The Hard Line, by Mark Greaney

Title: The Hard Line 

Author: Mark Greaney 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle edition 

Started: 3/30/2026

Finished: 4/4/2026

Latest Grey Man novel, entertaining as ever.  Also interesting how much of this one too place in DC and named places we dine at or visit regularly, and also the Northern Ireland connection since we were just there over New Year's.  

Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier, and Tyrant, by JFC Fuller

Title: Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier, and Tyrant 

Author: JFC Fuller 

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 3/31/3/2026

Finished: 4/3/2026

Pretty enjoyable history of Caesar.  Narrated by someone in usually love (Frederick Davidson/Davis Case) but he didn't shine here.  I normally read fiction and Davidson/Case is fantastic narrating those books (Flashman series is a great example), but here he lacked all personality.   

Rock Paper Scissors, by Alice Feeney

Title: Rock Paper Scissors 

Author: Alice Feeney 

Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 3/30/2026

Finished: 3/31/3/2026

I didn't see the big twist in this one coming, but guessed most of the smaller twists.  Decent but didn't love this one.  

The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz

Title: The Word is Murder 

Author: Anthony Horowitz 

Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 3/30/2026

Finished: 3/30/2026

A rare same day start & finish book.  Loved this one.  Was fooled at the start thinking it was non-fiction.   Embarrassing in hindsight but it is true.  

Sentinel, by Mark Greaney

Title: Sentinel 

Author: Mark Greaney 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle edition 

Started: 3/25/2026

Finished: 3/29/2026

Book 2 of the Sean Duffy series.  Enjoyed this one like I did the previous.  

The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories, by Peter Lovesey

Title: The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories 

Author: Peter Lovesey 

Borrowed from Audible 

Started: 3/24/2026

Finished: 3/26/2026

Very enjoyable collection of short stories with various narrators I like.  Most of the twists were easy to guess, but a few took me by surprise, and I liked all of these.  Loved a few.  

Rolling in the Deep, by Mira Grant

Title: Rolling in the Deep

Author: Mira Grant

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library

Started: 3/21/2026

Finished: 3/23/2026

A decent mermaid horror novella in a roughly found footage style.  I liked this in novella form but when I earlier tried the full novel version of this (Into the Drowning Deep) I quit on it pretty early on.  Maybe I'll give it another shot.

Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand

Title: Wylding Hall 

Author: Elizabeth Hand 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 3/19/2026

Finished: 3/20/2026

The start of 2026 is my re-reading extravaganza.  But I love this book.  It's not long, but the interview format, folk horror, and music bio is just too perfect.  

The Homemade God, by Rachel Joyce

Title: The Homemade God 

Author: Rachel Joyce 

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 3/8/2026

Finished: 3/11/2026

Recommendation from my mom. I liked this one though it was frustrating at times, it kept me guessing as to where it was going.  

Armored, by Mark Greaney

Title: Armored 

Author: Mark Greaney 

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle edition 

Started: 3/3/2026

Finished: 3/10/2026

Pretty entertaining military action thriller.  I like Greaneys other series and this is just as easy and fun.  

Mountain Main 2nd Prequel, by Keith C Blackmore

Title: Mountain Man 2nd Prequel

Author: Keith C Blackmore

Purchased from Audible

Started: 3/3/2026

Finished: 3/10/2026

The final (I'm pretty sure) MM book.  I liked this more than the previous prequel since Gus was his alcoholic awesome self, but there were too many call backs to the other books, little foreshadowing, etc.  I'm sure some folks love that and I get the appeal and reason, but a little too cute in some parts.

Holy Bible NIV

Title: Holy Bible NIV

Author: various, read by David Suchet 

Started: 2/23/2026

Finished: 3/9/2026

New Testament Only 

Well it took me months to get through HR old testament but the new testament flew by.  Of course I'd already read the NT via the Johnny Cash King James version.  This was the NIV read by Suchet. 

May have mentioned this in my Old Testament post but it took a while for Suchet to warm up to being an audiobook narrator.  Start of the old testament he wasn't speaking with much personality.  But after a while he got into it, started using inflections, tone, voice, and his narration better fit the individual stories. 

