Categories
Unusual Suspects

Legal Series For Stephanie Plum Fans

Hello mystery fans! If you’re looking for “criminal” escapes I’ve got new releases, backlist, a series adaptation to watch, and news and roundups for you. Currently my escapes are watching I Am Not a Robot on Viki (so funny) and I just started the audiobook Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster (I absolutely picked it up because of the title).

white mug that says Detective in progress

Future Detective Mug by ExpressionPrint

For $16 (sale price as of me writing this) you can let everyone know that you’ll be back to full detective mode once you’ve finished your coffee/tea.

New Releases

Bury Me When I'm Dead by Cheryl A Head cover

Bury Me When I’m Dead (Charlie Mack Motown Mystery #1) by Cheryl A. Head

Okay, so this book did publish in 2016 buuuuuuut I’m so excited that it finally has an audiobook edition! It’s a great start to a still running series that gives you a team of PIs (Review, including TWs). The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Weeks who is also listed as narrating books 2-4 in the series, so far.

cover of Summer's Edge by Dana Mele; illustration of young woman swimming in a red lake, with large yellow font

Summer’s Edge by Dana Mele

For fans of I Know What You Did Last Summer. A tight group of friends who spent summers together at a lake house experienced a tragedy where one of them died in a house fire. Now a year has passed and the remaining friends have gathered at the rebuilt lake house. What could go wrong?! Maybe some eerie things and ghost visions…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

This week I’ve got for you two books with the wrongful conviction theme, one YA and one adult.

cover image for This Is My America

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

Tracy Beaumont has spent years trying to get an innocence project to take her father’s case. Now with only 267 days left before her father’s execution her brother is suddenly arrested, accused of killing a white girl. Tracy decides she also has to save her brother by investigating what really happened…

cover image for Accused

Accused (Rosato & DiNunzio #1) by Lisa Scottoline

This is the start to a legal series that I think fans of Stephanie Plum’s humor will really enjoy. Mary DiNunzio just made partner at her law firm when Allegra, a young teenager, hires her to investigate her older sister’s murder. The thing is that murder was solved years ago, and the man accused was found guilty and is in prison. But Allegra is certain that they have the wrong man, and wants them to investigate even though her parents are against it, making this is an all around tricky case. Complicating things even more is that Mary is emotionally invested having had her husband murdered years ago, is currently debating the marriage proposal she just said yes to, and comes with a very loud family–and three Tony’s that can easily cause trouble.

(TW recounts past teen attempted suicide, detail/ recounts cancer diagnosis, not terminal/ car accident/ anti psychotropic medication conversations)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Watch Now

Joe Pickett on Paramount Plus: Based on the crime drama and modern Western books by C.J. Box. The first season (it’s been renewed for a second) follows the new Game Warden (Michael Dorman) and his family in Saddlestring, Wyoming, a rural town in economic collapse. Watch the trailer.

News and Roundups

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Kevin McKidd, ‘Boiling Point’s’ Vinette Robinson Cast in ITV Adaptation of Bestseller ‘Six Four’

Bookish Goods for Mystery Lovers

8 Must-Read New Thrillers for Summer 2022

Mindy Kaling Selects Sonali Dev’s The Vibrant Years and Lauren Thoman’s I’ll Stop the World For Mindy’s Book Studio, An Imprint of Amazon Publishing

The Sisters In Crime Writers’ podcast: Chantelle Aimée Osman

Giveaway: Win a pair of Airpods Pro!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

ERROR Legal Series For Stephanie Plum Fans

Hello mystery fans! If you’re looking for “criminal” escapes I’ve got new releases, backlist, a series adaptation to watch, and news and roundups for you. Currently my escapes are watching I Am Not a Robot on Viki (so funny) and I just started the audiobook Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster (I absolutely picked it up because of the title).

white mug that says Detective in progress

Future Detective Mug by ExpressionPrint

For $16 (sale price as of me writing this) you can let everyone know that you’ll be back to full detective mode once you’ve finished your coffee/tea.

