I like the Minotaur samplers because I can try a few chapters of new books and see if I'll like them or not. This sampler features excerpts of three books:
No Rest For the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams: A missing person thriller set in a Halloween obsessed town. I'd be interested in continuing this one to find out more about the main character and the town. I love the cover for this.

A Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker: A thriller about a sniper hunting a mountain lion that supposedly killed a guy. I wasn't very interested.

Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen is a mystery about a PI investigating the disappearance of members of a queer rights organization in 1950's LA. This was ok, but I'm not sure I'd continue it.

I was provided with a free copy of this book by Minotaur and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I borrowed this for the sample of Mirage City, which I am excited to read. This sampler was short but did the job of providing interest for the next book in the Andy Mills series.

The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 17 by Rachel Louise Adams; T. Jefferson Parker; Lev AC Rosen.
Here we have another great Minotaur Sampler.
I love these samplers to get a feel for what I want to read next.
This is a fantastic sampler, which gives readers enough of a taste to become invested in the characters and the stories at hand.

No Rest For The Wicked was an incredible sampler book. You only receive the first few chapters, but they hook you by your seat. When I started No Rest For The Wicked, I was unable to put it down until I finished the few chapters I had.

No Rest For The Wicked is about a girl who left her hometown 18 years ago, and told herself she would never go back. That is, until she gets a call from an agent working for the FBI letting her know that her father is missing. In her hometown, there were always freak accidents on Halloween. They had freak accidents year-round, but especially on Halloween. Read to find out what happens next. Full book is expected September 16, 2025.

I enjoyed how the author captured the fact that it was a different century, and if you were openly gay it typically didn't go well. I also enjoyed how descriptive everything was in Mirage City. Mirage City is about a gay PI in the 1950's. This PI is hired to find 3 missing individuals in a part of this group, which is a secretive meeting group and they all join together anywhere from once a week to once a month. 3 individuals in this secretive group have recently gone missing, and this PI is determined to help find them. Read more to find out what happens. Full story expected October 7, 2025.

Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker was quite confusing for me. I couldn't keep track of all of the characters, and it got very confusing, very quickly. I did enjoy how descriptive the author was, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc.

This review was posted on Goodreads.

The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 17 gave me three samples of the beginnings of three books to be published in October and November of 2025. I will be checking out No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams when it’s published because I enjoyed this snippet about a missing person in a Halloween obsessed town. I will definitely continue my journey with Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen as I have read the three previous books. Unfortunately T. Jefferson Parker's Wild Instinct didn’t grab my interest. Two out of three ain’t bad. ARC was provided by St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. I received an advance reading copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Once again, I found myself searching out the Minotaur Sampler, this one Volume 17, which spotlighted 3 books to get your heart racing.

The first book highlighted was “No Rest for the Wicked” By Rachel Louise Adams.

This debut novel had me hooked from the first few pages and just gripped me further as I read the included chapters in the Sampler. This is one book I definitely hope to be able to read and review. I have a feeling there are going to be some unexpected twists in this story. The FMC left town under some interesting circumstances years ago, vowing never to return. Now a forensic pathologist, she is asked to come home when her father, former mayor of the town turned US Senator is missing under mysterious circumstances and foul play is expected.

Add in the fact that odd deaths occur in her town on Halloween which is quickly approaching and she just wants to talk to the FBI and leave. This is a book that I need to read in its entirety.
It is expected to be published on 9/16/2025.

The second book included chapters from Mirage City by Lev Ac Rosen and it is the 4th book in the Evander Mills series. The MMC goes by Andy and from what I could glean from the first few chapters, Andy was a queer cop turned PI. (The use of the word queer is how they refer to their community and is set in the 1950’s). He is asked to track down members of a group working to get civil rights for the community that have disappeared.

From the synopsis, the trail seems to take him home and hard decisions are having to be made. It seems like it would be an interesting read and I enjoyed the first couple of chapters. It is expected to be published on October 7, 2025.

The third book spotlighted is an Adult Mystery Thriller by T. Jefferson Parker titled “Wild Instinct”. I have to admit the chapters pulled me in and I was disappointed when I remembered it was part of a sampler. It follows a former Marine Sniper turned Orange County Sheriff’s Detective and his new partner as they try and track down who killed an Orange County, CA developer and man-about-town. The case has a personal twist as the MMC, Lew Gale, had done security and acted as a bodyguard for the victim in the past.

