Book Review: Nash Falls

Title: Nash Falls

Author: David Baldacci

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: November 11, 2025

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What happens when your comfortable corporate life explodes overnight? This is Walter Nash's nightmare scenario—one minute he's climbing the ladder at an investment firm, the next he's being strong-armed by the FBI into becoming their inside-man spy to bring down a criminal enterprise at his place of work.

But here's where things got messy—and not always in a good way. The story morphs from corporate espionage thriller into a personal vendetta tale, and while I enjoyed the ride, it felt like two different books fighting for control. The mysterious Victoria Steers, supposedly this criminal mastermind, barely shows up on the page. For someone driving Nash's entire motivation, she's frustratingly ghostlike.

The revenge angle worked for me emotionally, even if some of Nash's transformations stretched credibility. Watching a buttoned-up executive embrace his darker instincts? That's compelling stuff, even when it goes a bit over the top.

My biggest frustration? That cliffhanger ending. After investing hours in Nash's journey, being left hanging for a sequel felt like a cheap move from an author who usually delivers complete stories with satisfying endings. Still, sometimes a book doesn't need to be perfect to be a fine read.

A big thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Midnight Knock

Title: The Midnight Knock

Author: John Fram

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: October 21, 2025

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I thought I was picking up a simple mystery, but "The Midnight Knock" dragged me into something far more ambitious and unsettling. This isn't your typical whodunit—it's a fever dream that feels like Pulp Fiction got lost in the desert with Groundhog Day with a smattering of Alien thrown in for good measure. The premise is deceptively simple: guests at an isolated motel must identify a killer by midnight or face something ancient and hungry lurking in the desert darkness. But nothing about the execution is simple.

Fram does something I've never seen before, l
iterally repeating the title page throughout the book. It should have annoyed me, but instead it added to the disorienting quality of the story. These aren't people you'd want to have dinner with—they're killers, fugitives, and criminals all hiding at a remote Texas motel. But somehow, their desperation became infectious. It's this kind of experimental storytelling that sets "The Midnight Knock" apart from typical locked-room mysteries.

The beauty of this book is that I had absolutely no idea what was happening, and I loved every confusing minute of it. Just when I thought I had a handle on the mystery, Fram would pull the rug out from under me. The supernatural horror creeps in so gradually that by the time you realize you're not reading a straight mystery anymore, you're already trapped.

The ending gets a bit wobbly, but Fram manages to bring everything together in a way that feels both surprising and inevitable. The climax delivers on the promise of the setup, even if the path there occasionally feels uneven.

A big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Survivor

Title: The Survivor

Author: Andrew Reid

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: March 24, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Survivor is a relentless thriller that transforms a simple subway ride into a nightmare of psychological terror. Ben Cross's story grabbed me from the opening scene—fired from his new job and escorted out by security, only to board the 1 train uptown and receive chilling text messages from an anonymous killer who knows his darkest secrets.

The premise is simple yet terrifying: an ordinary man trapped on a moving train, forced to follow a killer's commands while innocent lives hang in the balance. Reid demonstrates the killer's deadly seriousness early on, creating an atmosphere of dread that permeates every page. The revelation that Ben wasn't chosen randomly adds compelling depth to what could have been a straightforward cat-and-mouse thriller.

Reid masterfully maintains breakneck pacing throughout the narrative, creating a genuine page-turner. Both Ben and Kelly, the cop investigating the case, are perfectly crafted as damaged characters needing redemption, their broken backgrounds adding emotional weight to the high-stakes action. 

While the novel's rapid-fire pace occasionally glosses over some plot inconsistencies that might not withstand closer scrutiny, the sheer momentum and expertly crafted suspense more than compensate for these minor issues. Reid has created a thriller that delivers the kind of heart-pounding experience that makes subway commutes feel suddenly more ominous.

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Fair-Weather Friend

Title: The Fair-Weather Friend

Author: Jessie Garcia

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: January 20, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I started this domestic thriller expecting to love Faith Richards, the sunny TV meteorologist who vanishes one night and turns up dead. Instead, I found myself trudging through a maze of unlikeable characters, struggling to care about anyone's fate as Garcia's multi-POV storytelling left me constantly scrambling to piece together connections.

For the first two-thirds, I'll admit I was tempted to DNF as I couldn't find a single character to root for. But something shifted in that final act and I became caught up in twists I never saw coming. Garcia's rapid-fire style finally clicked, pulling me deep into secrets that had been lurking beneath Detroit's surface all along.

The ending stung a bit as I wanted that satisfying justice. But sometimes the bad guys do win, and Garcia doesn't shy away from that uncomfortable truth.

Despite my initial frustration, "The Fair-Weather Friend" won me over when it mattered most. It's the kind of book that makes you forgive its flaws because those final revelations are so good. Garcia knows how to craft a mystery that stays with you, even when the journey there tests your patience.

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.