Review - The Final Problem

 

The Final Problem

by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

PublisherLittle, Brown and Company

GenreHistorical Fiction

FormatKindle ARC

Pages320

Pub. DateFebruary 10, 2026

Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️

DESCRIPTION

For fans of White Lotus, Benjamin Stevenson, and Anthony Horowitz, a locked-room mystery set in 1960 at an isolated Greek island resort following a group of strangers, a suspicious death, and a washed-up actor ready to put his on-camera detective skills to the test.

June, 1960. Rough weather at sea leaves a group of strangers stranded on the idyllic Greek island of Utakos, all guests of the only local hotel. Nothing could prepare them for what happens Edith Mander, a quiet British tourist, is found dead inside the beach cabana. What appears at first glance to be a clear suicide reveals possible signs of foul play to Ormond Basil, an out-of-work but still well-known actor who in his glory days portrayed the most celebrated detective of all times. Accustomed to seeing him display Sherlock Holmes’ amazing powers of deduction on the big screen, the other guests believe that the actor is the best equipped to uncover the truth behind this classic closed-room mystery.

This clever, whip-smart, locked-room mystery from internationally bestselling author Arturo Pérez-Reverte is a love letter to golden-age detective novels. The Final Problem delights in exploring the tension between an investigator and his suspects, as well as a writer and his reader. The final reveal will surprise even the sharpest mystery lover in a truly satisfying conclusion. 

MY THOUGHTS

Is playing a detective in more than a dozen movies - and playing the infamous Sherlock Holmes - enough to qualify Ormond Basil as just the person to solve a murder? Well, Ormond is about to get that chance.

It is 1960, and Ormond is traveling in the Mediterranean when he finds himself stranded on a Greek island. This locked-room-type mystery takes off when one of the guests, Edith Mander, is found dead. Was it suicide, as originally assumed, or did one of the other guests have a hand in her death? Ormond quickly finds the other guests looking to him as the man with all the answers - and all the questions. After all, who better to figure out what actually happened to Edith?

With a mystery writer among the guests making the perfect “Watson,” Ormond gets to work. However, he soon learns that the killer is intelligent, has a few games in mind, and is nowhere near finished. Ormond can’t help but wonder if all of this is a game he has been lured into - a game with deadly consequences.

Ormond may have spent years playing Sherlock Holmes, but this time, the murder is real - and the killer may be one step ahead of him.

Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Robin Loves Reading

Review - The Wife’s Irish Secret

The Wife’s Irish Secret

by Susanne O’Leary

SeriesMagnolia Manor #6

PublisherBookouture

GenreWomen’s Fiction; Romance

FormatKindle ARC

Pages252

Pub. DateDecember 18, 2025

Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DESCRIPTION

‘I’ve never felt so at home in all my life. Ireland isn’t just in my blood; it’s in my heart. But I was mistaken if I thought this safe haven could erase my past…’

When Marian Fleury finds a love letter hidden in her husband Theo’s belongings, her heartbreak puts her on the first plane to Ireland. With her sister Claire’s wedding only a week away, she has the perfect excuse to escape to the Irish coast and decide where her future truly lies…

Marian is shocked by how quickly she adjusts to the beautiful sandy shores, shopping for dresses and collecting roses for the perfect wedding bouquet. As the ocean sparkles before her, the wind soft against her face, she manages to keep the pain Theo has caused her a secret and remembers that as a little girl she always wanted Ireland to be her home.

Yet just as Marian thinks her past is behind her, Theo arrives in town. He begs for her forgiveness, his handsome face and olive skin making her heart race like always, and suddenly she wonders if he might start afresh in the village with her.

But when she stumbles upon the woman her husband was sending letters to, in a beautiful cottage among the wildflowers, Marian learns that Theo has an even bigger secret. Can Marian find the strength to take the next steps in her own life, or is she about to lose everything?

Fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Sheila O’Flanagan and Debbie Macomber will be utterly entranced by this unputdownable second chance romance.

MY THOUGHTS

Marian Fleury’s marriage to Theo wasn’t very happy the past few years. The couple had lived in Australia, but it was never a place Marian quite called home. Spurred on by finding a love letter when going through her husband’s things - and her sister’s upcoming wedding in Ireland -  Marian packs her bags. She already feels a weight beginning to be lifted off of her.

