Author: Jamie Canaves

Hi my fellow mystery fans! I’m melting and it isn’t even August yet which has me wanting to read mysteries/thrillers set in cold settings. If you’re looking for the same thing I very much recommend North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo–freezing water sounds amazing right now.

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Sponsored by the high-octane political thriller We Are Holding the President Hostage.

The most popular high-octane thriller from the bestselling author of The War of the Roses – We Are Holding the President Hostage is an electrifying death match that grips you from the first page until long after the last. Aging Mafia Don Salvatore Padronelli, a.k.a. the Padre, is furious when fanatical terrorists capture his beloved daughter and grandson on a trip to Egypt. Fed up with diplomatic caution that prolongs their captivity, the Padre and his loyal henchman cleverly insinuate themselves into the White House to hold the President and his wife hostage. Now the Padre calls the shots on getting the President to take steps to release his family. But will his plan go as expected?

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I ain’t afraid of no ghost!

Death in D Minor (Gethsemane Brown Mysteries #2) by Alexia Gordon: And neither is Gethsemane Brown (an American musician living in Ireland), who summons a ghost in the hopes of saving her cottage from developers. Except, whoopsie, the wrong ghost appears. At the wrong time. But that’s a side plot—in a delightful way, not a distracting way—from the actual mystery: Gethsemane’s brother-in-law is in town for an art auction and quickly finds himself entangled in a fraud case as the suspect. Gethsemane makes a deal to help gather evidence against suspected art frauders to prove his innocence, but soon there’s a death and Gethsemane is in danger. This was a great read with a couple of ghosts, music, and art history that complimented well with the mystery at heart and some laughs. Now I have to go read the first in the series!

If you’re going to be in Maine on the 29th Tess Gerritsen is having a mystery garden party!

Over on Paste: Read an excerpt from The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter.

A judge in Spain ordered Salvador Dali’s body exhumed for a paternity test and because I clearly read too many mysteries my first thought was “But what if the body isn’t there when they open the casket?!”

True crime is stranger than fiction ( A living Jane Doe): Finding Lisa: A story of murders, mysteries, loss, and, incredibly, new life

Chrissy Teigen reads true crime. So does John Legend. The couple that reads true crime together, stays together?

DiCaprio and Scorsese are uniting again, this time on an adaptation for the true crime Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.

Breakfast Club meets murder mystery:

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus: This starts with five students in detention–most professing innocence. Each seems to take on the classic trope of teen movies giving you the Breakfast Club type vibes (brain, jock, pretty/popular, bad boy) except things quickly turn tragic when a student dies. Soon it appears he may have been murdered. Suspects? Technically anyone who he’d destroyed in his gossip app (he was like the TMZ/Perez Hilton of his school) but the police are zeroing in on the four students left from that detention. As you get to know each character—point of view changes each chapter—you realize they’re fully fleshed out characters who are complex and not necessarily who they each thought the other was. If “one of us is lying”–and slowly it looks like at some point each of them could be the killer, or at least has a secret–then is it wise for them to be sneaking off to meet to try and figure out the mystery themselves? Especially, when the police are watching them…

PI mystery that ends like a thriller:

The Last Place You Look (Roxane Weary #1) by Kristen Lepionk: Roxane Weary is a PI having a bit of a rough time (aren’t all PIs?): her father, a police officer, has passed away; she’s drinking a bit too much; and her romantic life is more in the unhealthy department. Sure, all of that sounds like this is just a gender swapped PI mystery, but there’s more to Roxane than the usual tropes– starting with her being bisexual. As much as she can be prickly (again, most PI?), she’s genuinely trying. She may not make the wisest choices–romantically, personally, nor professionally–but she evolves at the same time, recognizes her issues, and (most importantly as a PI) doesn’t give up on her case. The case is technically an already solved case–there is a man on death row for the murder of his girlfriend (body never found) and her parents fifteen years ago. But his sister is certain he didn’t kill anyone and she swears she just saw the body-never-found girlfriend walking in broad daylight. The case is complicated enough, and the fact that the town’s police don’t want Roxane anywhere near their town makes it nearly impossible for her to do her job. But a man’s life is hanging on the balance and she really doesn’t take kindly to being told to mind her own business. A good read for fans of mystery and thrillers as you get a healthy dose of both.

Poked around the Kindle monthly deals and found you these:

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet for $2.99

The Murder Game by Julie Apple for $1.99

The Girl Before by JP Delaney for $3.99

 

 

And I’ll leave you with my best read of June review for Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke. Y’all should definitely add it to your TBR list and pounce on it when it releases in September. It’s so good. SO GOOD!

I have to go shopping now:

Agatha Christie typewriter pins with mystery quote

Detective trench coat cufflinks

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.

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

Hello my fellow mystery fans! There’s a literacy ambassador pig and it should come as a shock to no one that I love everything about this.

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Sponsored by Dr. Knox by Peter Spiegelman, new in paperback from Vintage Crime Black Lizard.

A gripping thriller about a doctor with a powerful humanitarian impulse and an unhealthy appetite for risk. Dr. Adam Knox, a former aid worker in war zones and disaster areas, runs a clinic near LA’s Skid Row and makes house calls—no questions asked—on those too famous or too criminal. When his search for an abandoned boy’s mother leads him into the crosshairs of a human trafficking ring run by the Russian mob and on a collision course with a powerful and ruthless family, it threatens all—and everyone—that Dr. Knox holds dear.

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My favorite Sherlock!

