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.