Category: Unusual Suspects

Mystery Writers Who Write Other Genres

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date November 3, 2020

Sponsored by the audiobook edition of Silent Bite, read by Grover Gardner.

Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are finding that all is not calm or bright in Silent Bite, the latest Christmas mystery in this heartwarming series from bestselling author David Rosenfelt. Lawyer Andy Carpenter can finally take a breath. Of course, the family’s first stop is to the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that has always been Andy’s true passion. But when Andy arrives, his partner, Willie, needs his help. Willie’s old cellmate, Glenn Anson, has been arrested for murder. Andy doesn’t necessarily believe in Glenn, but Willie does, which is why Andy decides to take the case.

Hi mystery fans! So I’m gonna start off with a note that I have written this newsletter before November 3rd (U.S presidential election) so please excuse if my tone seems way off to whatever may be happening right now. Okay, on to this week’s reads: I thought I’d mention mystery writers who also write in other genres because it’s a great way to explore in your reading life– if you already love a writer’s work in one genre it may be a good bridge into another genre.

Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has finally gotten the recognition she should have gotten a long time ago for her new Gothic suspense/horror novel Mexican Gothic (so good!). But she has great work in many genres: for slow-burn suspense you have Untamed Shore (Review); she has one of my favorite vampire novels with her urban fantasy Certain Dark Things (Review); for a coming-of-age with some fabulism start with her first novel Signal to Noise set in Mexico City in the ’80s; for romantic historical fantasy you’ll want to pick up The Beautiful Ones; and for historical fantasy inspired by Mexican folklore grab Gods of Jade and Shadow.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Alyssa Cole put out her first social thriller this year, knocking it out of the park, but she was already an established romance author. And because romance is a vast genre, with many different types that Cole also writes in, there is definitely lots to explore: for a contemporary romance series that starts with an African prince the heroine mistakes for an Internet scam, pick up A Princess in Theory; if you want to see an author actually pull off a historical romance set during the Civil War (spies!), start with An Extraordinary Union; and if you need some romance in your dystopia, start with Radio Silence.

Goldie Vance the Hotel Whodunit cover image

Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit (Goldie Vance #1) by Lilliam Rivera

Lilliam Rivera is currently writing the middle grade series Goldie Vance based off of the graphic novel series. But she’s also an essayist and has YA novels that are contemporary, dystopian, and magical realism: The Education of Margot Sánchez is a great coming-of-age novel with a fantastic voice; the dystopian Dealing in Dreams explores family, addiction, and gender roles with a girl gang; Never Look Back is an Afro-Latinx retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek myth; and you can find her essay in the anthology Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy.

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

Laila Lalami wrote a beautiful crime novel, The Other Americans, for fans of literary novels that has a hit-and-run mystery running throughout it (Review). But she also has a historical fiction novel that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, The Moor’s Account. Her latest work is nonfiction, Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America. And she also writes short stories, Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing. She has a deep catalog to dive into for anyone looking for beautiful writing.

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig

In the last few years Caleb Roehrig seems to have been writing up a storm. Not only does he have three YA mysteries–Death Prefers Blondes (Review); White Rabbit (Review); Last Seen Leaving–but he also has a fantasy novel for vampire fans, The Fell Of The Dark and the start to a horror series for werewolf and Riverdale fans, A Werewolf in Riverdale. For fans of short stories he is a contributor to a few anthologies: Life Is Short and Then You Die: Mystery Writers of America Presents First Encounters with Murder; Out Now: Queer We Go Again!; His Hideous Heart. All the work I’ve read so far is both fun and heartfelt and I always look forward to what may be coming next.

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.

Unusual Suspects

Mindhunter Season 3 Not Happening

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 29, 2020

Sponsored by the audiobook edition of The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves, read by Janine Birkett.

From Ann Cleeves – New York Times best-selling and author of the Vera and Shetland series – comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening, read by Janine Birkett. On the first snowy night of winter, Vera finds a car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her and stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler strapped in the back seat. As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Vera digs deeper into her investigation and begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

Hi mystery fans! Hopefully I have at least one distraction for you amongst this list of posts, podcasts, Kindle deals, and what to watch.