New Releases

audibook cover for Bury Me When I'm Dead

Bury Me When I’m Dead (Charlie Mack Motown Mystery #1) by Cheryl A. Head

Okay, so this book did publish in 2016 buuuuuuut I’m so excited that it finally has an audiobook edition! It’s a great start to a still running series that gives you a team of PIs (Review, including TWs). The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Weeks who is also listed as narrating books 2-4 in the series, so far.

cover of Summer's Edge by Dana Mele; illustration of young woman swimming in a red lake, with large yellow font

Summer’s Edge by Dana Mele

For fans of I Know What You Did Last Summer. A tight group of friends who spent summers together at a lake house experienced a tragedy where one of them died in a house fire. Now a year has passed and the remaining friends have gathered at the rebuilt lake house. What could go wrong?! Maybe some eerie things and ghost visions…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

This week I’ve got for you two books with the wrongful conviction theme, one YA and one adult.

cover image for This Is My America

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

Tracy Beaumont has spent years trying to get an innocence project to take her father’s case. Now with only 267 days left before her father’s execution her brother is suddenly arrested, accused of killing a white girl. Tracy decides she also has to save her brother by investigating what really happened…

cover image for Accused

Accused (Rosato & DiNunzio #1) by Lisa Scottoline

This is the start to a legal series that I think fans of Stephanie Plum’s humor will really enjoy. Mary DiNunzio just made partner at her law firm when Allegra, a young teenager, hires her to investigate her older sister’s murder. The thing is that murder was solved years ago, and the man accused was found guilty and is in prison. But Allegra is certain that they have the wrong man, and wants them to investigate even though her parents are against it, making this is an all around tricky case. Complicating things even more is that Mary is emotionally invested having had her husband murdered years ago, is currently debating the marriage proposal she just said yes to, and comes with a very loud family–and three Tony’s that can easily cause trouble.

(TW recounts past teen attempted suicide, detail/ recounts cancer diagnosis, not terminal/ car accident/ anti psychotropic medication conversations)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Watch Now

Joe Pickett on Paramount Plus: Based on the crime drama and modern Western books by C.J. Box. The first season (it’s been renewed for a second) follows the new Game Warden (Michael Dorman) and his family in Saddlestring, Wyoming, a rural town in economic collapse. Watch the trailer.

News and Roundups

cover image for Six Four

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Kevin McKidd, ‘Boiling Point’s’ Vinette Robinson Cast in ITV Adaptation of Bestseller ‘Six Four’

Bookish Goods for Mystery Lovers

8 Must-Read New Thrillers for Summer 2022

Mindy Kaling Selects Sonali Dev’s The Vibrant Years and Lauren Thoman’s I’ll Stop the World For Mindy’s Book Studio, An Imprint of Amazon Publishing

The Sisters In Crime Writers’ podcast: Chantelle Aimée Osman

Giveaway: Win a pair of Airpods Pro!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Gillian Flynn Books Imprint Revealed 1st Book Cover

Hi mystery fans! Today I have for you a couple new releases, crime books with the slightest touch of fantasy, and the most recent news and roundups.

a sticker that says Just Here to Establish An Alibi

Just here to establish an alibi sticker

(The less said the better.) Less than $3!

New Releases

book cover for the woman in the library

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

If you’re looking for a murder mystery set IN a library here you go! After a woman screams inside the Boston Public Library, it goes on lockdown so the threat can be assessed. This is how four strangers have ended up sitting at the same table in the library chatting to pass the time. But this is a mystery book so one of the four is a murderer…

cover image for Renovated to Death

Renovated to Death (Domestic Partners in Crime #1) by Frank Anthony Polito

For fans of cozy mysteries and home renovation reality shows. Peter and JP have a renovation show, Domestic Partners, and have found their next project: a local Tudor Revival inherited by identical twin brothers. And of course one of the twins is found dead at the house! The police eventually end up ruling it not an accident, putting Peter and JP’s detecting skills (mystery writer and once acted on a cop show) to the test!

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I have two books for you that are 100% set in our world but have a dash of fantasy elements to them–one for map and academia lovers and the other for women-unite fans.

