Category: Unusual Suspects

If you’re about to skip over this one because you don’t read, or aren’t in the mood, for cozy mysteries (which the cover may make you think it is), come back this is not a cozy!

Set during the Harlem Renaissance, Louise Lloyd has never been able to avoid the spotlight after escaping a kidnapper as a teenager, and setting free the other girls in the process. The press has remembered her, as has the Harlem community. When she’s arrested for assaulting an officer, this comes in handy for the police who recognize her and want to use her. There’s a serial killer, killing young Black girls, and the detective in charge thinks a young Black woman like Louise will make it easier to get people to help with the investigation, rather than white cops asking questions. She doesn’t want to but is backed into a corner, so she goes out asking questions, putting herself in danger…

Louise is a great character who, after being kidnapped as a teen, being forced to raise her younger siblings, and thrown out by her father, wears no rose colored glasses when viewing the world. What she does love is dancing with her girlfriend and friend until the morning hours at a speakeasy, with zero intention of marrying or doing any of the things expected of women.

If you’re looking for a historical mystery, set during the exciting Harlem Renaissance, with a bit of a noir feeling to it, pick up this book. I’m excited that it’s a series starter and look forward to more of Louise and the time period.

(TW attempted rape/ kidnapping/ homophobia/ racism)

The characters in this story, with nods to Sherlock and Watson, bring a delightful and fun feel to this mystery. Set in 1940s New York, the most famous woman PI in the country, Lillian Pentecost, has multiple sclerosis and needs help with mundane tasks related to her job so she can continue to focus on the important things. So she offers the job to Willowjean “Will” Parker, who ran away from home and has been working with the circus.

Will narrates the story, bringing us in to see how she met Pentecost and now recounting a major case they took on: after the patriarch of a family died by suicide, the matriarch was found murdered in a locked room on fire. The murder remains unsolved and so the children, twins, and their godfather hire the detective to find out who murdered their mother as society is now gossiping that it must have been the ghost of their father. Toss in family drama, business drama and political contracts, secrets, dating, and a spiritual advisor, and you have a twisty mystery filled with danger.

My favorite part is the voices of Will and Pentecost, complete opposites who bump heads in a loving way. Will has a quick dark humor as she navigates life and her new career, and Pentecost is cranky, smart, and resourceful while navigating life with a slowly progressing, but progressing nonetheless, disease.

(TW recent past suicide, detail/ mentions of past child abuse and domestic abuse, not graphic/ homophobia)

If you like remote mysteries, locked-room mysteries, and nods to Agatha Christie and Sherlock, this one is for you! And it’s a steal at $1.99. (Review)

If you’re a fan of literary suspense, Southern literature, and past mysteries, grab this one currently on sale for $1.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a YA page-turner with an excellent cover, you can snag this one for $1.99. (Review)

This is a great series for fans of Joe Ide’s IQ series and gritty crime fans who love a vivid community. It stars August Snow, a PI who has moved back home and is trying to help out the neighborhood while also solving mysteries–this time, the case gets personal when a past employer of his mother’s hires him to look into being blackmailed and things go wrong real quick! If you want to start at the beginning pick up August Snow (Review–I didn’t keep TW notes back then)

If, like me, you haven’t read a good political/legal thriller in a while, this will scratch that itch. A supreme court judge goes into a coma and a law clerk learns that she’s been left power of attorney, which enrages his family and puts her in danger while she tries to figure out why… Bonus: The audiobook has a wonderful narrator, Adenrele Ojo. Double bonus: There are going to be two more books and I want them now. Triple bonus: It’s getting adapted into a show.

(TW attempted suicide, detail/ addiction/ briefly threatens sexual assault, doesn’t/ degenerative brain disorder/ genocide/ Islamophobia)

Looking for a start to a cozy mystery series in a small town with the returning-back-home trope and great food descriptions? Here you go! I especially loved that, along with the main restaurant, we get to visit a handful of other local restaurants, with full food descriptions. Yum!

If you like mystery series with a lot of humor and ridiculous characters, this one is a lot of fun. The setup actually reminds me of the format of The Princess Bride in that Poldi is always telling her most recent mystery adventure to her visiting nephew who is narrating the book to the reader. Poldi is in her 60s, will absolutely not be told what to do, probably hasn’t met a man she didn’t have the hots for, has a mouth that gets her in trouble, and is always entangled in a mystery after moving to Sicily. You won’t be lost starting with this book, but the whole series is fun and does have running side plots. So if you want to start at the beginning, pick up Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions. (TW main case questioned to be suicide, detail)

A Japanese ode to Agatha Christie that fans of remote mysteries will not want to miss! (Review)

Absolutely a favorite read! Everything about this book is wonderful from the writing and characters to the ghost whose murder must be solved by a young girl. (Review)

A page-turning thriller with a mystery and contract killers that is twisty and takes the standard “must find children from long ago sperm donation” trope and goes in a different direction! (Review)

