Hitting the bookshelves today from Grand Central Publishing is the thriller You'll Be Sorry, written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner. Fun fact: Gardner kicked off her career in the food service industry, but after singeing her hair a few too many times, she wisely pivoted to writing. Now a self-proclaimed research junkie, she has channeled her fascination with police procedures and the criminal psyche into a string of internationally acclaimed novels that have captivated readers in over 30 countries. Her novel The Neighbor even won the Best Hardcover Novel award from the International Thriller Writers.

You'll Be Sorry is set in the eerie charms of Shereford, New Hampshire, and follows Raquel and Theo Collins. Here we have Raquel, a renowned interior designer, and Theo, a brash financial hotshot, whose romance took a tragic turn. To escape their grief, they retreat to a remote town, hoping for a fresh start among the ghosts of the past.

Their new home? The Dixons’ family lodge, once the crown jewel of the mountains, now a shadow of its former self. Three decades ago, on a fateful August night, the entire Dixon family—two parents and their four kids—vanished, leaving only a trail of bloody footprints and a mystery shrouded in whispers and speculation. As the Collinses settle into their new digs, the long-forgotten echoes of the past resurface, mingling with the new inhabitants of the creaking old lodge.

For Amanda Grady, Shereford’s newly minted police chief and daughter of the officer who helmed the Dixon case, it's a bittersweet experience. Reviving the long-abandoned lodge might signal hope for the town, but not everyone is thrilled about the Collinses moving in. As she grapples with her father’s legacy, it becomes clear that some secrets refuse to stay buried.

The fourth season of Amazon Prime’s Reacher series is just around the corner, and it hit me like a sledgehammer that I still hadn’t read the latest Reacher novel, Exit Strategy. I raced to my TBR pile, blew off the dust like I was unveiling a long-forgotten artifact, and jumped right in. As the 30th installment in the Reacher saga, this book marks the second solo venture by Andrew Child, Lee Child's younger sibling. They still print Lee’s name in bigger letters on the cover, which almost feels like sibling rivalry in print form. I should confess I had tried to read this book more times than I’d care to admit since getting my review copy from the publisher last year. But something about those initial pages kept throwing me off. Maybe it was the unmistakable feeling that Lee Child's hand wasn’t guiding this ship, a detail you can’t quite articulate but feel deeply, like an itch in your brain that you can’t scratch.

The plot kicks off in classic Reacher style: he finds himself in a random coffee shop in Baltimore, sipping black coffee like the lone wolf he is, with two refills because why not? Just as he’s about to glide out into the world, a young guy brushes past him in the doorway. In Reacher’s world, that means a quick mental check: cash, passport, all accounted for. No drama there. Next stop? A store to grab a coat because he never carries a suitcase. Just something hefty enough to fit a man built like a bank vault but simple enough to toss aside when he chases the sun. But then, as he pulls out his cash, he discovers an unexpected addition in his pocket: a handwritten note pleading for help. Intrigued, he sets off on a new mission.

Finally catching up on some winter reading during the summer. Yep, that’s me, the procrastination king. While the world basked in sunshine, enjoying picnics and fireworks, I dove into Cold Zero, a military thriller by Brad Thor and Ward Larsen, published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books back in February. It had been languishing in a pile of ARCs, gathering dust, until I decided to blow off the grime, sit down, and read the damn thing.

So, what’s it all about? It unfolds like a MacGuffin story, starting with the audacious disappearance of Hemisphere Airlines Flight 777, the most advanced jetliner ever built. The aircraft vanishes without a trace over the North Pole, succumbing to sabotage and crash-landing on the icy wasteland. The surviving passengers find themselves in a chaotic, frigid landscape, but the real tempest is yet to come. Hidden in the wreckage is the prototype of a groundbreaking technology capable of tipping the scales of global power. Now, Washington, Moscow, and Beijing are racing against one another to seize it—whatever the cost. Caught in the eye of this storm are CIA operative Kasey Sheridan and Brett Sharpe, a former fighter pilot turned first officer. With enemy forces closing in, they must navigate the perilous Arctic terrain, escorting both the device and its creator to safety before rival superpowers turn the frozen expanse into a war zone. As the clock ticks and temperatures plunge, the fate of the free world hangs in the balance at the top of the globe.

Every reader has their guilty pleasures—authors they turn to for a quick escape, even if they know the stories may not be literary masterpieces. For me, that author is Freida McFadden, the pen name of Sara Cohen. I've read four of her books so far, and without fail, I snatch up every new release, promising myself that I'll read them all eventually. This brings us to her latest thriller, The Divorce ^[*], published by Poisoned Pen Press. I picked it up on release day, not intending to read it right away; it was destined for my Freida McFadden shelf, collecting dust for the foreseeable future. However, boredom struck the following night, and I found myself opening the book. Three-quarters in, and I was hooked, finishing it off the next day. Was it a page-turner? Well, that depends on your definition. I was never bored.

The protagonist, Naomi, wasn’t relatable, but her story was undeniably intriguing. I found myself eager to uncover what would happen next. And true to McFadden’s style, the characters rarely are who they seem. The twists and turns, designed to shock the reader, are part of the ride, but I anticipated one of them. Predictable? Absolutely. Yet, that didn’t ruin the fun; the unraveling mystery was a thrill in itself.

Here’s a mystery to unravel: although I have a profound aversion to medical dramas across all forms of media, be it films, television, streaming, or books, I've harbored a surprising affection for Robin Cook's fictitious medical thrillers since childhood. It’s curious, isn’t it? Perhaps the haunting covers from the '80s and '90s, which were a staple of my formative years, drew me into his world. Or maybe it's simply Cook's talent as a writer that keeps me coming back for more. As I prepared to pen this review, I discovered he's turning eighty-five this year, a fact that astonished me. Many literary giants, such as Stephen King, R.L. Stine, and Dean Koontz, are gracefully aging, and with each read, I find myself appreciating their works even more deeply.

Now, on to the main event—my review of Robin Cook's latest thriller, Spasm ^[*], which hit the shelves courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons in December 2025. This thrilling tale marks the fifteenth installment in the Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery series, which began its intriguing journey with Blindsight ^[*] in 1992.

The narrative of Spasm ^[*] unfolds with as Laurie Montgomery stepping steps back from her role as Chief Medical Examiner, leading allowing her and Jack to enjoy a rare moment of freedom for a couple of weeks. They receive a distressing call from Jack's old medical school pal, Robert Neilson, the lone family physician in Essex Falls, a picturesque town nestled in New York State’s serene Adirondack Mountains. While also serving as the coroner for Hamilton County, Dr. Neilson finds himself in the deep end, grappling with the inexplicable death of a young, vibrant pest control worker and an alarming surge of Alzheimer's-like cases. He reaches out, pleading for Jack and Laurie’s expertise, and unable to resist both a tantalizing mystery and a much-needed getaway, they agree to help and head upstate.