Books Read in 2026

At the end of every month, I share my ‘reviews’ of the books I read in 2026 and where I stand for the year relative to the goal of thirty-three I set for the year. Many of you have written that you enjoy and appreciate my ‘book reviews’ (if you can call them that!), but I always struggle with not giving too much away, and am also cognizant that my likes are not everyone else’s.

I am participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge again this year. Last year, I read twenty-five books, though my goal was thirty-three. But, I’ll be doing quite a bit of travel this year, so hopefully I’ll make my goal!

I’ve also become quite an Audible addict enthusiast. In years past, I devoted myself to listening to all of Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Wharton, Turgenev, Nabokov, and many others, determined to be ‘classics.’ With those behind me, I’ve found my newest Audible crush: Joy Ellis and all of her crime novels set on the Fens of England. And luckily for me, she is quite a prolific writer! I will be devastated when I come to the end of her books, which I’m uncomfortably close to now! 😟

Here is my quick and dirty review of the books I read in 2026, with one to five thumbs-up. I recently added an ‘eye-roll’ emoji 🙄 for any book that doesn’t even deserve one thumbs-up!

And, if you are looking for good podcasts to listen to, here are some of my favorite podcasts.

Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from the sale of these products to help defray the costs of operating this site, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.

On to the books!

1. I started the year with Stuart Turton’s The 7½ Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle. ⭐⭐⭐½ Hmmm…I’m not sure what to say about this book. Right off the top of my head, I’d surely give it an A for effort! I’m not opposed to a book that makes me work hard; I think Joyce Carol Oates’ books do that, and I love them. But this one, I can honestly say, I spent half the time not having a clue what was going on, who was speaking, or what they were speaking about. There’s a definite Groundhog Day theme to the book: the main character wakes up in 8 different host bodies over 8 days and has to solve a murder mystery, or else is doomed to keep repeating his Groundhog Day. If you are brave enough to attempt this tome, keep a notepad and pen beside you at all times to keep track of what’s going on.
2. My brain needed a light, sweet dessert after that heavy meal, and this one fit the bill. Listen for the Lie by Amy Tinterra⭐⭐⭐⭐The suspected murderer of her best friend (who has no memory of the time her friend was murdered) and a podcaster team up to find out who actually killed the friend. A rather light-hearted (if a murder mystery can be lighthearted) story with a sassy protagonist.
3. I’m almost finished with Tana French’s Into the Woods, ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ which is the first of her Dublin Murder Squad series. Suffice it to say, I’ll be getting the second book. The story revolves around a murder that happens in the same area where two children went missing years ago and involves one of the current detectives.
4. I followed up on Into the Woods with the next book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, The Likeness. ⭐⭐⭐½. I liked it, but I did struggle with ‘believability’ regarding what we were asked to accept. It was a good story, and being a little less stringent about plausibility was necessary to make it work. But I struggled with that, a wee bit. That said, I really do enjoy her writing style and characters.
5. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi ⭐⭐⭐½. I so wanted to LOVE this book. And I did, at the beginning. But then it really dragged on, and I was ready for it to be over. It was a very nice, feel-good story about a man who arrives in a small town as a stranger and then begins gifitng portraits to residents of the town, and in doing so, learns their history and challenges. IMHO, it could have used a bit of editing to tighten it up.
6. The Yellow House by Martin Gayford. ⭐⭐⭐I chose this book in preparation for our trip to Provence in two weeks. It’s about Van Gogh and Gauguin, who lived and painted together in a small yellow house in Arles, France. I know this may sound picky, but I struggled with the fact that the author regularly cited and included pictures of their paintings in the book, but the images were in black and white. This was especially troubling, as he continually referenced the colors they used, that could not be seen. I don’t know if it was only this copy, but that was a major failing of the book.
7. Faithful Place ⭐⭐⭐½ is the third in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Once again, I really enjoy Tana French’s writing style and story, but I struggled with plausibility. We were asked to believe that folks could remember specific events, which at that time would not have necessarily seemed significant, on a night twenty years ago. Sounds silly, but it made me sad that such a talented writer asked us to believe that.
8. Bruno, Chief of Police ⭐⭐⭐⭐I purchased this book as another to read to in preparation for our trip to Provence. It’s not bad, but not what I am looking for. It’s a very lighthearted police/crime drama set in the fictional town of Saint-Denis, in Dordogne, which isn’t even Provence. I stopped after the first. Not that it was bad, but just not what I was looking for in the setting or the depth.
9. I’m currently reading The Hunter ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Tana French, and my angst about the previously read books was dispelled by this one. Halfway through it, and I’m enjoying every page. It picks up on the character of The Searcher, a retired Chicago police detective who moves to Ireland and finds himself embroiled in the goings-on of the small town he settles in.
10. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle ⭐⭐⭐⭐was a delightful, quick, and easy read about the English author’s first year living in Provence. I enjoyed reading about places we had just visited or were about to visit.
11. The Keeper, ⭐⭐⭐, by Tana French. Ugh, I so want to love these books. I enjoy her writing style and her characters, but I’m just a bit put off by what she asks us to believe. Does anyone else feel the same? I hate to go into detail because my issue is central to the story, but it seems to be a common theme for me and in her books.
12. So, I gave Claude a list of mystery books I like and didn’t like, and he suggested I read The Devotion of Suspect X. ⭐⭐⭐⭐I enjoyed that it was set in Japan, and I liked his writing style. Really, it was a bit like a Japanese Sherlock Holmes mystery, which is great if that’s what you like. Just wasn’t really what I was looking for, but I don’t want to criticize it for that.
13. I’m now reading The Dry, by Jane Harper. It’s set in Australia during a severe drought and centers on the apparent murder/suicide of the main character’s childhood friend, as well as a suspicious death that happened when they were younger. So far, I’m very much enjoying it!

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!