Here’s one that sounds perfect for fans of books about books. Jacob Finch Bonner is now a writing teacher because he didn’t make it as a novelist. So when a student with a fantastic plot idea dies before publishing, Bonner takes it as his own and gets the acclaim he always wanted. Until an email arrives saying someone knows he stole the book…

I’ve enjoyed Kubica’s previous work–always a slow-build suspense that manages to stay in the real world rather than having a far out there twist–so I have this audiobook loaded as my next pick. A decade ago, two women, separately, disappeared–one with her young daughter. Now the young daughter has been found. We’re taken into the past lives of neighbors, and the current lives of the found girl’s family, to try and piece together what happened, what is connected, and who is responsible and why…

RUN TO THIS: You can pre-buy Rachel Howzel Hall’s upcoming release now for $4.99!

If you like narrative nonfiction that reads like a spy thriller, about a spy you’ve probably never heard of, run to this ebook that’s currently $1.99! (Review)

Jane Harper’s sequel to The Dry is $2.99! (Review)

Everything about this book is an ode to Agatha Christie and classic detective novels, and it’s an excellent read for fans of remote mysteries.

Seven university mystery club members, where all the members have taken on names of famous authors, have decided to travel and stay on an island where a bunch of murders still remain unsolved. To add to the setup, they are staying in a literal decagon-shaped house where the room layout adds to the fun of who is staying in what room when the murders begin.

But first, we watch as they discover plates that have “victim” written on five, “murderer” on one, and “detective” on one of them. Surely, this must be a joke? But by which of them, and why is no one confessing?

As we watch the mystery club try to figure out what is happening, and start dying on the island, we also get to watch as, on the mainland, one former and one current mystery club member investigate the previous year’s murders, and why, suddenly, mysterious letters saying, “My daughter Chiori was murdered by all of you,” are being sent out. Oh, and you get some chapters from the killer that give you no clues as to who they are. So, who will figure it out first: the mystery members on the island, the two on the mainland, or will no one be left at the end…?

This was entertaining in that it follows the genre tropes while also having the extra fun element of mystery fans as characters using their genre knowledge to try and figure out the mystery they are suddenly in. If you’re a fan of remote mysteries, don’t miss this one.

(TW murder suicide story recounted)

I feel like people who liked and were fans of Michelle McNamara’s work will especially like this fictional serial killer novel that focuses on a true crime podcast. Elle Castillo is now a popular true crime podcast host–like full production podcast–after years of having been a social worker. For her new season, she decides to go for the case that has always haunted her: a serial killer whose victims had a numerical pattern in age, starting at 21 and getting younger. She receives a tip from a listener, but finds him dead when she arrives and thus begins the intense story of a woman obsessed with identifying a killer of children, who will stop at nothing.

This is an excellent read for fans of true crime podcasts (you watch behind the scenes of Castillo working on it and “listen” to transcripts), fictional serial killers that are dragged into the light to give the power to the victims, and cat-and-mouse thrillers. I especially liked that Castillo had a solid marriage no matter how far off the deep end she went.

(TW infertility briefly recounted/ child murders/ child abuse/ sex offender investigated, crime not on page/ panic attacks/ past murder faked as suicide recounted, detail)

My favorite Sherlock is $2.99! (Review)

If Robin Hood were a group of women robbing rich a-hole CEOs to fund their women’s clinic in NY is the core of this book and I loved it. And you can snag it for $2.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a truly bananapants nonviolent true crime and still haven’t read this book, run to it, it’s $3.99! (Review)

A mystery for horror fans that you can snag right now for $4.99! (Review)

This is one of my favorite books of the year and one of my favorite all-time characters–I’ll be carrying Ophie around with me from now on, randomly wondering how she is and what she’s up to.

Saved by what she’s about to learn is her ability to see ghosts, Ophie and her mother are forced to flee their Georgia home in 1922 when her father is murdered. Trying to settle in Pittsburgh, Ophie can no longer go to school and must instead join her mother working in a mansion, since they need to move out of the home they’re sharing with family that is not fully inviting. While working at the beck and call of an elderly woman, Ophie makes friends with a ghost, and soon realizes that there is a mystery surrounding not only how she died but who she is. As Ophie navigates her new life, restricted freedoms, grief, and her aunt’s guidance with the rules of being a person that can see ghosts, she finds that she must figure out who her new friend is and why they died.

As much as Ophie is expected to behave as an adult, she is a child and continues to sneak off to do what she’s not supposed to, drawn by the allure of her new friend ghost and the need to solve the mystery. She’s a character you’ll root for from start to finish, in every aspect. And if you don’t read middle grade because you think it’s too juvenile, I urge you to try this book: you can read a sample here, and you can always check it out from your library and give it a go. Bonus, if you’re doing the Read Harder challenge: here’s your #9. What I’m saying is, go read this book! The characters are fantastic, it’ll sink you into the time period, and the writing is excellent–what more can you ask for?

