Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s prompt was: Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025 (New-to-you authors you discovered, new genres you learned you like, new bookish resources you found, friends you made, local bookshops you found, a book club you joined, etc.)

1. 2025 was the year my husband I discovered a small bookstore in a tiny village about 30 minutes from where we live, which is sad considering we’d lived here for five years before we found it.

The store features mostly used books, some antique books, and a few new ones.

There are books from all kinds of genres, including a large history section.

The cozy mystery/mystery mass paperback section was the most exciting for me because they sell those for $1.50 each. I picked up some Murder, She Wrote books that I have enjoyed so far. The ones by Donald Bain anyhow. Not so sure about the Jon Land ones. I started one and … well, it was rife with odd writing in only the first few pages.

We haven’t been back since the end of summer but I think another trip there is due soon. I am hoping to explore their shelves for Nancy Drew books which they’ve had a collection of the last couple times we’ve been.

2. 2025 was also the year I discovered Storygraph to track the books I’ve read. I track my books in my reading journal but liked the idea of doing it via an app too. I don’t use Goodreads to track because my mom is connected to my Kindle/Goodreads account and reads a lot more than I do. I can’t find the books I’ve read in the mass amount she’s read so I wanted a place I could track my reads.

Storygraph does that for me. I enjoy logging on as I progress in a book and marking the progress as I go along. It also helps me keep a list of books I want to read.

I’m not as worried about the other stats it provides at the end of the year. I read to have fun and stats aren’t as important to me as they once were.

3. 2025 was when I discovered P.G. Wodehouse.

I have started with the Jeeves series by Wodehouse and have enjoyed the first two books I read. The dry British humor/sarcasm is perfect to me because it fits my sense of humor. That’s probably I’ve often preferred British shows, sitcoms, and books to American ones.

I’m looking forward to reading more of his books this year.

4. I discovered that my new favorite genre is “gentle vintage fiction.”

I would describe this genre as fiction that takes place in a small village or simple location and is written before the 1970s. They are usually books that are almost about nothing in particular. They detail the everyday lives of the main characters and take the reader on a leisurely walk that doesn’t lead to too much stress or sadness.

I would place the Miss Read books by Miss Read and P.G. Wodehouse books in this category.

I have a list of books in this genre that I hope to read this year, including more by both of those authors.

5. Another new author for me in 2025 was Sharon Mondragon.

I read two of her books in 2025 — Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go To Funerals and The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady.

I hope to read the sequel to The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady sometime this year.

6. I discovered Murder, She Wrote books by Donald Bain in 2025.

They are actually not bad. The books give a more detailed look at Jessica’s personal life, with a lot of emphasis on her emotions as she solves the murders, and also on her being a widow. In the first book of the series, Gin and Daggers, she remembers her late husband Frank quite a bit, and it’s bittersweet to see her spending time in London in the same hotel she and Frank once stayed in.

Bain also included a lot of history of wherever Jessica was visiting in his books.

I haven’t read any of the books in the series by other authors but I will be trying a couple of them this year while also reading Bain’s books.

The attribution for the books is actually Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain, but…you know…there is no real Jessica Fletcher so Donald really writes them. Other authors took over later because he passed away. line up. I plan to read more of them for fun in 2026.

8. I rediscovered my love for The Chronicles of Narnia in 2025 and decided to re-read the series, which I had not read in 30 years. I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in 2024, but in 2025 I read The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I will be reading The Silver Chair and The Last Battle this year.

9. In 2025, I discovered more Golden Age Crime Fiction authors such as Dorothy Sayers and Margery Allingham. I read one by Dorothy Sayers and enjoyed it and hope to read more of her and Allingham this year as well as discover other authors in this era/genre.

10. In 2025, I let go of reading what I thought others would want me to read or suggested I read – unless it was a super good suggestion. I just mean that I worried a lot less about reading what was popular or everyone else was reading and just read whatever I wanted to. If it interested me, then I read it, even if I hated it later. I also stepped out of my comfort zone several times to try a book that looked interesting to me but that I wouldn’t have tried in the past. I definitely plan to do more of this in 2026.

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

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Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s prompt is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026. I decided to instead bring that topic down to focus specifically on ten anticipated mysteries and cozy mysteries for the first half of 2026.

I don’t know if they are my most anticipated, but I am looking forward to at least checking them out. I should mention that Cozy Mysteries can be hit or miss for me, which, yes, I find ironic since I write them.

