Favorite Books: January through June 2025

It wasn’t until I saw Lesa Holstine’s list of her ten favorite reads of the year last weekend, that I remembered I normally pull something together for this. Like Lesa, making my list now is no guarantee of making the final list for the year in December. I am also an over achiever on this so I have twelve reads I really enjoyed for you. They are ranked here in order of appearance from January through June. 

 

The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin takes readers to West Texas and the town of Crescent Bluff. Colly Newland does not want to be back there as the place brings up bad memories. Her late husband, Randy, came from there and his wealthy family controls everything for miles around. While he was physically living with her and their children in Houston, he never escaped the family and their dark secrets. (Rest of my review.)

 

I have long been a fan of author John McMahon’s work. See his three-book series that starts with The Good Detective. So, when Head Cases came up on NetGalley, I quickly put in for it. Even though I had quite a few already assigned to me, Minotaur Books quickly approved my request. Very glad they did that. Especially since the book is so very good. (Rest of my review.)

 

Released by Level Best Books, Early Termination: A Probation Case Files Mystery by Cindy Goyette is the very enjoyable sequel to Obey All Laws. As storylines from that book continue here in this read, I recommend for those new to the series to be sure to read that book first. (Rest of my review.)

 

Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets: A Jesse Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth is a breath of fresh air. This book in the long running Jesse Stone series reads like a Jesse Stone novel. One forgets that this is not done by Robert B. Parker and that is a very good thing. (Rest of my review.)

 

The Queen City Detective Agency: A Novel by Snowden Wright is set in early 1985 in Meridian, Mississippi. Like an onion, this book is complicated with many layers. Racism, classicism, the Dixie Mafia, and more play major roles in this novel. (Rest of my review.)

 

If It Isn’t One Thing… A Posadas County Mystery by Steven F. Havill is the latest read in the excellent and long running series. I have loved this series for decades now and a new read is always big time celebrated in this house. This one is another mighty good book and strongly recommended. (Rest of my review.)

 

The Big Empty: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais is one of those books that slaps you upside your head. A very good read, but it is a tale full of pain, heartbreak, and rage, that changed so many lives then and now. (Rest of my review.)

 

I know more than I ever wanted to know about memory loss and concussions from personal experience. Former hockey player Jimmy Baker finds himself in that situation as Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley begins. He awakens to a pinging noise in his head and the smell of blood. He is on his kitchen floor just before four in the morning, missing a shoe, with torn up knuckles, and a host of other issues. (Rest of my review.)

Following Pesticide and Sons and Brothers, A Fondness for Truth: A Polizei Bern Novel by Kim Hays is the third read in the Linder and Doratelli Mystery series set in Bern, Switzerland. While billed as mysteries, and they are, these are also police procedurals with plenty of family and other off the job elements. They are also very good reads. (Rest of my review.)

 

For Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Sergeant Stilwell, the posting to Catalina Island was supposed to be a punishment for not playing well with others and failing to play politics correctly. After all, sending deputies that annoyed the leadership out to the island has always been the way of handling those who could not be terminated, for whatever reason. While it may have started out as a punishment, these days Stilwell likes being out there a lot. He is charge, isolated from the political garbage on the mainland, likes the folks under his command, and the scenery can’t be beat. (Rest of my Nightshade review.) 

No Lie Lasts Forever: A Thriller by Mark Stevens takes readers to Denver in a complicated tale of mystery, murder, treachery, and a lot more. Reporter Flynn Martin, a television icon, is our heroine. Her dad was a legendary newspaper reporter in Denver and the proverbial apple fell right at the base of that tree. It is supposed to be her day off as the book opens. (Rest of my review.)

 

River of Lies: A Novel by James L'Etoile is the second book in the Detective Emily Hunter Mystery series that began with Face of Greed. Like any good police procedural series does, this read builds on previous events and ongoing issues so I strongly recommend reading that book first before you get to this one. (Rest of my review.)

 

While it has been a rough year so far in terms of my health and financial situation, it has been a good reading year to this point. Hopefully, you can find some reads in my list that will entertain you in a world that seemingly gets increasingly mad each day.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025