Category: Unusual Suspects

If you’re a fan of teen detectives, you should absolutely get to know Goldie Vance. This is a delightful new series based on the Goldie Vance graphic novels–if you’ve read them, all the characters you love are here with all new mysteries, and if you’ve never read them, you are in for a real treat! This is the second original novel, and I will say that if you like character development and don’t mind the mystery starting at the halfway mark, start with the first book, Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit (Review), but if you need the mystery from the beginning, and a fast pace, start with this one–you won’t be lost, I promise.

This is a fun book set at the Florida beach resort where Goldie Vance works as a valet, but really she shadows the in-house detective and is always solving a mystery. Her parents are divorced–her dad manages the hotel, and her mom is a performing mermaid (!!)–her best friend also works at the hotel, and she’s finally asked out the girl she has a crush on and has a date set. But when a magician’s convention comes to the hotel, Goldie is forced to move her date to the convention and solve the mystery of who is stealing the magicians’ items–plus, deal with a pesky newcomer determined to solve it himself. Or annoy Goldie to death.

A first date, magic tricks, friendship, mystery, chaos, and a determined teen detective who lets nothing stand in her way of solving a crime adds up to a fun book to curl up with. I’m very much looking forward to there being more in this series.

This is a cinnamon roll of a cozy mystery and absolutely what I needed to read while ending 2020. It’s about a lovely couple, Valor and Bishan, in an English village who find a dead body in their garden. Naturally, one of them is the suspect (Bish)–especially, since the body ends up being a former schoolmate of the couple.

Now Valor needs to figure out who would put a dead body in their garden to frame Bish, while Bish sits in jail. Complicating matters–like it’s not already complicated–is that jail is even more difficult for Bish who is autistic, and Valor comes with all the family drama, being the son of a Countess and Earl. Valor even suspects that one of the family members he no longer speaks with is involved. Oh, and add in a zany neighbor with a billion frogs and Bish’s sweet family for this entertaining and gentle mystery. If you’ve been watching a lot of gentle reality shows lately, this will give you that same feeling.

It’s only 130-ish pages, a novella, that ends on a cliffhanger so have the sequel handy or do a mad muttering in the middle of the night as you quickly purchase the second, like me.

If any year were to need a cozy mystery marathon read, it would be this-year-I-refuse-to-name. Anyhoo, this is a fun series with a helpful ghost that will let you armchair travel to Ireland. (Review)

If you’re so absolutely over this year that you’d like to be immediately transported into another, enjoy New Year’s Eve 1929 in a New Orleans speakeasy. Don’t mind the murder. (Review)

This is a recent P.I. series with an ex-cop lead who is still friends with her ex-partner, manages the apartment complex she lives in, and has a nun for a friend. Every book has been a satisfying mystery, with a character I enjoy spending time with, that leaves me wanting the next book. And if you want a marathon, three books is totally doable. (Review)

I very much recommend getting to know Mishani’s work, and his latest is perfect for fans of suspense who don’t want to know the ride they’re on until it’s too late. (Review)

This was so intense towards the end that it successfully transported me from an IRL tense world to a fictional one where I was yelling (out loud like anyone could hear me), “Look out!” If you like YA mysteries with true crime podcasts enjoy! (Review)

A cozy, with a ton of descriptions of ice cream I needed to get in my pie hole immediately. The bonus for me, this year, was that it had a really nice family and was very low on drama, meanness, etc, even though there was a dead body. (Review)

Knecht started the series with a spy novel unlike the rest and now transitioned into a P.I. series, both books focusing on history rarely used in historical fiction. If you like character driven books, the series is great; if you need more speed, start with the sequel. Either way if you need a fresh, new voice, grab these books. (Review)

And here is an absolutely delightful historical British mystery following a teen detective with a passion for criminal science. Think Enola Holmes and Flavia de Luce levels of enjoyable. (Review)

If you’re looking to finish the year reading more nonfiction and enjoy biographies (her grandson wrote it!) and history, this is a great read and it’s only $2.99!

If you want a translated, remote literary mystery with a unique lead written by a Nobel Prize winning author, it’s your lucky day. It’s on sale for $1.99! (Review) (TW hunting, animal cruelty)

If you want to start a funny new procedural that has a sequel publishing in 2021 and is great for fans of Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton, this one is $2.99! (Review) (TW past child suicide thoughts and attempt, detail/ past date rape, kidnapping)

Natasha Trethewey is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who served as the United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2013. This book starts with the memoir part as Trethewey recounts her early childhood as the daughter of a Black woman and a white man, along with their agreements and disagreements in preparing her for the world. There’s some history on Mississippi and Atlanta, her parents divorce, and then her mother’s second marriage.

