Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Summer 2026 (Part Two)

Even though I rarely stick to them, I love making seasonal TBR lists. I also enjoy hopping around to all of your blogs and seeing what you're planning to read next. So, I'm excited for today's prompt: Top Ten Books On My Summer 2026 To-Read List. I actually started doing this topic last week; if you missed Part One of my list, it's here. Today, we'll be moving onto Part Two, which consists mainly of mysteries, many of which are the first installments in a series because, you know, I'm not stuck in the middle of enough series right now! Ha ha.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Books On My Summer 2026 To-Read List (Part Two)

1. A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke—The good folks at St. Martin's Press have kindly sent me ARCs of all the books in the Ruby and Cordelia paranormal mystery series. Since the third installment will be published in October, I figure it's high time I finally start this series. I began reading A New Lease On Death today and I'm enjoying it so far.

The novel is about a recently-deceased woman who is unable, for some reason, to move on to the afterlife. With nothing else to do, she's been hanging out in her old apartment, even though it is now inhabited by a 20-year-old chatterbox who's too perky for her own good. When their congenial across-the-hall neighbor is murdered, the two form an unlikely partnership in order to solve what the police are dismissing as a mugging gone wrong. 

2. Under a Gilded Moon by Joy Jordan-Lake—This historical novel centers around Kerry MacGregor, a young woman who's called home from college in New York City to attend to family matters in her Appalachian hometown. Nearby, the Vanderbilts are constructing a palatial mansion called Biltmore House. The acquisition of the MacGregors' land is required to complete the building project. Caught in a collision between wealth and poverty, progress and stagnation, pride and desperation, Kerry must decide whether to sell out or hold tight to what she has in spite of the consequences.

3. Beach Thriller by Jamie Day—Day's books are hit-and-miss for me, but I'm up for reading their newest effort. It's about a novelist beset by writer's block who returns to her family home on a Massachusetts beach on strict instructions from her agent to write a best-selling novel. Haunted by her sister's death, which occurred years ago at the seaside cottage, the writer feels increasingly like she is being watched. Because she is. As the author starts to write about what really happened to her sister, it becomes crystal clear that someone will do anything to stop her from revealing the truth.

4. Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty (available August 4, 2026)—Although I've read a bunch of books by Liane Moriarty, I've never explored those by her novelist sisters. Time Travel for Beginners, Jaclyn's newest, seems like a good place to start. It's about a time travel agency in Sydney, Australia, that seems to attract customers among those who need it most. The lives of three very different people are about to converge as they come together at the mysterious Agency...

5. A Deadly Inheritance by Kelley Armstrong—In Armstrong's newest YA novel, a teenager is mourning the recent loss of her mother. After the death, Lilianna is "rescued" by the wealthy, estranged grandparents she has never met. They pack her off to an exclusive boarding school which hides some sinister secrets behind its glittering facade.  

6. You Had Me at Bigfoot by Nancy Campbell Allen (available July 7, 2026)—This cozy mystery series opener sounds super fun. It stars a green investigative journalist and a award-winning war photographer who are both covering an important wedding in the Pacific Northwest. When a maid goes missing, the unlikely duo find themselves teaming up to investigate a tantalizing mystery involving a lost treasure, a web of lies, and...Sasquatch?

7. The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee—I've been re-reading Lee's engaging YA Victorian mystery series starring 17-year-old secret agent Mary Quinn. In this second installment, Mary disguises herself as a boy in order to go undercover to investigate a mysterious death at the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. 

8. Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman—The first book in the Mrs. Blossom mystery series, this installment introduces the main character, a retired assistant to a private investigator. Having won the lottery, Mrs. Blossom has embarked on a cruise through France. On the flight to France, she meets Allan, the first man to interest her since the passing of her husband. Twenty-four hours later, Allan is dead in Paris, a city he is not supposed to be in. Mrs. Blossom's detecting skills are clearly needed to find out what happened to the unfortunate man.

9. The Secret Bookstore Sleuth Society by Lindsay Currie (available September 15, 2026)—Although I've been tempted in the past, I've yet to read anything by Currie, who usually writes children's horror novels. I received an e-ARC of her forthcoming book, the first installment in a new middle grade series. It revolves around four besties who become stranded in a book-themed inn during an ice storm. When a guest is murdered on the premises, they must combine their sleuthing skills to figure out whodunit.

10. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie—As soon as I finish this post, I need to start tidying up my messy kitchen. Good thing I've got a new audiobook to start! This book, published in 1993, is the first installment in the long-running Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. In their first outing, the duo investigate a death at a country house party gone wrong. 

There you go, ten more books I'm hoping to read this summer. Have you read any of them? Which titles are you planning to enjoy in the next few months? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!