Hello, mystery fans! In an era of everything good being cancelled, I am delighted to see that not only will My Adventures of Superman (Max and Adult Swim) have a second season, but there will also be a comic book series!
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Bookish Goods
New Releases
Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head
Now in paperback!
For fans of historical novels, journalist leads, and family mysteries!
Past: In 1929, carpenter Robert Lee Harrington, his young daughter, and his pregnant wife move to Birmingham, Alabama, to start a new life.
Present: Meghan McKenzie is working at the Detroit Free Press when she pitches a new story based on her own family — her great-grandfather’s murder. She doesn’t have anything to go on other than the age he died at and that he was a woodworker, so Meghan travels to Birmingham to research her article and her family…but not everyone is welcoming. Past and present storylines slowly unfold, revealing answers and increasing in danger.
The audiobook format is a great choice if you like having a narrator for each time period: Jade Wheeler and Ronald Peet.
A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn
For fans of fun, clever historical mysteries (Victorian) with an opposites attract pairing and great banter!
Veronica, a lepidopterist, and her partner Stoker, a natural historian, have once again walked right into a mystery. Stoker has been commissioned to place a mechanism in a life-size waxwork so that it appears to breathe, but he makes the horrifying discovery that it is, in fact, a dead woman and not a waxwork. I know! Veronica and Stoker have to not only figure out who the woman was, but how she came to be preserved to look like a wax statue.
I continue to adore this series, reading each book the second I can get my hands on it. Raybourn’s series has not lost any quality and continues to absolutely delight.
If you want to start at the beginning, pick up A Curious Beginning!
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Two books with “queen” in the title, neither about a literal queen!
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
For fans of literary historical novels with a mystery component!
Lilliet Berne is a soprano opera star in Paris, 1882. The chance as the lead in a new opera sours quickly when she realizes the story it tells is her own, hidden past. Only four people could have divulged her secrets, which she recounts to try to figure out the culprit…
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
For fans of noir and flipping the femme fatale trope on its head.
Our young, unnamed protagonist is learning how to pick up money, placing mob bosses’ bets, and generally keeping her mentor mob queen Gloria Denton’s business on track. But it’s only a matter of time before our protagonist meets a femme fatale — only he’s a man. What could go wrong?
News and Roundups
Why The Real Nancy Drew Author Remained An Unsolved Mystery For Decades
Harlan’s Coben’s New Netflix Drama Missing You Will Star Rosalind Eleazar From Slow Horses
Love Lies Bleeding is a pulpy noir that delivers all the thrills
Murder Mubarak, Neeyat: Is Bollywood Trying To Recreate The Knives Out Success?
Yes, Apples Never Fall Will Be a Little Different from the Book — But Liane Moriarty Approves
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2024 releases and mysteries from 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!
Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
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