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The Crash by Freida McFadden
One of those fast-paced thrillers you can finish in a single sitting. It follows a woman whose life suddenly spirals, set against the backdrop of a snowstorm that adds tension to every moment. It’s dramatic and messy, the kind of story that keeps you listening even when you’re rolling your eyes at the familiar tropes (yes, that's me). An entertaining quickie when you need to kill some time.
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The Roses of May by Dot Hutchison
A chilling follow-up to The Butterfly Garden, Dot Hutchison’s Roses of May follows Priya, a young woman still reeling from her sister’s unsolved murder. As she struggles with grief and fear, she becomes the target of the same killer who has been hunting girls across the country. With the FBI watching over her, and her bond with Inara from book one offering quiet strength, Priya must find a way to reclaim her life while living under the shadow of a predator who always seems one step ahead.
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Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista
Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista is a gut-punch of a memoir about covering Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines. Evangelista takes you straight into crime scenes, grieving homes, and courtrooms, telling the stories of the people left behind while dissecting the language and politics that made the killings possible. It’s about the human cost, the trauma of witnessing, and the messy truth of doing journalism in a country where justice feels out of reach.
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The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
Haunting, beautiful, and disturbing all at once, it makes you think about survival, silence, and how trauma can twist someone’s sense of safety. I didn’t love every part (I expected a scarier villain, to be honest), but the writing pulled me in completely. The mix of horror and reflection gave me chills, and I found myself stopping on certain lines just to breathe them in.
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Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
A slow, tender read that started as cozy bookshop escapism and ended with me unexpectedly crying. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop felt warm and gentle at first, but its unhurried pacing led to an emotional payoff that hit me hard. It’s not the perfect timing for me to read it, but I still deeply appreciate its message, its quiet beauty, and the way it stayed with me after I closed the last page.