Trethewey recounts the emotional terror she lived through with her stepfather, his physical abuse of her mother–which was ignored the one time she tried to speak up to an adult–and finally her mother’s escape from the marriage and her murder in 1985.

This is beautifully written, as one would expect from a poet, and also filled with introspection as Trethewey looks at what she thought and knew as a child, young adult, now through the eyes of an adult. She also learns, after so many decades, details about the case when she is given the case files. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating to see how a woman did everything she was told to do and was supposed to have a police officer outside her home and still was murdered by a domestic abuser.

I highly recommend going with the audiobook, narrated by Trethewey, which I ended up listening to in two “sittings” as I made tomato soup and a batch of pancakes for freezing and then watched the goat (angry goat trapped inside of dog) try to find the neighborhood raccoon to harass. This is one of those books where I will now carry the author, and her words, with me forever.

(TW domestic abuse/ emotional child abuse, gaslighting/ threats of murder suicide)

This is the type of true crime memoir where Cooper heard about the crime, as a rumor, and it stuck with her and she ended up deciding to look into it. As a whole I still have mixed feelings about the idea of people becoming obsessed with very real violent crimes, and inserting themselves in some way, but Cooper completely acknowledges this and calls herself out in explaining that, when her life was at a standstill, she found herself trying to relate to the victim, Jane Britton.

This book follows the author trying to solve the unsolved case, and the outcome isn’t revealed until the end when, after decades, it’s solved. While I don’t flat out reveal it, I will be talking about points pertaining to the end because 1) I don’t believe in spoilers in real life crimes, and 2) I think this book is a good pick for book clubs as it opens so many avenues of discussions, including the resolution.

Okay, so when Becky Cooper was an undergrad at Harvard she heard a “rumor” about a 1969 murder of a 23-year-old undergrad Anthropology student, Jane Britton. The story wasn’t completely accurate but the more Cooper asked about it over the years the more it turned out that fact was stranger than the rumor. And how did the murder of the daughter of Harvard’s sister school’s Vice President go unsolved for 40 years?

Cooper takes you into her life at Harvard, Britton’s life as an Anthropology student (including digs, Academic politics, sexism and harassment in the school and field), Cooper’s not knowing what to do once she left school, and her attaching herself to Britton, the case, and her speaking to those who knew Britton and those who had/were suspects.

This felt like watching an armchair detective bring to life the decades old case by getting to know Britton through people in her life, understanding the politics of Anthropology and Harvard (I could read an entire book on this), and following the pointed fingers at those close to Jane who had been the suspects. It’s also interesting to me that in these cases I feel like, while the “obsessor” might bring light/attention to a case, it is most likely going to be (if ever) solved by DNA testing. Which is what happens in this case, like I’ll Be Gone In The Dark.

This book and the case itself leave so much to be discussed and mulled over: Where is the line of intrusion into a crime–benefit vs not of armchair detectives? Sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment. Academic politics. How we treat/view victims based on a gross judgement that some did nothing to deserve it and others did. The statistics on women being assaulted by someone they know vs a stranger (much higher for someone known) and perpetrators are more likely to be white (57%) than Black (27%). The DNA testing backlog.

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and it’s currently $4.99–and rarely drops to sale prices. Chanel Miller was the woman only referred to as Brock Turners victim, Emily Doe, The Stanford Rape Case and defined by the media, rape apologists, her rapist, and her victim impact statement posted on BuzzFeed until she told her story herself. She’s a beautiful writer and person and I highly recommend this true crime memoir. (Review) (TW rape/ gaslighting/ discussions of past suicides, with detail/ discussion of mass shooters, event details/ misogyny)

This is a very true story that reads like a thriller about a WWII spy who you’ve probably never heard of but should! This was one of my favorite reads last year and it’s only $1.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ torture/ concentration camps)

If you want a dark read about a time traveling serial killer unlike other books you’ve read, Beukes has written that for you and it’s currently $2.99! I don’t remember trigger warnings but assume ones that would be in a dark serial killer crime novel.

Hands down one of my favorite reads of 2020. I can’t tell you how much I needed The Great British Bake Off and Sugar Rush Christmas to stream on Netflix at the end of this year, so imagine my delight to learn that the main character of this book, Zoe Washington (thanks title!), is determined to get on a baking competition show.

