Tantalizing Tales — January 2026 — Part Three

Hello, dear readers! This week, we have three books to look forward to and three other books I want to make sure you didn’t miss out on from the Big 25 (that’s 2025 for this of you still not up to date with the lingo.)

Publishing this Tuesday is the latest from Ashley Elston, whose debut adult novel First Lie Wins absolutely blew me away. Her follow-up, Anatomy Of An Alibi promises to be just as twisty, as two women find themselves uneasily sharing one alibi for a homicide.

From the outside, Camille Bayliss would appear to have a picture perfect life. Born into wealth, she’s now married to hotshot lawyer Ben. Camille, however, is convinced that Ben has been hiding secrets from her for years. Trouble is, he also tracks her every move, so she can’t investigate him as closely as she wants to.

Aubrey Price’s life changed forever one terrible night ten years ago. She’s convinced that Ben Bayliss knows things about that night that would help her lay her demons to rest. When she meets Camille, both women realize that they can assist each other in getting exactly what they need from Ben.

For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place, living Camille’s glittering life while Camille spies on her own husband. But when Ben is found dead the next morning, both women will need an airtight alibi to escape going down for his murder. Can they trust each other enough to make it through this ordeal with their freedom?

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From sultry Louisiana we travel to the frigid Arctic Circle for an engrossing Canadian debut. Malcolm Kempt worked as a criminal lawyer in the remote Arctic before beginning to write full time. A Gift Before Dying is his first novel, and is heavily influenced by his own experiences.

After a botched murder investigation, disgraced police inspector Corporal Eldrick Cole is exiled to remote Nunavut, Canada, a vast territory in the Arctic Circle renowned for its rugged landscape of untamed beauty, frigid temperatures and perpetual darkness. Despite the harsh elements, the indomitable spirit of the indigenous Inuit people prevails, giving Cole a lifeline of hope amidst the unraveling of the rest of his life. Separated from his family and awaiting the results of a civil lawsuit that could end his career for good, he finds purpose in protecting the people now under his care.

So he’s devastated when he discovers the corpse of Pitseolala, a sixteen-year-old Inuit girl who had spent countless nights passed out in the detachment cells under his watch. Her battle with addiction dredged up demons he thought he’d long buried. Losing her feels almost like losing his estranged daughter all over again.

Like Cole, Pitseolala’s younger brother Maliktu is another outsider, shunned by his community for his burn-scarred face and schizophrenia. Maliktu is convinced that his older sister was murdered, and soon joins forces with Cole to uncover the truth, no matter the personal cost to either of them.

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Our next selection is from bestselling author Sophie Hannah, who calls her latest book, No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done, her favorite novel yet! This bonkers story-within-a-story tells the tale of the unhinged but lovable Lamberts as they seek to protect one of their own.

When Sally Lambert answers the doorbell one day, she’s not thrilled to find a policeman standing on her doorstep. Worse, he tells her that there’s been “an incident” involving her beloved dog Champ and a little girl. Now Champ is in danger, and she knows it’s entirely the fault of the Gaveys, the family that are her family’s nemesis.

What are the Lamberts to do? The accusation against Champ sets off a nightmare of neighborhood chaos, so Sally and her family decide to make a bold choice and go on the run. Most families wouldn’t uproot themselves and leave everything they know behind in order to protect a dog, but Champ is more than a pet: he’s an innocent member of their family. But what lengths will the human Lamberts go to in order to keep him safe? And how will they reckon with the cost of a human life when one hangs in the balance?

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Now we take a look back at books I wasn’t able to cover in a more timely fashion in 2025, despite very much wanting to! First up is journalist Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro’s debut horror novel Bochica, which has been described as Mexican Gothic meets The Shining.

La Casona del Salto de Tequendama is a real-life hotel perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfalls in Colombia. Located just 40 km outside Bogota, the hotel is said to be haunted. Its history inspired Ms Flórez-Cerchiaro to pen this 1920s-set tale of a young woman coming to terms with the ghosts of her family’s past.

After Antonia’s mother falls to her death in El Salto, Antonia’s grieving father tries to burn La Casona down, with Antonia still inside. Three years later, Antonia is driven by her constant nightmares — and by cryptic entries in her mother’s diary — to return to the mansion she once called home. Now a hotel, the mansion’s malevolent spirit is still as restless as it was before.

But Antonia has bigger issues to tackle, as she seeks to discover whether her mother’s death was self-inflicted… or murder. Her quest for answers will have her unearthing La Casona’s dark past, even as she confronts a legacy that threatens to swallow her whole.

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Our next book was also authored by a journalist. Mark Stevens’ latest thriller No Lie Lasts Forever is a clever twist on the story of the Zodiac Killer, as two unlikely people team up to solve a terrifying series of murders.

When a reporter dies in a shocking yet familiar way, it looks as if the PDQ Killer has returned to Denver to continue his reign of terror. No one is more surprised by this than Harry Kugel, who actually is — or was — the PDQ Killer. He gave up murder fifteen years ago, and isn’t about to let some two-bit copycat ruin his new life by renewing public interest in those old cases. The only way he’ll be able to go back to living quietly, however, is to somehow expose this copycat without also exposing himself in the process.

In order to do this, he has to get the help of Flynn Martin, a disgraced TV journalist who needs a big scoop in order to revive her career. Harry must convince her to follow him into the mindset of a serial killer while also evading both the cops and his rival, even as the temptation to slip back into his murderous ways grows ever stronger.

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Finally, we have a book that is most likely relatable to anyone who’s had to deal with the cesspool that is dating in the 2020s. Olivia Worley’s So Happy Together follows twenty-four year-old Jane, who’s convinced that Colin is her soulmate. But after their sixth date, and after they finally sleep together, Colin ghosts her.

Not to be deterred, Jane decides to try the old jealousy ploy, “accidentally” bumping into him while on the arm of another desirable man. Only problem is, Colin also has someone on his arm. His new girlfriend Zoe is a rising art star: worse, she’s actually kinda nice. Jane is determined to befriend her, if only to prove to Colin that Jane is the one who truly deserves to be with him through thick and thin.

But then Jane sneaks into Colin’s apartment, and makes a discovery that will upend all their lives. How far is Jane really willing to go to get her man back? She can keep a secret and she can tell a lie, but can she draw the line when it comes to murder?

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All these books are either available or available for pre-order now, so let me know if you’re able to get to them before I do, dear readers! I’d love to hear your opinions, and see if that will spur me to push any of them higher up the mountain range that is my To Be Read pile.

And, as always, you can check out the list of my favorite books in my Bookshop storefront linked below!