Book Review: Two Kinds of Stranger

Title: Two Kinds of Stranger

Author: Steve Cavanagh

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: March 24, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

What kind of lawyer breaks the law to help their client? Eddie Flynn, that's who. And here he faces his toughest case yet.

Social media influencer Elly Parker, already reeling from her husband's affair with her best friend, helps a stranger with a yellow suitcase, and that single moment of kindness destroys her life. But the real story here isn't about Elly—it's about watching Eddie's law partner Kate Brooks stand at a crossroads, staring at an ethical line she's never crossed before. Cross it and save her client. Stay put and watch an innocent woman burn.

Eddie Flynn has always been a con man playing lawyer. Kate's the opposite—until now. Cavanagh splits them up here, giving Eddie two cases simultaneously. But one is too close to home, too personal for him to handle it objectively, forcing Kate to carry the weight. And here's the thing: she realizes Eddie might be right about all of it. "The system was unfair, unjust, and it took a con man to balance those scales of justice."

The stranger is genuinely terrifying—always three moves ahead, always in control. Every time you think Eddie and Kate have him, you don't. The tension never breaks.

I've read every Eddie Flynn book, and this one is the most personal for Eddie and the most costly. It's not just about winning the case. It's about what winning costs. "Stepping across the line wouldn't be the end. It would be the beginning."

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

Book Review: Unknown Caller

Title: Unknown Caller

Author: Gilliam McAllister

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This isn't your typical kidnapping thriller. When Simone receives that devastating phone call and learns her daughter Lucy has been taken, the kidnappers don't want money—they want her to do "the unthinkable." This moral complexity becomes the novel's driving force, pushing Simone into increasingly impossible situations where every choice seems wrong, yet she must choose anyway.

What struck me most was McAllister's nuanced examination of how mothers and fathers love differently. The author doesn't shy away from the controversial assertion that "women love their children more than men," but then complicates it beautifully with the observation that "maybe we love her differently" and that children need both kinds of love—"different—but together, they are potent." This isn't about one parent loving more than the other, but about the unique ways maternal and paternal love manifest.

The author succeeds in crafting a thriller that forces readers to confront an uncomfortable question: How far would you go to save your child? And perhaps more unsettling—would you go further than your spouse? The result is a heart-pounding journey through the Texas desert that entertains while genuinely challenging readers to examine their own moral boundaries and the complex nature of parental love.

The twists that come in the final act genuinely surprised me, and the finale feels genuinely satisfying, bringing together all the moral threads McAllister has been weaving throughout. While the premise may stretch believability at times, the emotional truth at the story's core more than compensates for any logical leaps. This is a thriller that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

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

Book Review: Her Last Breath

Title: Her Last Breath

Author: Taylor Adams

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date:

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I'll be honest—I'm a huge Taylor Adams fan ever since I picked up No Exit, and Her Last Breath reminded me exactly why I keep coming back to his work. Tense and taut thrillers, traveling at breakneck speed. This is no exception.

Taylor Adams has this wicked talent for making you feel like you're suffocating right alongside his characters, and Her Last Breath might be his most claustrophobic yet. What begins as two friends on a caving trip—shy, broke Tess and her influencer bestie Allie—turns into something so much darker when they meet a stranger underground who clearly has no good intentions.

But here's where Adams gets you: just when you think you know what's happening, he pulls the rug out. Twice. Those plot twists hit like physical blows, completely flipping everything you thought you understood about who's the victim and who's the predator.

The whole thing unfolds through different timelines and perspectives, but it never feels gimmicky. Instead, it's like watching someone slowly peel back layers of lies until you realize the most terrifying question isn't "Will she survive?" but "Who exactly survived?" Because as one character puts it, "the killer always gets to tell the story, and the victims are only ever trapped inside it." This becomes the novel's central tension—questioning whose version of events we can trust when there's no one left to dispute the survivor's account.

I've never been caving and now I definitely never will. Adams doesn't just trap you in those narrow crawl spaces and rising water—he traps you in the horrible realization that sometimes the people you know the best are the people you know the least.

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

Book Review: Antihero

Title: Antihero

Author: Gregg Hurwitz

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Publication Date: February 10, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'll be honest—those early pages with the drugged-up thugs nearly lost me. But once Hurwitz gets Evan Smoak into his real mission, the story found its footing and evolved into something more meaningful than just another action-packed mission.

This isn't your typical Orphan X rampage. When Anca, the assault victim Evan wants to help, looks him dead in the eye and tells him he has no right to kill for her—that he's not a hero but an antihero—it's like watching someone pull the rug out from under everything we thought we knew about the Nowhere Man. She makes him promise not to kill her attackers, and watching Evan wrestle with that promise? Pure gold. This is moral complexity rather than black and white thinking and fundamentally challenges everything the Nowhere Man represents.

This moral tension becomes the novel's greatest strength. Evan's character development feels genuine as he grapples with concepts beyond his usual black-and-white worldview. Hurwitz skillfully shows us a man learning that "there is no weakness in emotion" and that his rigid code must evolve. 

What got me most was seeing this unstoppable killing machine completely fall apart during a simple dinner date with Mia. The guy who can handle any life-or-death situation can't manage small talk over pasta. That scene alone is worth the price of admission because it shows just how broken Evan really is beneath all that deadly competence.

The author's exploration of vulnerability versus vengeance gives real depth to what could have been just another thriller. When Evan realizes his code "weighed more now" and creates a new commandment—"If you feel more, you have to feel more"—it represents genuine character growth that feels earned rather than forced.

Hurwitz succeeds in crafting a story that questions the very nature of heroism and justice. This isn't just about whether Evan will complete his mission, but whether he can evolve beyond the limiting confines of his own moral certainties. The result is a thriller that entertains while genuinely challenging both its protagonist and readers to consider the complex shades of gray between justice and vengeance.

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