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January 2026 Staff Picks

Feb 11, 2026 | Book Lists, News, Staff Picks

Enjoy our staff favorites this month!

Devin:

Clair Obscur : Expedition 33

My favorite videogame of 2025! The story was phenomenal. It touches on themes of grief,  the importance of art, and philosophical questions about what life really is. 

Danie:

The House Witch by Delemhach

A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner. Filled with fascinating characters, courtly intrigue, political machinations, delicious cuisines, cuddly companions, magical hijinks, and will-they-won’t-they romance, The House Witch is the first in a captivating new series, guaranteed to satisfy the tastes of any reader.

Barb

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Probably my favorite 5 star ‘cozy, good feel’ read of 2025 is The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett. Followed closely by The Correspondent by Virginia Evans .

Lynn

All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

 This was her debut novel from 2022- recently discovered as I have read more and more of her mystery/thriller/crime titles. 

Margot Davies heads back to her hometown of Wakarusa, Indiana after 20 years due to employment struggles in the big city as well as her Uncle Luke’s worsening early-onset dementia. The town is like a time capsule. There is still a dark cloud hanging over everyone from the unsolved murder case of  6-year-old January Jacobs, the little girl Margot used to play with when she frequently stayed across the street at her uncle’s house. It has haunted Margot for the last 20 years both because it has gone unsolved and because the night January went missing, Margot believes it could have just as easily been her that was taken in the night and later found dead in a ditch. As Margot’s job in Indianapolis is in question and her Uncle Luke needs her, she resolves to dig deep into the secretive and stifling town and figure out what happened once and for all. Lots of twists!

Michelle

Bog Queen by Anna North

During the course of large scale peat moss extraction from a bog in Northern England, a body is uncovered. Enter Agnes, a young American forensic anthropologist. It’s thought the body is that of a woman long missing, but her findings point instead to an incredibly well-preserved 2000 year old woman from the Iron Age. The story is told in chapters alternating between Agnes in present day England and the life of this Iron Age woman. I was lukewarm on the book when I read the premise, but I’m so glad I read it (twice). As Agnes begins to solve the mystery of this body and how they may have died, the reader begins to see connections between past and present in terms of the environment, science, identity, and power. 

Erin

History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook

I listened to History Lessons as an audiobook and loved it! I found the underlying dynamic of race and gender in academia particularly interesting behind the rest of the cozy mystery story.