Author: Jamie Canaves

Hello mystery fans! I have for you a noir novella, a psychological suspense, and the next BIG thriller you won’t be able to put down. Happy fall reading!

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Sponsored by The Gold Pawn by L.A. Chandlar

November 1936. For most of the country, it is the era of soup lines, but for Manhattan’s cosmopolitan set, the Big Apple is a decadent swirl of creativity, cocktails, music, gangsters and romance. At the center of it all is Lane Sanders, the high-spirited personal aide to Mayor La Guardia, sprinting through the corridors of City Hall in her stylish red shoes as she confronts the ghosts of her past and investigates a missing persons case that threatens to destroy everything. Through glittering Art Deco-era Manhattan to the shadowy outskirts of 1930’s Detroit, a ride on the Hindenburg, a band of city urchins, a narrow escape, and many new friends who go on to become the movers and shakers of the Thirties, one peculiar thing ties the mystery of Lane’s past and La Guardia’s current debacle together: The Gold Pawn.

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Hitwoman Noir Novella! (TW attempted rape)

All Things Violent by Nikki Dolson: This was an awesome crime novella that focuses on a young woman’s personal life and “career.” Laura Park is a hit woman working for her boyfriend, but she’s still technically in training and her trainer treats her like a child. The events that led her to this life and her current life’s unraveling are the focus as she does her best to kill her assigned marks. Equally tough and vulnerable, Park is a great main character, and the book left me wanting much more future writing from Dolson. While not a genderswap like Megan Abbott did with Queenpin there was an interesting play with the femme fatale…

Slow-Burn Psychological Suspense Mystery (TW suicide)

The Boy at the Keyhole by Stephen Giles: I picked this up because it had a comparison to Shirley Jackson and while I was initially hesitant, because those comps never work out for me, I totally saw it. It isn’t the characters from We Have Always Lived in the Castle but it is the similar vibe of the mystery, and everything basically taking place all in the house. In this case Samuel, a nine-year-old British boy, is desperately missing his mother who abruptly left to America without saying goodbye. Cared for only by Ruth, the housekeeper, he soon lets his imagination go rampant into theories of his mother having been murdered instead of being in America seeking financial support. But is it his imagination? Because Ruth sure does seem to be controlling things and, aside from some postcards, he has yet to actually hear from his mother…

This Will Be The Hit Thriller of 2019! (TW suicide/ rape/ revenge porn/ domestic violence)

As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney (January 15, Flatiron): Okay, I don’t normally use this slot for future releases but in this case I want you to give future you a deliciously evil gift because you’re going to want to be ahead of the hype on this one! So preorder, be first on your library hold list, mark your calendar. I absolutely adore JoAnn Chaney’s wicked brain. Her writing is sharp, insightful, and darkly funny. And wow can she write a deliciously evil and giddy page-turner! The novel starts with two wives, decades apart, same husband. Each wife about to reach her fate at the hands of her husband. But how can a spouse possibly get away with murder? Twice?! Enter the first detective who doesn’t believe the husband’s story and then decades later two more detectives who don’t believe the husband’s current story when they find out the first story. The book brilliantly gives you slices into each characters life and brain while not only giving you the two focal mysteries but one of the current detectives is accused of murdering a previous partner. I know! I am so excited for everyone to get to experience this ride of a book!!!!

Recent Releases

Transcription by Kate Atkinson (TBR: Looking forward to this literary spy novel set in the ’40s and ’50s about a BBC radio producer who once worked for MI5…)

Haunted Hayride with Murder (An Otter Lake Mystery #6) by Auralee Wallace (Currently reading: This is one of those cozy mystery series where all the characters are ridiculous and it’s funny and I get to just enjoy myself and laugh.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans!

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Sponsored by The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The most inventive debut of 2018, this clever, mind-bending murder mystery will leave readers guessing until the very last page.

One of Stylist Magazine’s 20 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Harper’s Bazaar’s 10 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Marie Claire, Australia’s 10 Books You Absolutely Have to Read in 2018

At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed. Again. She’s been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden’s only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder. However nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

‘The Cheerleaders‘ Author Kara Thomas Was Inspired By A Real Crime — And The Story Sounds Too Unsettling To Be True

Rincey and Katie talk historical mysteries, what they’re reading, and new releases on the latest Read or Dead.

