Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/26/26 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading George Saunders's upcoming novel Vigil, I'm listening to Madeline Martin's Victorian-London-set historical fiction novel The Secret Book Society, and I'm listening to the first in John McMahon's FBI-focused mystery series, Head Cases.

What are you reading, bookworms?

---

01 Vigil by George Saunders

I'm so excited to read this book--one of my most-anticipated reads of 2026.

In Lincoln in the Bardo, Saunders explored characters existing in limbo between life and death. Vigil involves the otherworldly "Doll" Blaine, who is preparing to usher yet another soul peacefully into death. But her charge, K. J. Boone, is a powerful, wealthy oil company CEO facing his end with no regrets. Many live and beyond-the-grave souls demand a reckoning with him, disputing his account of events, which leaves our main protagonists in uncharted territory as death draws closer for Boone.

George Saunders is also the author of the Booker Prize-winning Lincoln in the Bardo as well as Tenth of December, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, Fox 8, and other books. 

I included Lincoln in the Bardo in the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War.

I received a prepublication version of Vigil, to be published January 27, courtesy of NetGalley and Bloomsbury ANZ.

---

02 The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

The women in Martin's Victorian London exist within tightly constrained rules and at the whims of their fathers' or husbands' often controlling requirements. But when three women, all strangers to each other, are invited to the reclusive, three-times-widowed Lady Duxbury's home for tea, they discover a space where they can speak frankly, about their lives and also about the revolutionary, modern, feminist books they secretly trade among themselves.

The guidance from Lady Duxbury, their new friendships, and their reads are rejuvenating and inspiring forces for the young aspiring poet, the outspoken American with a fortune, and the mother cowering from her cruel husband. But all of the women of the time have a great amount at stake: they could find themselves committed unvoluntarily--and potentially permanently--to an asylum if the men in their lives determine that they are too headstrong, passionate, or inconvenient.

I'm listening to The Secret Book Society as a library audiobook.

For Bossy reviews of other books about books, please check out the titles at this link. For other Victorian-set novels, check out this link.

Madeline Martin is also the author of The Librarian Spy, The Last Bookshop in London, The Keeper of Hidden Books, and The Booklover's Library.

---

03 Head Cases (Head Cases #1) by John McMahon

I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but I believe it was in a roundup of mystery novels recommended by national security agents.

Head Cases tracks FBI agent Gardner Camden (who has a brilliant analytical mind but is interpersonally awkward) and his group of agents in the Patterns and Recognitions (PAR) unit.

A murder victim's DNA matches a long-dead serial killer, and a string of bodies hold clues that seem to be left specifically for Gardner to find. He and his unorthodox team must use their areas of expertise and their instincts to solve the riddles and catch the killer--before he harms their loved ones and gets away with it all.

This group of main protagonists feels so far like an FBI version of Slough House in Slow Horses.

I'm listening to Head Cases as a library audiobook.