A Study In Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas: A gender swapped Sherlock Holmes that is brilliantly well thought out and executed. I don’t want to get into the plot because there was something quite wonderful about how it all unfolds, especially if you go into the book knowing nothing about the plot like I did. I will say that I loved everything about Charlotte Holmes, from her refusing to accept her place in society, to her taking drastic measures to ensure she doesn’t live a life she doesn’t want. Bonus points for the title that you’ll realize means more than one thing… Oh, and Kate Reading does a great narration on the audiobook–really brought Charlotte Holmes to life.

Calling all cozy mystery fans:

Murder at the Male Revue (A Bucket List Mystery #3) by Elizabeth Perona: A group of seventy+-year-young women with bucket lists seem to also have the Jessica Fletcher syndrome of always finding themselves around a murder. This time a fun event of male strippers–catered by Mary Ruth and attended by the ladies to get one of those bucket list items crossed off–is cut short by the stabbing of the fundraiser’s sponsor, Camille Ledfelter. Charlotte (being a fan of mysteries) doesn’t care that the police find her to be a thorn in their side–warning her to stop trying to investigate–she just can’t stop herself. Nor wants to, really. When it appears Ledfelter’s nephew is going to be the prime suspect, Charlotte goes into full-on investigation mode, dragging Francine and some of the other ladies into her schemes to get closer to the truth of who stabbed Ledfelter. The opening Magic-Mike-gone-wrong scene is funny and Charlotte, Francine, and the other ladies are wonderful characters who make me believe my dream of one day becoming a private detective while living in a nursing home can come true.

A little Q&A: Kellye Garrett (I give authors I’m excited about five questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

You know those books that from page one you already love the main character and know you’re only going to love them even more as you get deeper into the story? That’s how I felt about Dayna “Day” Anderson. She finds herself in amateur sleuth territory now that she’s given up on the Hollywood dream, is broke, and needs to find money fast to save her parents’ home. Day is hilarious, smart, has a great group of friends–and my favorite part is she puts the amateur in amateur sleuth! Being that Hollywood Homicide (Midnight Ink, Aug 8th) is the first in the series I’m so happy that I’ll have more Day in my life.

Here’s Kellye Garrett:

What would you like to see more/less of in the mystery genre? “Granted, I’m super biased but I would love to see more authors of color. Last summer’s Sisters in Crime Diversity Report listed 69 black writers who were published. To clarify, that isn’t the number of black writers traditionally published last year. That is the number who published by a publishing company ever. As in, throughout the entire history of the world there have been only 69 black mystery writers traditionally published in the United States. And we have it better than other marginalized groups.

When you’ve always been represented, you don’t realize how much representation matters. I love what Shonda Rhimes has done with Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder where the shows are extremely diverse and the lead happens to be black. I would love to see that same idea move over to mystery novels.”

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters who would it be? “I should say my main character Dayna since she’s basically a younger, prettier, more over-the-top version of me. But I’m going to go with her uber-confident best friend Sienna, who spends her days being fabulous, saying whatever she wants, and never, ever gaining weight. Her life goal is to set a World Record for wearing most days in a row wearing red and she could give Beyonce a run for her money when it comes to doing things in heels. And, best of all, Sienna’s also a super supportive ride-or-die friend.”

If you were to blurb your most recent/upcoming book (à la James Patterson): “Hollywood Homicide is my best book in over 20 years! Better than the stories that I used to write as a kid that I would force my mom to read and tell me were great.”

Thanks Kellye! Hollywood if you’re reading this newsletter Hollywood Homicide would make a great TV series so someone get on that–Please, and thank you!

Suspense:

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica: Clara Solberg’s husband, Nick, dying in a car accident is only the first string pulled in a spectacular unraveling of her life. Not only is she left widowed with a four-year-old and a newborn baby but her daughter Maisie is now having meltdown moments that make Clara question whether Nick’s accident was just his speeding as the police believed or if there was another car involved. The brilliance of this novel is how Kubica builds suspense by taking us into Clara’s daily life, starting with Nick’s death, and alternates the chapters with Nick’s daily life starting in the final months of Clara’s recent pregnancy as he struggled to keep the life they’d built from unraveling and Clara from finding out.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.

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

And don’t forget to check out our newest podcast, Annotated.

The first episode, “Is it 1984 yet?” traces the recent rise of the not-new 1984 to the number one spot on Amazon’s best-selling books list. Jeff and Rebecca explore the backstory of 1984, from how it became stock high school reading to its CIA-supported appearance on the silver screen, to how, seemingly, a January 22nd news interview thrust it back into our collective consciousness as the example of a political nightmare. To listen, visit bookriot.com/annotated or search for Annotated in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your podcatcher of choice.

Hello my fellow mystery fans! I should probably add “and horror fans” since this week I’m bringing you mystery/thrillers that are great for fans of horror! I know it isn’t October but horror fans generally read the genre all year round, and it’s summer which means there are plenty of people sitting around in cabins and swimming in lakes unaware that ax murderers are running around in the woods. Basically summer is also the perfect time to read mystery/thrillers with horror nods.

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Sponsored by Warren Adler’s high-caliber mystery American Quartet. Get it for $0.99 exclusively through Book Riot with this link: http://amzn.to/2sLDp0Z

Detective Fiona Fitzgerald maneuvers between two vastly different worlds, moving quickly from opulent State galas to gritty crime scenes. When a string of inexplicable murders rocks the hallowed streets of central D.C., Fiona finds herself charging through the shadows of a mysterious conspiracy where the only answers to her case seem to be whispered from the bloodstained graves of fallen presidents. Fiona stands ready, her finger on the trigger, as an assassination plot decades in the making is about to change history forever.

