Here are a couple of mysteries to think about while you watch the leaves fall. I read advanced reader copies of both books and left my reviews below. All This Could Be Yours is already out. The Sister’s Curse comes out in October. Both books are available on Amazon.
Description: Debut sensation Tessa Calloway is on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, All This Could Be Yours. In a different city every night, Tessa receives standing ovations from adoring fans while her husband Henry and their two children cheer her on from their brand-new dream house.
But there’s a chilling problem with Tessa’s triumphant book tour—she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who’s obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.
Tessa fears the fallout from an impossible decision she once made—what felt like a genuine deal with the devil—appears to be coming due. And she’s realizing that every high-stakes bargain comes with a high-stakes price. If Tessa can’t untangle who’s threatening to expose her darkest secrets, she’ll lose her career, her family—and possibly her life.
Available on Amazon
My Review:
All This Could Be Yours is a story about a writer who’s at the top of her game. Tessa Calloway is on a long book tour, visiting bookstores in cities across the country. People love her, and she’s the epitome of success in the publishing field. Her book is on the bestseller list, and readers hang on her every word. As wonderful as it sounds, it’s still a job. She has to leave her husband and two young children at home for weeks at a time.
Then, she starts to experience strange things during the book tour, making her feel unsafe. Tessa is held up as perfect, but she also has secrets in her past that could end her successful career. Like many authors, the main character she writes about is always with her in her mind and even has conversations with her as a close, supportive friend.
Hank Phillippi Ryan has done it again. I recommend All This Could Be Yours.
Comes out October 21, 2025
Description: There’s something in the water in Bayern County…
When mysterious drownings plague her small town, a detective haunted by her serial killer father must uncover whether revenge, ancient legends, or something darker lurks beneath the surface.
Lieutenant Anna Koray thought she’d finally found solid ground and escaped her past as the daughter of a notorious serial killer. A loving boyfriend, a loyal dog, a life that almost feels normal—except darkness has a way of seeping in. When she saves a boy from drowning, the strange marks on his body tell a disturbing story: something in the depths tried to drag him under.
Days later, another victim surfaces with identical marks and Anna’s instincts scream that these are no accidents. Both victims are connected to the Kings of Warsaw Creek—men of the town’s wealthiest and most influential families. And they have enemies.
Others whisper that there are witches in Bayern County, seeking revenge for a long-ago murder. Perhaps it’s the work of Vivian Carson, the enigmatic bartender who’s rumored to cast hexes on those who wrong her. Or maybe it’s a secret coven who’s been leaving serpentine symbols and skulls behind at the scenes of the drownings.
But Anna’s investigation reveals an even more sinister truth: something is stirring in the water, and it wants the Kings to pay.
With time running out and more victims appearing, Anna must separate superstition from truth. But in Bayern County, where legends and curses run deep as the water itself, one wrong step could drag her into the depths—this time for good.
My Review:
The Sister’s Curse is part police procedural and part paranormal. Lt Anna Koray is trying to solve a series of drownings, and experiences malevolent green flashes that center around the water. The water itself is a character that leaves a trail of attacks. Anna is described as having a darkness in her by the local witch because she grew up in the home of a serial killer. The Sister’s Curse has all the elements of the paranormal, small town rivalries, some bad men taking advantage of young girls, and a cop fighting through her own demons to solve a case. I enjoyed the paranormal sections and the character of Anna and her dog, Gibby. There is a lot going on with this novel.