(TW hate crime off page, not detailed)

If you’re looking for a dark read all about revenge have I got your next book! I listened to the multivoice audiobook while working on a relaxing puzzle, which was a hell of a “these two things do not go together” situation.

Ever since her parents disappeared seven years ago, Tress Montor lives and works with her grandfather at an animal attraction with dangerous wild animals. She’s basically shunned by the entire town and she’s reached her tipping point of anger, thinking her previous best friend graffitied her home and fed her dog to the alligator.

Yup. And that’s not all that’s between these two former friends: Tess is convinced that “has it all” Felicity Turnado knows what happened to her parents. So she’s going to make her confess by slowly bricking her in à la Edgar Allan Poe (The Cask of Amontillado). This was wild, dark, fckd up, and with serious bite as it explored a lot of things from class to family secrets.

The only thing that didn’t work for me were the panther voice chapters, which I only mention in case you feel the same way–no need to stop reading as there are only a few, very short instances. I saw that this is listed as a first in a series; I am beyond curious as to how this will continue, and I am definitely signed up for more.

(TW animal cruelty/ seizures/ it feels like a date rape scene is going to happen but that’s not what it is or what happens/ fat shaming/ briefly mentions past domestic abuse)

If you’re looking to start a great new PI series, want to spend some time in Chicago, and want a series that hits all the tropes you want while still feeling new, grab this one, which is currently $1.99. (Review)

If you need an intense page-turner that’s basically a cat-and-mouse thriller while trapped in a snowed-in location, here’s one for $4.99. (Review)

If you like books about writers and slow-burn crime stories with bite, this new release is currently $5.99! (Review)

Not only do you get a PI but it’s an agency so you get a whole team! Charlie Mack is a PI with an agency she started with fellow PIs Don and Gil–who she previously worked with at INS/homeland security–and their office manager, Judy. They’re four completely different personalities who annoy each other like siblings–Judy always quoting musicals to Don’s annoyance–but at the end of the day are a great team. Which they need to be to stay alive in what starts as a simple case and gets really dangerous and complicated quick.

Mack’s father’s friend, once her mentor, needs her help: as the owner of Reliable Restaurant Supply he’s discovered that an account executive was stealing and disappeared with over a hundred grand. Mack and her team are to find her, which leads the team to travel from Detroit, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama. Only the case has a lot of layers, people, moving parts, and secrets–oh and that danger I mentioned. So it quickly becomes clear that it’s a far-from-easy case, and they’ll need to make more than one trip to Birmingham.

And while trying to focus on the case, Mack is also trying to spend as much time as she can with her mother who is living in a care facility with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, and Mack has started dating a cop but is spending more time hiding from her feelings and not committing.

If you like watching cases as they unfold step by step, while trying to put the puzzle pieces together yourself, and procedural shows that involve teams of investigators, here’s your next great read. It’s everything you want in a great PI novel. And I immediately bought the second in the series upon finishing.

(TW parent early stage Alzheimer’s/ ableism/ forced vasectomy on teen)

Barclay has become my reliable popcorn thriller author–I need a tub of popcorn to inhale while inhaling his page-turners. And this one has a known hook that takes its own path and adds twists. Miles Cookson is very wealthy and has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness that is also genetic. Instead of leaving his money to his only family, his brother, he ends up discovering that the long ago donation to the sperm bank did get used and he’d rather give the resulting children his money.

Nothing personal against his brother, he just isn’t a fan of his wife. Plus, discovering he has kids makes him want to at least leave them money in case he did pass on the disease. Lucky for him, Chloe Swanson had already started looking for her biological father, so Cookson doesn’t have a hard time finding and meeting her. Except they quickly find that something isn’t right and Cookson’s half-siblings are disappearing. Did I mention the team of contract killers out just randomly killing people? Have fun trying to figure out, along with Swanon and Cookson, what is going on and how much danger they themselves are in…

This is a fun page-turner with heart that blends a mystery with thrills and action scenes. I really enjoyed the contrasting scenes between the contract killers, and Swanson and Cookson getting to know and trust each other. And bonus: I really liked the audiobook, narrated by George Newbern.

(TW suicidal thoughts recounted/ groomer of teen girls, no assault scenes on page but emotional abuse, kidnapping is/ infertility/ attempted suicide scene)

If you wanted another setting like Mindhunter’s season 2, 1979 Atlanta during the Atlanta Child Murders where a serial killer was kidnapping and murdering Black children, this is a literary suspense novel by an excellent writer and it’s currently $3.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a locked-room mystery whydunnit, you can’t go wrong with Higashino, and this one is currently $2.99 so run to it. (Review)

For Tana French fans, here’s a police procedural that is character driven currently $1.99! (Review)

A locked-room mystery set in our world but with the invention of time travel, which is currently $1.99! Perfect price if your hesitant on trying a sci-fi mystery. (Review)