Saturdays at the Café

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/scheduled releases I’ve seen on NetGalley, at the library, or from publishers or they may be older titles my friends have reviewed and shared on Goodreads or blogs.

A small town on the water where things aren’t as perfect as they look . . .

After the recent death of a teenager by overdose, a record drug seizure along the Canadian border is a game changer for New York State’s criminal investigation team. The detectives are relieved that the haul will never make it to the idyllic small-town streets of Alexandria Bay.

But drugs are still circulating, and the lab results confirm it: the cocaine that killed the teenager and the cocaine from the bust are not the same.

Investigator Tim Wellington and his team seem to be chasing a network of ghosts who use the North Country as their criminal playground.

How long will it be until another Thousand Islands youth becomes not just a victim, but a target? Because the dangerous players won’t shy away from violence when protecting their valuable goods―even if it means gambling with innocent lives . . .

This twisty mystery coupled with heart-pounding suspense will appeal to fans of the Chief Inspector Gamache Mysteries and the Alex Cross thrillers, as well as books by Meg Gardiner, Ann Cleeves, and Ruth Ware.

I stumbled across this second book in the North Country series on IG. Scheduled for release in October, it’s an audio review hopeful. This is a placeholder for the audiobook edition.

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From the internationally bestselling author of 56 Days, a page-turning thriller about two women whose shattered lives come crashing together around a house whose secrets could bury them both.

If these walls could talk, they’d scream…

When Ellie moves to 1 Delaney Row, she hopes to find a fresh start—a place where no one knows her name, her history, or her secrets. But what she doesn’t know is that her new home is already hiding someone else’s secrets—and the people determined to keep them are watching her.

As Ellie starts to unravel the house’s disturbing backstory, coming closer to the shocking mystery at its center, she unwittingly puts herself on a deadly collision course not just with her new home’s history, but with her own as well.

A puzzle box of a thriller full of mind-boggling twists and turns, Buyer Beware is a chilling exploration of the dark secrets that any house can hold—and of the lengths we’ll go to start over.

Thanks to Kim @ It’s All About the Thrill for featuring this in her book mail post. It’s an audio review hopeful scheduled for release in July.

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Best friends have one week in paradise to fix their friendship or fall apart in this heart-stopping, utterly romantic new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and One Golden Summer.

Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrong—they’ve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. It’s the eve of Frankie’s wedding weekend, and she doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.

Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.

Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her family’s home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankie’s broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.

Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.

This was offered for audio review and I readily accepted.

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Ex-spy Kendal was one of the best, but now she’s wearing the toughest disguise of her career: Mom.

Kendal Carter is out in the cold and she wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s been four years since her daughter Rosie was born and Kendal has kept her miles away from The Game. But when their hiding place is discovered and danger comes too close, Ken is forced to turn to old contacts. Her longtime friend and ex-handler Rico doesn’t miss his chance to pull his best player back in. Whisking them to London, Rico offers them a luxury safe house in an area with good schools. How can she resist?

But there’s a catch, of course. Rico wants Kendal to come back to work for his espionage agency Bon Temps. He’s offering a cushy assignment with no apparent downside, running a rookie asset in one of London’s biggest, murkiest tech firms. It should be easy enough for someone with her experience, and luckily, mother is the perfect cover.

However, it doesn’t take long for Kendal to realize that Rico’s got an agenda of his own. The tech firm has hands in Rosie’s school, and the world of PTAs and playdates comes with its own web of allegiances and betrayals. Kendal soon finds herself in way too deep . . .

I, Spy is a propulsive debut thriller about the disguise that all parents wear, and the former lives that come back to haunt us.

I accepted the invitation to review the audiobook.

From the USA Todaybestselling author of The Summer House, with over one million copies of her books sold, comes a touching beach listen, perfect for fans of Sheila Roberts, Jill Shalvis, and Debbie Macomber.

After heartbreak hits in three very different ways, Emily Jacobs and her friends Sienna and Blair take up Sienna’s offer to escape to her client’s luxurious beach house for sun, sand, and girl talk. But paradise comes with a twist: in his absence, the owner of the house forgot to reschedule his staff, leaving his brooding and impossibly tight-lipped personal chef, Patrick Owens, in charge of dinner for them. Every. Single. Night.

Emily can’t help but be intrigued by the chef with his guarded eyes and irresistible culinary skills. Certainly, they should know something about the person serving them food every night. As she tries to break through his tough exterior, his limited small talk creates deeper questions, just as a massive storm blows in, threatening their peaceful getaway.

Between laughter, late-night conversations, and undeniable chemistry, Emily realizes life’s storms reveal more than the weather’s.

An uplifting and dreamy audiobook about friendship, fresh starts, and the kind of love that sneaks up when you least expect it. If you enjoyed the TV movies based on Jenny’s books and are looking for more feel-good romance, look no further!

I accepted this for audio review.

A heartbreaking, life-affirming new novel by Ethan Joella—author of the Read with Jenna Bonus Pick A Little Hope—about a young woman searching for answers about her brother’s last days.

June 1975. Maggie Bishop has just graduated high school, the future hers to embrace—but she’s still reeling from the death of her older brother, Chip. A devastating diagnosis the summer before prompted Chip to leave home for a few months, never revealing where he went. Maggie’s search for clues leads her to The Red Maple Inn, a mountaintop resort in the Poconos.

At the Red Maple, Maggie is welcomed into a tight-knit community. As she unravels secrets about her brother’s final days, she begins to connect with the people he loved, and whose lives he touched. Through the warmth of strangers, Maggie begins to heal and is able to help others cope with loss.

Set in a nostalgic resort town over two transformative summers, this dual-narrative novel explores sibling relationships, coming of age, and the quiet power of human connection. Perfect for fans of emotional storytelling and small-town summer books, The Top of the World is a timeless story about memory, grief, second chances, and hope.

I quickly accepted this for audio review.

What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?