Fall Reads

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I love reading in the fall, especially if I can go outside on a day that isn’t humid! What books are you reading, looking forward to reading, or just finishing up?

Edith/Maddie: My TBR stack is rich in great offerings, and I still have two books I haven’t yet picked up from the bookstore!

Sarah Stewart Taylor’s new STOLEN CHILD. Joanna Schaffhausen’s latest, DEAD AND GONE. Joyce Woollcott’s second DS Ryan MacBride mystery, BLOOD RELATIONS. And a Susan Elia MacNeal Maggie Hope mystery from 2019 that I picked up at Bouchercon. Gah. Note to self: Must. Read. More.

Barb: I have been tearing through Mick Herron’s Slough House books. These came highly recommended by Sherry Harris. I had seen the first two seasons of the TV show, Slow Horses, and loved it, but hadn’t read the books. Then my husband, Bill, started reading them and I jumped on the bandwagon. I’m on six now. There are eight plus a collection of novellas, which I intend to read. For readers, these books are tremendous entertainment. For writers, they are a master class in showing and not telling. And in juggling a dozen point-of-view characters, yet always advancing the story and still getting us to care about the characters, despite our limited time with each.

Jessie: I’ve just finished up Vaseem Khan’s The Lost Man of Bombay. I just love being able to time travel to India not long after the independence. And joy of joys, I am now delighting in Homecoming by Kate Morton. As for non-fiction, I am savoring The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman during my morning reading.

Sherry: Barb, I’m so glad you are enjoying the Slough House books! Last week I read the eighth one, Bad Actors. We must discuss once you’ve finish it! And I just finished Desert Star by Michael Connelly. I’m looking forward to reading Down to the Wire a romantic suspense by Patricia Sargeant.

Liz: I’m just finishing a book I found through a book club I joined on a whim – The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. It’s pretty incredible and nothing I ever would have picked up on my own. One of the POVs is a fig tree, which I love! I’m about to dig into The Last Devil to Die, the latest Thursday Murder Club book. Can’t wait!

Readers: Is there a book you are excited to read this fall? Writers do you have a book coming out?

Published by Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the author of the Agatha Award nominated Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Mystery series.

28 Thoughts

  1. Well, my first short story that I collaborated with Kristopher Zgorski, in the HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN anthology, coming out October 16th.

    A few of the books that are coming out in the fall, I was lucky to read ARCs of (Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day, Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa, Cheap Trills by Wendall Thomas, Fall by Tracy Clark, Syrup to No Good by Catherine Bruns, Under the Cocoon Moon by Kathleen Bailey, Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes, The Great Gimmelmans by Lee Matthew Golberg, Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin,

    Books I’m looking forward to read: Veronica Ruiz Breaks The Bank by Elle Cosimano, The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen, Lights Out by Elise Hart Kipness, Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle, Hop Scot by Catriona McPherson, and Keep Your Family Close by Annette Dashofy.

    2. Congratulations on your short story! What a great list and you added (as always) to my TBR pile. I just downloaded The Spy Coast too. I love spy books.

    3. Thanks for the shout-out, Dru Ann! Congrats again on your publication with Kris. I’m looking forward to reading it. As for me, I’m working my way through Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild Series with sights set on her new release, Lost Hours, coming out in December.

  3. BARB: I listened to all 8 Slough House books after watching Slow Horses Season 1. Gerard Doyle is a master narrator. And season 3 of Slow Horses is coming in December, yay!

    I have several similar titles to Dru: ARCs of Cheap Trills by Wendall Thomas, Fall by Tracy Clark, Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes, Hop Scot by Catriona McPherson, and Keep Your Family Close by Annette Dashofy.

    But I also got these ARCS in my queue: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano, Deep Fried Death by MADDIE DAY, A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian, Spoon to be Dead by Dana Mentink, Hanging the Devil by Tim Maleeny, Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott, Face of Greed by James L’Etoile and Odyssey’s End by Matt Coyle.

    3. That is so interesting. I would think the narrator would have to be very talented to juggle all the POV characters and not lose the listener.

  4. Coincidental timing as this question was asked just yesterday on JRW. Since nothing has changed since then, I’ll copy and paste my answer:

    What am I reading? Gawd, what am I not reading.

