Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson

This book won't be published until March 3, 2026, but you can put the book on reserve now!

Reviewed by Kristin

Penny is a rookie cop, motivated into the career by the loss of her twin sister Nix five years earlier. At her very first murder scene in an Atlanta suburb, she not only recognizes the male victim as someone who hurt Nix and helped to create the downward spiral which led to her death, Penny then practically stumbles across a blonde woman holding a bloody box cutter.

When the woman cryptically says that the events of the night were all about sisters, Penny is taken aback and allows the woman to flee. Not exactly proper cop behavior, but Penny needs to find out how this murder is connected to Nix.

Penny discovers a slow burn trail of clues which takes the reader through many twists and turns. I didn't see the end coming, although of course I second guessed whether I should have. In this kind of domestic suspense, everyone is a suspect.

Jackson is brilliant at taking the plot in unexpected directions, while maintaining believability in the end. Every time I read one of her books, I feel that she really understands human nature in all its various possibilities. People are complex, and Jackson's characters are multi-dimensional in all the right ways.

I read this as an advanced reader copy (ARC) ebook, and I will look for the audiobook when it is available. Jackson usually narrates her own audiobooks in her distinctive but not overwhelming Southern accent, which I find wonderfully entertaining.

Thanks to Joshilyn Jackson and William Morrow for the ARC allowing me the intense excitement of reading my favorite author’s latest work months early, in exchange for an honest review!

Nevermore Books: November 17, 2025

 

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America by Beth Macy

 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

  

A History of Present Illness by Anna DeForest

 

All But My Life: A Memoir by Gerda Weissmann Klein

 

 

Follow Me to Alaska: A true story of one couple's adventure adjusting from life in a cul-de-sac in El Paso, Texas, to a cabin off-grid in the wilderness by Ann Parker

 

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris 

Sleep by Honor Jones

 

 

The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic by Edward Beauclerk Maurice

 

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Artifact by Gigi Pandian

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Professor Jaya Jones has found her niche as a tenure-track history professor in California, but her life is about to get a bit more complicated.  Shaken by the news that former boyfriend Rupert has died in a car accident in Scotland, she arrives home to find a package containing a heavy gold anklet with a large ruby.  It’s obviously very old, and appears to be Indian.  But it’s the note that throws her for a loop:  it’s from Rupert.  He says that he’s sending her the item for safekeeping because there’s no one else he can trust.

The postmark is the same day as his fatal accident—if it was an accident.

The trouble is that Jaya’s expertise isn’t Indian history, but rather the East India Company and colonial India.  She’s going to have to find someone else who knows about Indian history, specifically jewelry, to figure out exactly what Rupert has sent her and if it got him killed.

With a possible killer on the loose, Jaya accepts the help of graduate student Lane Peters whose specialty is Indian art. But like Rupert, Jaya has to ask herself the question:  who can I trust?

I started reading Gigi Pandian with her delightful Secret Staircase Mystery series, and soon discovered that she had other books.   Jaya Jones was her first series and Artifact is the first book in that series.  Like some of her other heroines, Jaya is mixed race: part Asian Indian and part European as is Pandian herself.  It makes for an interesting cultural backdrop, which I enjoyed, and plays into the mystery too. Jaya is big-hearted, action-oriented, and deeply loyal, not to mention smart and brave.

The mystery is fast paced, with a lot of twists and turns as Jaya drops everything and heads to the UK to try to find out not only what happened to Rupert but how he came across such an unusual and valuable artifact.  It’s obvious that Pandian knows the territory well, both the historical and geographic.  While there were a few plot threads I may have had doubts about, it didn’t stop me from having a lot of fun with this book. I also was aware that this was not only a first in series book, but a debut novel.  With that in mind, I felt she handled a complex plot and characters quite well. It’s quite the page turner.

 I’ll be reading more of Jaya’s adventures as well as dipping into another of her series about an alchemist.

The Panda of Death by Betty Webb

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley has settled into her life with her new husband, Sheriff Joe Rejas, his two young children, and Joe’s mother, Colleen.  Then a number of events disturb the calm waters of happy matrimony:  first, a man is found dead near Teddy’s boat in the marina.  He turns out to be the scriptwriter for a local children’s TV show connected to the zoo where Teddy works.

The second disturbance is more personal, when a young man claiming to be Joe’s son turns up at the house.

Naturally, Joe doesn’t want Teddy to do any snooping into the suspicous, but that becomes harder when Joe’s newly discovered son is accused of the murder.