A graphic of the cover of The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Nell Young worked with her father in the Map Division of the New York Public Library until he became infuriated over her challenge that a gas-station highway map should be checked over rather than assuming it was not important. He had her fired and they haven’t spoken since. Now he’s found dead in his office and she discovers that he’d kept the map—and more importantly that map has been marked missing in libraries all over the country. You’ll get to know Nell in the now as she tries to solve the mystery of the map and you’ll get to know her parents and their group of friends, the Cartographers, when they were in graduate school.

cover image for The Change

The Change by Kirsten Miller

This is one of those books that deals with a dark topic without being graphic for the sake of it, and using humor as a great balance. Plus, revenge. Nessa, Harriett, and Jo are three middle-aged women who during turmoil in their lives realize they’ve suddenly got a gift. Like Nessa being visited by the ghosts of dead girls hoping to be found, their killers punished. And it’s through finding a body that these different women come together to try and solve a slew of missing girl cases that the police have been treating as runaways for far too long. This is easily one of my favorite books this year, with a great audiobook narrated by January LaVoy.

(TW adult predators of teen girls as theme/ suicide / sexual harassment, groping/ domestic child abuse, not graphic/ mentions past late term pregnancy loss / sexual assault not on page or detailed, aftermath from a character not involved’s POV of being blocked from calling police)

News & Roundups

The 43 Best Mystery Books To Read Now

How to Murder Your Husband writer found guilty of murdering husband

Gillian Flynn Books imprint revealed the cover for its first book, a crime novel: Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

9 Books to Read After JUST MERCY

Best summer thrillers and mystery books

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

7 Books You’ll Want On Your Summer Thriller Reading List

Hello mystery fans! I’ve got your new releases, a couple standalone historical mysteries, a shirt that made me laugh, and some news and roundup lists.

a tshirt with an image of Jessica Fletcher and text saying "I Killed Them I Killed Them All"

I Killed Them I Killed Them All Jessica Fletcher Shirt

This theory will always crack me up, and it’s on a t-shirt for $20 (although as of me writing this it’s on sale for $14).

New Releases

cover image for One-Shot Harry

One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips

For fans of historical mysteries and Walter Mosley. In 1963 Los Angeles, Harry Ingram, a Korean War veteran, is making a living as a photographer and taking jobs as a process server. On the eve of Martin Luther King’s Freedom Rally, Ingram recognizes a friend’s car mentioned on a police scanner; he ends up showing up to photograph the accident and later realizes when developing the photos that he’ll have to take on a new role of detective to prove it was not an accident.

cover image for A Rip Through Time

A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Armstrong writes one of my favorite series: the Rockton Series. It’s like blending a procedural with a thriller and giving it an interesting setting (remote AF) and premise (a place where people who need to disappear go but you don’t know who is a victim and who is not). Now she’s starting a brand new series which feels like a blend again, this time a procedural with a dash of time travel. In 2019 Mallory is a Vancouver homicide detective visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh. But soon she’ll find herself herself in 1869 in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid to an undertaker. Obviously she’s gonna have to solve a murder while trying to figure out where she is and how…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

If you’re in the mood for some standalone historical mysteries I’ve got two for you.

cover of The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian; photo of starlet with dark hair surrounded by foliage

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

This takes Hollywood to Tanzania in 1964, as a newly married actress and her husband bring along friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon. But instead of a safari and adventure there’s a kidnapping and as you can imagine everything goes very wrong from there… I’ve enjoyed Bohjalian’s previous novels The Flight Attendant (adapted into an HBO series), The Red Lotus, and The Guest Room so I’m looking forward to this one.

Clark and Division cover image

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

I love historical fiction and especially love when it’s set during a time period or event that doesn’t get a lot of focus, in this case 1944 Chicago. The book’s background is the rarely discussed time period of the US government’s resettlement program from interment camps in the wake of Pearl Harbor. The mystery component questions how Rose Ito died, having been released first, and her sister Aki being certain that the suicide ruling is not the actual story. Allison Hiroto narrates the audiobook and I was fully immersed in the story.