    Well I recently finished ONLY THE DEAD by Jack Carr and CODE RED by Kyle Mills. I haven’t written my Goodreads reviews of those yet but that’s on the horizon soon hopefully.

    I’m currently working on James R. Benn’s THE DEVOURING. Because my library is closed for the month of October for repairs, I took out the next five books in his Billy Boyle series in the likely futile dream that I’ll have time to finish them all before the library reopens.

    I say likely futile because I’ve got a lot of other stuff that I HAVE to get read in time for certain things.

    I’ve got advance copies of the Maddie Day books MURDER UNCORKED, the anthology CHRISTMAS MITTENS MURDER and DEEP FRIED DEATH. It would be nice to get them read before the Maddie Day event at the Falmouth Library on October 14th. I also have to re-read MURDER ON CAPE COD for my mystery book club because Maddie (or Edith as we all know her :D) is coming in person to our November meeting.

    But before that, I’m also reading THE COLD DISH by Craig Johnson for the book club’s October meeting where we’ll be joined by the author via Zoom!

    Of course, I’m also working on A CHRISTMAS PERIL by J.A. Hennrikus…who will be coming to the book club in December!

    And then I have to the advance copy of LOST HOURS by Paige Shelton that I got in the mail to review for Mystery Scene. There’s a couple other ARCs I’m hoping will come in soon for other reviews.

    There’s also READ TO DEATH AT THE LAKESIDE LIBRARY by Holly Danvers and REDEMPTION by Deborah J. Ledford on the schedule as well.

    Plus all the other massive quantities of books I have that I want to read.

    1. JAY: I will repeat myself (from yesterday’s JRW post) but WOW!! to the Craig Johnson Zoom book club. Also enjoy Julie’s visit in December. I am looking forward to reading REDEMPTION, too. And once I read DEEP FRIED DEATH, I am caught up with all of Maddie/Edith’s new books.

    3. That’s amazing that JRW asked the question yesterday! There are coincidences even if they are frowned on in fiction! The Cold Dish has a scene so beautifully written that I’ve never forgotten it. I started my husband on Craig’s series recently. And what a great list of books! Thank heavens for cut and paste!

  5. My Amazon Kindle bookshelf is full plus I have a hardcover copy of Tides of Fire by James Rollins that I recently purchased.

  6. Can’t wait for the opportunity to read CHRISTMAS MITTENS MURDER and DEEP FRIED DEATH (can you tell I love Edith’s books), INTO THE FIRE and CHRISTMAS IN THE CROSSHAIRS and SHADOWS AT DUSK are the ones that readily come to mind. If I’d check my TBR list, there are a LOT more on there. So many books, so little time. 🙂
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  7. I’m currently reading JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON by Gillian McMasters.

    The sixth in my Laurel Highlands Mysteries series, THICKER THAN WATER, released in mid-September.

  8. I’m finally at a point where my Kindle backlog is in the manageable phase so I’m looking forward to Craig Johnson’s latest and devouring the second and third books in the Thursday Murder Club series.

    My book, DEATH DIVE released in late September. It’s the third of the Hayden Kent series.

  9. My October is booked with new releases. (This is me, pun always intended.) I started out with Liz’s NINE LIVES AND ALIBIS. Then it was on to Jenn McKinlay’s SUGAR PLUM POISONED. A couple more Christmas releases this month, A NUTCRACKERS NIGHTMARE by Christina Romeril and the novella MISTLETOE AND MURDER by Connie Berry.

    I’ve got a couple of new releases in series that have been silent since 2019 as well, BRUSH UP ON MURDER by Sybil Johnson and HUNTERS OF THE DEAD by Steve Hockensmith.

    Also on my agenda for the month are MURDER BY THE SEASHORE by Samantha Yew, A PARFAIT CRIME by Maya Corrigan, BARBEQUE CAN BE DEADLY by Ryan Rivers, and CHEAP THRILLS by Wendall Thomas.

    Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be over here reading.

  10. I injured my knee and I’m a little bit happy about it. Gives me the much needed catch up reading time! aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
    I’m currently reading Reasonable Adults by Robin Lefler, then :
    Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day
    Being Henry by Henry Winkler
    Silver Lady by Mary Jo Putney
    See You Next Fall by Annabelle McCormack

  11. I loved reading Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott. I am also enjoy reading Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

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