A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander (January 20^th)

Opening a detective agency above her beloved bookstore seems like the perfect business plan—until Annie Murray’s first case involves a suspicious death right on her doorstep.

June Munrow, an elderly resident of Annie’s hometown, Redwood Grove, is convinced that young Kelly Taylor’s recent drowning wasn’t the tragic accident everyone believes it to be. Despite the police ruling, June is determined to prove there’s more to the story and hires the Novel Detectives to uncover the truth.

As Annie delves into Kelly’s life, she discovers a tangled web of secrets involving Kelly’s complicated relationships, a peculiar landlord, and her mysterious roommate. Everyone connected to Kelly seems to be hiding something, and the deeper Annie digs, the more puzzling the case becomes.

With her trademark blend of curiosity and compassion, can Annie piece together the clues and solve her first official case—before she gets into deep water herself?

Death Wasn’t Invited: A June’s Journey Mystery by Carlene O’Connor (March 3, 2026)

Based on the hit mobile game, a cozy murder mystery set in 1920s Paris by a USA Today bestselling author, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Agatha Christie. June’s friend has been brutally murdered and the police have the wrong man, can she solve the case before the killer catches up to her?

Paris, 1922. The marriage between the Auclair and the Picard family is the talk of the town. June can’t wait to attend the engagement party with her friends, Nate and Jack. But Nate has an ulterior motive: he’s there to stop the wedding. Before he can complete his task, he’s stabbed in the chest with Jack’s knife. Jack is arrested, but June knows he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

In this throwback to the classic whodunnits of Agatha Christie, June must find the real killer and clear Jack’s name. As she becomes embroiled deeper and deeper into a corrupt web of Parisian old money, high society and politics, she uncovers deadly secrets. Can June solve the case before the killer strikes again?

A Sip of Suspicion by J. New (January 8)

A summer garden party, a book club full of secrets, and one deadly cup of tea.
Meet Lilly Tweed – former agony aunt, proud purveyor of fine teas, and accidental sleuth.

It’s the height of summer in Plumpton Mallet, and Lilly has been asked to host her very first event: a tea demonstration for the local book club. The guest list sparkles with the town’s elite – a titled aristocrat, a wealthy heiress, and plenty of polite rivalries simmering beneath the surface.

When the heiress is found dead before the evening is out, tension turns to panic. As a prime witness, Lilly is drawn into the investigation and soon discovers that everyone had something to hide. With secrets steeping and motives bubbling over, she must separate truth from gossip before the killer strikes again.

A Sip of Suspicion is the second novel in J. New’s delightful The Tea Leaf Mysteries – perfect for fans of charming British whodunits, red herrings and a perfectly brewed cup of tea.

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts: A Novel (The Marlow Murder Club Book 5) (July 7)

Two dead celebrities. One village full of secrets.

Someone is killing celebrities in Marlow. First, it’s a famous soccer player. Then, a bestselling thriller writer. When two shocking deaths rock their quiet riverside town, Judith, Suzie, and Becks—the unstoppable Marlow Murder Club—must untangle a dangerous web of blackmail and scandal to catch a killer.

But with their trusted police ally DI Malik suddenly suspended, and Judith’s own past threatening to resurface, the women are on their own. Suspects are multiplying like tabloid headlines, secrets are stacking up, and time is running out.

Can the Marlow Murder Club crack the case before the killer strikes again—or will this be the end of their crime-solving adventures?

Booking for Trouble (A Library Lover’s Mystery Book 16) by Jenn McKinley (February 24)

Just off the shores of the coastal Connecticut town of Briar Creek are two small islands, which library director Lindsey Norris visits with her new book-boat, inspired by the bookmobiles she’s seen traveling across the country. Nothing, not even the infamous feud between the families who own the Split Islands, can stop Lindsey from getting books into the hands of readers. But when Lindsey and her boat captain husband, Mike Sullivan, discover a body on the rocky outcropping of one of the islands, Lindsey’s new library venture quickly becomes a murder investigation.

At news of the crime, hostilities between the two families are reignited. Long buried secrets are revealed, tensions spark, and suspects abound. As Lindsey navigates treacherous waters (both literal and metaphorical), she must use her research skills and community ties to solve the murder and bring peace to the islands before her book-boat dreams are sunk.