(TW briefly recounts sexual assault without graphic details / misgendering)

News And Roundups

Guaranteed, Reader-Approved Summer Page-Turners by Genre

There will be an ACE OF SPADES one year anniversary summer edition!!

Velma Dinkley Series Starring Mindy Kaling, ‘Clone High’ Reboot Among HBO Max Adult Animation Orders

7 books you’ll want on your summer thriller reading list

Selena Gomez & John Hoffman Tease 1970s Serial Killer Season 2 Of ‘Only Murders In The Building’ – Crew Call Podcast

Angela Lansbury To Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at The 75th Annual Tony Awards

Apple announces new Spanish crime drama ‘Las Azules’ for TV+

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Gothic Mystery, Mr. Wickham’s Dead, & Cults

Hi mystery fans! Let’s look at some things to get us through to the end of the week: new releases, backlist, and what’s going on in the world of mystery news.

a sticker of Basil the Great Mouse Detective

Basil the Great Mouse Detective

For fans of adorable mice, Disney, detectives, and Holmes, here’s an adorbs sticker for less than $4.

New Releases

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas book cover

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

For fans of gothic mysteries and historical fiction, here’s a great new one. Beatriz’s father is executed after an overthrowing of the Mexican government, so she accepts Don Rodolfo Solórzano’s marriage proposal, even if there’s some rumors about his previous wife, because she needs the security. But it’s a gothic mystery, so “you in danger, girl!”

cover of The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray; illustration of a mansion lit up at night with a carriage sitting out front

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Have you ever wondered what a party turned murder mystery would be like starring a slew of Jane Austen’s characters? Claudia Gray did, and it’s this book! Hence the title, in which Mr. Wickham is dead and the mystery of how must be solved with everyone at Mr. Knightley and Emma’s house party being suspects!

Riot Recommendations

This week I have for you two memoirs by authors who grew up in cults. I really appreciate how clear these nonfic books are in the titles in what you’re getting.

cover image of World in Flames by Jerald Walker

The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult by Jerald Walker

Jerald Walker’s parents were both people born sighted who, through unrelated childhood accidents, became blind. The promise of sight is what got them into a doomsday cult that was segregated, along with their children. Here, Walker recounts his childhood, including what it was like to be a Black boy in a segregated dooms cult that was almost all white. (Zero memory of trigger warnings but I don’t remember this as being a brutal nor graphic book.)

cover image for Sex Cult Nun

Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult by Faith Jones

Faith Jones grew up in Macau on an isolated farm as the granddaughter of the founder of the Children of God. While she was special for her familial connection, it in no way spared her from the cult’s abuse. (This one comes with all the trigger warnings, particularly child and sexual abuse.)

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

News

ONLY MURDERS Season 2 Teaser Sees the Trio Back in Action

Reacher Star Alan Ritchson Reveals Which Book Season 2 Will Follow

Anna Delvey Unveils Surreal NYC Art Show of Sketches Drawn in Prison: ‘My Narrative From My Perspective’

Velma Dinkley Series Starring Mindy Kaling, ‘Clone High’ Reboot Among HBO Max Adult Animation Orders

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

When You Gotta Solve Your Friend’s Murder

Hello mystery fans! I just had to delete a TON of things from my phone because I have so many TBR audiobooks (which I am not deleting) that were using up all my storage. And then I got a bunch more audiobooks which I’m super excited about and already started inhaling. Also, thanks to the Viki app I have expanded from K-dramas to my first romance series from Taiwan (Lost Romance) which straight up went murder in the first episode (did not see that coming)! And now for your escape entertainment: there’s new releases, backlist, something to watch, recent mystery news and roundups.

tshirt with a screenprint image of a skeleton hugging a book

Skeleton With Book Shirt

Death by TBR, anyone? $17+

New Releases

cover image for An Eternal Lei

An Eternal Lei (A Leilani Santiago Hawai’i Mystery #2) by Naomi Hirahara

I’m so excited that we get a sequel to Iced in Paradise (Review). If you like mysterious person mysteries, an amateur sleuth who must clear their friend’s name, want to armchair travel to Hawai’i, and were looking for a new cozy series, here you go.

