Janet Gordon is married, retired, obsessed with her Westlake Terrier, Rollo – and books are her passion. She reads multiple books a week across all genres and reviews them for Rest Less.
This month’s round-up features Death Writ Large, The Killer’s Mark, Based on a True Story, The Nile Cruise, Welcome to the Family, and The Family Break.
Note: Prices can often change, so you may notice some variations on the providers’ websites. Prices and availability are accurate as of the 21st of August, 2026.
I had surgery last month, and everybody was telling me not to be nervous. Luckily, I was very preoccupied with taking a couple of really engrossing books into hospital and making sure that I didn’t run out. That happened to me last year, and I was reduced to reading the label on a bottle of sauce…over and over again.
And so, without further ado, here are the books that kept me going.
Death Writ Large by Susie Dent (Amazon £9.99, Kindle £8.99)
I suppose it was inevitable that Susie Dent, with her encyclopaedic knowledge of words, would produce a bestselling novel. This is her second Clarendon Lexicographers mystery, following on from Guilty by Definition, and it again follows lexicographer Martha Thornhill and her colleagues at the Clarendon English Dictionary in Oxford.
It starts with a possible suicide, or maybe murder, when a respected academic falls to his death from a church tower. Then graffiti appears nearby, written in runes: an invented alphabet from a deceased fantasy author whose papers Martha once catalogued – making her the best person to make sense of this mystery. As new messages predict more deaths, the mysterious killer stalks closer.
This is a complicated plot, full of so many riddles that I couldn’t even begin to decipher. But for all that, as the body count rises, I was engrossed. There’s plenty of scope for learning new words. Sadly, the only one I can remember is brollygamp – a slang term for an umbrella. This one was so good that I wouldn’t go down to the hospital theatre until I’d read just another chapter…and then another.
The Killer's Mark by M. W. Craven (Amazon £7.59, Kindle £12.99)
Mike Craven’s Washington Poe and Tilly series might just overtake Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot as the most-anticipated detective series worldwide. All Sunday Times bestsellers, the books have been translated into over 22 languages.
The Killer’s Mark is the eighth instalment in the tales of the crime-solving duo, Poe and Tilly, who have now left the National Crime Agency – although Tilly still freelances for MI5, doing whatever it is spies need a world-class Tilly brain for.
The twosome have taken space on the top floor of Cowrie House, where their nameplate reads Gumshoes for Hire. The only trouble is Poe keeps turning away potential clients, branding them “boring”, until Tilly makes him swear he’ll accept the next job that walks in.
And swear is the operative word, since Esmerée – a potty-mouthed American teenager – is the next case. The girl is looking for her mother, whom she long believed to be dead.
So, as they begin their investigation, will Tilly and Poe find the girl’s parent, or will the dark forces lurking in the background get there first?
I just love this series. There’s such camaraderie between Tilly, Poe, and the book’s supporting characters. Written with wit and humour, you’ll never guess Craven’s thought process as he takes us through such unimaginable rabbit holes and plot twists. Unbearably compulsive, there’s no series like this one. It’s crime writing at its finest.
Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan (Amazon £7.99, Kindle £3.99)
Multi-millionaire children’s author Dame Eleanor Kingham has been persuaded that a 70th birthday bash at her Cornish cliff-top mansion is just what she needs. But the night before the party, she receives an email threatening to reveal the lie she’s kept up for over 50 years. Someone knows her secret, and she begins to suspect it’s one of her three daughters.
Youngest daughter Delia is an influencer and her mother’s clear favourite, but she resents being forever cast as the inspiration for her mother’s famous fictional creation. Middle daughter Rachel has a husband who’s developed such a gambling problem that he’s in hock to dangerous people who’d do anything for money. While Gilly, the eldest, is having an affair with one of her company’s crew who’s looking to make a “warts-and-all” documentary about Dame Eleanor.
As the party draws nearer, the tension ramps up with each chapter, oozing menace as each twist is revealed. I just couldn’t put this one down. If you remember watching Anatomy of a Murder on Netflix, you’ll know just how this author builds tension and draws you in. Based on a True Story is one hell of a read.
The Nile Cruise by Caroline James (Amazon £6.00, Kindle £0.99)
Book two of James’ Cruise Escapes series sees Hattie Mulberry completely worn out by everyone and everything around her. She’s been so busy investigating all kinds of cases that it’s no wonder she’s Cumbria’s most famous detective.
On the brink of going mad, Hattie books an expensive Nile cruise to follow in the footsteps of her favourite author, Agatha Christie. And so, after saying goodbye to her pet duck (because, why not?), she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
Hattie is a people-watcher, and the passengers are almost as fascinating as the cabin views.
As the varied group of cruisers, guided by handsome Egyptologist Sam, travel between the tombs and temples, the sun awakens ancient passions. Will romance blossom? Give it a read to find out…
Welcome to the Family by Kate Gray (Amazon £9.49, Kindle £9.45)
Rosie Riley is crazy about her boyfriend, Theo, and when he invites her to his family Villa in Tuscany, she’s desperate to make a good impression. However, the family aren’t exactly welcoming, and Rosie feels she doesn’t have what it takes to make the cut.
Meanwhile, Fenna – the wife of Theo’s brother – is also desperate for a break, with a newborn baby and a young daughter to look after, and all the sleepless nights that come with it.
But by the end of the holiday, one of these two will be arrested for murder.
Welcome to the Family is such a compulsive, sun-drenched psychological thriller, and one I’d highly recommend.
The Family Break by Ruth Irons (Amazon £8.49, Kindle £0.99)
When travel agent Allegra is offered a complimentary stay for her extended family at a beautiful woodland retreat, she decides it’s difficult to recommend it to customers without experiencing it herself. So, after accepting the offer, the family is delighted to find out that it has everything they could ask for. Its treehouse accommodation delights her two children; plus, there’s a spa for the adults, and of course fine dining, too.
However, Allegra and her husband don’t have the happiest of relationships, as she’s felt disregarded for years. And the family retreat soon begins to deepen her wounds – that is, until she meets one of the guides who really seems to “get” her, making sparks fly. What could go wrong?
I really enjoyed this chiller thriller with such an interesting and cosy setting.
For more reading inspiration, head over to our books, literature, and writing section.
Have you read any of these books? Or have you added any of them to your reading list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.