Paula Hawkins (The Girl On the Train) chatted with the The Gaurdian: “I feel guilty about rereading books because there are so many unread ones to get to. But that doesn’t stop me doing it – I return to the novels of Pat Barker and Atkinson time and time again.”

Read an excerpt of The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith

Read an excerpt of Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (the pseudonym of JK Rowling) 

6 Reasons Andrew Shaffer’s Hope Never Dies Is the Perfect Buddy Comedy

8 Great Murder Mysteries You Should Read!

News That Made Me SQUEAL!

Dear Veronica Mars fans, not only are all seasons of the show going to be on Hulu next year BUT there’s going to be NEEEEEEW Veronica Mars. Here’s Kristen Bell’s announcement. And a reminder if you haven’t read the two books yet, they’re perfect snacks to hold you over: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line and Mr. Kiss and Tell.

 

Watch Now

Currently In Theaters: A Simple Favor (adapted from Darcey Bell’s novel) starring Henry Golding, Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and directed by Paul Feig (Spy, Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters). A Neo-Noir thriller filled with twists that follows Stephanie (Kendrick) a vlogging mom who sets out to find her missing new friend (Lively). Watch the trailer.

 

True Crime

Novelist who wrote about ‘How to Murder Your Husband’ charged with murdering her husband

9 Historical True Crime Books That Will Show You The Creepier Side Of History

A+E Networks UK is exploring more true crimes with its latest British origination – a series that looks at what killers do after their crimes, fronted by Life on Mars and Outcast star Philip Glenister.

Kindle Deals

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang which published this week and is a great historical mystery (Review!) is only $4.99 and that’s ridiculous go get it!

The entire Israeli detective Avraham Avraham series by D.A. Mishani is on sale! This series is perfect for fans of procedurals that are character driven and focus on human behavior. Plus, I think it’s one of the only Israeli crime series which the main character discusses: The Missing File is $1.99; A Possibility of Violence is $3.99; The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything is $3.99 (I don’t remember trigger warnings but I want to say TW rape and child abuse/pedophilia.)

On Hoopla!

Hoopla is a fantastic app that many libraries use, which has no holds, and everyone is picking from the same catalog regardless of your library. I’ve noticed they have a GREAT selection of recent crime audiobooks so I’ll highlight a couple every week.

If you’re looking for a really good thriller: The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal (Review) (TW rape)

If you want a JUST RELEASED page-turner: Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough (Review) (TW child murder/ domestic abuse/ child abuse/ molestation)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! This week I’ve got for you a great historical mystery, a small-town police procedural with dual mysteries, and an awesome thriller!

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Sponsored by William Morrow, publishers of I KNOW YOU KNOW the new novel by Gilly Macmillan.

From New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan comes a chilling, twisty mystery about two shocking murder cases twenty years apart, and the threads that bind them.

Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, questions still linger.

For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. Hoping to uncover new evidence, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case reopened so many years after the tragedy.

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Loved This Historical Mystery!

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang: Set in Manhattan in the mid-1800s, there’s rumor of a girl with two hearts. They aren’t the kind of rumors that hurt your feelings or may ruin your social status, but that can literally get you killed and your body cut open and displayed for all to see. And the rumors are true: Cora Lee was born with two hearts. In order to keep anyone from discovering this, and to navigate society, she spends the day as Cora and the night disguised as her “twin brother” Jacob. She’s also robbing graves to sell the bodies to medical schools and those who are seeking body anomalies. She does this for money, and so that she can hear if anyone is looking for the girl with two hearts–her! Her life is complicated enough when suddenly people on her list of anomalies–who she waits to die of natural causes–start suspiciously dying. Will she figure out what is happening before she’s in the grave?… This was one of those novels where I was sucked in from the first page and absolutely adored Cora. Another win for the historical feminist mysteries category!

Great Small-Town Police Procedure (TW physical abuse)

Idyll Hands (Thomas Lynch #3) by Stephanie Gayle: This one checked off a bunch of boxes for me: small-town mystery; dual mysteries being solved; equal focus on solving the mysteries, the characters’ personal lives, and police department politics. The novel switches between Police Chief Thomas Lynch and Detective Michael Finnegan. Lynch is doing his best to settle into small-town life, navigate around the town and his department’s reaction to his being gay, figure out the whole dating in a small-town, and keep his men in line while solving a murder case. Finnegan was a rookie cop in the ’70s when his younger sister disappeared, and he’s never stopped blaming himself for waiting too long to file a missing person’s report. Now, 1999, with a woman’s body found in the woods, he’s determined to find out what happened to his sister. Lots of great characters, interactions, and two solid mysteries had me really invested in this read. I look forward to more, especially Lynch. (Reads as a standalone in that you’re never lost or feel like you’re thrown into an already started story.)