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Ever wondered what Annie Wilkes and Norman Bates baby would be like? It would be this book!

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes: I read this two years ago and I still–and forever will–shudder at two things in this novel. The creep factor is cranked way up–I never remember the difference between psycho/sociopath but let’s just say Teo is all and everything wrong with a person. Teo meets Clarice and decides he wants to date her. Clarice is not so much into the idea. But Teo isn’t taking no for an answer because he thinks that he can convince her that they should be together so he kidnaps her and decides to hold her hostage in a cabin until she changes her mind. This had me gripping the novel so tight my knuckles were white! *Forever shudders

For fans of slasher films!

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf: If you’re a fan of slasher movies, this for me was that in book form. Picture a high-end resort days before opening as employees rush to finish every last detail in order to be ready for the first guests. Now imagine there is a killer amongst them picking them off one by one and they aren’t even aware! If you like shouting things like “Don’t go in there!” and “Look behind you!” you’ll enjoy this one–just don’t expect them to listen.

For fans of serial killer arcs on procedural shows:

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker: When the serial killer known as the Four Monkey Killer is struck by a bus and killed, Chicago residents and police should be relieved, except this is the beginning of the novel so of course he was carrying a package containing the latest victim’s ear. Yeah, I said “ear.” See, this serial killer kidnaps his victims–always women who are relatives of those he intends to punish–and sends their ear in a box. Next comes their eyes… Found in the serial killer’s pocket is a diary which Detective Porter hopes will help locate the most recent victim. Alternating chapters take you into the investigation which follows Porter, his partner Nash, and fellow detective Norton as they try to find the latest victim before she starves to death; the victim who wakes up to find herself kidnapped and missing an ear; the serial killer’s diary telling the story of his childhood (not the typical serial killer childhood story). The gory bits–even more than just ear and eye removal–and the end is horror-ish enough for both fans of procedurals and horror.

For fans of fictional horror massacres:

Final Girls by Riley Sager: You know those horror films where a group of people are all in one place and there is a straight up massacre? Well Quincy Carpenter survived one of those massacres years ago–hence getting the title Final Girl–but she still has no memory of what happened to all her friends. She’s finally got her life in a good place when another survivor, from a different event, shows up at her door and another Final Girl is found dead. As Carpenter and Sam try to make sense of being Final Girls it seems Sam is pushing Carpenter to relive trauma she would rather not… As readers we get to relive Carpenter’s weekend cabin stay as the story of what really happened slowly unfolds between the current day chapters.

Over on Book Riot: In the recent Read of Dead podcast episode Rincey and Katie talk about the difference between mystery, thriller, and suspense, along with giving recommendations.

AND, and, and, Rebecca and Jeff have a new podcast: Annotated. In the first episode (think podcasts like This American Life, Planet Money for format) Rebecca and Jeff look at 1984 taking over the best selling spot, how our current political state influenced the resurgence of interest (soundbites included), an overview of the book, and how the book came to first exist— super interesting, and my brain feels smarter. I’m looking forward to the next five episodes this season! If this sounds like your jam you can listen at the above link and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or whatever your podcast player of choice is.

Rolling Stone has 11 True Crime Books for Music Lovers.

I’ll be back next week with a funny cozy, suspense, and a great little Q&A with Kellye Garrett!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s the Unusual Suspects board.

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

Hello my fellow mystery fans! I want to read all my books in every animal cafe— raccoons included!

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Sponsored by The Separatists by Lis Wiehl

Bestselling novelist and national legal and political news analyst Lis Wiehl takes us behind the anchor’s desk and into a country being torn apart.

Reporter Erica Sparks heads to North Dakota, to investigate Take Back Our Homeland, a large secessionist group threatening our Union.

When Erica discovers a potential informant murdered in her Bismarck hotel, she realizes Take Back Our Homeland might be even more dangerous than she thought. She unwittingly becomes one of the key players in the story she’s reporting. Her fear and anxiety escalate – for her family and her own life.

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I can’t get enough of Juniper Song!

Beware Beware (Juniper Song, #2) by Steph Cha: While Song ended up investigating way more than she’d ever imagined, or wanted to, in the first book (Follow Her Home) it was really just something that started as a favor for a friend. Now she’s back, and this time interning as a private detective—I mean, what else would a woman do who seems to have tragedy and murder follow her? She’s finally given her first solo case to tear her teeth on that seems easy enough: follow Daphne Freamon’s boyfriend Jamie Tilley. But this is Song, and noir, so before she can get a handle on what Tilley is up to she’s called to help him when he finds himself the only person left at a party with a dead Hollywood actor. Not one to ever have peace, Song’s roommate also seems to be finding herself in danger (which Song is trying to protect her from). Cha brings the Korean communities in L.A. alive while creating a hell of a noir heroine who sees the world as it is: always with a bit of a dark stain.

For fans of true crime:

Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, and a bunch of production companies are creating a documentary series that will follow two inmates on death row in order to re-examine their cases.

Watch the official trailer for Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers starring Edie Falco.

There’s a true crime wine club.

A true crime podcast helped exonerate an imprisoned man.

I’ve been seeing a bunch of articles about Netflix’s The Keepers (fantastic but brutal, ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS) and found this L.A. Times article interesting in its questioning of why true crime mostly focuses on female victims. For me one of the things that made The Keepers so successful is that it focused mostly on giving voice to the victims rather than obsessing over the killer/attacker/suspect. And if you’re looking for true crime novels that give voice to victims, and can handle brutal reads, I recommend two recent reads: The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich and The Grim Sleeper: The Lost Women of South Central by Christine Pelisek.