Conspiracy by Coleen Coble (July 7)

Conspiracy, the third book in USA TODAY bestselling author Colleen Coble’s Sanctuary series (following Ambush and Prowl), delivers exactly what her fans want: the ideal blend of suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat with just the right amount of romance. Perfect for fans of Laura Dave, Allison Brennan, and Lynette Eason.

Fifteen years of secrets. Once chance for justice.

Just as wildlife veterinarian Paradise Alden begins to envision a future with Blake Lawson, the ghosts of her past return with a vengeance. The murder of her parents has shadowed her for fifteen years, but a new threat brings the cold case into the terrifying present. A trained leopard–a chilling embodiment of Paradise’s deepest fears–is now stalking her.

Haunted by resurfacing memories, Paradise, Blake, and her newfound brother, Drew, follow a trail of clues that leads them into a web of dark family secrets. The deeper they dig, the more shocking the connections become, linking their families to a dangerous conspiracy that someone is still willing to kill to protect.

With every step closer to the truth, the killer becomes more desperate. Paradise, Blake, and Drew must race to expose a murderer who has remained hidden for fifteen years, but this time, they are the ones being stalked. If they can’t unmask the killer, the past will destroy both the fragile future Paradise and Blake are trying to build and the family she has finally found with her brother.

A conspiracy of lemurs is a family. But a conspiracy of people can be deadly.

Chilled to the Bone (A Mabel McCoy Mystery Book 3) by Lilian Hart (June 23)

Fifteen years ago, three paintings vanished from Grimm Island’s Historic Society during Hurricane Delilah. The theft was written off as opportunistic looting during the storm’s chaos.

When the Silver Sleuths stumble across one of the missing works hanging in a mainland estate sale, Mabel realizes the heist was far more calculated than anyone suspected. The stolen pieces—a valuable Winslow Homer seascape, a Civil War-era portrait, and a rare botanical illustration—weren’t random targets.

As Mabel digs deeper, she uncovers a network of art dealers, insurance adjusters, and society members who all had reasons to want those specific paintings to disappear. But when the estate sale dealer turns up dead with a paintbrush shoved through his heart, it becomes clear someone will do anything to keep this cold case buried.

The Silver Sleuths think they’re hunting for stolen art. What they don’t realize is that the art thief has been hunting them.

With Bea wielding a magnifying glass like a weapon and Sheriff Dash ready to lock Mabel in protective custody, the race is on to catch a killer who’s turned murder into their own twisted masterpiece. Because on Grimm Island, some secrets are more dangerous than hurricanes—and this one is about to make landfall.

The Lies We Trade by Kristine Delano (January 20)

Meredith Hansel should be having the best week of her life. After establishing herself as a portfolio manager at a prestigious Wall Street firm, she’s in the national spotlight for the innovative funds she created. But as Meredith prepares to celebrate, the plates she’s kept spinning for years begin to crash: Her strained marriage reaches a breaking point. Her conscientious teenage daughter acts out under mysterious pressures. Someone vandalizes her home with disturbing graffiti. And Betsey, her most trusted ally at the financial firm, goes rogue, and Meredith is forced to sign a restraining order against her.

Then her worlds collide when she receives a thumb drive and a cryptic note from Betsey threatening to reveal a secret that could have devastating effects on Meredith’s family . . . unless she can figure out what Betsey wants and deliver it in time.

As Meredith begins to dig into the data, however, she begins to suspect that it’s no coincidence her life is crumbling. That maybe what’s happening to her family is connected to what’s boiling beneath the surface at her investment company. Soon Meredith realizes there’s only one way to avoid taking the fall, and it all hinges on Betsey’s true motives. Was she really threatening Meredith or trying to warn her?

Murder by the Book by MRG Davies (January 23)

When the manager of The Quaint Bookshop is found slumped between the shelves, the four members of the shop’s reading group decide to put into action all the skills they’ve picked up from their favourite fictional detectives.

If anyone knows how to solve a killer of a crime, it’s a team of murder-mystery superfans. The police might be investigating but the reading group are on the case…

My Grandfather, the Master Detective by Masateru Konishi (March 17)

A Japanese The Thursday Murder Club, taking healing fiction for a mystery-filled spin with this Japanese bestseller that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan. Steeped in references to classic crime from Christie to Chesterton to Poe, My Grandfather, the Master Detective plays with the genre, capturing readers’ imagination in this Tokyo-set escapist mystery. Its charming characters and affectionate focus on relationships echo heartwarming Japanese titles such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

So what books are you anticipating in 2026? Let me know in the comments…

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.