Awesome Thriller! (TW pedophilia/ PTSD/ the dog dies)

One Kick by Chelsea Cain: I love Cain, she’s one of my favorite writers and after reading her new comic Man-Eaters— which is brilliant–I needed more of her so I settled in with one of her thrillers. And of course I inhaled it because Cain writes the perfect combination, for me, of intense/dark with fictional/thriller. But before I get into the review–so no one yells at me–a heads up that this was the beginning of a series that will probably never have a second book because Cain and her editor changed publishers. With that said, while the ending of this book opens a new door for a continued mystery, it did solve the mystery of this book, which is why I’m still recommending it. The novel alternates between Kick Lannigan’s life, now at age 21, and the years she was kidnapped by a pedophile starting at age 6. Currently she is trying her best to keep her PTSD at bay with fighting techniques she’s learned since her rescue. Because she’s a survivor and a fighter, a mysterious man named Bishop appears in her life needing her to help him in a recent kidnapping case. Kick will have to get close to the world that still shares the videos she was forced to make as a child in order to help find recent victims… Cain creates amazing characters with layers of pain, fight, and hope. She keeps you turning the page with intense action, and sprinkles in just the right amount of dark humor.

Recent Releases

The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith (Currently reading: Secret society at Harvard–YES, PLEASE!)

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Currently reading: Like a literary Groundhogs Day where Aiden Bishop has to identify Evelyn Hardcastle’s killer or the day starts over AGAIN.)

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright, Bradley Hope (TBR: Another white collar true crime I’m looking forward to.)

Guess Who by Chris McGeorge (Currently reading: A locked-room mystery where a group of strangers wake up in a hotel room together…)

Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym), J.K. Rowling (TBR: It is finally here!)

The Infinite Blacktop (Claire DeWitt Mysteries #3) by Sara Gran (TBR: Noir mystery!)

The Labyrinth of the Spirits (Cemetery Of Forgotten Books #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (TBR: The final in a series set in Barcelona I’ve been looking forward to getting into.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans!

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We’re giving away a six month subscription to the kid lit subscription box OwlCrate Jr. Click here to enter, or click the image below:

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Read the 1st two chapters for Fiona Barton’s upcoming 3rd novel The Suspect (January 22, 2019).

3 on a YA Theme: YA Mysteries Set in Vermont

11 Mystery Novels That Don’t Start With A Dead Girl

Publishers to Watch: Orenda Books

Pick which cover you like best in Cover Face-Off: Bonfire By Krysten Ritter

Giveaway: We’re giving away a 6 month subscription to OwlCrate Jr!

News And Adaptations

The 2018 Anthony Award winners were announced and what a great list! And great reminder to read Kellye Garrett and Attica Locke.

Nancy Drew adaptation is in development at The CW and will be set the summer after Drew graduates high school.

Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, Dark Places) promises another book is on the way.

Cecil Day-Lewis’ classic murder mystery The Beast Must Die will be adapted by the BBC into a detective series. (Nicholas Blake is the pen name poet that Day-Lewis used for the novel.)

The Banker’s Wife by Cristina Alger is being adapted. This book will make a great film and Amy Dunne–I mean Rosamund Pike will star and executive produce!

Reese Witherspoon chose a debut murder mystery for her book club: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I’ve been on the fence about watching Lifetime’s adaptation of You by Caroline Kepnes, so I read this Vulture review: Lifetime’s You Is Absolutely Bonkers

The Hate U Give has been given an earlier release date: Limited release on October 5th.

Kindle Deals

The Dry by Jane Harper is $2.99 and if you haven’t gotten to this great mystery yet what are you waiting for?! (Review) (TW child abuse/ sexual assault/ suicide)

White Bodies by Jane Robins is .99 cents! (Slow-burn suspense with a bite: Review) (TW domestic abuse)

Upcoming Releases To Be Excited For!