New evidence in the case made famous by Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood has lead producers to create a new re-examining documentary.

Quartz: True Crime Fans Should Listen to This New Podcast Created by San Quentin Inmates.

Grabs the reader from the first page!

The Birdwatcher by William Shaw: William South, a police sergeant in Kent, is assigned to a murder case but he has two reasons he tries to get out of it: first, he’s a birdwatcher and he doesn’t want to miss out on the arrival of migrating birds; second, HE’S A MURDERER HIMSELF. What?! Clearly no one else seems to know his second reason, seeing as he’s police and his boss doesn’t care that he doesn’t want the case. He has to take it. Complicating his life further: the murder victim is not only one of South’s neighbors, but also a birdwatching friend. Oh, and he’s got a new partner, a sergeant relocated from London: Alexandra Cupidi. Cupidi comes with her own baggage, including a teen daughter who is pissed her life has been uprooted. Between the current murder case (turns out South maybe didn’t know his birdwatching buddy that well), the flashback chapters to his childhood in Ireland, and the murder of his father, there is plenty of mystery to get sucked into. The birdwatching, Cupidi’s character, and her daughter are added bonuses to a solid story. If you’re looking for a satisfying-from-beginning-to-end read don’t miss this one.

Fiona Barton does it again!

The Child by Fiona Barton: I was a fan of Barton’s debut The Widow, since I can’t fathom how people defend their spouses or stay with them after they’ve committed horrible crime(s) and it took me deep into that land with a balance of unsettling and real characters. (The audiobook’s narrators were great!) So I had high expectations for The Child and was thrilled that Barton delivered another great novel while being different from her first. This time around we get changing point of view between four women: Emma, Kate, Angela, and Jude. You get a slice of each woman’s current life: Emma, a book editor, is having emotional problems and seems to be hiding something from her husband Paul; Jude is Emma’s mum and their relationship is strained; Kate is a reporter trying to figure out the mystery behind baby bones discovered in a now construction site; Angela is a mum whose newborn baby disappeared years ago. Each woman is drawn to the news of the baby skeleton, drawing the reader deeper into the women’s lives… The depth of Barton’s characters elevates this novel into a satisfying, emotional mystery with a twist.

Recent paperback releases:

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

Grace to Finish (A Manor House Mystery) by Julie Hyzy

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

 

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things there’s an Unusual Suspects board.

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

Hi my fellow mystery fans! Street artist Biancoshock is turning abandoned manholes in Italy into tiny rooms and I want to know where the wittle libraries are?!

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Sponsored by The Crime Book, the newest title in DK’s award-winning “Big Ideas Simply Explained” series.

The Crime Book is a complete compendium for crime aficionados to add to their collection. From Jack the Ripper to Jeffrey Dahmer, it is a full study of international true crime history that unpacks the science, psychology, and sociology of criminal behavior with infographics and in-depth research.

Foreword writer and consultant Cathy Scott is a Los Angeles Times best-selling author and investigative journalist best known for her books The Killing of Tupac Shakur and The Murder of Biggie Smalls.

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Reading my way through Abbott’s catalog is one rewarding book after another!

Queenpin by Megan Abbott: The young, unnamed protagonist is going to school and keeping the books for a dive club when Gloria Denton not only walks into her life, but takes her under her wing. The protagonist is taught the operation of picking up money, placing mob bosses bets, and everything else involved in Denton’s business. They’re the only ladies in a gambling and crime world run by men, and soon our protagonist finds herself falling for the femme fatale—only he’s a man, because Abbott is a genius. This is a quick noir read–without the casual misogyny– that left me wanting to stand up and clap as soon as I read the final line. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Megan Abbott.

I’ve decided to start rounding up inclusive upcoming mystery and thrillers every few months. Here are great mystery & thrillers publishing June – August to put on your TBR list.

More on Book Riot: 100 Must-Read Books About Serial Killers. And Alice Burton’s great interview with Jennifer Finney Boylan (author of Long Black Veil) on Love, Her Favorite Thrillers, and Being a Voice for the Trans Community.

A great read for Walter Mosley fans!

A Negro and an Ofay (The Tales of Elliot Caprice) by Danny Gardner: Elliot Caprice finds himself in a desegregated jail cell beneath the St. Louis County Courthouse, which is only the beginning of his troubles as a biracial man navigating racism and colorism in 1952. Having left the Chicago PD, he has to call a friend back home in Southville, Illinois–now the first black county sheriff in the Midwest–for help. Being that Caprice hasn’t been home in quite some time, he’s forced to face the fact that the uncle who raised him is losing the farm and it’s time for him to stop running and help…which he tries to do by accepting a job with an attorney and promising to help on a case by producing the person needed for a will. But between his past (why he left the PD which is slowly revealed), his amazing ability to walk the fine line between bad and good, and the color of his skin, things aren’t ever easy for Caprice. Gardner does a great job of brining all the very different characters to life, inserting action movie scenes, and leaving you wanting more Elliot Caprice.

Calling Agatha Christie fans!

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz: This is literally a novel inside a novel. It starts with Susan Ryeland, an editor, reading the latest manuscript in a mystery writer’s series. And as readers, we get to read the manuscript (see: novel inside novel!): a woman is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in the estate she cleans in a small village. It is considered an accident, and believed she must have tripped down the stairs. But this is a mystery novel set in a small village, so naturally there is a town full of secrets, people behaving strangely, whispers that point fingers, and another dead body—this one clearly murdered! Just as you’re settled into this manuscript and are about to discover the reveal Ryeland stops reading and takes us into her current problem with the manuscript, the author of said manuscript, and need to solve a mystery. Agatha Christie fans get two novels for the price of one–satisfying ending reveals for both included!

