Book Review: That Night

Title: That Night

Author: Gillian McAllister

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: August 18, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Gillian McAllister has built a reputation for placing her characters in moral quagmires so vivid and uncomfortable that you feel them in your bones, and That Night is no exception. From the very first words — "Help me, please help me" — she drops us into a world of dire need and death, and never quite lets us breathe again.

The setup is deceptively simple: three siblings on a family vacation in Verona, one terrible accident, and a promise that will slowly unravel everything. Frannie hits a man with her car, and in a moment of panic, her brother and sister help her bury the body. What follows is an escalating study in the disintegration of family bonds — that particular horror of watching people you love make one bad decision after another, like a horror movie where you're screaming at the screen, knowing exactly where this is headed and helpless to stop it.

McAllister structures the novel across multiple perspectives, bouncing between the three siblings and the victim's wife, while alternating between "then" — those fateful days in Verona and the aftermath back in England — and "now," the proceedings of a trial whose details are deliberately withheld until the final pages. It's a smart architecture that keeps the tension taut and the doubt alive. Who knew what? Who will crack first? The central premise is perfectly distilled in one of the book's most chilling lines: "This began as a hit-and-run. And now it's — it's this — this grotesque, awful..." That sense of a first crime metastasizing into something monstrous is McAllister at her most compelling.

The novel also captures something true and unsettling about family — the way love can become a vehicle for moral compromise, the way we forgive and cover for one another "no questions asked." Nothing can remain the same after that first cover-up, and McAllister depicts the slow, spiralling erosion of trust between siblings with real psychological precision.

My one reservation is the ending. I wanted justice — the kind of resolution that feels earned after so much dread — and instead I felt a little cheated. It's a subjective reaction, and some readers may disagree, but for me it left a gap where catharsis should have been.

A big thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Book Review: Ironwood

Title: Ironwood

Author: Michael Connelly

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I've been a devoted fan of Michael Connelly for years, and with Ironwood, the second installment in his Catalina series, he has delivered another masterclass in American crime fiction. Detective Sergeant Stilwell returns as our guide through the sun-drenched yet surprisingly dangerous world of Catalina Island, and from the very first pages, I was completely hooked.

Connelly's signature ability to weave multiple subplots without ever losing momentum is on full display here. A drug drop surveillance operation goes catastrophically wrong, leaving one deputy dead and another fighting for his life in the ICU. Meanwhile, a mysterious backpack recovered from lost and found opens a cold-case rabbit hole involving a woman who vanished on a hiking trail four years ago. Smaller threads — vineyard vandalism, graffiti crimes — add texture and a genuine sense of island life under quiet siege. None of it feels padded; every storyline earns its place.

What truly elevates Ironwood is Connelly's gift for character. Stilwell is a nuanced, morally grounded protagonist, and the welcome appearance of Renée Ballard — working the case from the mainland — gives the story an electric charge. Cameos from Harry Bosch and his daughter Maddie will delight longtime fans of the extended Connelly universe, feeling organic rather than forced.

The novel builds toward a moral-choice ending that is deeply satisfying and it left me hoping this isn't the last we'll see of Sgt. Stilwell on Catalina.

I cannot recommend Ironwood highly enough. Connelly remains, in my view, the finest American crime writer working today, and this book is proof of exactly why. Five stars, without hesitation.

A big thank you to Little Brown and Company and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Book Review: Three Hitmen and a Baby

Title: Three Hitmen and a Baby

Author: Rob Hart

Publisher: Putnam

Publication Date: June 16, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I've been following the Assassins Anonymous series since the beginning, and with Three Hitmen and a Baby, Rob Hart returns to his group of reformed killers for what feels like the third and fina installment. The premise is irresistible on paper: three of the world's most dangerous people are left babysitting a toddler while Valencia rushes to LA to find her missing brother. What could go wrong? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

The idea of highly trained assassins being undone by a feverish child is fun, though it does require some suspension of disbelief. These are people who can neutralize a threat in seconds, yet apparently can't think to search online when a toddler spikes a fever? 

Hart juggles multiple storylines competently, and the commitment to non-lethal takedowns adds a fun constraint to the action sequences. That said, the tension stretches credulity at times — watching three elite killers repeatedly navigate overwhelming opposition while refusing to use lethal force starts to feel more like a running gag than a genuine thriller element. The series also leans heavily on its established world: newcomers will likely feel lost without the context of the first two books.

Ultimately, Three Hitmen and a Baby feels more like a crowd-pleasing victory lap than a bold new chapter. It's entertaining, fast-paced, and has genuine heart — but it doesn't push the premise anywhere particularly new. If you've loved the series so far, I'd say pick it up. It's an easy, thrilling read that delivers exactly what fans are expecting — no more, no less.

A big thank you to Putnam and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#ThreeHitmenandaBaby #NetGalley

Book Review: Dissection of a Murder

Title: Dissection of a Murder

Author: Jo Murray

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Set in the northeast English county of Durham, this British legal thriller was a fascinating departure from the American legal thrillers I'm more accustomed to—think Lincoln Lawyer —and the differences in the legal system are both illuminating and integral to the plot. Here, barristers cannot simply refuse a client, even one who won't speak to them. That single detail sets up everything that follows.

The central premise is deliciously tense: Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case—the killing of a well-respected judge—by a defendant who refuses to tell her anything. Challenging enough. But the masterstroke is that her opponent across the courtroom is her own husband, a far more experienced barrister who was once her mentor. Husband versus wife, mentor versus protégée, prosecution versus defence. It's an extraordinarily compelling dynamic, and Murray mines every ounce of tension from it.

The characters are complex and morally ambiguous in all the right ways. Nobody here is entirely clean, and that keeps you guessing throughout. The novel builds like a freight train gathering speed—what starts at a controlled pace becomes an unstoppable rush toward the finish line. 

What truly elevates this novel, though, is the ending. The twist blindsided me completely. I hadn't seen it coming at all, and when it landed it recast everything I'd read in an entirely new light. And then the resolution itself—sublime is the only word for it. I genuinely wasn't sure how Murray could wrap everything up satisfyingly, but she manages it with precision and elegance.

A big thank you to Dutton and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#DissectionofaMurder #NetGalley