Hello bookish friends and welcome to the all-new and improved #CaseClosed. It’s shorter, it’s sharper but it’s still as FABULOUS as ever 🤣

#CaseClosed is my monthly wrap up post where I share the books I’ve read, the content I’ve posted on the blog, the state of my NetGalley shelf and how my Goodreads challenge is going (spoiler alert, I completed my challenge a while ago now 🤭).

I read five books in November:

➡️ The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr
➡️ Written in Blood by Chris Carter
➡️ Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza
➡️ Worse Than Murder by Michael Wood
➡️ Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

I’m embarrassed! I did take two weeks away from the blog to focus on writing reviews. It seems I have also had a mini reading break, which wasn’t planned.

During November I posted the following reviews to damppebbles (with the two week break I mentioned, it’s been a fairly quiet month on the blog)…

💛 Serial Killer Support Group by Saratoga Schaefer
💛 The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
💛 The Afterparty by Ruth Kelly
💛 The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
💛 The Lake by Catherine Cooper
💛 The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr

I posted two Top Ten Tuesday posts during November…

⚪ The First Ten Books I Randomly Grabbed From My Shelf
⚪ Childhood Favourites

I also posted two WWW Wednesday posts where I share my previous read, my current read and what I plan to read next.

🟧 Wednesday 19th November
🟧 Wednesday 26th November

And of course, there was #CaseClosed for October (albeit slightly later than usual).

My review with the most views in November was once again The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. It’s rapidly turning into my most viewed review post of the year.

My most popular non-review post in November was, once again, this post from 2022: #R3COMM3ND3D2022 The After Show Party. I’m guessing it’s bots rather than #R3COMM3ND3D fans 😂

I have completed my Goodreads Challenge for this year! As things currently stand, I have read 88 books (60 was my goal) 🥂🎉🙌

On to my NetGalley update for this month. This is what I currently have to read on my NetGalley shelf.

💟 We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi (January 2026)
💟 Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (February 2026)
💟 The Exes by Leodora Darlington (February 2026)
💟 How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz (February 2026)
💟 Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward (February 2026)
💟 The Shark by Emma Styles (March 2026)
💟 How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson (March 2026)
💟 It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh (March 2026)
💟 Last One Out by Jane Harper (April 2026)

One of my bookish goals for the year was to keep my NetGalley shelf at five ‘to be read’ books or fewer. I’ve had moments this year where I have managed that. But they’ve never really lasted all that long. Here’s hoping 2026 will be the year I reclaim control!

So in summary…..
January: 11 eARCs to be read | 14 to be reviewed
February: 14 eARCS to be read | 11 to be reviewed
March: 12 eARCS to be read | 12 to be reviewed
April: 9 eARCS to be read | 11 to be reviewed
May: 5 eARCs to be read 🥳 | 14 to be reviewed 🙈
June: 1 eARC to be read 🍾 | 11 to be reviewed 🙈🙈
July: 3 eARCs to be read 🥂 | 7 to be reviewed 😥
August: 6 eARCs to be read (but one of those isn’t mine) 😅 | 5 to be reviewed 😮‍💨
September: 6 eARCs to be read (7 if you count my guest reviewer’s book) | 7 to be reviewed 😥
October: 9 eARCs to be read 😱 | 0 to be reviewed 😌
November: 9 eARCs to be read 😟 | 1 to be reviewed ☺️

But there are still nine non-NetGalley books I need to write a review for so I haven’t cleared the backlog just yet. Progress IS being made though.

Out of the five books I read in November, my book of the month is…

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Worse Than Murder by Michael Wood

So long, November. Another mixed month for me. I took two weeks off to concentrate on writing reviews, and to try and FINALLY catch up with a backlog that’s been hanging around for a year or so now. The good news is, I have definitely made a dent. By moving my focus to the reviews though, my reading took a bit of a hit. BUT I have completed all of the reading challenges I signed up for this year so in the long run, I don’t think that’s too much of an issue.

I hope you had a great, book-filled November full of the things you love the most. Thank you as always for your ongoing support. It means everything to me 🥰 Wishing you a wonderful December. I can’t believe we’re in the final month of 2025. How the heck did that happen?! See y’all soon!

P.S. If you’re looking for your next read then check out the hashtag #fivestarflashback on Bluesky. I’ve been re-sharing all of my old reviews from the dawn of time itself (or 2016 if you prefer). It’s been so much fun digging in the DP archives! There are around roughly five reviews posted a day so lots of lovely book suggestions if you’re in need of inspiration.

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