My current week in reading is me drowning in books and refusing to accept that I can’t read EVERY SINGLE BOOK EVER so here are upcoming books I’m super, ridiculously excited about so you should probably be too.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Nov 20th): If you’re a fan of smart novels that feel fun this is a fantastic read, which delivers what you want from that title!

And Fire Came Down by Emma Viskic, the sequel to Resurrection Bay, is out on October 2nd! If you’re looking for great Australian crime novels I couldn’t put down the first in the series.

The third in Joe Ide’s IQ series, Wrecked, is out October 9th! If you like PI novels definitely grab this series.

The sequel to the Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey is coming in 2019: The Satapur Moonstone!! If you like historical mysteries the start to the series was excellent.

My favorite Sherlock is back October 2nd with The Hollow of Fear (Lady Sherlock #3) by Sherry Thomas.

As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney is related to What You Don’t Know–one of my favorite fictional serial killer books–in that it features Detective Loren again. But that’s the only tie to What You Don’t Know so you don’t have to read one to read the other. As Long As We Both Shall Live releases in January, and the second I get my hands on this book all other books will be temporarily dead to me. Sorry other books!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! I have a psychopath in fashion, an excellent amateur sleuth, and true crime meets literary criticism for you this week. AND a reminder for those who like to have books in your hot little hands as soon as they publish: J.K. Rowling’s 4th Cormoran Strike novel releases next week, so you may want to preorder now and then camp beside your mailbox. Or get on that library hold list STAT!

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We’re giving away a six month subscription to the kid lit subscription box OwlCrate Jr. Click here to enter, or click the image below:

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Serial Mom Meets The Devil Wears Prada Is As Awesome As It Sounds! (TW suicide attempt)

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar: Basically, there is a psychopath working at a fashion magazine and people are dropping like flies! Anya St. Clair is up for a promotion but there’s a catch: she’s in competition with Sarah Taft, the woman she obsesses over being best friends with. Making things even more difficult is her boss constantly changing the “rules” for the promotion, forcing her into a dangerous diet–oh, and this tiny little thing I mentioned earlier about Anya being a psychopath! She literally sees red when she’s disrespected, taunted, or treated unfairly and then suddenly there’s a body to deal with. This is not your Gillian Flynn’s dark exploration of a female psychopath, but rather closer to John Waters’ satire: except, instead of suburban housewife suppression, welcome to the cruel world of fashion where women’s looks, weight, and youth is the only thing to value.

Excellent Amateur Sleuth Mystery (TW drug addiction/ statutory rape)

Far From You by Tess Sharpe: Sophie Winters’ best friend, Mina, was murdered in front of her. But Sophie is a recovering drug addict and the only witness so no one believes her that it wasn’t a drug deal gone wrong. Tough, unrelenting, and sick of her family and friends not believing she’s no longer using drugs she decides to find Mina’s killer herself. Told in alternating timeline, you get to know Sophie and Mina as best friends, slowly watch secrets revealed, and why Mina was out in the woods the night she was murdered… Sophie is a fantastic character who is allowed to fight, fail, love, and struggle in a way that felt really genuine. Highly recommend.

True Crime Meets Literary Criticism (TW suicide/ pedophilia/ rape)

The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman: If you’re a fan of true crime and literary theory/criticism, this investigation into how Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita was most likely based on a real life case is really interesting. It’s a heartbreaking look into the real kidnapping and sexual abuse that eleven-year-old Sally Horner experienced in the late 1940s but her chapters are written with care by Weinman who focused on the facts that she was able to acquire through research and interviews while focusing on Sally and her family. Nabokov’s chapters take you into his life as he immigrated to America, worked on writing Lolita, and the serious overlap between the fictional novel and Sally Horner’s case.

Recent Releases

The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth’s Ultimate Trophy by Paige Williams (Currently reading: So far it feels like a perfect read if you loved The Feather Thief, but this one is about the selling of dinosaur skeletons! Also, I’m going to bug everyone with “hey did you know…” facts.)

Hitting the Books (Library Lover’s Mystery #9) by Jenn McKinlay (Cozy mystery for library lovers.)

The Exes’ Revenge by Jo Jakeman (TBR: 3 women + 1 dude = revenge.)

Nancy Drew #4 by Kelly Thompson, Jenn St-Onge (Nancy Drew is back in this awesome new comic series.)

