Everything I Read in September 2026

This was a great month of reading. Eight books total, a mix of thrillers and contemporary fiction. This does not always happen, but this month, the buzziest books were the ones I enjoyed most. Under Story, Switzy, and Fruit Fly have been on every single “must-read” list, and all three really delivered. I highly recommend all three, although Fruit Fly is quite dark and strange, and Switzy will be a trigger for dementia if you’ve lost a loved one to that or have someone in your life suffering from it. PS – last month’s list!

Everything i read in September 2026

Lastly, I would really love to hear what you’re reading in the comments! And if you are new here, check out The Library. I have kept this page meticulously updated for the past twelve+ years. It has every book I’ve read, and you can search, filter by genre, and rank from best to worst.

Thrillers

Wonderland, by Jennifer Hillier

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Hillier. Her thrillers are dark, complex, and sometimes feel more like mysteries than thrillers, but then she adds some crazy suspense or a big twist, so I classify them as thrillers. Whatever you want to call them, I love her books. She always manages to surprise me, which isn’t easy to do! A fun surprise here is that this one felt like a continuation of Wonderland. It’s set in the same town and has a few of the same characters. This one centers around a twenty-five-year-old crime. A handsome drifter (Sam) came through town, meeting three teenage girls: Barb, Nicolette, and Lorelei. When Lorelei was brutally murdered, Sam confessed to it (as well as four other murders). But now, years later, Sam is the focus of a documentary and is saying that he only killed four girls (not Lorelei). Just as this is happening, a new body washes ashore. Barb, now an investigative reporter, finds herself at the center of it all — attempting to solve the new murder case, and Nicolette is a reality television star. Both women (now estranged) have long-held secrets they want to protect. Loved it!

Read this if you loved: Wonderland! The Easter eggs are really fun. Order on Bookshop or Amazon

When You Tell, by Steena Holmes

This is a suspenseful one! It goes a little bit off the rails but I tore through it at breakneck speed. Bree is a ghostwriter for famous people. She’s got ironclad NDA’s and prefers to be completely anonymous. It’s easier that way. After a traumatic incident as a teen and then losing her sister and mother as an adult, she is raising her nephew with her sister — content with a smaller, quieter life. But when her childhood bestie Miranda — now Randi — begs her to help her with her next book, she agrees to do it, despite her gut instincts telling her to run. It will be a chance for the two women to rekindle their friendship and get to know each other as adults. Of course, all is not what it seems. Randi’s manager is super aggressive and a little scary. Randi makes constant viral missteps. Old secrets surface. Bree begins to feel like she made a gigantic mistake, while also fearing for her nephew’s safety. Liked It!

Read this if you loved: Julie Chan is Dead, Under the Influence. Order on Bookshop or Amazon

You Know Why, by J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and I absolutely loved this. Brooklyn Locke and her family are about to go on vacation for the holidays when her husband Trey goes missing at the airport during their connecting flight. She accepts help from a stranger, Eden — who knew Trey in college — and insists that he murdered her younger sister (his first wife). Just when things can’t get any worse, Brooklyn is injured, fighting for her life in the hospital. It’s one twist after another, and things don’t seem like they can get any worse. Meanwhile, Eden has worked her way into Brooklyn’s life, and Brooklyn and her twin sister Margot can’t decide if Eden has their best or worst interests at heart. Are her kindnesses sincere, or is something darker happening? As Brooklyn fights for her life, we meet the detective investigating Trey’s disappearance and learn about other dangerous forces at play. This was absolutely unputdownable. It’s on the longer side, but I still gobbled it up within a couple of days. Really Liked It! 

Read this if you loved: The Last Flight, by Julie Clark (high praise, that was one of my favorite thrillers). Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Paper Cut, by Rachel Taff

I scooped this up ages ago when Olivia Muenter came to Charleston for her book talk with the author. The premise of the talk was that the two books are very similar. I loved Little One, so I couldn’t wait to read this. This fast-paced thriller alternates between past and present. Lucy Golden is a true-crime icon, famous for a murder she committed twenty years ago after escaping a cult. Now, she is living in Los Angeles, milking her fame for what she can — doing all she can to avoid obscurity while managing her narcissistic artist mother and scandalous rock star sister (currently in rehab). When she agrees to be part of a documentary about her case, she does so reluctantly, not wanting her secrets to come out. But of course, as filming begins, secret after secret come out, and Lucy must stop her critics from digging up the truth before it’s too late. I tore through this and especially loved the ending. It was twisty and surprised me twice! Really Liked It!  Read this if you loved: Little One, The Girls // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Before You Were Anne, by Emiko Jean

