May 2025 Reads

For May 2025, I discovered a new author, Georgia Rose, then went through a cartel-mafia love story series from Aleatha Romig which I’ve read before(Sinclair Duet – book 1, book 2), and ended May with one of my favorite authors, Harlan Coben, with his new book, “Nobody’s Fool.” How’s your May reads?

“A Killer Strikes” by Georgia Rose – 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The perfect family… The perfect murders…
A family massacred. A village in mourning. Can anyone sleep safely while a killer is on the loose?

Laura Percival, owner of The Stables, notices something wrong at her friend’s house when out on her morning ride. Further investigation reveals scenes she’ll never forget. While the police are quick to accuse, Laura is less so, defending those around her as she struggles to make sense of the deaths. And all the time she wonders if she really knew her friends at all. A chance encounter opens up a line of investigation that uncovers a secret life. One that Laura is much closer to than she ever realised.(GOODREADS)

Brutal Vow Series by #AleathaRomig

Now & Forever – 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Capo to the Luciano Famiglia was my birthright. The cruelty needed to succeed in this life has been beaten into me since I was a young boy. My father, Vincent Luciano, taught by example and with the slap of his hand. My independent streak took me down paths my father would never have gone. With our enemies gaining strength, it is my idea to attempt an alliance with an unlikely bedfellow. The Roríguez Cartel and the Luciano Famiglia are improbable partners, yet even Vincent Luciano can’t deny the possible benefits. The only way to solidify the deal is for me to marry Catalina Ruiz, the eldest daughter of Andres Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez Cartel. Catalina is young, beautiful, and thinks she understands the path she is being forced to follow. There is no way for her to know the monster she is about to wed. A man doesn’t become a made man at thirteen if he is capable of love. That emotion is beyond my scope of expertise. Saving the famiglia is my goal. And once this alliance is made, ours will be but the first of the brutal vows exchanged. (GOODREADS)

Till Death Do Us Part – 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As the only daughter of the Kansas City capo, at eighteen years of age, I was given to the son of my father’s consigliere, a man who was expected to accomplish great things for the famiglia. Things didn’t go the way we planned. There wasn’t love. My husband was a traitor, a part of a coup against the famiglia. My husband is dead. I’m free.

Until the fateful night my brother, our new capo, informs me that I’ve once again been promised in marriage. He explains that as a childless widow and the daughter of the late capo dei capi, I am desired—requested. Aléjandro Roríguez is the son of the leader of the Roríguez cartel. My brother married a woman from the cartel, securing the Mafia/cartel alliance. He says that it’s now my turn. I’ve only met my future husband a few times, but I know without a doubt that I don’t like him. Loving him is impossible. I’ve lived a marriage without love. I won’t do it again. Aléjandro lives a dangerous existence. Death saved me once before. Maybe it will again. (GOODREADS)

Bound By A Promise – 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Due to my birth order as child of the capo of the Luciano famiglia, I’m used to second place.
Second son. Second in standing. Never number one. It’s the way my life has always been.
Only in the dark alleys, private clubs, and seedy establishments am I respected. Not just as the consigliere to my brother, the new capo of the Kansas City Famiglia, but also for my unmatched skills with a knife and my particular skills of interrogation. This status is as high as I will achieve. First place will forever be out of reach.

Camila Ruiz is the youngest daughter of Andres Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez cartel. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I wanted her. She is too young and fragile to be with a man like me, a killer and criminal. I don’t deserve a woman like Camila. Taking her would be to ruin her. (GOODREADS)

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben – 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 2 of Detective Sami Kierce series(Book 1 is #FoolMeOnce – adapted show is available on Netflix). The last sentence in the epilogue is going to haunt me until book 3 comes out. Well, hopefully there is book 3, of course. 🤞🏻

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.

Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts. For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool. (GOODREADS)