The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Crown Colony #1) by Ovidia Yu (TBR: I’m looking forward to getting this historical mystery. Set in 1930’s Singapore it follows SuLin, a nanny for the Acting Governor, who will be helping a British-born Chief Inspector figure out who is the murderer in the Government House.)

A Borrowing of Bones (Mercy & Elvis Mysteries #1) by Paula Munier (TBR: A mystery starring a retired soldier and her bomb sniffing dog.)

The Guilty Dead (Monkeewrench #9) by P.J. Tracy (Just started reading: A police procedural set in Minnesota.) (TW suicide/ drug addiction)

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit (Kopp Sisters #4) by Amy Stewart (Historical crime series based on real life people including one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs.)

Righteous (IQ #2) by Joe Ide (Paperback) (Such a great PI series set in East Long Beach: Review) (4 reasons to read the series) (I don’t remember trigger warnings)

After the Eclipse: A Mother’s Murder, a Daughter’s Search by Sarah Perry (Paperback) (Excellent true crime memoir: Review) (TW rape/ suicidal thoughts)

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo (Paperback) (YA murder mystery + obsession + in love with your best friend!)

The Scarred Woman (Afdeling Q #7) by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Paperback) (Scandinavian crime procedural.)

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough (Paperback) (Mean Girls mystery: Review)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans! I have found my new marathoning show: Death in Paradise (streaming on Netflix). It’s a BBC show about a British detective solving crimes on the gorgeous island of Saint Marie. Except, he’s of course miserable by all things island life. The mysteries are good and twisty and the show creator, Robert Thorogood, also brought the characters to a series of books.

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Sponsored by Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison from MIRA Books

Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens her racing career and her life. During surgery, doctors discover she has leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter. The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie talk about mysteries in translation and the Sharp Objects adaptation on the latest Read or Dead!

YA Audio Mystery Books

Very important quiz: Would You Survive A Thriller Novel?!

Best True Crime Audiobooks

4 Sci-fi And Fantasy Crime Novels To Check Out Immediately

Interview with Courtney Summers

Giveaway: We want to hear all about your reading habits! Tell us in our Fall Reader Survey and you could win a $100 gift certificate to the Book Riot store!

True Crime

Blood-Testing Firm Theranos to Dissolve (If you’ve yet to read Bad Blood by John Carreyrou you really should! Review)

FBI Recovers Stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers

‘Serial’ Podcast To Focus On Cleveland’s Criminal Court System In Season Three; Debuts September 20

Kindle Deal

A Quiet Place by Seicho Matsumot, Louise Heal Kawai (Translation) is $3.99! (Great, slow-burn Japanese crime fiction that reads a bit different than what US/UK/Australian crime readers are used to.)

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

Adding to my ridiculous list of reading this weekend is The Night in Question by Nic Joseph because I really liked her last book and the premise of this one has me really intrigued: “A rideshare driver is the only witness to one of her passenger’s secret affair…an affair that may be the least of his crimes.”

And I finished on audio two books by Lucy Dawson: The Daughter,  which was a crime novel that starts with a woman’s daughter dying in an accident (TW suicide/ child death/ stalking); White Lies a middle-aged doctor who has an affair with her seventeen-year-old patient which turns into a he-said-she-said story. (TW suicide/ statutory rape–in the book the relationship is legal but, based on the patient’s chapters, I think the book may need a warning for some readers, and age of consent is different in different places.) I think fans of Lisa Jewell would like that these were also character driven novels focusing on women’s lives.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! It is the first week of a new month which means TONS of new books get published–happy book dance! I have for you this week a great procedural, a suspenseful page-turner, and an excellent crime novel perfect for fans of true crime podcasts.

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Sponsored by Under My Skin by Lisa Unger, new from Park Row Books

Bestselling author Lisa Unger delivers an addictive psychological thriller about a woman on the hunt for her husband’s killer.  

What if the nightmares are actually memories? It’s been a year since Poppy’s husband, Jack, was brutally murdered. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused.