Just as she had begun to suspect, being in Ireland gave her a feeling of home. It is familiar, beautiful, and offers Marian a hope for a new life. Just as she is starting to feel everything familiar - Theo shows up - and he wants her back! Meanwhile, Marian apparently has found the woman that Theo was writing to. Her peace continues to be disturbed, even as she has so many possibilities that could be hers. 

Romance. Could Marian have found it with a fellow passenger while on route to Ireland? With Theo suddenly showing up, even more secrets being revealed, and her very future to be considered, Marian finds that she has more than one decision to make. This lovely story is the sixth book in the Magnolia Manor series and was just as delightful as all of the previous installments were. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susanne O’Leary is the bestselling author of more than 30 novels, mainly romantic fiction set in Ireland. Her many books set in County Kerry have been hugely popular with readers all over the world. She shares her time between Dublin and Kerry, where she and her husband have a little cottage near the beach. The wild, beautiful landscape, the small villages and the friendly people of that county have inspired her to write her feel-good stories. She's been inspired to write about people of all ages and walks of life, with lots of romance, and more than a dash of humour.

When she is not writing or reading by the fire, Susanne loves heading for the great outdoors, walking on the beaches or scaling the green hills of her favourite county. 

Visit Susanne at her website, http://www.susanne-oleary.co.uk 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoroleary

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanne.olearyauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/susl

Robin Loves Reading

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW - Paper Cut

  

Paper Cut

by Rachel Taff

PublisherWilliam Morrow

GenreMystery & Thrillers

FormatKindle ARC and Audio ALC

NarratorHelen Laser

Length9 hrs 28 mins

Pages304

Pub. DateJanuary 27, 2026

Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️

DESCRIPTION

A compelling suspense debut about a woman infamous for escaping a cult as a teenager, whose future is threatened when dangerous secrets come back to haunt her—perfect for fans of Jessica Knoll and The Girls.

Lucy Golden is a true-crime icon, infamous for the murder she committed while escaping a California cult twenty years ago. But as everyone in Los Angeles knows, fame is fleeting, and Lucy and her story are always just one news cycle away from obscurity. Not to mention, she’s fending off a stalker and moderating an icy feud between her acclaimed photographer mother and her scandalous rock star sister. Worst of all, online trolls are asking increasingly threatening questions about the legendary crime. Questions that could tear her life apart.

So when a hotshot documentarian makes her case the subject of his next film, Lucy sees a chance to silence any doubters once and for all. But as filming begins, she must return to the California desert and come face-to-face with a cast of players from her torrid history. Of course, the past is never what it seems, and long-buried secrets soon collide with present-day threats. Can Lucy stop her doubters from digging up the truth before it’s too late? And how far will she go to protect the story she’s been telling—and selling—all along?

Told in a narrative split between the present day and Lucy’s hit memoir about her fated summer in the cult, Paper Cut combines psychological suspense with coming-of-age Californian cult noir and a sharp examination of the true-crime phenomenon. As incisive as it is propulsive, this mesmerizing debut will keep readers hooked until the last page.

MY THOUGHTS

Lucy Golden once became famous for surviving a California cult when she was a teenager. Two decades later, she has somehow managed to stay in the spotlight, although that spotlight has begun to fade over the years. Now, her version of what happened all those years ago is being called into question, and suddenly Lucy finds herself in a position where she has to prove that her account is the truth.

Lucy’s life is in the limelight for other reasons, too. For one thing, she is being stalked. She also has tumultuous relationships with both her mother and her sister, who have achieved fame through their own careers. Knowing she can’t depend on either of them to clear up the events of the past, Lucy decides to return to where it all started - the California desert.

She is now filming a documentary while also working on her memoir. Lucy hopes that one—or perhaps both—will clear up any doubts about her story and help keep her relevant. But Lucy soon finds herself facing danger, and maybe the past should have stayed in the past.

Many thanks to William Morrow and to NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Robin Loves Reading

Review - Saving Noah

Saving Noah

by Lucinda Berry

PublisherPoisoned Pen Press

GenreWomen’s Fiction

FormatKindle ARC

Pages272

Pub. DateSeptember 8, 2026

Rating🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

DESCRIPTION

A mother's love is supposed to be unconditional.

