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On Wednesday, December 10th, we hosted our year-end “Bookaccino Live” event featuring eight Bookreporter reviewers: Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Each talked about two of their favorite books of 2025. Kate Ayers and Ray Palen, who have appeared on previous programs, were not able to join us live. But we showed Ray’s presentation on video, and we shared Kate’s picks, along with brief excerpts from her reviews of those books.

We wrap up this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Terah Shelton Harris, whose latest work of fiction, WHERE THE WILDFLOWERS GROW, releases on February 17th. This poignant story of survival and redemption questions what it means to stop existing and start living. In 2023, Terah gave her friend a copy of her debut novel, ONE SUMMER IN SAVANNAH. Read on to find out why she considers it to be the best book she has ever gifted.

Set amongst the glittering backdrop of London's iconic Savoy hotel, LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY is Brisa Carleton’s debut novel and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. In it, a young woman is forced to confront her troubled past as she uncovers the story of the hotel’s first female bartender who has been erased from the history books. In her holiday blog post, Brisa explains how reading THE NUTCRACKER and performing in her town’s ballet production of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s classic tale ignited her passion for the theater and led to an award-winning career as a Broadway producer.

To save a client accused of murder, defense attorney Keera Duggan must fight a complex web of corruption in Robert Dugoni’s riveting new suspense novel, HER COLD JUSTICE, which releases on January 27th. The last Christmas that Robert spent with his mother was a special one for so many reasons. The morning before their big Christmas Eve party, he took his wife and his mother to confession, and he reluctantly joined them. He had an eye-opening conversation with the priest after confessing his sins, and his “penance” was connected to one of his books.

THE BRIGHT YEARS is Sarah Damoff’s nationally bestselling debut novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love. Her second work of fiction, THE BURNING SIDE, releases in June 2026 and is a family saga suffused with humor, longing and heartbreak. In her holiday blog post, Sarah recalls the first Christmas she spent in India while working as a teacher and the classic book by Fyodor Dostoevsky that helped remind her of the true meaning of the season.

Davis Bunn’s latest novel, A SEA GLASS CHRISTMAS, is the ultimate holiday comfort read for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Karen Kingsbury. In it, a bracing Christmas on North Carolina’s Outer Banks opens the door to a second chance at love. When Davis received a wedding quilt from his grandmother, he was so moved by the gesture that he wrote a homily to her. Not only did he give a printed version of the story to his wife, Isabella, as a honeymoon gift, it served as the inspiration for one of his most popular books, THE QUILT.

On Wednesday morning, I read the very sad news that Sophie Kinsella had died from glioblastoma, which she was diagnosed with three years ago. She was an author who brought me so much joy when I read her books. She wrote funny but also very smart women’s fiction with her lead character, Becky Bloomwood, in her Shopaholic books. The first installment in the series, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, was published in the US in 2001. That was five years after Bookreporter launched and three years after “Sex and the City” premiered with Carrie Bradshaw embracing her own sense of style. I still remember reading an early copy of that book and wanting to talk about it with everyone.

THE NAVIGATOR'S LETTER brings to light one of the best untold and dangerous stories of World War II. Releasing on February 10th, Jan Cress Dondi’s book chronicles a moving and heroic story of patriotic duty, familial bonds, brotherhood and love. In her holiday blog post, Jan talks about one of her most cherished gifts, which has touched multiple generations of her family and has become a treasured holiday keepsake.

We kick off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Thrity Umrigar, the bestselling author of such novels as HONOR, which was a Reese's Book Club pick, as well as three picture books and a memoir. Her upcoming novel, MISSING SAM, which releases on January 27th, is the tense and twisty story of a woman who goes missing on a morning run and her wife's determination to both find her and clear her own name. Thrity recalls a book that her friend gave her one snowy Christmas in Ohio. Reading it that night brought up a flood of holiday memories and made her think about all the other special gifts she has received.

Last week was the first week back from Bouchercon in New Orleans. It also was Joe Hartlaub’s birthday. All three of those things --- Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention; New Orleans, the Crescent City of Jazz and Mardi Gras; and birthdays in general --- were beloved by my late and much-lamented friend. Joe was a reviewer for Bookreporter.com, and he was one of the best. He loved crime fiction. And as an entertainment lawyer who was part of the music scene for decades, he knew a lot about where the actual bodies were buried. With his porkpie hat, twinkle and cherubically “wise guy” smile, he could have stepped out of the pages of Damon Runyon or “The Sopranos” with equal verve.