I have enjoyed all the previous entries in this series, and this one is no exception.  I’m drawn to the series because of all the information about the various animals and zoo-keeping; it’s like getting a behind the scenes peek at what goes on.  Webb tends to spotlight less showy animals rather than elephants or tigers, giving the reader a greater appreciation for some fascinating animals.  (After the first book, my interest in anteaters was piqued, and now I make it a point to visit them at the zoo.) The reader learns about some of the animals—Poonya the red panda is the featured animal this time—and has a mystery to solve to boot.  Webb is a long time zoo volunteer so her books have the ring of truth. 

And let me say that I adore Poonya!

Teddy is a fun character and Webb makes it easy for readers to root for her.  With a glamorous mother who despairs of at her daughter’s choice of career (and wardrobe and living on a boat and everything else), an imperious aunt, Teddy always has to stand her ground or be turned into a debutante. Later in the series, we’re introduced to Joe’s mother Colleen who is an Irish delight; she figures in this story and is the catalyst for discovering Joe’s teenaged son.

While there are character developments during the series, you don’t necessarily have to read these in order to enjoy.

The books in order are:

The Anteater of Death

The Koala of Death

The Llama of Death

The Puffin of Death

The Otter of Death

The Panda of Death

These are all the books to date, but though Webb has seemingly turned her attention to a new series, fans can still hope to see more of Teddy and friends in the future.

Nevermore Books

 With the recent Tuesday holidays, Nevermore had had a forced hiatus.  Here are some of the books they were reading the last time they met:

Twice by Mitch Albom

 

Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home by Stephen Starring Grant

 

The Judge's List by John Grisham

 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

 

The English Problem by Beena Kamlani

 

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs

 

Five Epic Disasters (I Survived True Stories #1): Volume 1 by Lauren Tarshis

 

Heartwood (a Read with Jenna Pick) by Amity Gaige

 

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei

 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

 

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

Cat Nap by Brian Lies

Reviewed by Jeanne

A sleeping kitten is awakened by the scurry of a mouse, and the chase is on! But this is no ordinary chase: they’re running through the Metropolitan Museum and darting in and out of works of art as they go in this absolutely charming picture book by Caldecott Honor Award winning artist Brian Lies.  The first piece is an Egyptian carving, then on to an illuminated manuscript, and then other works, including an African mask, a stained glass panel, and a Georgia O’Keeffe painting.  Both cat and mouse take on the characteristics of the art, appearing as statues with a Mexican ceramic dog and as pen and ink near a Japanese drawing. 

While the storyline is simple and has a fun repeated phrase, the art is more realistic while still being fun itself.  It’s really a delight. There is so much attention to detail in this book, from the jacket cover to the actual book cover underneath, not to mention little art bonuses all around.  I especially loved all the images of the sleeping cat around the title page, as well as the different types of art used to make the letters in the title.

I don’t usually review children’s picture books for the blog but this time I couldn’t resist.  There have been a number of picture books on this theme and I have enjoyed many of them.  This one stands out to me because the images are so playful and there’s so much attention to detail.  I also love that the author didn’t choose the most famous works but instead chose representative works.  A handy key in the back identifies the real object found in the Met, with some information about it.

What I really, REALLY love about this book is the author’s note in the back.  He has photos of his process: he actually made replicas of the art to go along with his art kitten and mouse so they all fit together.  He explains that while he could have taken a photo of the art and then digitally put Dylan (his Russian Blue / Siamese cat mix) in the picture, just as people are now using computers and AI to create lots of things.  As he says, “But where’s the satisfaction in that? The computer created it, not us.”  He points out the fun of creating things on your own, be it a picture or a story or a statue.

That’s what this book is really all about:  the joy of creation. 

This is a book I will treasure.  And just maybe, I’ll try to do a little painting of my own.

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Millie, a former child star all grown up, goes on a pilgrimage to take the remains of Rose McIntyre Nash, her elderly best friend, to be reunited with her one true love. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Wrong.

In the Washington DC airport, flights are suddenly grounded due to a computer glitch. Everyone, and I mean everyone is suddenly scrambling for alternative travel arrangements. Millie is about to share a ride with a stranger (but Mike was so nice and he has dogs at home!) but a grumpy friend of a friend who just happens to have been booted from the same flight steps in, and insists that it won’t be a problem for Millie to ride to Miami with him. Grumpily insists, that is, as is Hollis’ usual temperament.

Enter the olive oil spill on a major highway, dark back roads, a deer, a bed and breakfast, 25 framed Jesuses, and the Gadsley Broccoli Festival.

Hollis is a cynic and doesn’t believe in true love, but there is a spark between him and Millie. In the usual rom-com kind of way, their companionship develops into something more…but what lies in wait at the end of this roadtrip?

The story alternates between Millie’s present predicament, the friendship she shared with Mrs. Nash before her recent passing, and the love story that blossomed in 1944 wartime between a young Rose and Elsie. Both sweet and spicy, this was an enjoyable trip through the country and through the lives of the characters.