From Book Riot and Around The Internet

On the latest Read Or Dead Rincey and Katie mourn the ending of The President is Missing adaptation, celebrate some revivals and reboots and talk about their love of audiobooks.

10 Historical Mystery Series to Whisk You Away

The Best Book Covers of 2020

Mindhunter Season 3 Not Happening

Is this what really happened when Agatha Christie disappeared?

(Spoilers) The major differences between Rebecca the book and the movie

The adaptation of Jane Harper’s The Dry, starring Eric Bana, will premiere in Australia in January and here’s the trailer!

No Time To Buy: James Bond Reportedly Considered a Streaming Sale

Goodreads Awards are up for voting in the first round and I am super happy some amazing books have landed in the mystery & thriller category including When No One Is Watching, Winter Counts, One by One, The Searcher, Blacktop Wasteland, And Now She’s Gone. You can also find Winter Counts under the debut novel category and The Hand on the Wall and Grown under the YA category. Under the historical fiction category you have Deacon King Kong. For true crime memoir readers, We Keep The Dead Close and Notes on a Silencing are under the nonfiction category. So many great books to have to choose between!

Deacon King Kong and Hurricane Season are on the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction longlist.

This is going to be awesome!––‘Mudbound’ Co-Writer Virgil Williams to Adapt ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ for Picturestart, John Legend’s Get Lifted

Win a Book Lovers Puzzles Prize Pack

Enter to win a $250 Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Watch Now

HBO: You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz has been adapted into an HBO miniseries, The Undoing, which is written by David E. Kelley and stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. It’s a psychological thriller about a therapist who has a happy life until her book is about to publish, telling women how to use their intuition towards terrible men and, well, now she’ll have to take a look at her own husband… Watch the trailer.

Kindle Deals

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

If you’re looking for a snarky mystery read playing off the Scooby gang Meddling Kids is $2.99.

The Bright Lands by John Fram

If you want a murder mystery + horror mash (it is Halloween!) The Bright Lands is $2.99 and I’m it has the most WTF horror ending I’ve ever read. (Review) (TW homophobia, slurs/ talk of suicide, detail/ brief mentions of domestic abuse case, detail/ fat shaming/ forced nude photos/ statutory)

Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad, Book 4) by Tana French

If you’re making your way through Tana French’s procedural series–each book reads as a standalone–and haven’t gotten to Broken Harbor yet it’s currently $1.99!

I Know A Secret (Rizzoli & Isles #12) by Tess Gerritsen

For another book in a procedural series you can pick up this Rizzoli & Isles novel for $2.99! (Review) (Don’t remember TWs, sorry)

Unusual Suspects

Short And Long Crime Reads

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 27, 2020

Ghost Detective by Zachary Muswagon

This is a gem of a mystery, but heads up that it seems to only be available in audiobook in the U.S. However, that is the format I would highly recommend it in.

It starts with a bear and a crow having a discussion/argument that ends with the bear sending the crow to a man, Billy. We then meet Billy as he thinks he’s waking from a terrible night of falling off the wagon because it is the only thing that would explain his strange state and his inability to remember the previous night. But in fact the crow is his spirit guide because Billy has been murdered. I know!

Billy has to figure out why he’s stuck from moving on and who murdered him. Enter his cousin Dale who makes Billy figure out a way to talk to him through his Bluetooth, and his aunt Tina who sees and talks to spirits. We get taken into life on an unnamed reservation where many of the threats to Native Americans can be behind Billy’s death including an oil company and a gang. Will Billy–with help from the crow, his cousin, and aunt–be able to figure out who murdered him and more importantly find the forgiveness needed to pass on?

The Ghost Detective is a quick read packed with humor and heart that reminds readers of the voices missing in the crime genre. It also opens the door for it to become a series and yes, please. (TW alcoholism/ brief child abuse/ mentions song about rape, no detail/ fat shaming/ past child cancer deaths, not graphic)

The Searcher by Tana French

For those who are unaware of Tana French, she has a great police procedural series–each book can be read as a standalone novel–following detectives on the Dublin Murder Squad. She also has a standalone suspense murder mystery, The Witch Elm, and now The Searcher, a second standalone, which is a slow burn, possible missing persons mystery.

