Hello, mystery fans! Husband and wife Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke wrote Drive-Away Dolls, a new film that’s a friendship roadtrip turn stumble upon crime and criminals. I am very much excited to watch it, and it’s now streaming on Peacock.
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Bookish Goods
Custom Mini Book Display by ScarletGiraffee
This is a great display to custom add your favorite books or give as a gift! ($30)
New Releases
Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
For fans of YA historical mysteries, multiple POVs, sister sleuths, and Hollywood!
Lulu Wong is a movie star and former friend of May Chow. May, along with her two sisters Gemma and Peony, work for the family flower business in L.A.’s Chinatown. After discovering Wong’s dead body, the sisters decide they must solve her murder to honor their former friend’s legacy and to make up for the injustice of the police not wanting to label her death a homicide.
The Last Word (Harbinder Kaur #4) by Elly Griffiths
For fans of detective agencies, friendships, multiple POVs, and series where each book is a standalone book!
Edwin Fitzgerald, a former BBC presenter, and his caregiver Natalka Kolisnyk, a Ukrainian woman who is brilliant at math and dating a former Monk, have a detective agency. Two sisters hire Edwin and Natalka to solve their mother’s murder. She was a romance author, and they think her second husband murdered her. But soon there’s a second dead writer of romances, and the question is, who is killing writers and making it look like natural deaths? And why?
This is a great series with lovable characters, with the bonus of each book reading as a standalone: The Stranger Diaries, The Postscript Murders, Bleeding Heart Yard.
Elly Griffiths also has the completed (for now?) archaeologist Ruth Galloway series that starts with The Crossing Places.
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Here are two recent adaptations to read and watch.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
About the book: I think because this novel won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a hit in literary circles, many readers may not know it’s a spy thriller set during the Vietnam War. And there’s a sequel: The Committed.
About the adaptation: The seven-episode series streaming on Max and airing on HBO closely follows the book and “the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.” Starring Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxinê, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, with Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. Watch the trailer!
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius, Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translator)
About the book: This novel is based on real events focusing on Sweden’s indigenous Sámi and follows the daughter of reindeer herders, Elsa. She learns as a child that the police will not help her people when a hunter kills their reindeer, which are part of their livelihood and have a lot of cultural significance. After a decade of threats and discrimination against her people, she pushes back, placing herself in danger.
About the adaptation: The Swedish film, directed by Elle Márjá Eira, is streaming on Netflix and follows the book about a young Sámi woman with a score to settle who goes after a killer. The cast includes Elin Kristina Oskal, Martin Wallström, Lars-Ánte Wasara, Ida Persson Labba, Pávva Pittja, Ingahilda Tapio, Magnus Kuhmunen, Simon Issát Marainen, Niilá Omma and Anne Lajla Westerfjell Kalstad. Watch the trailer!
News and Roundups
5 new mysteries and thrillers for your nightstand this spring
The Murder of Mr. Ma is a clever homage to Sherlock Holmes
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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