Hello, mystery fans! I am on an excellent reading roll–which I am hopefully not jinxing–and it really is the best feeling: Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander (December, joyful romance); Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper (delightful memoir); Role Playing by Cathy Yardley (funny romance, 40s MCs); Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero (all the emotions, mostly funny and inspirational memoir); Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett (2024 domestic mystery about a woman on a weekend gateway with her boyfriend who wakes up to find the body of a missing woman in their vacation rental).
I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.
Bookish Goods
Black woman reading keychain by ChocolatesStickers
I love this illustration! Bonus: if you’re not into keychains, there’s a sticker version. ($7)
New Releases
Vengeance Is Mine by Marie NDiaye, Jordan Stump (Translator)
For fans of translated crime, psychological, and lawyer MCs!
This is my current audiobook listen, and it definitely feels like fans of literary crime and dives into questioning memory would enjoy this.
Marie NDiaye (Maître Susane), a 42-year-old lawyer in Bordeaux, doesn’t seem that happy in her life. In her personal life, she’s hired a housekeeper, Sharon, after a man at a dinner party spoke with disregard about her. Marie becomes intent on helping Sharon become a legal citizen of France, along with her husband and children. But Sharon continues to fail to provide the marriage certificate Marie asks her for, and Marie continues to clean her own home, uncomfortable by making Sharon do it.
In her professional life, she’s asked to take on the case of a woman, Marlyne, who murdered her young children. Marlyne’s husband, Gilles Principaux, has brought the case to Marie. She recognizes him from her childhood or thinks she does, thinking he may be the teen who encouraged her intelligence. But when she brings up the memory to her parents, her father is upset that the teen must have taken advantage of Marie, leading Marie to break off from her parents for assuming the worst.
Between her personal life and her professional one, Marie slowly starts to unravel, grasping at what is happening and what did happen…
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023 edited by Lisa Unger, Steph Cha
For fans of short story collections!
Short story collections are a great way to find new-to-you authors and also really help with getting in some reading time when you’re schedule doesn’t allow you to sit down for long stretches of time with a long book.
You’ll get stories from loved and widely known authors like Silvia Moreno-Garcia, S.A. Cosby, Walter Mosley…and also maybe new-to-you authors (whose work I’ve loved) like William Boyle and Faye Snowden.
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
I’m currently reading Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah––a fantastic dystopian that imagines our future with private prisons setting up death matches for inmates to try and win freedom as a sport––so I thought I’d focus on the U.S. prison system from three angles: by a lawyer, by someone once falsely incarcerated, and the history of a detention center.
A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom by Brittany K. Barnett
In Barnett’s memoir, she talks about her childhood––a loving family with a parent who dealt with addiction––and growing up to become a lawyer. She then realized that the “war on drugs” was wildly disproportionate, including creating different fixed sentences for crack cocaine vs. cocaine powder and putting a lot of people in prison for life for nonviolent drug offenses. Barnett not only takes you into the cases she handled, but also the system and history and laws created by the war on drugs.
Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice by Yusef Salaam
Yusef Salaam was one of the five children wrongly convicted of raping a woman in Central Park, NY, in 1989. Not only does Salaam discuss the case, horrific injustice, and time he spent incarcerated, but he also focuses on the support he always had, his faith, and channeling the rage of injustice into action for change.
The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan
This is the history of the House of D, a cruel women’s prison that was started in 1932 in Greenwich Village, NY, that incarcerated “tens of thousands of women and transmasculine people” and wouldn’t be closed until the early 1970s. Not only does Ryan dive into the history of the House of D and queer communities, but he also gives important focus to many of the people’s lives who were incarcerated there.
News and Roundups
Stay In and Read with 51 of This Year’s Coziest Mysteries!
In Anatomy of a Fall, a Murder Trial Reveals Queer Secrets
How Simon & Schuster’s Sale to KKR Could Affect the Company
Suspect in Natalee Holloway’s disappearance revealed what happened as part of a plea deal
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2023 releases and upcoming 2024 releases. 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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