The summer before 7th grade, Zoe Washington sets her sites on wanting to apply for a baking contest competition. She loves to bake, is self assured, curious, and currently her best friend is away for the summer and she’s in a fight with her other best friend. Her parents decide that before letting her apply she’ll have to prove herself, so they get her an internship at a bakeshop. She’s ready to work, even if the bakeshop is more inclined to treat her like a child and only let her fold boxes.

Okay, “but what is the mystery?” you’re surely shouting at me, and I’m getting there. Zoe’s dad married her mother when she was four, her bio dad, Marcus, is in prison for murdering a woman–which she’s always known. What she didn’t know was that Marcus still says he’s innocent and that his lawyer never found the witness that he says proves he was somewhere else. Zoe doesn’t know what to believe as she reads Marcus’ letters, hidden from her parents. But, to find out whether he’s telling the truth or lying, she decides she’s going to get the information needed to get an organization to look at his case.

This is a wonderful book in so many ways and a reminder that rather than aging out of reading categories we should just be adding new reading ages to the ones we already read. And for the biggest bonus ever: the audiobook is narrated by Bahni Turpin who is one of my all time favorite narrators: American Spy; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Dread Nation; The Gone Dead–I could just keep listing so many books she’s fantastically narrated!

Think Jessica Fletcher but English and in a retirement community–must be over 65– with a group of elderly people who meet weekly to discuss true crime and the unsolved murder cases the local police haven’t been able to solve. Of course, they soon find themselves on a too-close-to-home case when a brash developer with an unwanted plan is murdered. Clearly they’ll figure this out!

This walked the line between cozy and not, which, to me, is part of why I think it’ll have mass appeal for many types of crime readers. It’s funny–let’s pretend to be a nun and see what information we get!–and rotates points of view, giving you many different voices and personal lives, including a detective not so much up for this group’s hijinks.

If you’re looking for a fun murder mystery that also has a bit of weight of emotion to curl up with this winter you’ll certainly be pleased with this one.

(TW suicides, details, letter read/ mentions past sexual assault with details)

If you’re looking for a 2020 historical mystery release here’s one I really enjoyed that is currently $2.99 and is set in 1800, Joseon (Korea)! (Review) (TW past suicides mentioned, detail/ mentions public groping/ torture/ past child murder mentioned/ dog killed, skippable)

Here’s a true crime memoir for social science fans where Ellin reveals her story about being conned by a con man and also talks to others who have been victims and looks at how our society creates and promotes liars and cheaters. And it’s $2.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ rape/ briefly mentions cases with pedophile)

Here’s a translated suspense novel for literary fans about a married couple, their facade, and lies… Currently it’s $3.99! (I don’t remember TW, sorry.)

I think Tana French fans would like this character-focused procedural about sisters on opposite sides of the law. Currently $4.99 (Review) (TW drug addiction/ rape, including statutory not on page)

Yolanda Vance, a lawyer whose firm got raided and was hired by the FBI, quickly learns she’s wanted for undercover work she’s not trained for because the FBI wants to infiltrate a teen activist group they’ve labeled as extremist. Vance ends up taking the assignment and her own views are challenged as she gets to know the group’s members, falls in love, and learns her life is in grave danger… I’m a big fan of de León and will continue looking forward to her work. (Review) (TW drug overdose, talk of addiction/ brief past mention of child-on-child attempted sexual assault)

Here’s a historical mystery with a little steampunk. In 1958 there are secret tunnels below London, and deep below the city you will find Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries–a team of detectives solving the crimes that Scotland Yard has been unable to solve. Okay, how do I go work for them?!

The third in the British procedural series that follows Detective Constable Cat Kinsella, who starts the series off with wondering if her father is responsible for the missing teenage girl case from almost two decades prior…Now she’s got a serial killer case and her superiors are still unaware that her family isn’t the most up-and-up bunch.

A new entry into the anthology noir series from Akashic Books. These are great to pick up for crime readers who want to find new authors to follow. “The stories that you will read in this collection highlight all things Accra, everything that the city was and is—the remaining vestiges of colonialism, the pride of independence, the nexus of indigenous tribes and other groups from all over the world, the tension between modernity and traditionalism, the symbolism and storytelling both obvious and coded, the moral high ground, the duplicity and deceit, the most basic human failings laid bare alongside fear and love and pain and the corrupting desire to have the very things you are not meant to have.“

This is the sequel to Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders (Review), which followed an amateur sleuth during WWII, Air Raid Warden Poppy Redfern. Now, in 1942, she’s a scriptwriter at the London Crown Film Unit. When her film project has her witness the death of a female fighter pilot, which is labeled an accident, Poppy puts on her sleuth cap again.

