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

1. A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (available January 20, 2026)—St. James is one of my favorite authors for this kind of read. I started an e-ARC of her newest novel last night, and it's already tingling my spine quite thoroughly. It's about three adult siblings, all of whom experience paranormal visions of some kind or another, who are called back to their haunted ancestral home by the spirit of their younger brother, who disappeared when he was a child. Desperate for the answers that might finally allow them all to live in peace, the trio reunite to face the horrors of their shared past.

2. The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller—After causing a scandal on two continents by leaving her abusive husband, Alva Webster is now a widow with the freedom to do as she pleases. What she wants is a fresh start, which includes renovating a neglected Hyde Park mansion. Unfortunately, the old pile is haunted and only one man—an eccentric scandal-maker in his own right—can rid it of its resident ghost. Alva has no choice but to let him into her home, her history, and, perhaps, even into her heart.

3. Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner—The first installment in a new cozy mystery series, this book features Carissa Blackwood, a ghostwriter whose life is rapidly falling apart. Needing a fresh start, she moves into the haunted home of her deceased grandfather, which her two occult-loving aunts have turned into a B&B. When a guest is poisoned, seemingly by an herb from her aunt's poison garden, Carissa finds herself investigating a murder. With the aid of a handsome reporter and her grandpa's ghost, Carissa is determined to find the killer.

4. The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand—When a deadly fire blazed through it, killing a young chambermaid, the titular hotel, once a glittering Golden Age gem, crumbled into a budget motel, then a ruined eyesore. An English billionaire is pouring massive money into restoring it to its former glory, in spite of staffing drama and the antics of the chambermaid's ghost. 

5. Pearls and Poison by Erin Lindsey (available December 2, 2025)—This is the fourth installment in the always entertaining Rose Gallagher mystery series. It's about a housemaid turned paranormal investigator in Gilded Age New York City. In this outing, Rose is on her own to recover stolen jewels and solve a murder. Meanwhile, her closest friends and family members are being threatened. Can she succeed in spite of everything standing in her way?

6. The Last Resort by Erin Estrada Kelly—In this middle-grade novel, 12-year-old Lila gets into a car accident on the way to her grandpa's funeral in Ohio. She's fine, except that now she can see ghosts. Her grandpa uses her new ability to inform her that he was murdered and he wants Lila to find out whodunit. He suspects the killer wanted access to his old Victorian home, which is not just a mansion-turned-inn, but a portal between the lands of the living and the dead. 

7. When We Spoke to the Dead: How Ghosts Gave American Women Their Voice by Ilise S. Carter—The Spiritualist movement swept through the Victorian world, capturing everyone from nobodies to noblewomen in its wake. This non-fiction book explores how the movement helped women who lived in a repressed society find their voices and their power. Sounds fascinating!

8. The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy—Pete and Loretta Davenport live a picture perfect, God-fearing life in 1955 Missouri. Then, a girl is murdered in their hometown. When Loretta begins receiving messages from the Beyond, Pete blames them on her overactive imagination. She finds support from a male parapsychologist, even as her husband becomes more incensed, believing she's been possessed by a devil. Torn between a strange new purpose and her husband's demand for conformity, Loretta must decide who she really is and what she really wants.

9. A Grave Gift by Christy Carlyle (available December 23, 2025—In this first book of a new historical mystery series, Electra Poole quietly plies her trade as a psychic in Spiritualist-obsessed London. When she's summoned by a noblewoman, Electra foresees the woman's impending death but chooses to say nothing. Her client's subsequent murder fills the psychic with so much guilt that she seeks the help of a Scotland Yard policeman to help her find the woman's killer. As the pair edge ever closer to the truth, Electra finds her own life in peril.

10. The Spite House by Johnny Compton—This horror novel might be a little too terrifying for me, but the premise is intriguing. Fleeing his past with his two daughters in tow, Eric Ross is desperate to find a safe place to land. Without any references, his job prospects are few. When he sees an ad seeking a caretaker for a supposedly haunted house, he's intrigued. If he can prove to the owner that the home is indeed bespirited (without going crazy in the process), he'll receive a large paycheck and maybe, just maybe, answers to some big questions about the strange power that seems to cling to his family.

There you go, ten ghostly tales that are haunting my TBR list. Have you read any of them? What other spooky (but not super scary) ghost stories would you recommend? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Even though it's 105 degrees here in Arizona today, I'm sure it's starting to feel like Fall somewhere, so I'm breaking out an Autumn-themed TTT banner. It will still feel like summer in the Phoenix area for awhile, unfortunately, but at least I can pretend, right?