Not an adaptation but Luther is coming back for a fifth season! And most importantly Idris Elba is signed on to return as DCI John Luther. If you’re a fan of dark British procedurals and haven’t yet watched, get thee to Netflix where the first 4 seasons are streaming!

Over on EW you can read an excerpt from Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent.

I poked around the Kindle monthly deals and found you these:

Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anna Waterhouse for $1.99

Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry (The Rabbi Small Mysteries) by Harry Kemelman for $1.99

Three books from Leonardo Padura’s Havana Quartet series: Havana Blue; Havana Gold; Havana Black each for $2.99

Manhattan Night by Colin Harrison for $2.99

The Brutal Telling (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #5) by Louise Penny for $2.99

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things there’s now an Unusual Suspects board.

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

Hello my fellow mystery fans! Italy is giving away free castles as long as you restore them to their original beauty and make it a tourist entity. And now I ask Does a library or book shop count? Because castle libraries for everyone!

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Sponsored by A Dark So Deadly by Stuart MacBride.

A gripping standalone thriller from the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae series. DC Callum MacGregor’s career was going pretty well until he covered up a mistake to protect his pregnant crime-scene tech girlfriend. Now, Callum’s stuck on a squad with all the other misfits—the officers no one else wants, but who can’t be fired—never likely to get within reach of a decent case again. That is, until they accidentally get handed the biggest murder investigation the city of Oldcastle has ever seen. When a mummified body is found in the local garbage dump, the top-brass assume pranksters have stolen it from a museum. But as Callum and his colleagues investigate, it starts to look less like student high-jinx and more like the work of a terrifying serial killer…

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My new favorite detective series!

A Rising Man (Sam Wyndham #1) by Abir Mukherjee: Wyndham was a Scotland Yard detective who has moved to Calcutta (British ruled in 1919) to escape what was left of his life, although his Opium addiction has come with. While he’s tasked with solving the murder of a British official he must also navigate around his addiction, a crush, and the many rules/laws against Indians that he doesn’t understand. Enter terrorist suspects, brothels, opium dens, and a super interesting look at early 1900s Calcutta. I really loved Wyndham (he didn’t feel like the grumpy, addicted, weighed by the past male detective trope) and Sargeant Banerjee (one of the only Indians in the CID) and that the racism of the time was shown without the main character being racist. A great start to a new series–give me more!

A little Q&A: JoAnn Chaney (I ask authors I’m excited about five questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

JoAnn Chaney’s first novel What You Don’t Know is a chilling read that kept me up all night! And it’s one of my favorite 2017 releases! If you’re a fan of serial killers, detective mysteries, and characters a few steps toward hotmesses (or already there) don’t miss this novel! You can read my love for it here and here!

 

And here’s Chaney!

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters who would it be? In WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, one of the cops is named Ralph Loren. (Yes, really.) He’s angry, he’s sarcastic, he does and says what he wants, and he constantly eats greasy takeout and he does strange, off-the-wall things just to freak people out. He’s a dark character, but he’s also got a more relatable side that you’ll see in my next book.

So if I were forced to be one of my characters, it’d be Loren. It’d be interesting to live without any sort of filter and to eat nothing but chili cheese tater tots. OH WAIT. I might already be living like Loren.

If you adapted a well-known book into a Clue mystery what would be the solve? Oh, man, this is a great game.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA: Sayuri, with a fan, in the teahouse.

CAT IN THE HAT: The cat, with the fishbowl, in our mother’s bedroom.

HARRY POTTER: Harry, with the Sneakoscope, in the Shrieking Shack.

I could seriously play this all night.

If you were to blurb your most recent/upcoming book (à la James Patterson): “WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW is a fantastic thrill ride that’ll either make you want to read more of my work or avoid sitting beside me at dinner parties.”

OR

“WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW—the best debut novel I’ll ever write.”

Thanks, JoAnn! I’m excited for “my next book.” Seriously, who do I give my money to?!

*That ending!

Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill: Daniel Tate is a liar and a con artist. He tells you from the beginning but you still can’t help but like him. I mean his con is technically pretending to be a few years younger than he is to get into a group home for teens just to have a roof over his head and food on the table for a couple days–it’s cold in Canada! But this time the police get involved and his too-traumatized-to-give-my-name act stops working and he’s forced to give the police his name. Or at least a name. He picks the one he remembers from a missing child from years ago that is the closest he could pass for now. And that’s when a con he’s completely unprepared for goes into full swing. Daniel Tate’s family welcome him, mostly with open arms, and suddenly he’s ridiculously rich and in California. But have they all really bought this con? Surely, Daniel’s family would know at some point that he’s not really their long lost brother/son? Or has he made a grave mistake entering into this family? I couldn’t put this one down because it just kept unraveling as you question how honest Daniel Tate is being and how honest the Tate family members–two brothers, two sisters, a checked-out mom, incarcerated father–are being? Oh, and that *ending was pretty great. I suspect there will be many readers yelling “noooooooooo”–which I love. (*I’m referring to the actual end-end not the twist.)

Delightful!