But what if it shouldn't be?

Noah is the boy everyone admires—an honor student, a champion swimmer, a hometown success story. Until he confesses to sexually abusing young girls during swim practice. In a single moment, his future evaporates, and his family shoulders the fallout.

After eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center, Noah returns home. But the town recoils, and his father refuses to let him back into their family's life. Noah's mom, Adrianne, is forced into an impossible role: the mother of a child no one believes deserves saving.

Loving Noah means losing everything else—her marriage, her community, and her certainty about right and wrong. As devastating truths emerge, Adrianne must confront the darkest question of all: when does standing by your child become a betrayal of everyone around you?

Brutally honest and deeply unsettling, Saving Noah explores one of society's last untouchable taboos and the terrifying gray area between compassion and accountability. This gripping, emotional novel by bestselling author Lucinda Berry refuses easy answers and will keep readers up late at night questioning beliefs they once thought were true.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS

Lucinda Berry is a new author to me, and her book, Saving Noah, had a profound emotional impact on me. This domestic thriller delves into the complexities of family dynamics and raises deeply uncomfortable questions that will resonate with many parents.

Noah is seventeen years old and has confessed something horrifying: he molested two young girls during swim practice. Noah is an expert swimmer, and teaching young swimmers seemed like the perfect job for him. His actions lead to him being sent to a juvenile rehabilitation facility, where the staff are confident that their treatment program will prevent their young clients from repeating their offenses. Noah’s mother, Adrienne, believes in Noah - and in the facility’s ability - to help her damaged son somehow become “better.”

The thing about Adrienne is that she simply cannot believe her brilliant, loving son could do something like this. Noah will be in the facility for eighteen months, and Adrienne plans to work alongside him every single day. When he is discharged, she desperately looks for some semblance of “normal” in Noah -  even at the cost of her marriage and the time and attention she gives to her young daughter.

This was not a book I could read in one sitting. I had to take breaks. I had to step away and hold back my emotions. As a mother - and as a grandmother - it was impossible not to imagine what I would do if this were someone in my own family.

A mother’s job is to love unconditionally. But does that ever change when the unspeakable happens with your child? Does acceptance equal forgiveness?

These are clearly the questions that plague Adrienne, and they will undoubtedly plague the reader as well. How should Noah be handled? Is rehabilitation possible? What happens when the consequences of his actions affect the entire family?

And perhaps the most difficult question of all: Can two things be true at the same time? Can a young man be kind, intelligent, and well-liked - and still have committed something monstrous? Can he be both a child and someone capable of causing unimaginable harm?

Saving Noah is an incredibly difficult book to read, but it is also one that makes you think long after you turn the final page. And just when you think you have a handle on the story, Lucinda Berry throws in a hard twist that changes the way you look at everything that came before. I won’t say more because discovering it for yourself is part of the experience. This is a thought-provoking, emotionally charged story that will stay with me for a long time.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She’s written multiple bestsellers reaching millions of readers worldwide. Some of her bestselling works include The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, When She Returned, The Best of Friends, and Keep Your Friends Close. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into several languages.

If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.

Robin Loves Reading

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW - Hunting an Arsonist

 

Hunting an Arsonist

by Jessica R. Patch

SeriesColorado K—9 Unit, #6

PublisherHarlequin Audio

GenreInspirational Romantic Suspense

FormatALC

NarratorLisa Larson

Length7 hrs 10 mins

Pages367

Pub. DateAugust 25, 2026

Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

DESCRIPTION

A K-9 team in the crosshairs—

and in pursuit of the truth.

Forensic mechanic Helena Rutherford is investigating a serial arsonist targeting young women when her own house is set ablaze, trapping her inside. Officer Trevor Slate and his K-9 partner, Lark, arrive just in time to save her from the flames. But the discovery of her missing best friend’s bones among the ashes upends everything, drawing them into a puzzling cold case. With a dangerous killer on their tail, Helena and Trevor must unravel the mysteries of both cases…before she becomes the next victim.