By the time he's narrating the new testament he's a seasoned professional which may be why this flew by more quickly.  

The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse, by PJ Fitzsimmons

Title: The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse

Author: PJ Fitzsimmons

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library

Started: 3/1/2026

Finished: 3/2/2026

Anty Boisjoly book, charming and fun, if less stellar than previous entries in the series.

The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine, by PJ Fitzsimmons

Title: The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine 

Author: PJ Fitzsimmons 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 2/25/2026

Finished: 2/28/2026

I give up and have resigned myself to a reread of the entire Anty Boisjoly series.  Enjoy these too much.  

The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning, by PJ Fitzsimmons

Title: The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning

Author: PJ Fitzsimmons

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started 2/23/2026

Finished 2/24/2026

Sigh -- I couldn't help myself from continuing a re-read of these Anty Boisjoly books.  This is book 2 and it contains some of the funniest parts of the series.  One highlight is Boisjoly having to sing a newly written Christmas song about St Stephen written by the local minister and I can't even begin to do it justice in this post, but I was laughing throughout (and I already read this book last year).  

Holy Bible New International Version

Title: Holy Bible NIV

Author: hahaha "Various", but read by David Suchet

Purchased on Audible 

Started: Fall 2025

Finished: Old Testament only, so far, 2/22/2026

I listened to Johnny Cash read the new testament (King James version) last year and decided to give the full Bible a shot.  Leaving religion out of this review, I enjoyed this a fair amount to read the real stories behind the stories I'd heard growing up in Catholic school and church.  Also so much of the book/stories I had never heard before, I think my upbringing was much more focused on the new testament.  

The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, by PJ Fitzsimmons

Title: The Case of the Canterfell Codicil 

Author: PJ Fitzsimmons 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 2/21/2026

Finished: 2/22/2026

Wanted a light, funny read and opted for this first book in the Anty Boisjoly series.  Said this when I read it last year, but this is such a delightful book. Extremely funny and clever, fantastic turns of phrase.  I could start it all over again I enjoyed it so much.  

Mountain Man Prequel, by Keith C. Blackmore

TItle: Mountain Man Prequel

Author: Keith C. Blackmore

Purchased from Audible

Started: 2/17/2026

Finished: 2/20/2026

Didn't love this one but it was ok.  I suspect I'll like the next prequel better since it's probably focused on the drunk, awesome Gus, of the first MM book.

Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin

Title: Fever Dream 

Author: Samanta Schweblin 

Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 2/17/2026

Finished: 2/17/2026

Lots of recommendations on Reddit for this one but I didn't love it.  Never grabbed me and I missed (my fault, I have no doubt) the subtle environmental horror aspects.  

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, KJ Parker

Title: A Practical Guide to Conquering the World

Author: KJ Parker 

Purchased from Audible 

Started: 2/9/2026

Finished: 2/16/2026

Final book in the Siege trilogy.  My least favorite but I still enjoyed it.  

All the Sinners Bleed, by SA Cosby

Title: All the Sinners Bleed

Author: SA Cosby

Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook 

Started 2/9/2026

Finished: 2/9/2026

I finished this one in a day which is usually a sign I loved a book but not so in this case.  I did like it, but also found it frustrating.  I don't know exactly how to say this, maybe the book just didn't click for me.  There was enough here for me to want to finish the story, but it left me unsatisfied.  

Doughnut, by Tom Holt

Title: Doughnut 

Author: Tom Holt 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 2/6/2026

Finished: 2/9/2026

Same author as the siege series (written under a different name) and pretty good.  A bit more Douglas Adams like, but enjoyable.  

Antarctica, by Claire Keegan

Title: Antarctica 

Author: Claire Keegan 

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook 

Started: 2/3/1016

Finished: 2/6/2026

Great short story collection of some pretty haunting works.   

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, by KJ Parker

Title: How to Rule an Empire and Get Aware with It

Author: KJ Parker

Purchased from Audible

Started: 1/30/2026

Finished: 2/3/2026

I held out as long as I could but blew my final Audible credit on the second book the Siege series.  I love the first (16 ways...) and enjoyed this one just as much.  As I was telling my wife, the protagonists in these books both tell stories the way I do -- with a lot of digression that usually (but not always) has a deeper meaning for the story you are telling.