The World’s Greatest Detective by Caroline Carlson: Ten-year-old Toby Montrose has been passed around homes ever since his parents disappeared. He’s currently staying on Detectives’ Row with his uncle and fears that if something goes wrong, as it always seems to, he’ll finally be out of options and be sent to an orphanage. Being that his uncle is having a hard time getting business, as most of the detectives on the Row are, Toby decides to lie his way into a detective competition to win a good chunk of cash and hopefully solve all his problems. Enter Ivy, a fellow child, already calling herself a detective who quite enjoys disguising and finding herself in trouble—she’s perfect! With any good mystery nothing goes as it should and Toby and Ivy find themselves partnering up which is delightful as their personalities clash and they have to prove that children are perfectly capable of being great detectives. A perfect read for fans of cozy mysteries!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf.

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

Hi fellow mystery fans! This week I’ve rounded up some great comic volumes that are perfect for mystery fans. If you’re not a comic reader (I highly recommend giving them a try!) and would like to dip your toes into the world of comics but don’t even know where to begin, here’s a glossary of basic terms that Swapna Krishna put together. Also, keep in mind that many bookstores and libraries now carry volumes (usually about 5 single comic issues bounded together) so they’re easier to get your hands on if you don’t have (or are overwhelmed by) a comic book store. There are also digital comics that you can also purchase from many stores or even checkout from many libraries! Anyhoo, these are some recent reads that satisfy both my mystery loving heart and my comic loving heart.

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Sponsored by Blackout by Marc Elsberg.

When the lights go out one night, no one panics. Not yet. The lights always come back on soon, don’t they? Surely it’s a glitch, a storm, a malfunction. But something seems strange about this night. Across Europe, controllers watch in disbelief as electrical grids collapse. There is no power, anywhere.

A former hacker and activist, Piero Manzano investigates a possible cause of the disaster. The authorities don’t believe him, and he soon becomes a prime suspect himself. With the United States now also at risk, Piero goes on the run, desperate to uncover who is behind the attacks. After all, the power doesn’t just keep the lights on—it keeps us alive.

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For Nancy Drew fans!

Goldie Vance Vol 1 by Hope Larson, Brittney Williams, Sarah Stern: Goldie’s dad manages a Florida resort, and at sixteen Goldie is determined to one day become the in-house detective for the hotel–she’s currently technically the valet but really can’t help meddling and solving cases for the real in-house detective. While I’m not sure I’d want to stay at a hotel that needs a detective on the payroll, I love everything about this comic, from Goldie’s mom working as a live mermaid (I so miss Pushing Daisies) to Goldie drag racing! I especially love the retro feel to it.

For procedural fans!

The Beauty Vol 1 by Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, John Rauch: This starts with a really interesting concept: what if there was an STD that would make you our society’s “ideal” beautiful? In other words, becoming beautiful is the side effect of this STD. In the graphic novel it seems society is now split between those who’ve intentionally become “infected” in order to be gorgeous  (the majority) and those disgusted by the idea or trying to stop it. There also seems to be this not-so-tiny issue where the beauties seem to just be blowing up. Like, exploding people. So maybe there is more to this STD than just becoming beautiful? That’s what Detectives Foster and Vaughn are trying to figure out. Throw in corrupt politicians and big bad pharma and you’ve got an interesting case!

Unique and clever!

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris: 10-year-old Karen Reyes is trying to navigate through uptown Chicago during the ’60s without a dad, a mom who’s sick, an artistic brother usually in trouble, and a community of different ethnicities living together. Reyes is clever, intuitive, artistic (this is her graphic diary after all) and obsessed with monsters–so much so, she identifies as one. When an upstairs neighbor is murdered, Reyes puts herself on the case.  Ferris has created a page-turner that takes you into Reyes’ home life, community, and the murder victim’s past while also forcing you to linger on each page to catch every single detail in this wonderfully drawn graphic novel. Each page looks like Reyes sketched out her day, thoughts, memories, and nods to pulp magazines and b-movie horror in her school notebook, and it’s perfect.

I leave you with:

After the hit of Big Little Lies novel and HBO adaptation it’s no surprise there’s more of Liane Moriarty’s work in the adaptation pipeline: Blake Lively will exec produce and star in The Husband’s Secret.

At EW author’s explain how their characters (many detectives) got their names.

At Book Riot Charley Macron recommends 5 True Crime Comics That’ll Keep You Up at Night.

AND in super exciting news for podcast listeners starting June 9th Book Riot will have a mystery/thriller podcast Read or Dead  hosted by fantastic Rioters Rincey Abraham and Katie McLain. You can subscribe now to not miss the first episode and listen to their introduction podcast.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf.

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

Hello again my fellow mystery fans! I say if we can train a cat to ring a bell for food, we can train them to turn our book pages for us!

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Sponsored by Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf.

When a tragic accident leaves nurse Amelia Winn deaf, she spirals into a depression that ultimately causes her to lose everything that matters—her job, her husband, David, and her stepdaughter, Nora. Now, two years later and with the help of her hearing dog, Stitch, she is finally getting back on her feet. But when she discovers the body of a fellow nurse in the dense bush by the river, deep in the woods near her cabin, she is plunged into a disturbing mystery that could shatter the carefully reconstructed pieces of her life all over again.

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Just one more chapter!

Milena, or The Most Beautiful Femur in the World by Jorge Zepeda Patterson, Adrian Nathan West (Translation): A Mexican newspaper owner dies while in the throws of passion, leaving his lover, Milena, with no choice but to go on the run since the men who’d once kept her in sex slavery will now be after her. This has a lot of interesting characters that get involved in finding Milena—starting with a trio of childhood friends, now adults with complicated relationships. And like any good crime novel/thriller, you wonder who amongst the “good guys” actually are good guys? For me, Milena’s character unfolded into a very nice surprise and I loved how the chapters were structured: the group of characters currently working together; how Milena was sold into sex slavery, got to where she currently is, and why people are after her; the characters scheming behind the other character’s backs; the johns. If you’re looking for an international crime thriller, I really enjoyed this one.

