Favorite Books: January to June 2026

I wasn’t really planning to compile this, but then Lesa Holstine did her list. So, I decided she could not have all the fun and came up with my own list. As I have said more than once, I am a big fan of police procedurals. So, my list heavily features those books and police procedural adjacent ones. We don’t need no stinking romance! My list below begins in January and features eight reads that I very much enjoyed.

 

Inside Man: A Head Cases Novel by John McMahon is the very enjoyable sequel to Head Cases. As always in any good series, it is best to have read the first  book before the sequel. Agent Gardner Camden leads an FBI unit named PAR. The Patterns and Recognition team exists to find peculiarities in cases that have stalled or gone cold. Each member of the team brings a unique set of skills. Their current case is a fraud one out of Florida. You can read the rest of my January review here.

 

It is October as Bitter Fall: A Detective Justice Novel by Bruce Robert Coffin begins. It is just after midnight on a desolate stretch of Maine roadway. For Maine State Police Detectives Brock Justice and Chloe Wright, what was already a long day is about to get way longer. Homicide Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit North out of the Troop E barracks in Bangor are not called out to investigate fatal motor vehicle accidents. They were told to make the ninety-minute drive, one way, not simply because Summer Randall is dead in the road. The drunk driver did not kill her though there is no doubt that the vehicle hit her. The stab wound in her stomach probably did the deed. You can read the rest of my review here.  

 

The third book of the police procedural series that began with The Face of Greed delivers in every possible way for the reader. Illusion of Truth: A Novel begins a few months after River of Lies and starts with a bang. The call out to a local church was a ploy to get police officers to respond. For the several officers that responded to the scene, the place was anything but safe. Within minutes of their arrival, two separate improvised explosive devices are detonated. You can read the rest of my review here.

 

Marybeth Pickett always knew that being the wife of a Wyoming Game Warden meant the worst could happen at any time. She knows from the start of The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel that it has almost happened. At least her husband is still alive, if only by a thread. In one of the most intense books I have read this year, Joe fights for life as his daughters work to figure out who ambushed their dad. You can read the rest of my review here.

 

Death is something the retired DC Metropolitan Police Department Detective is very familiar with, professionally and personally. Graham Sanderson has quit working homicides in Washington, DC, and moved into his dad’s house in upstate New York. He’s there to help his younger brother, Tommy. A widower who misses his wife tremendously, he’s coping, but not well. With no hobbies and the memories of a lifetime of police work, he has far too much time on his hands to think and brood. Soon, he is helping the very small and short-staffed local police department hunt down a killer in From the Dust: A Novel by David Swinson. You can read the rest of my review here.

 

Grief over losing a spouse also is a major part of my next favorite. These days, there are few  books that just grab me and don’t let go. Seldom Seen Road: Burnt River Mysteries by John Degen is one of those books. Mark Roth is living in an isolated cabin on the north shore of Lake Huron. Getting drawn into investigating a murder was never planned. But, it happens. You can read more of my review here.

 

As Ironwood: A Catalina Novel by Michael Connelly begins, it is approximately one year after the events of Nightshade. In the aftermath of a police operation gone horribly wrong, Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Detective Sergeant Stilwell of the Catalina substation, is in a world of trouble. At least he is alive and relatively uninjured. Not that he cares. One of his deputies is dead. Another is very seriously wounded and may not survive the emergency medical helicopter ride to the mainland. Making things worse, if that is possible, is the fact that the suspects got away. The Department will conduct an extensive investigation. Every decision and action by Detective Sergeant Stilwell will be heavily scrutinized and second guessed. You can read the rest of my review here. 

I could have picked several reads of  this series, but I went with this one as it is the most recent release. The Bookseller: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan features a legendary bookstore that has been a fixture in Berkeley Square. The Squires have been involved in the business of rare  books for decades, but world of bookselling has massively changed from when Torquil Squire was a mere lad running books. The staff that runs the place these days is having a hard time working together and there is friction. Did that friction play a role or cause the death of Edward Squire, son of Torquil, or not? A question that DS George Cross and the rest of the team will have to answer in coming days along with a host of other questions. You can read the rest of my review here.

So, there you have it. I easily could have added a dozen more. The goal was to not bury you in books. Though, come to think of it, if the series reads are new to you, and you follow my advice to read the prior ones before you get to these, I probably did bury you in books.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026