If you like procedurals, character driven stories, and want a faster pace, you want her Dublin Murder Squad books. If you want to sink deep into a life and have a murder mystery filled with suspense, you want The Witch Elm. If you want to be plunged into a life in a tiny town that is a slow burn possible missing person case, you want The Searcher. I love all her books and feel like a main theme is they should have a trigger warning for men. And by that I mean, if you think about the male leads, they are presented as “nice guys” but they’re kind of terrible.

Case in point: in The Searcher we meet Cal Hooper, a retired American detective, who is divorced and a father to an adult woman. He has a not-great relationship with his ex and his daughter, and he retired pretty young from the police force. He wants to have a better relationship with his wife and is certainly trying to have a good relationship with his daughter, so naturally he moves alone to a remote village in rural Ireland to work on those things while they are in the U.S. You see what I mean? And why did he retire early you wonder? Because he was coming to understand the Black Lives Matter movement and it was too difficult for him to wade through all of it to make any kind of decision, so retiring early seemed the best plan. You see!

Welcome to the life we’re plunged into. And by that I mean this was one of the few books this year that truly transported me out of the hellscape we are in and took me somewhere else. Cal may have moved away from all his problems but as he will soon discover, life is hard no matter where you go, and you’re going to have to make tough decisions, buddy! His comes in the form of a young teen named Trey who he keeps catching lurking around his property as he tries to fix the cottage. Trey is like a stray that will not leave and will not give up and forces Cal to do something about his inability to make hard decisions because Trey is convinced their brother did not pack up and leave, and Cal, being a detective and all, has to be able to help.

Problem is, small towns aren’t real big on outsiders to start with let alone ones that show up and start poking their nose into a mystery they claim isn’t a mystery… If you like slow unraveling mysteries, character studies, excellent writing, and want to live in rural Ireland while getting to know the locals (and all their gossip and secrets) this one is for you. I find myself once again longing for the next Tana French–always my feeling as I turn the last page of one of her crime books. (TW brief mention suicide, detail/ domestic violence discussed, not graphic or on page/ animal deaths, cruelty, hunting/ mentions fake rape rumor, no detail/ child abuse off page, results detailed)

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.

Unusual Suspects

The 31 Best Thriller Books Of All Time

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 22, 2020

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Tiffany D. Jackson and the “Stress” of It All

How I Learned to Stop Being Sexist and Love Miss Marple

Trick or Treat for Democracy: Thriller Writers Unite to Help DEMS Win Big! (Text banking with 10 award winning crime writers.)

Know Our Names: Chanel Miller Shatters Stigma for Asian American Survivors

12 Mystery Novels Featuring Black, Indigenous, and POC Protagonists

Murder, She Wrote: An inside look at Agatha Christie’s pop culture reign, 100 years after her first book

The 31 Best Thriller Books Of All Time (Good Luck Getting a Peaceful Night’s Sleep Again!)

Land of Shadows cover image: sunrise LA city image blended into a dark street image with a silhouette of a person walking

Rachel Howzell Hall’s LA detective series, Detective Elouise Norton, sold the rights to Lionsgate Television!!!!!!!!!

In Virtual Event, Bouchercon 2020 Picks Year’s Best

‘The Flight Attendant’ Trailer: Kaley Cuoco Returns to TV in HBO Max Murder Mystery

PW Talks to Walter Mosley

Watch Now

Netflix: Rebecca, based on Daphne du Maurier’s same titled Gothic novel, stars Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas. If you need some suspense in your life–and really, what better time is there than October to watch something Gothic–here’s the trailer.

Kindle Deals

The Lady Killer by Masako Togawa, Simon Grove

For fans of Japanese crime novels, and a little bit of bananapants reads, here’s one for $1.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ child death/ attempted rape/ eating disorder)

City of the Lost (Casey Duncan Novels Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong

If you like procedurals but want it to have a unique slant, and love remote settings, this one is for you! And the start to this great thriller series is $4.99. (TW suicide/ pedophile/ stalking/ rape/ domestic abuse)

