Carthage

 Carthage: A New History- Eve McDonald

W.W. Norton & Co.

Rating: 📚📚📚

Release Date: January 13, 2026

Synopsis: Carthage was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for almost six centuries before its fall to Rome. The history of the realm and its Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors and, along the way, the story of the real Carthage was lost. An ancient North African kingdom, Carthage was the home of Hannibal and of Dido, of war elephants and enormous power and wealth, of great beauty and total destruction.

In this landmark new history, Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. A journey that takes us the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the centre of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the tale, revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome.

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(3.5 stars)

When history is written by the winners, it can mean the losers are all but erased- and that is what happened with Carthage. Anything anyone today knows about the city comes to us from Roman eyes. So this book, trying to find the Carthage that isn't told to us through Roman propaganda, is a fascinating and much needed book for the history shelves.

From the city's founding as a Phoenecian outpost to its destruction by Rome hundreds of years later, Eve McDonald takes readers through the development of a city, a people, and a mega-power whose existence rivaled (and threatened) Rome's desire to dominate the Mediterranean. She critically examines both ancient sources and modern archaeological discoveries to evaluate how different events, trade, sieges, and the wars with Rome would have effected the Carthaginians. I found her explaination of the changes in the power structures across the Mediterranean over time, and how Alexander the Great essentially changed the game for everyone, quite interesting.

The chapters on the Punic Wars were, for me, the clearest and best written. Maybe because there's the most evidence in the historical sources for her to work with. McDonald is never afraid to admit when there is simply not enough information for scholars to do more than some educated guesswork on something, which I admire. By the end of the book I was pretty solidly on Carthage's side and wishing more reasonable treatied could have worked- but apparently that's not what was going on in this time.

An excellent, well-written, well-researched book for anyone who is interested in getting the story Carthage wishes it could have told us. A must-read for ancient history enthusiasts.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Shop on Hidden Lane

 The Shop on Hidden Lane- Jayne Ann Krentz

Berkley Publishing

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Release Date: January 6, 2026

Synopsis: The Harper and the Wells families have regarded each other with deep suspicion for four generations. The Harpers have been known to offer their psychic talents for less-than-legal purposes, and the powerful Wells clan has a reputation for playing both sides of the street. But for all the years of history and distrust between them, there is a mysterious pact binding the two. They share the responsibility for protecting a long-buried and very dangerous secret.

Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are shocked to learn that her aunt and his uncle have been sleeping together—and now they are both missing. Not only that, but the last traces of them are at the scene of a murder soaked in negative paranormal energy. Clearly, someone is willing to kill to obtain the secret their families have been charged with protecting. Despite their mutual distrust, which, as far as Sophy is concerned extends to Luke’s hellhound of a dog, they both know that the terms of the pact must be honored.

Their investigation uncovers a psychic trail leading to a bizarre desert art colony where nothing is as it seems. But Luke and Sophy are concealing a few secrets, too. By a strange twist of fate, a Harper and a Wells have no choice but to trust each other and the fierce attraction that is binding them as surely as the pact between the families.

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When Sophy Harper gets roped into reading a crime scene by Luke Wells, she's sure it won't go well. When the scene turns out to be a murder scene at Luke's uncle's cabin—where they discover his uncle and her aunt were having an affair—the day is all downhill from there. Now his uncle and her aunt are missing and all clues point to connections with the murder and a bizarre art colony in Arizona. Sophy, Luke, and Luke's dog Bruce head to Arizona in search of answers, but find danger and long hidden secrets first.

I found The Shop on Hidden Lane really enjoyable. Sophy's snark and Luke's dry sense of humor are typical of Krentz's characters, though Luke gets to have a little more fun than usual with his sense of humor by bringing Bruce the dog into it. (Sophy asks if they should go to dinner since they know they're going into a trap. Luke says yes because he's starving and if they stay in the hotel room they'll have to share Bruce's kibble "And I don't know what Bruce will say about that.") The two are a good mix of logic and instinct learning to work together as a team.

Bruce was a delight and I was thrilled at the end with Krentz's hints that we'll see at least one more dog like him (hopefully many more!). Smart and bonded with Luke, he seems to have some psychic gifts of his own—though you do have to wait for the very end to find out a bit more about those. 

Sophy is a librarian as her main job, the psychic crime scene reading is just a side gig. And I loved how throughout the book you get her pointing out how important the profession is and what they do—in ways many wouldn't think. From research to collections to helping people put the peices together, The Shop on Hidden Lane is a love letter to librarians. (Krentz herself was a librarian in a former life I think). A fun contrast to the engineer mindset of Luke's family on several occasions, since in the end it's Sophy's mindset that figures out Luke's talent.

If you've read Krentz's Fogg Lake trilogy (The Vanishing, All the Colors of Night, Lighting in the Mirror) you'll know about the Bluestone Project and the Fogg Lake disaster already. If not, you'll figure it out as you read this book. I'd recommend reading the Fogg Lake trilogy as well, because they're good books, but they aren't necessary before you read this one. 

An entertaining addition to the Jayne Ann Krentz collection, and certainly one I'd recommend!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review