A Little Q&A: Tess Gerritsen (I give authors I’m excited about five questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

Looking for an author with a hefty catalog you can take a deep dive into? Meet Tess Gerritsen! Not only is she the author of the Rizzoli & Isles series but she also has a lot of great stand-alone novels ranging in genre from romantic suspense to medical thrillers–and since Gerritsen is a physician that means readers can count on accuracy! I’m super *excited for I Know A Secret (Ballantine Books, August 15), a new installment in the Rizzoli & Isles series, so I thought a little Q&A was in order. (*Already read it and it’s soooo good!)

Here’s Tess Gerritsen!

What would you like to see less/more of in the mystery genre?  I’d like to see more mysteries set in unusual settings and occupations. For example, I’ve just read a mystery by Danish writer Sara Blaedel about the world of undertakers, and it was both grim and utterly refreshing. I’d also love to read contemporary mysteries set in countries such as Egypt or Turkey, because those cultures are so seldom featured in books available to Americans.

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters, who would it be? I feel I already am living the life of one of my characters. Maura Isles is very much modeled after my own personality. We both have scientific backgrounds, we like to think we’re logical, and we tend to seek out the dark side of the story.

The last book you read that you loved? It’s a new suspense novel coming out early next year called THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn. Don’t miss it!

Thanks, Tess! *Adds The Woman in The Window to TBR and glares at publishers until they give us mysteries from Turkey and Egypt.

Great read for fans of Who Do You Think You Are? (Genealogy shows):

Murder in Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy by Helene Stapinski: A true crime/memoir that takes you to Italy in the 1800s and modern day as Stapinski tries to unravel a family mystery. Stapinski had grown up hearing a story about her great-great-grandmother Vita that ended with her committing murder and immigrating to the U.S. Stapinski had always worried that somehow this one person in her family had passed down something that created criminals throughout the generations, but she really didn’t know enough about Vita because the story had been told word-of-mouth. So Stapinski sets off to uncover the true story of who her great-great-grandmother really was. Told in parts as memoir as Stapinski travels to Italy to uncover the truth, and in parts as an imagining of Vita’s life (by Stapinski, based on research and how she would have felt), this is a really interesting read from the look at Southern Italy in the 1800s to the truth uncovered about Vita’s life.

Crime fiction for fans of true crime:

The Long Drop by Denise Mina: While this a fictional crime novel, it is based on true events of a serial killer. The narration reminded me almost of a distant historian, which gave it a true crime feeling. Basically, it’s the merging of a novel and true crime, which follows one case from beginning to end in 1950s Glasgow. Peter Manuel is on trial for eight murders, but he’s not confessing. Actually, he’s telling his own stories of how three of the victims, women in William Watt’s family–William being a suspect of murdering his own family–must have been killed. Oddly enough, Watt actually turned to Manuel to help him clear his name, which are the chapters between the trial taking you into a night of drinking, storytelling, and trying to figure out who is actually telling the truth?! As for the title of the novel, well that’s a method of execution…

Recent paperback releases:

Charcoal Joe (Easy Rawlins #14) by Walter Mosley

Lady Cop Makes Trouble (Kopp Sisters #2) by Amy Stewart

A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #12) by Louise Penny

Murder Between the Lines (Kitty Weeks Mystery #2) by Radha Vatsal

I have to go shopping now:

Lovely J.B. Fletcher Murder, She Wrote print.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf.

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

Hello fellow mystery fans! I’m back again with some mystery adaptations currently streaming that are worth your viewing time. Pop some popcorn and enjoy!

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Sponsored by Sister Sister by Sue Fortin

From the USA Today bestselling author comes a brand new psychological thriller…
Alice: Beautiful, kind, manipulative, liar.

Clare: Intelligent, loyal, paranoid, jealous.

Clare thinks Alice is a manipulative liar who is trying to steal her life.

Alice thinks Clare is jealous of her long-lost return and place in their family.

One of them is telling the truth. The other is a maniac.

Two sisters. One truth.

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Streaming on Netflix:

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!: Set in 1940s Calcutta during World War II, the film is based on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s detective mysteries, and after enjoying this adaptation I’m going to have to read whatever has been translated to English. The film felt like a mixture of so many things, but rather than feeling like a strange mishmash it ended up blending really well: there’s a vintage movie feel, noir-ish feel, action, drama, a laughing evil genius… While I enjoyed the story and characters (some side characters I actually wanted more of), I really fell in love with the sets and the feeling of the film. Being transported to Calcutta felt like a treat, even if it was set during a war-torn period.

Banerjee asks Byomkesh to please help him find his father, who is missing. They don’t get off to a great start since Byomkesh isn’t really interested, and Banerjee keeps withholding information. Once Byomkesh is on the case, things don’t get easier. There seems to be more mystery surrounding what type of a person Banerjee’s father was, creating even more of a challenge in figuring out where he may be or what might have happened to him. I found myself crushing on the actor playing Byomkesh, loving the sets and clothing, and enjoying the film so much that the things I could point out as not having worked really ended up not weighing down the fun experience for me. And I am so here for the sequel!