The case was never solved, and those lost days continue to haunt her. As her vivid nightmares intensify into daily blackouts, she starts to lose track of what is real. But her terrible dreams might hold the key to what really happened to Jack…

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Great Procedural: Who Started A Fire That Killed A Family? (TW child deaths/ suicide)

Skies of Ash (Detective Elouise Norton #2) by Rachel Howzell Hall: Homicide detective Lou Norton has a new case: a fire that killed a wife and her two children. Between the wife’s strange 911 call, the son having been an arsonist, and the husband/father who is acting strange, Lou has plenty to look into. She’s also stuck with her partner, Colin Taggert, who she still feels she needs to spend time babysitting and, well, she works in a boys club. I really love this series, which focuses first on the solving of the mystery while also giving just the right amount of time to Lou’s personal life (that cheating husband is back) and her relationships/interactions with her friends, family, and coworkers. If you’re a fan of procedurals, you should be reading this series. (It is not confusing to start here if you skipped the first in the series, but it does give away the solve and continues stories about Lou’s personal life.)

Excellent Crime Fiction PERFECT For Fans of True Crime Podcasts (TW child abuse/ pedophilia/ attempted suicide mentioned)

Sadie by Courtney Summers: This book kind of destroyed me. And not in the destroyed-me-and-then-put-me-back-together-again way. It destroyed me and left me staring off into the void as it was meant to, and I would have applauded if I thought Summer would have heard it. This book is lots of things, but for me the brilliance was in two things: Summers’ ability to tell a page-turning white knuckle story; her shining a light on the darkest corners of our true crime obsession while/by keeping the violence in her novel just off the page. Sadie, a smart mouthed stubborn young woman, sets off to find her little sister’s killer. Her plan: to kill him. With no money, friends, and a stutter that makes communicating with strangers difficult it’s a near impossible mission. Sadie’s chapters alternate with a radio personality who has started a podcast about Sadie and her sister’s murder and is trying to find Sadie… If you’re looking for a fantastic read you won’t be able to put down, and like a gut punch, do not miss Sadie. She’s a character I will forever keep thinking about.

Pinborough Always Delivers A Page-Turner! (TW child murder/ domestic abuse/ child abuse/ molestation)

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough: Told in multiple point of view, the novel focuses on three people: Lisa, an overprotective mother; Ava, Lisa’s teenage daughter; Marilyn, Lisa’s coworker and best friend. Lisa’s entire life focuses around her daughter and her work. She’s very private and intends to keep things that way. Clearly she has a secret… Ava is in high school, a swimmer, has a close group of girlfriends and a boyfriend. And also a secret: the older man she’s been talking to online… When Ava and Lisa’s pictures end up in the news, their lives are suddenly threatened, which has long reaching consequences that affect Marilyn… If you like page-turners that focus on the characters and their lives this was a great read. If you are a fan of Behind Her Eyes, this does not have that level of bonkers twist–which I do not say as a knock on this book at all because this book is not written to have that kind of moment. But it bums me out to see readers not have a great reading experience solely because of an expectation, so go into this one as a new character-driven suspense.

Recent Releases (Reinforce your TBR shelves!)

The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories by Teresa Solana, Peter Bush (Translation) (Currently reading: I started this, and it’s ridiculous noir short stories and I’m loving it. The first story is literally the title where a caveman is trying to solve which caveman is the serial killer in their cave.)

Idyll Hands (Thomas Lynch #3) by Stephanie Gayle (Currently reading: a small town procedural told in alternating point of view in the ’70s and the late ’90s about a body found in the woods, a rookie’s missing sister, and a long ago found bone.)

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica (TBR: I’m a big fan of Kubica and her suspense stories so this is very high on my list! It’s about a young woman whose social security number raises a red flag leading her to discover a shocking detail…)

Gravesend by William Boyle (Currently reading: I’m a big fan of Boyle’s character driven crime writing and this one starts with revenge so I’m a happy reader at the moment.) (The Lonely Witness review)

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia (Currently reading: A really interesting read so far about a speech therapist at a mental health facility where a teenager has been brought in who has been missing since a camping trip ten years previously…) (TW suicide/ mentions self-harm)

The Boy at the Keyhole by Stephen Giles (TBR: I know comps lie a lot but also I’m a sucker and this said “in the vein of Shirley Jackson” so I’m gonna read it!)

The Cats Came Back (A Magical Cats Mystery #10) by Sofie Kelly (TBR: A cozy mystery with a librarian and her magical cats!)

Field of Bones (Joanna Brady #18) by J.A. Jance (For procedural fans)

An Act of Villainy (Amory Ames #5) by Ashley Weaver (For historical mystery fans)

And we want to hear all about your reading habits! Tell us in our Fall Reader Survey and you could win a $100 gift certificate to the Book Riot store!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

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