cover image for  Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride by Lorenzo Carcaterra

And now we travel to an Italian island! Who needs the police when you can have Nonna Maria, an elderly Italian widow who knows everyone and is known by everyone, help you. In this case the help needed is a woman who suddenly questions who her fiance really is…

Riot Recommendations

If you’ve been in the mood for mysteries starring amateur sleuths looking into their friend’s death, I’ve got two great ones for you.

queen of the tiles book cover

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

This is a great read especially for fans of words and/or Scrabble, mental health not being the boogeyman, and people who live/breath a hobby. You get play-by-play action and lots of history/definition of words as Najwa Bakri is finally back at a Scrabble tournament with two important things to do: become the Queen of the Tiles, the title left vacant after her friend Trina died, snd figure out who is posting on Trina’s inactive Instagram account questioning Trina’s death…

(TW depression, anxiety/ drugging without consent / grief)

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson cover image

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Mila Flores doesn’t believe her best friend took her own life and so she sets out to prove it by conjuring up a spell that will bring Riley back from the dead. Great idea. Except she not only brings back Riley but also two recently dead teen girls she really didn’t like much. Three dead teens seems excessive though and maybe they’ve got a mystery on their hands instead? They better get over their issues and team-up quick though because the spell only lasts 7 days and they need to solve this mystery in time!

(TW suicide)

Watch Now

The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix: Not to be confused with the film adaptation, this is a brand new series adapted from Michael Connelly‘s novels following an LA lawyer working our of the back of his car. It’s created by David E. Kelley, who seems to be adapting all the crime novels lately, and stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, and Christopher Gorham (Auggie!). Watch the trailer.

News And Roundups

cover of Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li; photo of Asian man wearing sunglasses

23 New Books By Asian-American And Pacific Islander Authors Perfect for Mystery Readers

Cover reveal for In Myrtle Peril, the newest in the super fun Myrtle Hardcastle series by Elizabeth C. Bunce. (The first book in the series is Premeditated Myrtle)

‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Nears Deal for Season 2 at Hulu, Will Compete in Emmy Drama Categories

2 great thrillers to read now — and 2 for your summer reading list

We’ve got two more Jane Harper announcements: Here’s the cover reveal for the US release for the final Aaron Falk book.

AND The Dry 2: Eric Bana filming sequel to Aussie smash hit film

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

New Jane Harper Novel Announced!

Hello mystery fans! Here are some new releases, some killer books (heh), and a roundup of news and round-ups to click.

a mug with a sombrero that says Nacho Average Detective

Nacho Average Detective Mug

For fans of puns, detective mysteries, and warm drinks, this is a great gift (for you or them) for $19.

New Releases

cover image for With Prejudice

With Prejudice by Robin Peguero

Here’s a new legal thriller that follows an entire case from beginning to end. The case is not simple: Gabriel Soto is accused of murdering Melina Mora, but the remains recovered weren’t enough to tell much of what happened to her.

Readers are taken directly into the jury room, into the prosecution’s side as they build their case out of court, into the defense side as they build their case and meet with the defendant, inside the judge’s chamber, and of course inside the courtroom as the case is tried. There is discovery that happens during the actual trial throwing both the prosecutor and defense into loops trying to right their case again.

A thing I really liked about this one was how we get backstories for everyone showing how there is no such thing as being impartial, since we carry around with us our experiences.

(TW presumed sexual assault case discussed in prep, trial, interrogations/ police racial profiling, racism/ homophobia/ domestic abuse/ mentions child death case/ alcoholism, addiction / murder suicide case/ Sept 11th on news)

cover image for Take Your Breath Away

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay

I need more popcorn thrillers in my life! And by that I mean books that hook me immediately with a premise that makes me want to sit with a tub of popcorn, inhaling both the book and the treat, as I race to find out what happened. Barclay has become a consistent writer of popcorn thrillers for me and his recent release was no exception. I listened to the audiobook in less than 2 days (if you’re a fan of multicast narrations, pick up the audio format).

The premise: a wife disappears while her husband is on a weekend fishing trip with his best friend. Years later the husband has changed his name and moved because he’s remained a suspect when the woman is seen returning to where her home had been, freaking out and running away. And so what is happening?! Where has she been? Why did she disappear again?!

These are all questions the police have, and her husband appears to also have (he is now living with his girlfriend and her teenage brother who she has custody of). You get to follow along different points of view starting with the night of the disappearance (there is a moment that legit scared the daylights out of me!) as we slowly come to find out all the answers to what happened then, and what is happening now…

(TW quick mention past parent death, car accident, heart attack/ past alcoholism/ a mother with terminal cancer, death)

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I’ve got two books this week that are from the killer’s point of view, but are wildly different from each other, though oddly with a common “bad therapist” element.

cover of My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura

My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura, Sam Bett (Translator)

I really don’t want to say a lot about this one as it opens with you thinking your reading one thing and then you end up going on a whole different ride as maybe things aren’t as them seem. So if you’re up for noir, trauma themes, revenge, terrible medical professionals, and a slight feeling of a feverish dream that explores these things grab this dark novel.

(TW suicide / sexual assault/ domestic abuse, child abuse/ blackmail over sex tape/ misogyny )

cover image for Blood Sugar

Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild

Ruby is a self professed murderer, although quick to explain she is not a sociopath being that she loves and helps animals. She has no issues with being a murderer and feels no regret over the people she’s killed, starting at age 5 when she killed another kid. She’s explaining all of this, taking us into her life from childhood through being a therapist, because she may have done some killings but she is absolutely 100% here to defend herself against the charge of killing her husband…

(TW child drowning/ brief past statutory, not graphic/ brief past addiction/ attempted sexual assault of teen/ brief mention past child abuse/ natural dog death/ rescuing of injured and harmed animals, all with happy endings)

News & Things To Click

Keep This To Yourself cover image

Tom Ryan’s YA thriller Keep This To Yourself is being adapted into a series!

‘A Simple Favor 2’ to Reunite Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Director Paul Feig

‘Holy Spider’: First Footage Of Ali Abbasi’s Cannes Competition True Crime Thriller Set In Iran

Aaron Falk returns! Jane Harper announced her upcoming novel Exiles, releasing early 2023!

7 Shows Like The Flight Attendant to Watch If You Like The Flight Attendant

Can Fiction Help Solve the Ethical Problems of True Crime?

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Inside Only Murders in the Building’s Mysterious, Meta Second Season

Hello mystery fans! I’ve got mysteries for you in roundups, news, things to watch, and of course more books to add to the ever growing TBR list.

New Releases

cover image for Murder Is Revealing

Murder Is Revealing (Write Club Mysteries) by Michelle Corbier

If you’re looking for an amateur sleuth, like doctor leads and writer leads, here’s a new series. Dr. Myaisha Douglas’ goal to write a novel leads her to join a writing group, but the writing advice comes with a murder! As an armchair detective she decides she’s the best option to help assist the police in solving the case.

cover image for The Agathas

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson

For fans of amateur teen sleuths and Agatha Christie (references to Poirot and Miss Marple and you even gets quotes between chapters), here’s a new YA murder mystery. This is one of those fun trope-y books. Alternating between the stories of Alice and Iris, who’ve been paired together for tutoring by the school, you get opposites that join together to solve a murder. Toss in a group of other kids that help with their hijinks in figuring out why the kid they think didn’t commit the murder just confessed, and why the murdered girl’s stepdad is acting so strange? If you like multiple narrators, pickup the audiobook format.

(TW domestic abuse/ drugging without consent/ stalking)

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Riot Recommendations

I’ve got two books that should appeal to mystery fans and horror fans—I read my horror in the summer in the sun, thank you very much.

cover image for Reprieve

Reprieve by James Han Mattson

For mystery fans: a court case, transcripts, build up to whodunnit and whydunnit murder case.

For horror fans: a full contact haunted escape room!

This is characte- driven in that you follow different people through the years leading up to how they were all inside this escape room, and how one came to be murdered. Between those chapters you follow four people as they try and finish the escape room in order to win a huge prize, and the court case and interrogation of what went so wrong that one of them is dead.

I inhaled this audiobook, getting invested in each person’s life while also being SUPER certain I would not enter a full-contact horror house ever for any reason. I’m always a fan of watching the pieces slowly come together to reveal the whole thing, and this has the bonus of also being a social horror.

(TW homophobia/ racism/ tells a fake horror story about a witch killing kids/ parent death/ brief mention of past sex worker attack)

White Rabbit cover image

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

For mystery fans: a whodunnit mystery being solved by an amatuer sleuth.

For horror fans: the body count!

Rufus has to help solve a murder to help his half-sister from going down for the killing. But it’s super complicated because she’s from the side of the family that pretends he doesn’t exist and he needs his ex-boyfriend’s help who he’s still in love with. Then there’s that pesky thing where people keep turning up dead…

If you’re looking for a fun horror-ish vibe YA mystery, pick this one up.

News & Roundups

cover image for Renovated to Death

Michigan-Based ‘Renovated to Death’ Author Draws on Love of Old Houses for First Cozy Mystery Novel

Chris Bohjalian’s Novel ‘The Lioness’ To Be Adapted For TV By eOne

Inside Only Murders in the Building’s Mysterious, Meta Second Season

‘Jack Ryan’ To End With Season 4, Spinoff Headlined By Michael Peña Eyed By Amazon

7 Books That Deliver Unexpected Mystery

You can now watch the Spy X Family anime adaptation on Hulu if you don’t have crunchyroll!

Watch Now

The Devotion of Suspect X cover image

The Devotion of Suspect X on Rakuten Viki: For fans of watching the puzzle of the mystery get solved meticulously there’s the film adaptation of one of Keigo Higashino’s Detective Galileo novels, The Devotion of Suspect X. The series–each novel reads as a standalone I promise–always follows a crime, those affected by the crime, and the police, the latter who always need the help of the physics professor Manabu Yukawa (Detective Galileo). The Chinese film adaptation stars Wang Kai, Zhang Lu Yi, Ruby Lin, and Ye Zu Xin. You can watch the trailer here and learn about the Rakuten Viki app.

Upcoming

I squealed SO loud when I saw that Ausma Zehanat Khan has a new detective series coming this fall: Blackwater Falls. I love her Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak detective series.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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

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Unusual Suspects

Women Assassins

Hi mystery fans! The newsletter may look a little different–it is!–but it’s still all the things you love (crime all the time!) just all mixed together in every send now. Expect new releases, recommendations, the latest in mystery content on Book Riot, and even a link to some bookish swag.

Murder She Wrote jigsaw puzzle

Murder, She Wrote puzzle

If, like me, you pair jigsaw puzzles with audiobooks, here’s a puzzle for Murder, She Wrote fans: Puzzle, She Solved ($20)

New Releases

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The Bangalore Detectives Club (Kaveri and Ramu #1) by Harini Nagendra

Like cozy mysteries and want to do some traveling from your arm chair? Travel to 1920s Bangalore where recently married Kaveri attends a party that turns into a murder case. Clearly she’ll need to investigate when she’s certain the accused is not guilty. Good thing she’s got a brain for mathematics and a doctor husband to help.

cover image for The Marlow Murder Club

The Marlow Murder Club (The Marlow Murder Club #1) by Robert Thorogood

For fans of elderly detectives! Judith Potts lives alone happily, and designs crossword puzzles. After witnessing a murder, and the police not taking her seriously, she decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate herself. But one needs help in these endeavors which she gets from the wife of a Vicar and a dog-walker.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

If you’ve been in the mood to read about some lady assassins then I’ve got two for you.

Book cover of The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo, Chi-young Kim (translator)

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo, Chi-Young Kim (Translator)

I am forever and ever on the give me more translated crime bandwagon. This is one of those crime books with a great premise that I thought had a great execution: If your career has been murdering people for money and you’ve reached the age of retirement, what happens?

Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old contract killer. She’s spent decades murdering people for money, no questions asked. She’s very good at her job. But she’s been getting less assignments lately–are they trying to retire her? Can a contract killer just retire? She doesn’t want to. But an error on a job turns her life upside down…

If you like dark-ish crime novels, being in a character’s head, and want a character-driven book with added thrilling scenes don’t miss this one. Nancy Wu narrates the audiobook.

(TW attempted sexual assault/ mentions drug overdose/ baby killing/ natural dog death from age/ child kidnapping)

cover image for Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp

First, a note on comps and genre. For super strict cozy genre readers, there’s a few curse words, there’s no shexy times, there are darker themes and discussions but not graphic or on page, and the lead is literally a murderer—hence the whole theme. I wouldn’t put this as a comp for Pushing Daisies—outside of including pies and the magic being the same kind, just a pinch in our real world. I don’t say that as a knock on this book, I just like books to find their right audience rather than readers getting angry they didn’t get what they thought they were going to get.

Daisy Ellery murders men she thinks deserve to no longer inflict their harm on the world via her pies. The way Like Water For Chocolate infused emotion into food, she basically just makes murder pies that don’t have any added ingredient other than the magic that she is into them. And the good news is the pie can’t kill anyone else no matter who eats it, only the intended recipient. And they don’t have to die if they can choose to be a better person—most don’t take that option.

If you’re looking to read some mouthwatering pie-making and like revenge, cooking competitions, and a side dash of romance, here you go. There’s even a pie recipe–sans poison–at the end! Tanya Eby narrates the audiobook.

(TW domestic abuse/ mentions past parent with cancer, parent with addiction/ mentions past death from ectopic pregnancy/ sex recording without knowledge)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

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

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

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Unusual Suspects

The 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Award Winners

Hi mystery fans! Let’s catch-up on roundups, news, adaptations and find some things to watch shall we?

From Book Riot and Around The Internet

Clark and Division cover image

The 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Award Winners

Chris Evans’s Mustache May Just Be the Real Star of “The Gray Man”

Do Revenge Thrillers Like Shining Girls Actually Serve Assault Survivors?

How Fleetwood Mac, Mary Shelley, and the Manson murders inspired Rachel Hawkins’ next thriller

We Need A Good Courtroom Movie Drama, With All Those Hard Lessons About “Truth”

Under the Banner of Heaven creator Dustin Lance Black on his decade-long journey to adapt the show

Under Lock & Skeleton Key cover image

Crime Writers of Color podcast: CWoC co-founders Kellye Garrett author of Like a Sister and Gigi Pandian, author of Under Lock & Skeleton Key are interviewed by Robert Justice.

‘Saint X’: Alycia Debnam-Carey Set As Lead In Recasting As Victoria Pedretti Exits

Sony’s 3000 Pictures Acquires Film Rights To ‘I Think My Mother-In-Law Is Trying To Kill Me’; Jessica Knoll To Adapt Reddit Short Story & Executive Produce

The 11 best shows like The Flight Attendant

Giveaway: Win an ARC of Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier!

Giveaway: Win a Nook GlowLight Plus!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Watch Now

Shining Girls on Apple TV+: Based on Lauren Beukes time-traveling thriller The Shining Girls about a serial killer who can stalk victims over eras thanks to time travel and the woman who survived who is hunting him back. The cast includes Elisabeth Moss, Phillipa Soo, Amy Brenneman, and Jamie Bell. And here’s the trailer.

Recent Interests That May Also Interest You + My Reading Life

the lesbiana's guide to catholic school book cover

Reading: The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes / What’s Coming to Me by Francesca Padilla

Streaming: What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (Hulu) / Made For Love s2 (HBO Max)

Laughing: does not mean what you think it means

Helping: All-Options

Upcoming: We’re getting a new Truly Devious book this year: Nine Liars!!! Check out an exclusive excerpt from Maureen Johnson’s new YA murder mystery ‘Nine Liars’


Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 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 Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

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