June Reading Review – Twelve Books, Nearly Five Thousand Pages
If May was impressive, June was on another level.
A week away, a couple of long flights and plenty of poolside reading meant I rattled through 12 books, totalling 4,996 pages. Crime thrillers once again dominated the list, but there was also room for memoirs, biographies, romance, humour and one book that completely caught me off guard emotionally.
Book of the Month – The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
This wasn’t just my favourite book of June, it’s one of the best books I’ve read for a long time.
I picked it up expecting a fairly predictable military romance. What I got was something far deeper. The characters felt real, the relationships believable and, just when I thought I knew where it was heading, it delivered an emotional punch that I genuinely wasn’t prepared for. There were moments that made me smile, moments that made me laugh and, yes, moments that had me reaching for the tissues.
It’s one of those rare novels that stays with you after you’ve finished it. An easy five stars.
Cat on the Road to Findout – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
As someone who’s always loved Cat Stevens’ music, this felt like spending a few days in conversation with the man himself.
Rather than simply listing achievements, Yusuf explores the events that shaped his life, from becoming one of the biggest singer-songwriters in the world to stepping away from fame following his religious conversion. He writes with honesty and humility, never painting himself as either hero or victim.
If you’re only familiar with Father and Son or Morning Has Broken, you’ll come away with a much greater appreciation of the remarkable life behind the songs.
I’m Still Here: My 90 Years – Amanda Barrie
This was tremendous fun.
Amanda Barrie has lived several different lives rolled into one. From the Carry On films to decades as Alma Baldwin in Coronation Street, she has seen British entertainment evolve from the inside.
The book is funny, touching and wonderfully self-deprecating. It also captures changing attitudes in Britain over the decades without ever becoming preachy. Having grown up watching her on television, there was an added layer of nostalgia throughout.
Just Ignore Him – Alan Davies
Probably the hardest read of the month.
Alan Davies strips away the public image we’ve all come to know from QI and Jonathan Creek to tell the story of a childhood shaped by fear, manipulation and abuse.
It’s not an easy book to read, but it is an important one. He never asks for sympathy, simply tells his story with remarkable honesty, and by the end you understand much more about the person behind the comedian.
I Found You – Lisa Jewell
Lisa Jewell has become one of those authors I automatically trust.
This starts with an unidentified man found on a beach and slowly unfolds into a cleverly constructed mystery involving missing people, fractured memories and hidden identities. Every time I thought I’d worked it out another piece of the puzzle appeared.
She has a knack for creating believable characters rather than simply moving suspects around a plot, which makes the eventual revelations all the more satisfying.
The Scene of the Crime – Lynda La Plante
Classic Lynda La Plante.
This is exactly what you expect from one of Britain’s great crime writers: detailed police work, believable detectives and a story that concentrates just as much on procedure as it does on the mystery itself.
It isn’t flashy and doesn’t rely on ridiculous twists. Instead it builds steadily towards a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. A promising start to another La Plante series.
Book Boyfriend – Lucy Vine
After several murder mysteries this was exactly the palate cleanser I needed.
It’s funny, warm and knowingly ridiculous in places, celebrating every romantic fiction cliché while gently poking fun at them at the same time.
I expected something fairly lightweight. Instead I found a genuinely entertaining novel with plenty of laughs and a surprising amount of heart.
The Girls in the Dark – Avery Bishop
One of the strongest psychological thrillers of the month.
It combines missing people, long-buried secrets and a small-town atmosphere where almost everyone appears to be hiding something. The tension builds steadily throughout before delivering a conclusion that felt earned rather than simply shocking for the sake of it.
Don’t Look Back – O. J. Mullen
Another excellent page-turner.
The pace barely lets up from the opening chapters and there’s always another revelation just around the corner. It keeps you constantly questioning which characters deserve your trust.
Perfect holiday reading because it’s very difficult to stop at the end of a chapter.
Die Trying – Eleanor Barker-White
This proved to be one of the month’s pleasant surprises.
A fast-moving thriller with believable characters and enough twists to keep things interesting without becoming over-complicated. It never tries to be clever for the sake of it and is all the better for that.
The Dead Husband – Gillian Jackson
A psychological thriller built around a wonderfully simple question: can you really trust anyone?
As the lies begin to unravel, every relationship becomes suspect. The tension grows nicely throughout and there’s enough misdirection to keep the ending unpredictable.
I Don’t Like Mondays – N. Leigh Hunt
Unlike the other books this month, this is real life rather than fiction.
It examines the Cleveland Elementary School shooting that inspired the Boomtown Rats song, looking not only at the events themselves but also the people affected and the wider circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
It’s handled sensitively, avoids sensationalism and provides much more context than I’d previously known.
June by the Numbers
Books read: 12
Pages read: 4,996
Average length: 416 pages
Book of the Month: The Last Letter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best Biography: Cat on the Road to Findout
Biggest Surprise: Book Boyfriend
Most Emotional: The Last Letter
June was comfortably my best reading month of 2026 so far. There wasn’t a single book I regretted picking up, and several will stay with me for a very long time.
