Max Bowman is exactly the kind of washed-up ex-CIA operative you want on your team—if by “want” you mean “someone who has no idea what he’s doing but will stumble through it anyway with a whiskey in hand.” Years after being unceremoniously dumped by the Agency, Max has settled into a comfortable life of low expectations: Jack Daniels for breakfast, a creatively-foul-mouthed singer girlfriend for entertainment, and a future that exists solely in the rearview mirror. Then his old boss shows up with a job tracking down the truth about a war hero supposedly killed in Afghanistan—because some people think this dead man isn’t actually dead. 💥Max treats the whole thing as easy money and a complete waste of time. That is, until a house explodes. Suddenly he’s got a guy who looks suspiciously like a 1960s TV Western hero putting a target on his forehead, and a secret paramilitary outfit in Montana that’s very interested in ending his assignment in the most permanent way possible. What started as a simple paycheck has become a survival mission where Max’s particular skill set—mostly “making it up as he goes”—is being tested in ways the CIA never prepared him for. 🔫

Joel Canfield delivers a sardonic spin on the traditional thriller, creating an anti-hero who’s more likely to trip over a clue than deduce it but somehow keeps landing on his feet. Max Bowman isn’t Jason Bourne—he’s the guy Bourne would avoid at parties. But his combination of cynical self-awareness, reluctant competence, and sheer dumb luck makes him perfect for the kind of conspiracy that involves exploding houses, shadowy organizations, and people who should be dead but aren’t. The humor comes from watching someone who’s clearly out of his depth refuse to admit it. 🎯

What makes this a must-read: It’s the beginning of Max Bowman’s “hilarious and harrowing misadventures,” proving that you don’t need to be competent to be compelling—you just need to be entertaining while everything falls apart around you. Canfield has created a thriller series that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still delivers genuine suspense, action, and enough plot twists to keep Max (and readers) thoroughly confused. For fans of humorous thrillers with sharp dialogue and protagonists who succeed despite themselves, this is pure gold. 🥃

The only thing harder than solving a murder is giving birth—preferably not at the same time. Kate Connolly is nine months pregnant, ready to pop, and about to discover that motherhood is the perfect training for detective work: both require functioning on zero sleep, dealing with people who won’t cooperate, and somehow staying calm when everything is a complete disaster. When a body is dredged from San Francisco Bay, Kate fears it might be her long-lost brother-in-law, and when a private investigator starts sniffing around, she decides to launch her own investigation. Because what else are you going to do when you’re enormously pregnant? 👶Kate’s to-do list is admirably focused: Find Killer. Figure out hideous breast pump. Avoid cranky cop. Buy pink paper for birth announcements. FIND KILLER. Diana Orgain has created the ultimate multitasking protagonist—someone who’s solving murders while battling sleep deprivation, diaper blowouts, and the mysteries of breastfeeding. The “Mommy style” investigation involves all the things veteran parents will recognize: making detective calls during nap time, interviewing suspects while covered in spit-up, and trying to remember important clues while also remembering where you put literally anything. 🍼

This is cozy mystery with a brilliant twist—the amateur sleuth isn’t some bored retiree or eccentric bookshop owner, she’s a new mother navigating the chaos of early parenthood while also navigating a murder investigation. Orgain mines both situations for humor, creating a story where “bundle of trouble” refers equally to the baby and the mystery. The juxtaposition of life-affirming new motherhood with death-investigating detective work shouldn’t work this well, but it absolutely does. Kate’s determination to solve the case while simultaneously figuring out how a breast pump works is both hilarious and oddly inspiring. 🔍

What makes this essential: It’s a cozy mystery that captures the beautiful insanity of new motherhood with the same attention most mysteries give to forensic details. Orgain has created a series that proves you don’t need to put your life on hold to solve crimes—you just need to be willing to conduct interrogations with baby vomit on your shoulder. Perfect for parents who need a laugh, mystery fans who appreciate unconventional sleuths, or anyone who believes the best detectives are people who can function on two hours of sleep and still remember whodunit. 🕵️

She watches them from behind the café counter—those perfect women with perfect lives, living in the world she was supposed to inhabit. Everything she’s ever wanted, they already have. But she’s done watching from the outside. It’s her turn now. Then Theo Connor walks in: charming, brilliant, and possibly the one person who actually sees her. Finally, someone is looking back. She’ll do whatever it takes to be part of his world, to claim the life she deserves, no matter who gets in the way. Because envy is a patient hunter, and obsession doesn’t ask permission. 👁️Alesha Dykema’s protagonist is the embodiment of dangerous want—someone who’s convinced herself that she’s owed the life others are living, that her desires justify any action. The café counter becomes a window into a world of perceived perfection, where every cappuccino she serves is a reminder of what she doesn’t have. When Theo appears and shows interest, it feels like validation, like proof that she belongs in that rarefied space. But Dykema is crafting something more unsettling than a simple obsession story: she’s exploring what happens when someone’s entire identity is built on coveting other people’s lives. 🎭