If your story is good, these digressions add a lot.  And of course they ALWAYS work in a book like this.  In real life conversations, with interruptions, forgetful memories, spilled wine, etc., they're only successful a small percentage of the time.

No more credits so it may be a while before I pick up the next in this series, but these first two were very enjoyable.

Brat Farrar, by Josephine Tey

Title: Brat Farrar

Author: Josephine Tey

Purchased from Audible

Started: 1/23/2026

Finished: 1/27/2026

The final book in my Josephine Tey omnibus.  I liked this one even if it ended on a somewhat rose-colored outlook.  If I'm being honest, I prefer happy endings at this point in my life.

Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan

TItle: Small Things Like These

Author: Claire Keegan

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library (Audiobook)

Started: 1/26/2026

Finished: 1/26/2026

More short story than novella, but worth recording here because I absolutely loved this one.  Going to pick up more by Keegan.

Legend, by David Gemmell

Title: Legend

Author: David Gemmell 

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle edition 

Started:1/15/2026

Finished 1/24/2026

I'm not a huge fantasy fan but did enjoy this one overall.  A bit of a let down at the end, but still an entertaining read.  

Miss Pym Disposes, by Josephine Tey

Title: Miss Pym Disposes 

Author: Josephine Tey 

Purchased from Audible 

Started: 1/20/2026

Finished: 1/22/2026

I didn't realize the Inspector Grant omnibus I purchased on Audible included two additional non-Grant books.  This was one, and for about the first half I kept waiting for a murder or Grant to arrive.  

Well, a murder does eventually occur but very near the end.  A great final twist as well.  Very enjoyable able book. 

The Singing Sands, by Josephine Tey

Title: The Singing Sands 

Author: Josephine Tey 

Purchased from Audible 

Started: 1/17/2026

Finished: 1/20/2026

This was a strange novel where the first half was barely about the mystery, but still overall enjoyable.  The easiest of the bunch to figure out the murderer.  

The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey

Title: The Daughter of Time 

Author: Josephine Tey 

Purchased from Audible 

Started: 1/12/2026

Finished: 1/14/2026

Second time reading this one, but first was over a decade ago.  I still enjoyed it, but not as much as the first time I read it.  

To Love and Be Wise, by Josephine Tey

Title: To Love and Be Wise

Author: Josephine Tey

Purchased from Audible

Started:1/11/2026

Finished: 1/12/2026

I liked this one quite a bit although the solution/ending wasn't great.  But the rest of it was very enjoyable, and a transvestite solution must have been very daring at the time this was written.

The Franchise Affair, by Josephine Tey

Title: The Franchise Affair 

Author: Josephine Tey 

Purchased from Audible 

Started: 1/9/2026

Finished: 1/11/2026

Loved this one, the third book in my six book set.  Although this one barely qualifies as a Grant novel, he's really not in it except a couple of brief passages.   But the story was one of the best I've read in a long time.  

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker

Title: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Author: K.J.  Parker

Purchased from Audible

Started: 1/6/2026

Finished: 1/9/2026

Enjoyable siege story, somewhat similar to the Martian in the way one individual is able to use cunning and smarts to overcome a major issue.  

A Shilling for Candles, by Josephine Tey

Title: A Shilling for Candles

Author: Josephine Tey

Purchased from Audible

Started 1/4/2026

Finished 1/5/2026

The second novel in my six novel Josephine Tey collection, this was very enjoyable.  Didn't want to put this one down.

Man in the Queue, by Josephine Tey

Title: Man in the Queue

Author: Josephine Tey

Purchased from Audible

Started: 12/26/2025

Finished: 1/4/2026

Months ago I used an Audible credit on a Josephine Tey collection of 6 Inspector Grant books mostly because I wanted to re-read Daughter of Time which I read and enjoyed many, many years ago.  But I'm going through these novels in order and Man in the Queue was the first.  

I enjoyed this one once I finally got into it (had started it several times in 2025, but finally devoted time to it at the holidays).  Once I gave it a real chance I lost myself in it for periods at a time.  

Will slowly work my way through this collection.