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It's never too early to start your holiday reads, darlings, so The Tech Guy and I are each sharing six books on our respective holiday TBR stacks. A few are favorite rereads, several are brand-new to both of us, and the genre range this year is a bit wild.

My picks lean warm and cozy, from a festive Christmas bookshop to a classic, but Christmas-y, Poirot mystery. The Tech Guy brings a few favorites he reads every single year, a Christmas thriller, a Dickens-inspired murder, and even a Christmas horror anthology. Yikes. 😱

Twelve books covering a range of moods and interests. There's something in here for everyone...and maybe at least one most will want to stay away from. 😉 We decided to start early this year so you have time to find them at your local bookstore or library. You can find indie bookstore links for all our recs here: https://bookshop.org/lists/holiday-2026-tbr

Tune in, then tell us what is on your holiday stack. And, somebody, PLEASE find the Tech Guy his next Skipping Christmas!

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The Ashland Mystery Fest just wrapped its fourth year, and The Tech Guy and I are still riding high while we recap all of it for you. We talk through our favorite moments like the hilarious and cathartic Mean Reviews panel, the live build-a-mystery with two bitchy geese and a pet psychic, book bedazzling, escape rooms that humbled even the pro mystery authors, and a town-wide whodunit where one of us was unmasked as the killer. 😱 More than that, we get into what makes this festival so different. It is reader-forward, it takes over the whole town, and, this year, readers came in from more than 90 cities across four countries to be part of it. Then we look ahead to year five.

The 5th Annual Ashland Mystery Fest is October 14 to 17, 2027. Subscribe, mark your calendar, and start planning your trip now!
https://www.ashlandmysteryfest.com

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This episode opens with an excerpt from A Murder at Midnight, book four in the Novel Detectives, releasing October 13th. Then The Tech Guy and I discuss the book, spoiler-free, of course.

When a popular ghost-hunting TV crew takes over the Secret Bookcase for an overnight shoot, Annie agrees because the publicity could be a wonderful for an indie bookshop. But when a crew member ends up dead, the haunting turns out to be the least of her worries. I describe this one as a grown-up Scooby-Doo with all the spooky Halloween atmosphere, but none of the jump-scares or nightmares. I also share the real haunted estate that inspired the Secret Bookcase, what it's like having a protagonist who is a licensed private investigator, and some series news I'm thrilled to announce.

Some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.

Preorder A Murder at Midnight: https://link.amazon/B05gx0idP

Preorder A Fatal Frost (Book 5, January): https://link.amazon/B01HbuSXC

Subscribe, and tell us in the comments: what would you name a real-life detective agency? Ellie and The Tech Guy are taking submissions.

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