When Anne Walker is found dead in her home, with her daughter missing, Chelsea Calhoun (a detective — married, pregnant, and thriving in her career) must figure out what happened. As she investigates what happened to Anne Walker (and where her daughter Naomi is), she uncovers one dark secret after another. Her search also raises questions about her own origins: Chelsea was adopted, but she knows very little about her past. As Chelsea digs into Anne’s past, she learns that she was born Rika Takahashi. Rika began her life on a remote Japanese farm and lived in Tokyo for a while, where she worked as a hostess girl for a men’s lounge. From Tokyo, she wound up in Idaho, and then ultimately, Seattle. Rika, now Anne, was a master at reinventing herself in order to stay safe. But someone, somewhere, wanted Rika dead, and that’s what they got. Now Chelsea must figure out who that is to save Naomi before it is too late. Secret after secret emerges, and I didn’t guess the twist or the ending. I loved this because I went in looking for a fun detective-story thriller and got so much more than that—the parts about Japan were riveting, and it’s a meditation on culture and belonging. I really loved this! Loved it!

Read this if you loved: I don’t have anything to compare this to, but that’s a good thing! I will say, I didn’t realize this was technically a sequel (it reads like a standalone), so I ordered the author’s first book, The Return of Ellie Black. // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Contemporary Fiction

Under Story, by Chloe Benjamin

Oh my goodness. This book is a complete and utter masterpiece. Please drop everything and read it! I still cannot believe that Chloe Benjamin a) invented this and b) does not have a background in science! It is definitely one of the best books I have read all year. Laurel Salter is lost, reeling, and hiding after her divorce. On a whim, she moves to Antarctica to wash dishes at McMurdo Station. No one there knows that she was a renowned young scientist before upending her life. One day, a strange light appears on the ice: The Arc. A group of physicists arrives to study it… among them, her ex-husband Eli. Eli and Laurel talk and hypothesize, and Laurel has a wild idea. When Eli agrees to test Laurel’s wild theory, Laurel begins to wonder if there is a way that Eli and she can ever turn back the clock and begin a new story together. It starts out a bit slow and becomes a complete page turner; I spent the better part of the long weekend tucked away reading as I had to know what happened. I really loved this! Loved It!

Read this if you loved: Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button . . . but honestly, there’s nothing else like it! Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Switzy, by Emma Cline

Emma Cline is an auto-buy author for me — I went into this not knowing much. Wow. It is one of the best books I’ve read, but it also broke my heart. There is definitely a trigger if you’ve lost a loved one to dementia, which could make this very hard to read. I cannot get over how well Cline managed to get inside the head of an elderly man as he slowly forgets the world around him, but she did it so beautifully. We get the feeling that David is maybe not the greatest person, but we feel sympathetic toward him anyway as he crosses the Atlantic for dinner with his adult daughter, a meeting with an estranged old friend, and his final destination: an assisted suicide clinic in Zurich. It touches on so many things: mortality, what it feels like to know you are going to die and the world will be just fine without you, what happens when our accomplishments and titles fall away, and it’s just down to us and our relationships . . . I could go on. For me, it was a hard balance: wanting to compulsively read (would he actually go through with it? would his relationships mend?) while also feeling a bit heartbroken and a little haunted. Loved It!

Read this if you loved: I’ve never read anything else like this, but if you liked The Girls and The Guest, you will like this. Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Fruit Fly, by Josh Silver

I loved this book, but I want to stress that it is very dark. And weird. And satirical. So it may not be for you, but wow—I couldn’t put it down. even years ago, Mallory Mitchell was on the verge of greatness with her writing career. But thanks to writer’s block (and a narcissistic husband to be honest), she is flailing. When a chance encounter leads her to Leo, a struggling addict who sleeps under bridges and prostitutes himself for drug money, she’s found her muse. But how far will she go to tell Leo’s story? Mallory puts both herself and her family in danger, lies to her husband (who takes her phone and puts her on lockdown) . . . a wild ride ensues. Meanwhile, we also get to know Leo, who is maybe not telling the whole truth himself. This is satirical and dark, funny at times, hard to read at others — regardless, I could not put it down. Loved It!

Read this if you loved: Yellowface. But also, maybe Stalker, too.. Order on Bookshop or Amazon.