The suspenseful if uneven latest in Carlisle’s Secrets of Kincaid series (after Shadowed Witness) finds Kentucky-based accountant Hailey Neiman still reeling from the murder of her husband, Wesley, whose criminal activity left her a struggling single mother less than a year ago. She takes on extra work to boost her income and is surprised to discover anomalies in the files of Eukaria Investments, one of her firm’s most prestigious clients. Then she receives a slew of not so coincidental anonymous threats and enlists the help of Peter Lewis, a security guard in her building, to get to the bottom of things. The threats soon morph into physical attacks, and the pair races to puzzle out what exactly the culprit wants from Hailey while also grappling with their traumatic pasts and damaged faith. Though the pace of the central mystery plot can drag, readers will be drawn in by the intensity of the action scenes and Hailey’s enterprising, optimistic spirit as she works to remake her life in the wake of tragedy. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here to keep Carlisle’s fans satisfied. (May)

Reviewed on 04/03/2026 | Details & Permalink

A young woman’s search for her long-lost mother animates this energetic early-20th-century historical from Musch (Season of My Enemy). At nine, with her father dead and her depressed mother unable to care for her, Lily Mae Dodge was sent from Indiana to an orphanage in Wyoming. Now an adult, she’s eager to reconnect with her mom and takes a train east, hoping that with God’s help she’ll find her hometown, though she can’t remember its name. En route she meets handsome Francis Basnett, who’s enchanted by Lily’s enterprising spirit, but worries about falling in love due to a debilitating eye condition that he fears would make a potential wife into his caretaker. Still, sparks fly and he convinces Lily to join him in working behind the scenes for the real-life Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus (Lily as a seamstress, Francis as a laborer doing ground work), in hopes they’ll find her hometown in their travels. Soon, however, a disastrous train crash upends their plans, setting the pair on a path they never expected. Musch skillfully interweaves the romance plot and Lily’s resonant search for home with plenty of action. It’s a powerful story of trusting God and finding hope in even the most difficult circumstances. (June)

Reviewed on 03/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

This underwhelming contemporary from Mack (Suing Cinderella) finds a dissatisfied woman traveling back in time to rethink her choices. On the brink of turning 40, Sutton Layne is less than happy with her life: her 17-year marriage is on the rocks, her interior design business risks folding if she doesn’t win over a high-profile client, and her teenage son is giving her the cold shoulder. When an old college flame DMs her, she can’t help but wonder about the road not taken, and gets the chance to wander down it when a freak pickleball accident lands her in a purgatory where she’s given another go at her twenties. The normally practical Sutton delights at first in chasing her acting dreams in L.A. and seeing what might have been with her dreamy ex. But when challenges arise with returning to her old life, Sutton must reckon with how God’s plan has guided her and what she’s willing to give up to start anew. While Mack’s fun plot ticks along apace, readers will struggle to identify with Sutton, whose problems frequently come across as contrived and whose character arc feels forced. This flimsy take on the second chance trope offers few surprises. (June)

Reviewed on 03/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Two women find friendship and second chances on the shores of a now-barren North Carolina lake in this moving historical from Thomas (These Blue Mountains). In 1915 Claire Roth and her husband build an impressive home on the shores of Lake Toxaway, N.C., but soon afterward, the dam that formed the lake bursts and all the water rushes downriver. Fast-forward to 1930: the Great Depression has taken hold and Claire, now widowed, decides to build a library to employ out-of-work townspeople and revive the bustling town. To get the project off the ground, she hires Lena Hawkins, a lonely ex-socialite who’s new in town and whose husband lost it all in the stock market crash. As the pair get to work, several investors, attracted by the project, consider rebuilding the dam and restoring the lake. But Claire’s afraid to dream of the lake’s revival, and things get more complicated when she’s romantically pursued by a potential investor, while Lena’s marriage is strained by her husband’s money-making schemes. Both women look to God as they weigh how far they’ll go to hold onto their pasts while building a new future for the town and themselves. Thomas vividly portrays the restlessness of small-town life during the Depression, but the friendship between Claire and Lena—who connect over books despite their age difference—is the story’s beating heart. Readers will be swept up. (May)

Reviewed on 03/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Ogle (As Sure as the Sea) unspools a textured narrative of a spirited female warrior in early-fifth-century Rome. Adelgard’s Visigoth father rejects her after news of her forbidden romantic tryst brings shame to her family, spurring her to leave town and join King Alaric’s rebel army. At the rebel camp she meets Telemachus, who teaches her about Jesus, but those lessons are cut short when Adelgard is taken prisoner by Romans and forced to fight as a gladiator. Known as the Amazon, Adelgard revels in the crowd’s adulation but refuses to trust anyone—except, eventually, Felix, a Christian doctor who hates violence but tends to the gladiators to provide for his family. Felix is drawn to Adelgard’s fiery spirit, and works to convince her of her worth in God’s eyes. He also helps Telemachus hatch a plan to rescue some of the Visigoth slaves—Adelgard included—making a future between them seem briefly possible. But when the emperor decides to hold a grand tournament where the gladiators will battle to the death, all their lives are put at risk. Ogle keeps suspense sky-high as Adelgard fights her way through a world filled with threats, while the tender romance between her and Felix nicely offsets the action-packed plot. Fans of Tessa Afshar will want to dive in. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Murray draws inspiration from the kindertransports of the 1930s for her quietly impactful debut historical. In April 1939, war clouds hang over Europe, but in the small town of Norcross, Ga., Cora Cain is focused on managing her depressed father’s struggling general store, formerly a grand hotel called the Brunswick. Enter Thomas Watkins, an out-of-towner whom Cora hires to help revitalize the store, which occupies part of the building’s first floor. Then family friends George and Evelyn Cohen approach Cora with a proposal to house Austrian refugee children in the hotel’s rooms. The faithful Cora agrees despite her father’s misgivings, and she and Thomas prepare for the children’s arrival. A spark ignites between the pair, but Thomas soon reveals a secret that puts Cora’s budding feelings—and the Cohens’ plan—at risk. A second plotline unfolds in Vienna, where 10-year-old Charlotte, who’s spent months sheltering from the Nazi regime in her aunt’s apartment, grapples with the prospect of leaving behind everyone she has ever loved—including her mother—in search of safety overseas. Murray captures the rising anxiety of impending war as her characters struggle to come to grips with what it means to hold onto hope in times of strife. Readers will find it hard to look away. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

