Night Shift was Stephen King’s first published collection of short stories. As someone who only relatively recently became a King fan, I was especially curious to explore his short fiction — often cited as where he truly shines. The collection contains twenty stories in total: sixteen previously published in magazines and four original to this volume.
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret feels less like a full third installment in Benjamin Stevenson’s Ernest Cunningham series and more like a holiday special — something Stevenson and Ernest both lean into openly. It’s noticeably shorter than the first two books, and Ernest even frames it as a kind of “Book 2.5.” That framing works surprisingly well, especially since this entry feels more original than Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which leaned a little too hard into Murder on the Orient Express territory for my taste.
John Jackson Miller has done it again. Batman: Revolution drops readers right back into the shadow-soaked, gothic grit of Tim Burton’s Gotham — set between Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) — and immediately feels like home for anyone who loves that era of the Dark Knight. This is a direct continuation of Miller’s earlier tie-in novel, Batman: Resurrection, and once again, he absolutely nails the tone, atmosphere, and character voices of Burton’s world.
As a sequel to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, this book works surprisingly well. Ernest’s narration is exactly what I hoped it would be — witty, self-aware, and just as charmingly meta as before. If anything, Stevenson doubles down on the meta elements this time, making it very clear that Ernest is not just our narrator but actively writing the book we’re reading. I actually enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek commentary about sequels and audience expectations; it’s a clever way of signaling that while this has the same flavor as the first novel, it isn’t trying to duplicate it beat for beat.
After reading The One, I knew I had to dive deeper into John Marr’s dark future — and The Passengers absolutely delivered. Set in the same unsettlingly plausible world as The One, this novel explores the dangers of blind trust in technology, especially as AI and self-driving cars inch closer to everyday reality. The connections between the two books aren’t subtle, but they’re perfectly placed for fans eager to spot them.
After reading The Silent Patient, I was eager to see what else Alex Michaelides had in store. The Maidens offers a good, strong female lead and, true to form, plenty of Greek mythology. In fact, I think this is where it surpasses The Silent Patient: the mythology ties more closely into the story and feels purposeful rather than ornamental.
Verity is one of those books that grabs you immediately and doesn’t let go. I came into it expecting a psychological thriller — and that’s definitely what I got. What I didn’t expect was the heavy romance element, but that ended up playing a much bigger role than I anticipated. In fact, it might have been a good thing I didn’t know Colleen Hoover was primarily a romance author before diving in.
I went into this book expecting a fun whodunit with some fourth-wall breaking gimmicks. What I got was so much more clever, layered, and downright delightful than I anticipated. Benjamin Stevenson has crafted a mystery that’s both hilariously self-aware and masterfully plotted.
I’d heard a lot about this book before picking it up. It’s often billed as horror, and with that cover art and creepy house vibes, I expected to be spooked. But for me, this read far more like a mystery – dark, unsettling, and full of psychological suspense, yes – but not horror. That said, what it is turned out to be far more compelling.
Let me start by saying: if you’re torn between reading and listening to this one, go with the audiobook. I did both, and I’m so glad I did — January LaVoy and Will Damron are fantastic, especially in the podcast segments, which feel like a true-crime show come to life.
