While January 2026 felt like it went on for a 100 years, February is a shorter month and hopefully a more positive one? We can dream. Here are five short(ish) [how we each define short is personal] books that I loved! 

No. 10 Doyers Street by Radha Vatsal (273 pages) 

Set in New York City in 1907, “No. 10 Doyers Street” is a historical mystery inspired by real events and people by Radha Vatsal. This is an absolutely fascinating story, richly told with vivid descriptions. While the story opens with the mystery surrounding the shooting in Chinatown, the story that unfolds is not a typical whodunit mystery, but it is page-turning.

How to Have a Killer Time in D.C. (Oliver Popp’s Travel Guides to Murder #1) by Sam Lumley (272 pages)

Oliver Popp is a 24 year old gay autistic travel writer working for Offbeat Traveler magazine. Oliver likes his routine, and he is a little nervous about his first feature assignment taking him to Washington, D.C. He’s paired up with Ricky Warner, a gay flirty freelance photographer, who definitely lives life a bit more (ok, a lot more) impulsively than Oliver. It’s a delightful pairing. The mystery pulled me right in and it was especially fun to get an armchair tour D.C. as Ricky and Oliver worked to uncover the truth. Cleverly plotted and expertly paced, I give this book all the heart eyes. The ending is wonderful, and I cannot wait for more featuring Oliver! 

Extra Normal by Kate Alice Marshall (239 pages)

Three cheers for spooky middle grade fantasy adventure stories! I listened to this and devoured it. “Charlie Greer is nothing special—at least not compared to her adopted siblings. Her younger sister is a ghost. Her brother Mateo is a werewolf. Gideon is the product of seriously sketchy experiments that gave him telekinetic powers. Even her parents work for the Division of Extranormal Investigations tracking down all things supernatural, alien, and otherwise unusual.” And then her parents go on vacation and spooky neighbors move in and something is just not right. Is Charlie the only one who can save the day? You bet and I am here for it. I love Charlie.

Murder Most Eastern (Great Maine Mysteries #1) by Nellie H. Steele (210 pages)

There is so much to like here! I do love a starting over story and that’s just what our main character Emily is doing. Yes, it’s under sad circumstances – her sister has passed away unexpectedly and left Emily her old house in Maine. Thanks to the descriptive writing I could easily imagine both the outside and inside of the house. The mystery is fast-paced and the coast of Maine gives it a spooky feel that kept me turning the pages. I had a slight guess as to the true culprit, but was very much engaged in the journey. The ending was excellent as it wrapped up the immediate mystery, but left me anxious to read more to see what else Emily uncovers.

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (163 pages)

“From sci-fi visionary and acclaimed author Annalee Newitz comes Automatic Noodle, a cozy near-future novella about a crew of abandoned food service bots opening their very own restaurant.” I had no idea what to expect when I started listening to it but it was just so entertaining and lovely. It was like a breath of fresh air in my reading life.