I actually didn’t know this was the start to a series when I read it but I assume now that it’ll follow more cases picked up by Zara Kaleel: a former barrister who currently works for Artemis House as a sexual violence advisor. This is a legal thriller that follows an entire rape case, from accusation through to the end of the legal process. (Review) (TW rape/ brief mention and details of past suicide attempt/ brief female to male partner abuse/ ableism and bullying/ brief recount of past animal cruelty/ addiction/ Islamophobia/ anti-Semite trope comment)

If you’re looking for a Swedish procedural, here you go. Fifteen years ago Detective Inspector Embla Nyström’s best friend Lollo disappeared. Now she’s just received a call from her, meaning she must still be alive. But then a man is found murdered and it’s the man Nyström remembers having seen Lollo last with…

This is the sequel to Death in the Family (Review), which is a mystery set on a remote island where a family member is missing and the two detectives are now trapped on the island during a storm with the family full of secrets. Now Senior Investigator Shana Merchant is back, but this time it’s her past that takes center stage, as her abductor (previous to the first book) has shown up again…

This isn’t connected on Goodreads as a sequel but it’s the same character, Killian Delaney, from Seven Crows, so I assume this is the sequel. Delaney is one of those characters that is seriously tough and takes no shit and will fight to save anyone she loves. And now she’s a part of the Network, which is “a group of well-funded individuals who help the weakest among us.”

Here’s a memoir that falls into the true crime category as Trethewey, a Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, writes about her mother being murdered by her stepfather. It’s currently $3.99.

If you like to read the classics over the holidays here is one of Christie’s best mysteries–trying to catch a serial killer–currently on sale for $1.99!

If you’re a fan of small-town unsolved mysteries here’s one currently on sale for $1.99! (Review)

As soon as I got an early copy of this 2021 mystery title written by an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians I started reading it. The voice from the beginning grabbed me and took me away and it has one of my favorite things ever: an elderly person that says whatever they want whenever they want and is hilarious. I can’t wait to spend the weekend curled up with this book.

I’m finally getting to all the nonfiction audiobooks I’ve been dying to read, including Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker and Sissy. Both are wildly different from each other while also being about the treatment of marginalized voices and both are excellent books with great narrations

Three generations of Black women, a heist, and revenge–what more could you want?! I’ve been a big fan of Roxane Gay’s work since I read her essay collection Bad Feminist, and have since made sure to read all her books, including her graphic novels/comics which I think started with Black Panther: World of Wakanda.

The Banks gave me everything I love in a heist story: the origin story, drama, revenge, thievery, and that ride-or-die mentality. The comic gives us past and present pages, so we see both how this family–a grandmother (Clara), daughter (Cora), and granddaughter (Celia)–got into the business of theft along with where they are now. Celia is pissed when she’s passed up for a promotion at work and proposes the go-big-or-go-home heist of a lifetime: she decides the family she wanted nothing to do with can now instead help her relieve her firm’s biggest client of all his money.

The problems: while Clara and Cora have made a lifelong career out of stealing, Celia has not and turned her back on her family because of it; Celia is hiding all of this from her coworker boyfriend; Celia is in way over her head; and there’s a detective following Cora and Clara…

I generally read an entire graphic novel volume in one sitting, but I was enjoying this so much that I actually sat down with one section a night so it would last longer. If you’re a fan of heists, graphic novels, and a single contained story, enjoy! (TW: one panel of possible sexual assault, quickly stopped)

If you’re a fan of revenge fantasies and Dexter type characters, here’s a fun thriller. We follow two stories at once, both at Gorman University. One is that of Scarlett Clark, an English professor at the university whose side—and very secret—job is to pick the worst man on campus (generally a predator) every single year and kill him, literally.

We also get to know Carly Schiller, a freshman who has not come into her own yet but is finally away from her oppressive father. She finds herself with a popular, self assured roommate–everything she is not.

While Scarlet hunts and finds herself getting too close to being found out—and dealing with the university bureaucracy and her personal life—Carly tries to protect her roommate from the fallout of an assault while trying to find her voice and the person she wants to be.

You can look forward to this becoming a TV series with Fargo tapped to write the pilot! (TW rape/ past parent abuse mentioned/ murders covered up to look like suicide discussed)