Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.

The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.

This week’s theme is Books on My Autumn 2025 To-Read List. A nice, easy list to compile this week. My reading tends to be scheduled months in advance so this list has already written itself 😂. Helped along by last week’s Top Ten Tuesday post where I suddenly realised I have a lot of books by my favourite authors still to read! 

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1. The Captive by Kit Burgoyne
Underground revolutionary group, The Nail, and their newest member, Luke have kidnapped 23-year-old heiress Adeline Woolsaw, whose wealthy parents run the Woolsaw Group, a vast outsourcing company. They run everything from prisons and hospitals to military bases – quietly suffocating the country with the help of powerful friends in government.

The Nail’s plan: to use the kidnapping to draw attention to the Woolsaw Group and their terrible practices. But with Adeline bundled into their van, The Nail discover two things. The first is that she’s just about to give birth. And the second is that this isn’t a normal baby. In fact, it has devastating supernatural powers. Because the father of this baby wasn’t a man, it was… something else. Something that her parents make human sacrifices to on an altar in the basement of their Highgate mansion. And all this time the Woolsaw Group has been preparing the ground for the Woolsaws’ real aim: an infernal new kingdom that will rise with Adeline’s son sitting on its throne.

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2. The Othello Club by J.D. Pennington
Emily had the perfect life – the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect husband – before she was blindsided and betrayed and lost it all. Now she’s sitting in a divorce counselling group wondering how she’ll ever feel okay again. What she wants is her old life back, and these group sessions seem to be the only way she’ll be able to move on – past the jealousy, the hurt, and the daydreams of getting revenge.

And it seems everyone in the group is in the same boat: jilted by an ex-partner and struggling to cope. So over post-therapy drinks, the six divorcées come up with the brilliant idea to get a little payback of their own – Strangers-on-a-Train style, with each getting even on another’s behalf. Nothing serious – just enough to disrupt their former partner’s picture-perfect lives.

Emily is hesitant at first, but the more her old life spins away from her, the less she worries about her morals – plus, they agreed no one would get hurt.

But just when the group think they’ve pulled off the perfect petty crimes, one of the exes is found dead… and then another… and another…

With DI Rosa Hawkes on their case and the plan spiralling out of control, Emily doesn’t know who she can trust, and if divorce taught her anything, it’s that you can’t trust anyone, even the people you love. Especially the people you love. Let alone perfect strangers like these.

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3. No Safe Place by Hannah Brennan
You can’t hide from the past…

Fifteen years ago, five vulnerable teenagers took part in a life-changing study of OCD. Now, their psychologist has been brutally stabbed and left for dead.

DCI Liz Field and her team have barely started their investigation when there is another frenzied attack. This time, the victim is one of the former patients. Are the others now in grave danger – or dangerous?

But as the DCI is pulled deeper into the disturbing case, it starts to hits too close to home. To outwit the murderer, Field must venture into the last place she wants to – her own buried past…

This page-turning crime thriller debut is perfect for fans of Nadine Matheson, Sam Holland, and Helen Fields.

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4. The Lake by Catherine Cooper
A remote Scottish lake

The guests arriving at Creaglie Castle are expecting discreet luxury, panoramic views, and perhaps a glimpse of one of its infamous ghosts.

No means of escape

When a violent storm severs all contact with the mainland, it’s not the spirits they need to fear…

Trust no one

As the past resurfaces and trust vanishes, it’s clear that not everyone will be leaving Creaglie Castle alive.

Will The Lake give up its secrets, before somebody else dies?

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5. The Whistler by S.W. Kane
Deep beneath London, urban explorer Connie Darke stumbles across a mutilated body in the city’s decaying sewer system. Moments later, a strange whistling sound follows her through the tunnels―low, eerie, impossible to trace.

DI Lew Kirby is assigned the case. The victim is a wealthy financier with no clear reason to be underground―and no shortage of enemies above it. As Kirby investigates, Connie uncovers chilling new clues about the unexplained death of her sister. Both are drawn deeper into a world of hidden networks, buried secrets, and obsession.

And someone out there is watching them both, following them both…

As the city’s hidden layers begin to crack open, Kirby and Connie must confront the terrifying possibility that whoever, or whatever, is stalking them has been waiting a long time to emerge.

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6. The Drop by S.R. Masters
Only the bravest dare to ride the highest roller coaster in the world, Hysteria…

You’re a thrill seeker who loves an adrenaline rush.

You’re offered the chance to ride a roller coaster. The highest one in the world. A once in a lifetime opportunity, after hours, no queuing, no restrictions.

But then the roller coaster stops. 200 metres above ground.

You realise no one is around. No one can hear your scream.

You’re stranded. There is no help coming. How will you escape?

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7. Mimik by Sebastian Fitzek
Hannah can always spot a killer. Until she looks in the mirror.

Hannah Herbst is Germany’s most experienced facial resonance expert. She can successfully ‘read’ a suspect through a tiny twitch of the lip or the flicker of a pupil. As a consultant to the police, she has already helped convict a number of violent criminals.

Struggling with the effects of memory loss after an operation, Hannah is confronted with the most terrible case of her career: a woman has confessed on video to brutally murdering every member of her family, except for her young son.

When the woman manages to escape from prison, the fear is she will go after the rest of her family… Only Hannah can tell if the video actually holds the truth.

There is just one problem: the woman in the video is Hannah herself.

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8. Last One Left Alive by Michael Wood
FIVE PERFECT MURDERS

DCI Matilda Darke receives an anonymous email from someone claiming to have committed the perfect murder. Experience tells her this isn’t possible, but as she investigates, she discovers a killer questioning everything she’s ever known.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Now, Matilda is on the trail of a murderer who targets the most vulnerable people in society. Apart from ‘With Sympathy…’ cards, hand delivered to the family of his victims, he leaves no trace of his crimes.

A KILLER’S DEADLY GAME

As the threat escalates, and those closest to Matilda are targeted, she finds herself isolated and alone in bringing down her opponent before it’s game over. After all, there can only be one winner in this game of cat-and-mouse, and the clock is ticking…

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9. Written in Blood by Chris Carter
A serial killer who will stop at nothing…

The Killer
His most valuable possession has been stolen.
Now he must retrieve it, at any cost.

The Girl
Angela Wood wanted to teach the man a lesson. It was a bag, just like any other.
But when she opens it, the worst nightmare of her life begins.

The Detective
A journal ends up on Robert Hunter’s desk. It soon becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose.
And if Hunter can’t stop him in time, more people will die.
Starting with Angela.

If you have read it
You must die

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10. Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza
Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly became a nightmare.

Fifteen years after those catastrophic, career-ending events, a copycat killer has taken up the Nine Elms mantle, continuing the ghastly work of his idol.

Enlisting her brilliant research assistant, Tristan Harper, Kate draws on her prodigious and long-neglected skills as an investigator to catch a new monster. But there’s much more than her reputation on the line: Kate was the original killer’s intended fifth victim . . . and his successor means to finish the job.

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What a fabulous looking list of books. Many of these are review copies with a few of my own books stuck on the end (again, last week’s list couldn’t have come at a better time!). I’m really looking forward to all of these so keep your eyes peeled for reviews coming to the blog soon.

Have you read any of these books? Any of them you think I should prioritise above the rest? What are you most looking forward to on your Autumn/Fall reading list? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.

So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!

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