The brilliance here is in the slow revelation that nothing is what it seems. Not Theo. Not the “perfect” women. Not even the protagonist’s understanding of her own situation. As she falls deeper into Theo’s world, the reader starts to see the cracks in her perception—the dangerous blind spots that come from wanting something so badly you can’t see it clearly. Dykema uses the unreliable narrator technique to devastating effect, letting us watch someone spiral while believing they’re ascending. The psychological tension builds as the gap widens between what she thinks is happening and what’s actually happening. 🌀

What makes this a compulsive read: It’s a dark exploration of envy, obsession, and the danger of defining yourself by what you lack. Dykema has written a protagonist who’s simultaneously sympathetic and deeply disturbing—you understand her hunger for belonging while recognizing the toxicity of her methods. For readers who devoured You or The Woman in the Window, this offers that same uncomfortable intimacy with a deeply flawed narrator who’s convinced they’re the hero of their own story. The twist isn’t just what happens—it’s realizing how wrong you’ve been about everything. 🔮

Kate just wants a quiet life with her son Charlie now that she’s single and starting over. She’s not looking for love—she’s looking for stability, routine, maybe a good book and a glass of wine. Then an old schoolfriend shows up on her doorstep, except he’s not just Joe anymore. He’s world-famous rock star Joseph Wild, fresh off his own high-profile breakup and desperately seeking refuge from paparazzi in one of her cozy converted barns in the Devon countryside. Suddenly Kate’s quiet life includes daily dinners with a celebrity, watching Charlie bond with a rock star, and trying to convince herself that Joseph couldn’t possibly be interested in her. 🎸Emma Bennet has set up the ultimate “regular person meets famous person” romance with all the complications that entails. Joseph isn’t some untouchable celebrity caricature—he’s still the sweet, funny boy Kate remembers from school, only now he’s also undeniably sexy and utterly smitten with her. The nightly dinners, his easy rapport with Charlie, the growing chemistry between them—it all feels genuine and earned rather than manufactured. But Bennet doesn’t let the relationship develop in a vacuum. She understands that dating a rock star means dealing with his glamorous past, his complicated present, and the question of whether someone that famous can truly settle for a quiet life. 💫

The core conflict is beautifully simple: Can Joseph leave behind his celebrity lifestyle and embrace the ordinary magic of small-town Devon? Can Kate trust that his feelings are real and not just a rebound fantasy? When Joseph’s ex-wife appears to spoil everything (because of course she does), the stakes become clear—this isn’t just about whether they’re compatible, it’s about whether Joseph is willing to choose authenticity over image, quiet contentment over constant excitement. Bennet writes the tension between what we want and what we think we should want with real emotional intelligence. 🏡

What makes this irresistible: It’s a rock star romance that asks whether fame and normal life can coexist, and whether someone who’s had everything can recognize that what they really need is something simple. Bennet creates a hero who’s genuinely torn between two worlds and a heroine who’s rightly skeptical about promises from someone whose life is so fundamentally different from hers. For fans of celebrity romances with heart, small-town settings, and single-parent love stories, this delivers warmth, chemistry, and the satisfying question of what happens when the spotlight finally turns off. ✨

A routine medical procedure. One girl missing. Another dead. And a trusted doctor with a deadly secret buried under decades of deception. When private investigator Dana Mulder takes the case, what begins as a missing person investigation quickly morphs into something far more sinister—a pattern of victims, a respected physician hiding in plain sight, and a trail of bodies that stretches back further than anyone imagined. N. Gray’s series debut introduces a relentless investigator facing a killer who’s been operating with impunity for years, protected by his reputation and the trust his profession affords him. 🔍Dana teams up with her detective brother to build a case against a predator who’s mastered the art of appearing beyond suspicion. But Gray understands that the scariest monsters aren’t the obvious ones—they’re the ones we trust with our lives, literally. The frustration of having only circumstantial evidence while the body count rises creates genuine tension, as does the ticking clock of knowing this doctor won’t stop unless someone stops him. The investigation forces Dana to navigate the gap between knowing someone is guilty and being able to prove it, between moral certainty and legal standards. ⚖️

Then the case takes a darker turn. An old enemy from Dana’s past resurfaces, determined to make her his next victim. Suddenly Dana isn’t just hunting a serial killer—she’s being hunted herself. Gray escalates the stakes brilliantly, transforming a procedural investigation into a personal survival story. The dual threats force Dana to work the doctor case while watching her own back, creating a pressure-cooker scenario where one wrong move could be fatal. This is the kind of opening that establishes a series protagonist as both capable and vulnerable, someone who can take a punch but also bleeds. 🎯

What makes this a gripping series starter: Gray delivers a serial killer thriller that taps into our primal fear of medical professionals who exploit their position of trust. Dana Mulder is the kind of investigator readers want to follow—smart, determined, and personally invested without being reckless. For fans of Karin Slaughter or Lisa Gardner, this offers that same combination of procedural detail, psychological depth, and protagonists who face real danger. The promise of old enemies and ongoing threats suggests this series has legs, and the deadly pattern of the title hints at the methodical evil Dana will be fighting across multiple books. 💉