It is expected to be published on November 11, 2025.

Once again, I probably would have missed this book, but now I am invested and want to know the full story.

I would like to thank Minotaur Books for once again putting together a great sample of Fall 2025 books and NetGalley for making it available. As always, happy reading!

This was such a lovely sampler! I’m really grateful that St. Martin’s Press created such an easy, handy way of previewing these three titles for interested readers.

I’m definitely going to check out sampler of other genres, when they come up, because I love seeing previews for upcoming books and having them all be compiled like this.

I never skip a Minotaur Sampler! There are so many great books coming out this year. This sampler is slightly smaller than their usual, but still with generous samples of the following:

No Rest for the Wicked - Rachel Louise Adams
Wild Instinct - T. Jefferson Parker
Mirage City - Lev AC Rosen

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martins Press for the Minotaur Sampler, Volume 17 ARC!

I always love these samplers! While this one was shorter than usual, I still enjoyed it. With only 3 books featured, I felt a bit of a let down. However, the first book, "No Rest For The Wicked" absolutely piqued my interest! I'm looking forward to reading this one in its entirety!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

A shorter Minotaur Sampler with only 3 books. A woman returns to her Halloweentown city after her estranged father goes missing. A 1950s gay PI investigates missing members of a secret lgbtq club. A sniper tracks a murderous mountain lion, only to discover the victim wasn’t killed by the big cat.

No Rest for the Wicked intrigued me the most.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this sampler

the samples definitely gave enough that I'm interested in picking up the full books when they come out!

I always look forward to these samplers! I'm especially excited for Mirage City and No Rest for the Wicked, now that I've gotten to read the first few chapters of each. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur for the ARC!

I LOVE samplers. The idea of getting to sample a whole bunch of different books in one just delights me.

Thrillers are not often my thing. I enjoy a vibe for fantasy or romance but I want a true mind bender for a thriller. It must also be believable. It is possible that these would not be to my taste if I were to read the whole book, but from the sampler, I am interested in all three.

No Rest for the Wicked: Dolores returns to her hometown after she gets a call from the FBI that her father, a senator, is missing. The small town is well known for its celebration of Halloween. Dolores had left town at seventeen and stayed out of contact with everyone until her return. But when she discovered that her father, who had only contacted her through signed cards, had left her a letter warning her to trust no one, she cannot help but need to find out what happened.

This has a delightfully creepy feel. Dolores' work as a forensic pathologist helps add to that vibe as she notices things that a casual observer would miss. This is a book I want to read. If i hadn't had the chance to sample the first six chapters, I would not have requested it.

Mirage City: 1950s, Detective "Andy" is hired to look into missing members of the Mattachine Society, a group pursuing equality for homophiles. Set in the 1950s, there is a vein of commentary about the treatment of gay people as second-class citizens and divisions within the group regarding trans and cross-dressing members.

Lavender House has come up as a possible book club book for the last few sessions. There is something about this that is intriguing. Detective stories are usually not my preference except for a select few but this is well written. I will consider requesting it. The preview of this was quite short and left me wondering more than anything.

Wild Instinct: A man is found partially consumed by a mountain lion. While hunting the "killer cat," tey discover the victim was already dead. And more people could die.

I am really into the mountain lion part of this story line but otherwise, just not interested in this one.

Thank you to Net Galley, Minotaur Press, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Mark your calendar for this free volume's release date. These Minotaur samplers are always great for making decisions about books to read.

This time, titles by Rachel Louise Adams, T. Jefferson Parker, and Lev AC Rosen are featured. There are descriptions of each book, generous samples and information on the authors in these pages.

Start reading and enjoy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for another wonderful volume of the Minotaur sampler! I look forward to reading these each time they come out.

Thank you @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for this sampler in exchange for my honest feedback

This was short and sweet, a sampling of a few chapters from three different upcoming books. One of which I have requested the full book for! 🤞🏻

No Rest for the Wicked- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
lol humor, unique style and enjoyable storyline

Mirage City- ⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Likable characters, mysterious disappearances, desire to find out the truth

Wild Instinct- ⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interesting premise, dialogue fast paced and flows well, more matter of fact technical than light reading


Thank you!! I love the samplers!!