A young woman is torn between love and family in this engrossing early-20th-century historical from Gabhart (The Pursuit of Elena Bradford). Growing up in rural Kentucky, Kallie Mae Bertram had two dreams: to marry her neighbor Quinn Spencer and to learn to read and write. But the Bertram and Spencer families have been feuding for more than 45 years, since the Civil War pitted them against each other, and Kallie’s father has forbidden her from seeing Quinn. To make matters worse, she never got the chance to attend school because she was tasked with caring for her younger sister, Emmie, after her mother died in childbirth. When Kallie and Quinn, now adults, reunite by chance, Kallie can’t ignore the spark between them—but knows choosing Quinn would mean no longer being welcome in her father’s house. As Quinn and Kallie look to God for guidance, a local teacher opens a school for adults, giving the pair hope for a brighter future, while also opening the door to new choices and challenges. The portrayal of rural Appalachian life is vivid and textured, and readers will be quickly won over by Kallie’s enterprising, indomitable spirit. Gabhart’s fans will be well pleased. (May)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Miller riffs on Jane Austen’s Emma with the cute latest in her Silver Teapot series (after Not Exactly Mr. Darcy). Emma Jane “EJ” Bennett and Jordan Knightley, cocreators of the Christian dating app Dream Match, grew up together in small-town Wattle Vale, Australia, and have been inseparable ever since. Having relocated to Sydney, the pair now yearn for different things: Jordan’s drawn to a life centered on family and faith, while EJ hopes to grow Dream Match’s success. Her search for investors connects her to a circle of high-flying elites, including Eric Churchill, a wealthy, womanizing businessman of whom Jordan is immediately suspicious, though EJ’s convinced he’s the key to keeping the app afloat. When Eric and EJ start dating, she’s thrilled to step into his glittering world, but Jordan worries EJ’s abandoning her small-town values. After Jordan shows up at one of Eric’s parties and criticizes its waste and luxury, EJ returns home to Wattle Vale and tries to understand what’s driving her toward success—and how far she’s willing to go to obtain it. Miller has fun modernizing Austen’s conceit with lively characters and zippy dialogue, though she sometimes leans into predictable moralizing about the ills of a superficial lifestyle. Still, there’s plenty here to please Miller’s fans. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Walker (Right Before Their Eyes) interweaves the stories of several foster families for the stirring but uneven third installment of the Faith Endures series. Lucia Roberts, 20, is a devout single mom who’s anxious about the prospect of aging out of the extended foster care system. Her faith is tested when she loses her job, putting her independent housing situation at risk. Social worker Clare Hughes suggests Lucia interview to become a caretaker for four-year-old Timmy, the new foster son of overprotective dad Jordan Nowak. When Lucia’s daughter, Sam, becomes fast friends with Timmy, Lucia and Jordan agree to the arrangement, despite their awkward chance encounter on the bus a few days earlier. Sparks soon fly between the two, but past experiences have made Lucia wary of men, and additional stressors arise when Timmy is diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease that strains Jordan’s ability to meet his needs. Walker relies on coincidences to connect her characters, but Lucia and Jordan are sympathetic leads whose experiences shed valuable light on the challenges and complexities of the foster care system. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough heart to keep series fans emotionally invested. (May)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Fisher’s spirited latest National Parks Summers novel (after Capture the Moment) follows a motley crew on a scavenger hunt through northern Maine. When Acadia National Park ranger Scout Johnson finds a mysterious envelope near one of the park’s abandoned lighthouses, she’s amazed to discover a series of cryptic clues detailing the locations of caches of gold coins hidden throughout the park. Chief Ranger Tim Rivers recruits Wabanaki “Naki” Dana, a member of the Penobscot Nation and Acadia expert, to help Scout analyze the clues before any reckless tourists hear of the potential windfall. But it isn’t long before the secret reaches Chase Fletcher, a headstrong journalist who believes the once-in-a-lifetime scoop could revive his family’s failing local newspaper. Chase negotiates a spot on Naki and Scout’s investigative team in return for delaying the story’s publication, but inadvertently loses the envelope, raising the stakes. As Scout, Naki, and Chase race to collect the gold before it can fall into the wrong hands, Scout grapples with her faith, her burgeoning feelings for both of her companions, and the painful childhood memory that brought her to Acadia in the first place. The treasure hunt provides a strong, fast-moving engine for the story, while Scout’s conversations with Naki about the park’s Native American history add emotional depth. Series fans will want to dive in. (May)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink