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Let’s make a list of books for our April TBR 2025! A thrilling mix of mystery, espionage, horror, and adventure!
From the historical intrigue of What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez to the pulse-pounding political thriller Damascus Station by David McCloskey – this month promises edge-of-your-seat storytelling.
If you’re a lover of unconventional fantasy, dive into Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman! Crime and noir lovers have plenty to savour with Little Red Death by AK Benedict, Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper, and Crimson Lake by Candice Fox!
If that weren’t enough, the chilling horror of The Queen by Nick Cutter ensures some sleepless nights, and Call for the Dead by John le Carré delivers classic spy intrigue. Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado rounds out the list, as a high-stakes thriller that blends psychological depth with action-packed twists.
Let’s having a cracking reading month, friends!
‘What the River Knows’ by Isabel Ibanez
You don’t need to ‘sign up’ or have ‘special elite access’ to join the Fishbird Central Book Club. Just read along with our chosen book for the month, and let us know how you like it!
We’ll talk a little more in depth about the Book Club and our thoughts on the monthly book pick in our Fishbird Central Newsletter. We’d love to chat with you in the newsletter comments!
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We encourage you to always source books from your local independent bookshop. However, we understand this is sometimes not practical based on location or budget.
Therefore, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means, if you click on the link and purchase the book from that link, I get a few dollars at no extra cost to you! This way we can both restock our TBR stack! 😀
Happy Reading, Friends!
Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Secrets of the Nile‘ series.
'What the River Knows' Back Blurb:
In the glittering society of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, Inez Olivera has everything, except the one thing she really wants: her parents, who frequently leave her behind on their globetrotting adventures. Then she receives a terrible letter: her parents have passed away in mysterious circumstances. Determined to uncover the truth, she sets sails for their last port-of-call, Cairo, bringing only her sketch pads and an ancient ring that her father sent to her for safekeeping. But upon her arrival in Egypt, the ring flares with ancient magic, and Inez is thrust into a treacherous game that could threaten her life – and into the path of her new guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant, who seems determined to thwart her at every turn.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Damascus Station‘ series.
'Damascus Station' Back Blurb:
CIA case officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad’s recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy. But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad’s spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl‘ series.
'Dungeon Crawler Carl' Back Blurb:
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what. Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.
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Series or Standalone?:
This book is a standalone novel.
'Little Red Death' Back Blurb:
DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders. But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is a standalone novel.
'The Queen' Back Blurb:
On a sunny morning in June, Margaret Carpenter wakes up to find a new iPhone on her doorstep. She switches it on to find a text from her best friend, Charity Atwater. The problem is, Charity’s been missing for over a month. Most people in town – even the police – think she’s dead. Margaret and Charity have been lifelong friends. They share everything, know the most intimate details about one another … except for the destructive secret hidden from them both. A secret that will trigger a chain of events ending in tragedy, bloodshed, and death. And now Charity wants Margaret to know her story – the real story. In a narrative that takes place over one feverish day, Margaret follows a series of increasingly disquieting breadcrumbs as she forges deeper into the mystery of her best friend – a person she never truly knew at all.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is a standalone novel.
'Everybody Knows' Back Blurb:
Welcome to Mae Pruett’s LA. A ‘black-bag’ publicist at one of Hollywood’s most powerful crisis PR firms, Mae’s job isn’t to get good news out, it’s to keep the bad news in and contain the scandals. But just as she starts to question her job and life choices, her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and everything changes. Investigating with the help of an ex-boyfriend, Mae dives headlong into a neon joyride through the jungle of contemporary Hollywood. Pitted against the twisted system she’s worked so hard to perpetuate, she’s desperately fighting for redemption, and her life.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Crimson Lake‘ series.
'Crimson Lake' Back Blurb:
Six minutes – that’s all it took to ruin Detective Ted Conkaffey’s life. Accused but not convicted of abducting a teenage girl, he escapes north, to the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake. Amanda Pharrell knows what it’s like to be public enemy number one. Maybe it’s her murderous past that makes her so good as a private investigator, tracking lost souls in the wilderness. Her latest target, missing author Jake Scully, has a life more shrouded in secrets than her own – so she enlists help from the one person in town more hated than she is: Ted Conkaffey. But the residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair’s every move. And for Ted, a man already at breaking point, this town is offering no place to hide.
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Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘George Smiley‘ series.
'Call for the Dead' Back Blurb:
After a routine security check by George Smiley, civil servant Samuel Fennan apparently kills himself. When Smiley finds Circus head Maston is trying to blame him for the man’s death, he begins his own investigation, meeting with Fennan’s widow to find out what could have led him to such desperation. But on the very day that Smiley is ordered off the enquiry he receives an urgent letter from the dead man. Do the East Germans – and their agents – know more about this man’s death than the Circus previously imagined?
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Series or Standalone?:
This is Book One in the ‘Antonia Scott‘ series.
'Red Queen' Back Blurb:
Antonia Scott is special. Very special. She is not a policewoman or a lawyer. She has never wielded a weapon or carried a badge, and yet, she has solved dozens of crimes. But it’s been awhile since Antonia left her attic in Madrid. The things she has lost are much more important to her than the things awaiting her outside. She also doesn’t receive visitors. That’s why she really, really doesn’t like it when she hears unknown footsteps coming up the stairs. Whoever it is, Antonia is sure that they are coming to look for her. And she likes that even less.
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