.

The main characters were complex, well-developed, and likable. Tori and Blade worked well together since they'd known each other for many years. It took events and some nudges from friends before they realized that they cared about each other romantically and not just as close friends. They also had to work through their childhood traumas as the current events brought up things that started in their pasts. They worked together to interview people, look at crime scenes, and make profiles to solve the current killings and the cold case of her parents' murders. In the process, they peeled back how deep the corruption in the area had gotten (which is an ongoing part of the series).

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

A Field Guide to Death and Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen

A Field Guide to Death and Deceit
by Michelle L. Cullen

ISBN-13: 9798892426794
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: September 15, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his childhood sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm's owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.

After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried that Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.

To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger in their race to save Willow before anyone else turns up dead.


My Review:
A Field Guide to Death and Deceit was a clue-based mystery, but it quickly shifted from trying to uncover the murderer to trying to con the con group to get enough evidence to stop them. Emma was rather reckless, doing unnecessary, dangerous things to find information or carry the con. Like getting into a car with a man who might be a murderer and was certainly a con artist. Of course, she's grabbed as a hostage at the end and everyone converging for the rescue/getaway revealed whodunit rather than the clues.

The characters were likable. Harry's a good amateur detective because he used his life experience in observing people and discovering what motivated them along with his skill in leading people in casual conversation to provide the information he desired. There were only a few uses of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

K-9 Prime Target by Cindi Myers

K-9 Prime Target
by Cindi Myers
Steve Campbell (Narrator)

ISBN-13: 9781488240256
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Released: Sept. 1, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Videographer Liam Davis is hired to film promotional material for a ski resort with the focus on Olympic medalist Nina Rose. She's currently a ski patroller there, and he once had a brief relationship with her. When she begins receiving threatening notes, Liam is determined to keep her safe since no one else seems to take the threat seriously. Nina is determined to maintain normalcy. Her stalker ruined her life once and she vows to avoid a repeat. Plus, her K-9 Sky is always watchful. But when Nina’s worst nightmare materializes, will her protectors Liam and Sky be enough to keep her alive?


My Review:
K-9 Prime Target is a romantic suspense. Nina survived a serious physical attack by a stalker fan. He was sent to prison, but he's just been released. Now she's receiving notes that sound just like him. Because they don't sound threatening, no one takes her seriously except Liam--who saw the lead up to the past attack--and her fellow ski patrol pals. Liam tried to protect her and backed her up when people didn't take her seriously, but he also suspected that maybe one of her other admirers may be mimicking the stalker.

The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. The suspense came from the escalating threat of the stalker. Liam helped Nina feel safe (at least when he was around) and he helped provide moments of normalcy and pleasure. They had a physical relationship when they last were together and soon resumed that relationship. There was one minimally described sex scene and repeated references to making love after that. There was no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspense.

The narrator of the audiobook did a good job, making it easy to follow who was talking and what was going on. He used different voices for the different characters and narrated the story in a way that allowed me to become immersed in the story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.