Link to shop this series

MY THOUGHTS

Trevor Slate is an arson investigator who is ironically terrified of fire - talk about a contradiction! Thankfully, he has a loyal K-9 partner, Lark, by his side. The two are instrumental in saving forensic mechanic Helena Rutherford’s life when her home goes up in flames. But the fire investigation takes a chilling turn when human remains are discovered and later identified as Helena’s best friend, Alicia, who has been missing for years.

Was Helena the target when that fire was set? It certainly appears so, prompting her to seek refuge at Trevor’s home. At the same time, the cold-case investigation into Alicia’s disappearance gains new attention. While all of this is happening, Trevor is doing his best to track down a serial arsonist - especially before another fire takes place.

All the while, a bond is developing between Trevor and Helena. They have a lot to deal with. Helena is worried about her safety, who was responsible for Alicia’s death, and what else might be waiting around the corner. Trevor is deeply committed to his job, but he also has plenty of personal concerns, particularly when it comes to his mother.

I love how Hunting an Arsonist ties into the Colorado K-9 Unit series. This sixth book also continues the investigation involving an illegal baby-smuggling ring. There is definitely a lot packed into this story, and as an audiobook, its fast pace made it impossible to set aside. I am very much looking forward to continuing this series.

Many thanks to Harlequin Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Publishers Weekly Bestselling author Jessica R. Patch is known for her dry wit and signature twists. When she's not hunched over her laptop, you can find her cozy on the couch in her mid-south home reading books by her favorite authors, watching movies with her family, and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she'll probably never cook. Sign up for her newsletter "Patched In" at www.jessicarpatch.com. 

Connect with the Author 

Website: https://jessicarpatch.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicarpatch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessicarpatch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicarpatch/

Robin Loves Reading

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW - Guarding Colton’s Witness

Guarding Colton’s Witness

by Sandra Owens 

SeriesThe Colton’s of North Dakota

PublisherHarlequin Audio

GenreRomantic Suspense

FormatALC

NarratorChloe Ryan

Length7 hrs 26 mins

Pages265

Pub. DateAugust 25, 2026

Rating[★★★★☆]

DESCRIPTION

A boy’s life is in danger…

And they must unite to protect him.

A past tragedy taught social worker Matti Colton to maintain a professional distance with the kids she rescues. But when six-year-old Sam is shot after his parents’ disappearance, Dr. Ryan Palmer enters her life…and forces her to start questioning her strict boundaries. Together they give the traumatized boy a sense of security. When it becomes evident the child is being stalked by killers, the two team up to guard him from danger. And the wall Matti’s built around her heart begins to crumble. Now they’ll do whatever it takes to protect Sam…and each other.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS

Dr. Ryan Palmer is on call when six-year-old Sam is rushed into the emergency department after being shot. Ryan immediately feels a connection to the little boy and becomes protective of him. At first, though, he wonders if the woman who brought Sam in, Matti Colton, is somehow responsible for his injuries.

Matti quickly explains that she is a social worker who was with Sam when he was shot. Someone opened fire at the police station, and Sam was caught in the middle of it. While Matti is determined to protect Sam at all costs, she is also guarding her own heart - and for very good reason.

As it turns out, the danger doesn’t end with Sam’s arrival at the hospital. Someone is willing to go to any extreme to hurt this sweet little boy again. Matti and Ryan share a powerful determination to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Any time there is a child in a story, especially an innocent and vulnerable child, the story really grabs me. This book has a heartbreaking beginning, but it also starts with plenty of tension - and that tension never lets up. Sandra Owens does a wonderful job building an unbreakable bond between Matti, Ryan, and Sam while keeping the suspense moving.

I listened to this one as an audiobook, and the tension was palpable. I especially enjoyed watching Ryan and Matti come together as they fought to keep Sam safe. A touching romantic suspense with a little boy who absolutely steals the show!

Many thanks to Harlequin Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An award winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity, but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She’s jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed thrilling stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing. 

Sandra is a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. CRAZY FOR HER is the first book in her bestselling series about the men of K2 Special Services. Book two, SOMEONE LIKE HER, is available now, and book three, FALLING FOR HER, is due out this fall. In addition to contemporary romances, Sandra writes Regency romances.

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Robin Loves Reading