I’ve just read “The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham. Two immigrant families grow up in the town in Mississippi and take different routes - one becoming first a teacher and then a lawyer and then on from there, and the other opening bars and clubs and taking a decidedly different route, culminating in a court battle between the two. A good book, I always enjoy Grisham stuff.
I’ve just finished “Private Vegas” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Based around the high-end private investigation firm, boss Jack tries to find out who fire-bombed his car and whether it was targeted or just random, while an employee is tried for assault and another goes undercover for the first time. I enjoyed the book, these in the “Private” series are quite variable in style (perhaps depending on who the co-author is) and this was a bit like a TV mini-series in style, perhaps that’s the aim.
The Widow by John Grisham: about a small-town lawyer who thinks having found gold when writing a will for an elderly woman. Not his best book, but I just needed something light after a hard start of 2026. I have read most of Grisham’s books!
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I must have a look for that, I can’t remember reading it and I enjoy Grisham’s stuff.
I’ve just finished “Private India” by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi. Set in the Mumbai branch of the worldwide detective agency in the previous book I mentioned, someone is murdering women and leaving the bodies in a variety of poses, and the staff must figure out the significance to try to prevent any further killings. I generally enjoy this series, I’ve read a few now, though I didn’t enjoy this as much as the others.
On a roll with the James Patterson pile, I’ve just read “Judge and Jury” by JP and Andrew Gross. A mob boss is on trial and is trying everything, including jury tampering and other threats to get out of it. When he disappears the prosecutor vows not to let him get away with it. It started off quite poorly but improved as it went on.
I’ve just finished another James Patteron, this one was “The Red Book” co-authored with David Ellis. A Chicago policeman joins an elite unit and investigates what at first sight appears to be just another gang-related drive-by shooting, but then he starts to look further into it and things widen out a bit. A decent enough story, part of a series by the sound of it.
I recently read 1984 by George Orwell. Still incredibly relevant today — the themes around surveillance, control, and truth really make you stop and think.
Read it many years ago… I might have a go again.
I like reading when this situation comes up, let me finish my current book and I might have a go.
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There’s a John Grisham with a similar idea, maybe “Runaway Jury”, but the JP one takes things a bit differently if I remember correctly - it’s years since I read the Grisham book.
True, I have read the book at least twice and seen the movie starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz many times as well.
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I’ve recently finished “Say No More” by Karen Rose. Turns out this is the second in a series, a young woman has escaped from some sort of cult where she was married off at the age of twelve, then escaped from a serial killer, this happened in the previous book but is referenced often enough that it didn’t matter that I hadn’t read it. In this second story, she is being hunted by her husband from the cult, who wants to take her back to prove that she is still alive and thus change the power balance and will stop at nothing to get to here. A decent story, I’ll keep an eye open for the next in the series.
I’ve just finished “Think Twice” by Harlan Coben. A serial killer is killing people who have no apparent link, and planting DNA and other evidence to point the finger at someone who has a reason to kill each victim, misdirecting the police. Sports Rep Myron Bolitar gets involved when one of his clients is accused of one of the murders, but the client has been dead for three years. A good book, I always enjoy these.
I read it… the end was a little too “hollywoodesque” 
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Just finished reading Arnaud Démare : Une année dans ma roue Démare is a former pro cycling rider with 97 victories during his career. It’s a diary from the pre-season up to the latest race (and victory) of year 2021. For those who are interesting in cycling it is interesting reading about the ups and downs of a rider and all what is happening in between races.
The last book I read was Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a great book about building small habits that lead to big long-term results.
I’ve just finished “Nightshade” by Michael Connelly. A former LAPD detective is sent out to a backwater posting on Catalina Island after something goes wrong, but gets involved in an investigation when a body is found in the water. A decent enough tale, I enjoy this author and it’s been a while since there’s been a book that isn’t based around one of his more well-known characters. The idea of a cop who made a mistake, gets written off by his colleagues but then proves them wrong about something is a bit well-worn, but I enjoyed the book overall.
I just finished The 9th Man by Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood. It’s the story of an agent for a non-acknowledged spy agency who gets a call from an old friend looking for his help. He races to her aid and starts to unravel a mystery where two seemingly unaligned men have been killed to keep a secret long buried. It’s a long,slightly windy action adventure story which ends up intertwining with an existing non-fiction theory about the JFK assassination.
Not my favorite as the story was a bit far fetched, even for the genre. The consipiracy theory portion of the book was well written and seemingly plausible, but the rest was meh.
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The last book I read recently was Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s not fiction, but it really changed how I think about building things and improving a little every day. The main idea is that small habits compound into big results over time.
As someone working in tech, I found it very relatable. Building software or a platform feels similar — small improvements every day slowly turn into something meaningful.
Right now I’m actually building a social platform, and that mindset has helped a lot. Instead of trying to build everything at once, I focus on improving one feature at a time.
Curious what books other developers here are reading lately — anything that influenced how you think about coding or building products?