Kat’s 2026 Book List

Fiction

The Widow, by John Grisham. I chose this as my first book of 2026 (after slogging through my final 2025 book for several weeks) because Grisham was one of my mom’s favorite’s, and I often find myself honoring her with my book choices. The Widow was described as Grisham’s first whodunnit (most of his other books are courtroom dramas), but it takes an awfully long time for the “dunnit” to get done. Once the victim dies, the novel curiously seems to go into warp speed as the protagonist is charged with murder – and gets a lot more interesting. I also enjoyed Grisham’s reference to John D. McDonald, my dad’s favorite author (in fact, I don’t recall my dad reading anything but John D. McDonald). As noted, I’ve made many reading homages to my mom, but never to my dad, so I’ve decided to read a John D. McDonald 60s detective novel this year.

Tart, by Slutty Cheff. I chose this selection because my son read it, and it seemed like a fun, relatively short read after what seemed like a lengthy streak of long books. It’s the memoir of a Brit career gal who is bored with corporate life and decides to become a chef.