Hi, mystery fans! There’s always a balance between my reading and viewing life — one gets great as the other gets meh — which works out. I’m currently trying to find my next new show(s), so I hit a great reading streak: Guide Me Home by Attica Locke, Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson, and Oye by Melissa Mogollon.
Looking for a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift? Go beyond the tried and true flowers and chocolate and give the gift of reading with Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists are standing by to help your mom find her next favorite read, delivered right to her inbox or doorstep. And with gifts starting at just $18, there’s something for any budget! Head to mytbr.co/gift to send the gift of reading to the book nerd in your life!
Bookish Goods
New Releases
While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi
For fans of dual POVs, exploration of mental illness, and domestic thrillers that start with moving to a new neighborhood!
Husband and wife Elizabeth and David Smith should be enjoying their new suburban Tennessee neighborhood. But Elizabeth is taking time to settle in, and after finally relenting to join a neighbor for a jog, she instead finds the neighbor dead. With police quick to rule it a suicide Elizabeth can’t let the idea of murder go. With her mental health declining, David thinks the solution is to hire her a personal assistant. But what if the person hired to distract you from a possible murder ends up having their own questions and wanting to join in finding out what really happened?
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
For fans of bookish whodunnits, author leads, and fun asides!
Eleanor Dash should be enjoying the benefits of her successful mystery series, but the real Connor Smith has been threatening her over her fictional Connor Smith. Her solution is to kill off her character and be done with both the fictional and real Connor Smith. But while on her Italian book tour, the real Connor Smith becomes the target of someone trying to kill him, and Eleanor has a not fictional mystery and book tour to get through!
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
It’s a new month, so let’s do two more prompts from the 2024 Read Harder Challenge! I decided to go with the prompt “Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!” and I picked the first year Book Riot did the Read Harder Challenge in 2015!
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, Marlaine Delargy (Translator)
From 2015 Read Harder: A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)
If you like dark humor, elderly protagonists, following a murderer, and a short story collection that reads together like a novel, pick this one up!
Maud is an 88-year-old Swedish woman who lives rent-free in an apartment thanks to her father’s will. She is not a “feeble old woman,” however, and if you treat her as such, or anger her, or threaten her, you’re probs gonna die…
(TW domestic abuse)
The Verifiers by Jane Pek
From 2015 Read Harder: A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ
If you like character-driven mysteries that explore family dynamics, amateur sleuths, and interesting jobs, pick this one up!
Claudia Lin has started working for Veracity, a company that focuses on finding out if the person you’re matched with on a dating app is, in fact, their authentic self — and not married, catfishing, etc. She’s keeping the job a secret from her family. But her very first case goes off the rails, and soon she’s deep into a mystery and playing amateur sleuth, propelled by growing up with a mystery series and oftentimes questioning what the fictional lead detective would do in her situation!
(TW case revolves around whether a death is a suicide or not, method detail/ brief mentions of past domestic and child abuse)
News and Roundups
Writer Leonardo Padura chronicles life in Cuba as his detective ‘alter ego’ solves gripping crimes
Sean Connery Wrote An Unmade James Bond Movie Featuring Robot Sharks
Here’s every song on the Sugar soundtrack on Apple TV+
Break Out the Black Eyeliner and Tighten Those Pigtails: Wednesday Season 2 Is On Its Way
Reporter-turned-author Christina Estes unveils debut mystery novel Off the Air
Conspiracies Swirl Around Missing White Woman
This Gritty Murder Mystery Thriller Starring Denzel Washington Is a Netflix Hidden Gem
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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