The Minotaur Sampler is something I look forward to and appreciate the oppurtunity to read snippets of books prior to publication. This helps me know if there is a book coming out that my audience may enjoy, or if there are any books I want to prioritize reading to review.

I was most eager to read Something in the Walls excerpt because it is one I already had on my radar. It did not dissapoint, I was sucked in immediatly and am looking forard to reading the remainder of the book.
I also was pleasantly surprised by the other titles. I especailly liked The Lost House by Melissa Larsen, the atmosphere was immediatly set and the characters experiences were viseral. Looking into reading the rest of that one as well.

Overall this sampler contains a lot of great upcoming titles and my TBR has just gotten longer!

I need all of these to come out ASAP! I am drawn to every single one, right by the first line. I feel as if you are drawn in by the first page, you know if it’ll be for you or not.

I love Minotaur samplers, and this one is a great way to read excerpts of upcoming books you'll want to add to your TBRs. Enjoy!

As always, The Minotaur Sampler hits the mark by providing excerpts from upcoming books. And, as always, the latest edition has increased my TBR list once again. I look forward to the next edition!

A sampler of very generous excerpts from several upcoming books. I added most of them to my TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Great sampler. Lovely way to be able to see releases and figure out what interests you. Great time ..

The Minotaur Samplers are always a great way to find out about new authors! Especially enjoyed the excerpts from Sandie Jones and John McMahon..

I like being able to sample upcoming releases before I request them on Net Galley This sampler has two books that caught my interest.
Thank you, Minotaur and Net Galley for providing this sampler.

I love this resource! It helps me know what to read next. I'm definitely going to read four of these. Please continue to make this resource!

Having read a number of the Minotaur Samplers in the past, I was excited to have the opportunity to sample seven new titles from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books. Of the seven, there were two that particularly interest me. One, I am on the fence about, and the others, while I am sure that some readers may enjoy them, are not exactly my cup of tea.

The first title, The Lost House by Melissa Larsen, is set in Iceland. While the premise is promising, I found the initial chapter rather sluggish. I may revisit this one down the road. Jenny Elder Moke’s She Doesn’t Have a Clue is half mystery, half romance. It’s set at a high-end destination wedding on a private island. It’s both funny and a bit eerie. The intro grabbed me, and the characters, Kate and Jake, have a “history”…

The other one that really intrigued me is Head Cases by John McMahon. This features FBI Agent Gardner Camden, who’s part of the Patterns and Recognitions Unit. Riddles are his specialty. He’s called in to handle a case seems to be a serial killer killing serial killers. This one’s a keeper.

The fourth one was a bit iffy for me: Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce. Inexperienced child psychologist, Mina is convinced by a journalist, Sam Hunter, whom she meets in a support group to take a job living with a family in a remote village. The daughter claims she’s haunted by a witch, and Sam, the journalist, gets a big story to write. Intriguing…a ghost story, sort of…This one is really Iffy for me.

The last three are no-goes. Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington. Dr. Robert “Rabbit” Ward travels through time to recover precious artifacts, in this case, a menorah, which he had previously lost. Now, he has a chance for redemption. Best there’s a woman vying for the same article in what is a dangerous quest….Rabbit has something to atone for…. Just – not for me. Then there is Sandie Jones’s I Would Die for You. It’s a suspense mystery about an 8-year-old girl who is presumed kidnapped. Could it be related to an incident with a pop star when her mom was a girl. Thanks, but I’ll pass on this one. Finally, there’s Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro. It’s set on Martha’s Vineyard. New mom, Brynn Nelson, is struggling with the baby, and her husband has not been helpful. He sleeps soundly, works too much, and plays too much golf. Then, a friend of family washes up on shore. The blurb reveals a tad more. I’ll skip this one too.

However, I’m happy to have found several good reads in the bunch and look forward to reading them. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for this sampler. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

3 stars

GREAT sampler. I had several of these books on my list, so happy to get a start on them. Perfect way to find new books to read without committing to the entire thing! Thanks!

So of the four that I wanted to read, three were already in my queue LOL. At least I have a head start!

Thank you for the sampler! It's a great way to explore new reads that I might not have heard of otherwise.

I love these samplers! This includes 7 blurbs and excerpts from up and coming mysteries/thrillers. I enjoyed reading these and am especially intrigued by Splinter Effect!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books!

Great collection! I love being able to preview the books before committing to requesting them. It’s very helpful.

I love the samplers! They are a great way to see future releases that I may want to request the full version of, recommend to a friend, or purchase in the future!

I always love a Minotaur Sampler. I find some great authors I may not have read before. This book has me ready to buy a few new books.

The book I think I’m most excited to read is Head Cases by John McMahon. This is a new author for me. An FBI group of puzzle solvers is exactly the kind of thing I want to hear more about. I hope that the puzzles are presented in a way that the reader can solve along with the characters. It started out strong. I’ve already applied for this ARC and I look forward to buying it in January.

The Lost House by Melissa Larson also shows some promise. There is something about a thriller set in Iceland that always intrigues me. Again, this is a new author for me.

The next most intriguing book to me is Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington. Another new author. Another time travel book. I have a complicated relationship with time travel books. I think this one may have the right sort of originality to work.

The rest of the stories weren’t for me. They may be great for people who are more interested in romance.

This sampler was a real treat. One title was on my radar, and I was on the fence. Reading the preview changed me to a "yes". Another one I was considering showed me that there was a trigger in it I needed to avoid so this was very helpful. Thanks for this.

The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 13 was just the tip of the iceberg with these amazing samplers.
I always look forward to reading these and I’m definitely looking forward to reading these full books.

I’ve recently started reading excerpts. It’s an easy way to quickly decide if a book is for me instead of requesting it then realizing a chapter in that I don’t like the format or writing style. Of course, one of the issues with excerpts is that it can pull you in quickly then you don’t want to put the book down when the excerpt is over, especially if it’s a mystery. While frustrating, it’s a good thing.

This sampler included seven mystery/thriller titles, all of which I had been considering for my TBR. A couple of the ones I was unsure about were confirmed a no and several were confirmed a yes. I found reading these samples to be immensely helpful for making decisions about my future reading choices.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy provided for an honest review.