2026 Holiday Reading Challenge | The Running Bibliophile

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Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself. Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned. The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list. To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as l...
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Book Review: Deceit in High Heels (High Heels, #13) by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey

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Maddie Springer is attending friend Ricky's reading for the Hollywood Psychic television show. Right after the medium drops a bombshell about the death of Ricky's mother, she dies herself before anything else can be revealed. With two mysteries needing to be solved in Deceit in High Heels (High Heels, #13), who can blame Maddie for wanting help solve them for her friends?

Deceit in High Heels (High Heels, #13) by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey is the latest book in the famed High Heel Mysteries series, and this book was even better than the last. I don't know how the author keeps churning out such engrossing and entertaining books in this series. Even though this book kept the same formula that the others do in the series, it doesn't seem formulaic or stale. It's extremely entertaining, and I didn't want to put the book down.

I love the dynamic between Maddie and her husband, and I wish he had been in the book even more than he was because he is one of my favorite characters. The bonus was that Maddie's mom and Mrs. Rosenblatt had minimal roles in Deceit in High Heels. I get tired of those characters very easily. I loved the introduction of Jerome. You'll have to read the book to see why. I didn't figure out who the killer or killers where. Although, I did suspect one person towards the end, but if I had paid attention to the clues more closely, I would have figured out who did it much earlier. Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey did a great job of constantly keeping you guessing. 
 
The plot line of the psychic being killed was quite a believable one to me because you either believe in them or you don't. And, once the killer was revealed and the reasoning behind the killer, it became that much more believable. I don't know why I didn't pick up on some of the clues earlier. It was a total face palm moment for me.

Five out of five stars is what I give Deceit in High Heels by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey. I can't wait for the next installment in the series. If you enjoyed this book, I recommend The Book Club Murders (Oakwood Mystery, #1) by Leslie Nagel.


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