In honor of Labor Day, which we celebrated yesterday here in the U.S., today's TTT theme is: Top Ten Books With Occupations in the Title. I'm going to scour my TBR list to see what I can find. Shouldn't be too tough. (Actually, it was a bit hard. I only found eleven, which surprised me since it seems like occupation titles are all the rage these days. Interesting...)

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

1. The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi—This historical novel is based on the true story of Kate Warne, the first female detective in the U.S. In the summer of 1863, she's tasked with gaining the trust of a Confederate socialist and spy. What is already a seemingly impossible task is made even more risky by the secrets Kate herself is hiding.

2. The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill—When attorney Theodosia "Theo" Benton abandons her career in order to concentrate on finishing the novel she's been writing, she knows it's going to cause a stir. Then, her writing mentor is murdered, the police target her brother for the killing, and Theo finds herself following clues left by the dead man in order to solve the crime. 

3. And the Band Played On: The Titanic Violinist and the Glovemaker: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Betrayal by Christopher Ward—In this "outstanding piece of literary detective work," Ward presents the research he did on his grandfather, a violinist who continued to play music with his Titanic bandmates as the great ship sank. The author examines the effects of Jock Hume's death on his pregnant fiancée and other family members.

I'm not sure where the glovemaker comes in, but hey, bonus points for me for finding two occupations in one title! This cover photo actually doesn't show the subtitles. Hmm...

4. The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra—This is the first book in a cozy mystery series set in 1920s India. It stars a new bride who spots a suspicious shadowy figure at a party. When a guest turns up dead and a frightened young woman is accused of the crime, the newlywed can't help herself—she has to investigate. Little does she know just how dangerous sleuthing can be...

5. The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose—I love this fun mystery series! The third installment finds our plucky heroine organizing a shoot at the hotel for a popular antiques appraisal television show. On a whim, she brings in some of her gram's treasures, one of which is, shockingly, of enormous value. When the item is stolen, Molly and her friends launch their own investigation to catch a thief.

6. The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy—It's 1925 and a devastated Sallie Halloran is in desperate need of a change. When she learns that her great-aunt, who is suffering from dementia, needs a live-in caretaker, she heads to the woman's crumbling mansion in the Ozarks to take the job. When her great-aunt starts painting strange, haunting pieces hinting at secrets from the past, a curious Sally starts digging into the artist's life for answers.

7. The Lamplighter's Bookshop by Sophie Austin—Left penniless by her father's gambling debts, Evelyn is desperate to find a way to support herself and her mother. When she learns about a position at a bookstore, she eagerly applies. She's not the only applicant. Can Evelyn and William, an enigmatic writer with his own secrets, find a way to work together to their mutual benefit?

8. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis—This cozy fantasy features a panicked mother whose daughter has just been bitten by a werewolf. Whisked away to a secret magical school community, she is grappling to understand its many oddities—from frightening prophecies to terrifying PTA politics. Will she and her family ever find their way in a strange new club they never asked to join?

9. The Librarians by Sherry Thomas—In a quiet Texas suburb, four quirky librarians have found peace and acceptance working at the local library. When a murder occurs during a library event, their neat world is completely upended. Suddenly, their refuge is at risk and the only way to save it is to trust one another and work together to save their beloved library.

10. The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman—Inspired by the author's family history, this novel tells the story of a war refugee who has found freedom in Vienna. Struggling to survive on very little, Chana risks everything each night as she sneaks back into the hotel kitchen where she works during the day to bake her father's beloved recipes. When she finds herself at the center of a dangerous love triangle, things become even dicier. How can Chana figure out what her heart really wants when she must concentrate her every effort on ekeing out enough of a living to keep herself and her family alive?

There you go, ten books on my TBR list that feature occupations in their titles. Have you read any of these? Which occupation titles did you choose to highlight today? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!  

The majority of the books I read are not set in the here and now, so today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is right up my alley: Top Ten Books Set in Another Time (can be historical, futuristic, alternate timelines, etc.). Since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, I'm going to stick with that, but to jive a little more on the time theme, I'm going to focus on historical novels I'm looking forward to reading that are coming out in the (near) future. I'll try to highlight titles I haven't mentioned here before.

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

1. The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy (coming May 1, 2025)—Set in 1925 in the Ozarks, this novel concerns Sadie Halloran, a grieving young woman in need of a new start. When she learns that her aunt—an artist who lives in a mansion on an Arkansas bluff—is in need of a live-in companion, she jumps at the opportunity. She's soon ensconced in an eerie, decaying house with her dementia-laden aunt who paints terrifying portraits and hints about dark family secrets. Is there any truth behind her aunt's mutterings? Sadie aims to find out...

2. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong (coming May 20, 2025)—The Rip Through Time historical mystery series is one of my all-time favorites. It's about a homicide detective who is assaulted while visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Mallory awakens, she discovers she's still in the city, but it's now 1869 and she's inhabiting the body of a saucy young housemaid. Her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, is a physician who moonlights as a medical examiner. As Mallory tries to figure out how to get herself home, she can't help but try to help Dr. Gray solve the cases of violent death that show up in his morgue, even if it means blowing her cover. Eventually, she tells him the truth and is able to aid him more openly.

In Death at a Highland Wedding, the fourth book in the series, Mallory and Duncan travel to the Highlands to attend an acquaintance's nuptials. While exploring the grounds of the groom's ancestral castle, they come across a wildcat caught in one of the groom's traps. The animal's wounds don't match its apparent cause of death, however, which puzzles Mallory and Duncan. When a murder occurs at the wedding, they find themselves investigating a strange and mysterious case.

3. Smoke on the Wind by Kelli Estes (coming June 24, 2025)—Also set in the Scottish Highlands, this novel is about two mothers traveling the West Highland Way with their sons, 200+ years apart. When Keaka Denney starts having strange visions of a woman from the past who's in dire need of help, it leads to an odd, logic-defying encounter that just might save both women. 

4. Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs (coming July 15, 2025)—Based on a true story, Wiggs' newest concerns a group of young women who are inmates at a Catholic reform school in 1968. They've been brought there for various reasons—fighting, unwed pregnancy, same-sex attraction, protection, etc—and now must figure out how to survive their sentences without going mad. 

That's all the plot I can find for this one. The story sounds interesting but depressing, although the publisher's blurb promises that it's "life-affirming." I hope so! 

5. The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman (coming July 29, 2025)—I don't always love Wiseman's books, but this one sounds too intriguing to miss. It's set in 1930s rural Virginia, against the backdrop of the eugenics movement in the United States which led to the forced sterilization of thousands of people because of their race, lack of education, poverty, disability, etc. Lena Conti, an unwed mother with a 2-year-old daughter, is left alone at Ellis Island when the rest of her family is sent back to Germany. A relative of the family, a widower with young children, agrees to house Lena in exchange for housework and childminding. As she adjusts to her new life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she realizes that people in this tight-knit community are deathly afraid of the government, which is trying to paint them all as too backward and ignorant to have children and land. When Lena's worst fears are realized and she finds herself torn away from her daughter, she resolves to do anything she has to to get her back. 

6. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (coming August 1, 2025)—When something terrible happens, shattering Kathleen McDaniel's hopes for a privileged, peaceful life in New York, she runs as far and as fast as she can. She finds a home on Galveston Island, Texas, where she works at an orphanage helping the nuns care for the children. When her past comes callling at the same time the infamous 1900 hurricane starts brewing, Kathleen must find some way to survive everyting that is coming for her.

7. The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson (coming August 26, 2025)—Prohibition may be in full force, but in the Missouri Ozarks, the Strong family does what it always has—makes moonshine. With their father drowning his grief over their mother's death in his own product, it's up to the three Strong sisters to keep the business running. That's no easy task with Prohibition agents hiding in every holler. When tragedy strikes, the women will have to fight even harder to keep their business and their family together.

8. The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell (coming September 16, 2025)—Romance really isn't my genre, but this love story just sounds like fun. It's about two actors who are starring together in an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. There are plenty of emotions zinging back and forth between them...just not the good kind. When an electrical accident transports the sniping co-stars back to the Regency Era, they have to work together to figure out how to get home, preferably without totally screwing up history. Can they do it?

9. The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes (coming September 30, 2025)—In 1949, eleven years after a radio station dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells convinced Americans that Martians were invading the planet, an Eucadorian station decided to broadcast their own version. Appalled listeners, terrified of impending alien gas raids, set fire to the radio station building, killing fifteen people. 

This novel tells this tragic true tale through the eyes of two journalists whose families were profoundly affected by what happened at the radio station. Although they don't trust each other, they decide to work together to find the answers both of them are desperately seeking. 

10. The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermott (coming October 14, 2025)—Another novel that is based on a true story, this one takes place at a Manhattan house party thrown by Alfred Hitchcock in 1956. The famous movie director is delighted to announce to his celebrity guests that the venue he's chosen for his gala is known to be haunted. When ghostly happenings start occurring, Carolyn Banks (whose aunt owns the home) must confront some long-held family secrets. 

There you are, ten upcoming historical fiction titles that I can't wait to read. Are you a hist fic fan? Which are your favorites? If you're not into the genre, why not? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.