Xepherus Reads

    Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,         The Retreat is the second book in the Detective Elin Warner Series. It is written by Sarah Pearse and is published by Penguin Random House.    The events of The Sanatorium catapulted Detective Elin Warner out of administrative leave, and into a murder investigation. Weeks later Warner is officially back on the job. Someone is picking off vacationers at Reaper's Rock, a wellness retreat off the English Coast.  Elin meets up with Jo and her vacationing group after one of their own is found broken and bloody at the bottom of a cliff.    Elin cannot trust any of them and keeps her sense sharp. As she breaks in a new partner and deals with a new boss, Elin is against the odds. But a mysterious stalker has begun threatening Elin, leaving photographic evidence that they are steps away from her. Could the stalker and the killer be one-in-the-same? Elin will have to move quickly before ...

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,         The Sanatorium is written by Sarah Pearse and is the first book in the now three-book series. It is published by Penguin Books and was a Reese Witherspoon pick.     In it, we are introduced to Elin Warner, a detective on leave after a traumatizing case almost killed her. She is on her way to the posh hotel, Le Sommet, in the Crans-Montana area of Switzerland. There, she will be reunited with her estranged brother, Isaac, to celebrate his engagement to their longtime friend, Laure.    But the hotel has a past that has been kept hidden from the public. It is a past that begins a new body count, as staff begin to turn up dead. And with a snowstorm, avalanche, and cunning killer on the loose, can Elin defy the odds to solve the case or become the next victim?    The Sanatorium was a page-turner. Pearse has a writing style I enjoyed and she gave the reader a cast of excellent...

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,      It is time to begin sharing my  2026 Xepherus Reads  Reading Challenge results.    The challenge dates are January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026  Book Challenge books read: 12/50) Books Read Not in a Category: (88) Total Books Read: (100)   Updated 08/24/2026   Xepherus Reads Challenge categories (in alphabetical order):                 A 2025 Goodreads Choice winner- A banned book- A biography of a celebrity- A book a Netflix show was based on- A book by a debut author- A book by your favorite author you have not read- Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena (****) A book featuring your favorite character- One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni (****) A book from your childhood- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury  (*****) A Book of the Month Club Book- A book over 500 pages- A book published during the 1970s- A book pu...

    Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,          Don't Let Him In is written by Lisa Jewell, and is published by Atria Books.    In this tale of deceit and murder, we meet Ash Swann. She is currently living with her parents after a rough patch. But when her father is pushed in front of a subway train, her life falls apart. During their bereavement, a man from her dad's past arrives. He is kind and loving and has stories of her father. Her mother begins seeing this man named Nick, and suspicions begin to rise to the surface.   Ash begins to look into Nick Radcliffe's past. With each interview it is becoming clear he is not who he claims to be. As she closes in on the truth, she realizes she is playing a game of cat and mouse with a man one step ahead of her.    Lisa Jewell has always been the kind of author that writes a juicy plot. When I open her books, I can expect family drama, suspense, and a few surprises. This nove...