Streaming on Hulu:

Elementary: I’m always surprised by the amount of people who perfectly fit this show’s target audience who’ve never watched even a minute of it. I always tell them to watch, that they’ll really enjoy it. They nod. This usually goes on for a year or two before they finally watch and then I find myself getting texts saying how much they like the show and that Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller were perfectly cast. My response is always, “I know!”

This Sherlock Holmes modern reimagining really works because it’s a good television show whether you’re a fan of Holmes or never read the classic works and just enjoy procedurals. Holmes is living in Manhattan and his father has forced a sober companion on him: enter Joan Watson, a doctor no longer practicing but instead working to help addicts out of rehab transition back into their lives. This is where the series starts, but not where it stays: Watson and Holmes find themselves (and their careers) changing as they help the police solve cases–as only Holmes can. And Watson. The supporting cast and characters are great, the weekly police mystery along with the longer arc mysteries are always satisfying, and Liu and Miller are fantastic as Watson and Holmes. So not only do I recommend you read Conan Doyle’s Holmes (or listen to it, narrated by Stephen Fry!) if you never have, but also go watch Elementary. You can find the 1st four seasons streaming on Hulu.

I leave you with:

The official trailer for TNT’s The Alienist, adapted from Caleb Carr’s Dr. Laszlo Kreizler series.

It looks like there’s a Clue: The Golden Girls edition coming from USAopoly! (It was Rose, with a St. Olaf story, in the kitchen!)

Sherlock season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

The real, unsolved murder that inspired Twin Peaks.

Next week’s newsletter has a little Q&A with Tess Gerritsen!!

And now you can find all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf.

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

Hello again my fellow mystery fans! These high school journalist investigating their principal is the beginning of a great mystery book, so someone get to writing that!

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Sponsored by Invisible Dead by Sam Wiebe—a gritty private-eye series from Quercus.

An ex-cop who navigates by a moral compass stubbornly jammed at true north, Dave Wakeland is a talented private investigator with next to zero business sense.

He continues to be drawn to cases that are usually impossible to solve and frequently don’t pay. Whatever ghosts drive him, they seem to drive him inexorably toward danger –a journey he’s content to take so long as it means finding out what happened to someone the rest of the world seems happy enough to forget. With nothing to protect him but his wit and his empathy for the downtrodden and disenfranchised, Wakeland is on the case.

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Great crime novel with a casino setting!

Overturned by Lamar Giles: It is an understatement to say that Nikki Tate has a lot on her plate. While her dad sits on death row she’s using everything she’s learned from the family casino to play in illegal games to save up for college, she’s also practically running the family casino, going to school, playing soccer, and trying to figure out what exactly is going on with her mom and a man that is not her father. And then her dad is released from jail, exonerated from killing his best friend. But Nikki’s life doesn’t get easier because her family doesn’t go back to being the family they once were, and her dad isn’t acting the way she remembers him. Then people start to die… Nikki is a great character, with great friends, who is not only determined to live her life on her own terms but to unravel the mystery of her father’s setup and make those responsible pay. I loved the scenes that sat me at the poker tables and that the novel stayed within the realm of possibility, even in the ending.

An interesting article from 2016 that looks into how we treat and view violent women differently from men. It’s left me thinking about how this applies to fictional violent women in mystery/thrillers, and readers–especially now that there’s a rise in books with Amy Dunne-type characters.

In adaptation news:

Phyllis Nagy is adapting The Trap by Melanie Raabe and it seems the film has found its director.

Jo Nesbø’s Blood On Snow will be Tobey Maguire’s first time behind the camera as director.

NOT an adaptation but…

For psychological thriller/true crime/serial killer fans: Zac Efron will play Ted Bundy in an upcoming psychological thriller.

Awesome contemporary women + mystery detective mashup!

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Bourland: I passed this cover so many times before realizing the book was a mystery! It’s this perfect blend of the “chick-lit” type women working in fashion (think The Devil Wears Prada–except the women are friends and activists! And there are dead people.) with a mystery detective novel (hot detective!). Hillary Whitney is found dead in a locked room in the magazine’s office, apparently from starvation. Detective Hutton has a weird feeling about this case even after it’s closed, so when a postcard mailed by Whitney appears, he gets to dig in deeper. As he does, so do Whitney’s friends/coworkers Cat and Bess who are funny, smart, determined, a bit of a mess–and also focusing on their careers. The more everyone digs, the more strange things start to happen–including another death… This was like eating a delicious box of sour, sweet, and juicy candy!

A difficult yet unputdownable read:

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich: And by difficult, I mean this was brutal. Marzano-Lesnevich has written a successful true crime memoir, and I say successful because I’ve read others that were really only memoirs that the writers did terrible jobs with when it came to the case. M-L did this mix of genres properly: while abuse in her childhood made this specific case something she couldn’t let go of, she did not make the other case about herself, nor impose herself on it, nor sensationalize it. The chapters alternate between Marzano-Lesnevich’s childhood and her trying to grasp the things about her family that she was still too young to understand; the true crime case of Ricky Langley and the young boy he murdered; Langley’s childhood and struggles as an adult in and out of therapy for pedophilia; and M-L as an adult trying to find humanity in people and come to terms with her childhood. If child murder/pedophilia are topics you can’t read, skip this one because it does not shy away from details and it’s filled with tragedy. But if you can read about those types of cases, I really recommend this one. It’s an excellent memoir and true crime novel.

Over on Book Riot: Rabeea recommends 5 Psychological Thrillers that Aren’t Formulaic. And Annika Barranti Klein explains why modernizing Nancy Drew doesn’t work.

I have to go shopping now:

Looking for bookmarks? How about an Agatha Christie magnetic bookmark set of Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

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