A Bit Of My Recent Reading

I recently finished reading Tess Sharpe’s The Girls I’ve Been (January 26th), and it is fantastic and I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve been a fan of Sharpe’s crime novels for a bit, and my enthusiasm and expectations for this were high; she delivered in spades. If you’re a fan of Sadie and No Exit, I’d go ahead and make sure your library is going to get this one or preorder it–Future You will very much thank Past You. The quick gist is that a bank robbery goes terribly wrong with three 17-year-olds inside–two best friends and two dating–and they decide they have to do something to get out of the hostage situation. What almost no one knows is that one of them was raised by a conwoman and all of that knowledge is about to get put to the test. I love SO much about this thriller, including that Sharpe stepped right over every single trope and went in a different direction. It’s absolutely already one of my favorite books of 2021. (TW child, domestic, and partner abuse/ attempted child sexual assault)

And my current audiobook listens (attempts at a break from everything): The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth which is a fantastic YA romance with the best character voice from the first page. It has depth, dealing with a terminally ill mother and a father moving on, while also being hilarious and light as two teens decide to do cliché romcom dates over a summer. And my current Libro.fm listen is You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria which I’ve been milking for a while because I don’t want it to end. I get so few Latinas (and hilarious primas) in romcoms, and it’s funny, thoughtful, and sweet.

And yes, I know you’re here for crime, so back to crime. Here are two 2021 releases I just got my grabby hands early copies for, which I literally could not be more excited for: Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto and the sequel to The Missing American, Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey. Pretty sure these will be my weekend reading.

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.

Unusual Suspects

Historical & Remote Mystery For Escape Reading

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 20, 2020

Death in the East (Sam Wyndham #4) by Abir Mukherjee

This is a great historical series that follows a former Scotland Yard detective, Sam Wyndham, now leading a police force in British ruled Calcutta. And in this story we get to see him as a young constable in 1905 London in between the current 1922 chapters where Wyndham has traveled to an ashram where he plans to finally battle his opium addiction.

The past chapters in East London take you through his life, his relationship with a woman he fell in love with and was forced to break up with, and her murder that he finds himself needing to solve. The current chapters take you into an ashram led by an Englishman who converted to Hinduism and who is a monk offering a detox plan: one that we get to watch Wyndham go through. But this is a mystery series that does a great job of balancing character–and development–with solving crimes, so both past and present chapters have murder mysteries that will eventually collide…

A lot of series keep the lead character the same throughout, and that offers comfort in a way of always knowing what you’re getting, but I also love watching characters grow and change, which is something we get to see with Wyndham. This is a great historical mystery series that offers much of what fans of the genre look for while also being unique and fresh. Really recommend picking up A Rising Man if you’ve yet to start this series.

And for fans of Sergeant Surendranath Banerjee, you’ll have to wait most of the book for him but it’ll be worth the wait, plus I appreciate the author not forcing something that would have been unlikely. (TW domestic abuse, mostly alluded, not graphic or on page but throughout/ anti-Semitism/ mentions being suicidal in past, no detail)

One by One by Ruth Ware

I’ve read all of Ruth Ware’s mystery books because I always enjoy them, and I like that she changes the type of mystery from book to book. My first and favorite read has remained The Woman In Cabin 10 and now One by One has slid into second place–I am clearly a sucker for a remote mystery.

This one is for fans of Agatha Christie who want the And Then There Were None story set today. Basically you have a chalet where a tech company’s stakeholders have gathered for skiing and fighting over the company’s next step. As the title suggests, one by one they will start to die. There will also be an avalanche trapping the two chalet caretakers in with the guests who survived the avalanche…

If you listen to audiobooks I’d 100% go with that format as the narrator, Imogen Church, had me sold and invested in the characters’ inner thoughts, drama, and fear. This is the kind of book that, for me, offers an escape from the current world by sucking me in with a high stakes, page turning, what-is-happening plot, while also not being believable enough to make me fearful in real life. Ware also struck a good balance for me, which I find crucial in books where people are going to die, that you have a healthy dose of like and dislike to care enough to turn the page, but not be traumatized by the offings. (TW mentions past child abuse, not graphic/ discussion of possible suicide/ past attempted sexual assault briefly recounted, not graphic)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming releases for 2020 and 2021. 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, 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.

Unusual Suspects

Megan Abbott Has A New Novel Coming!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 15, 2020

Sponsored by Santa Monica by Cassidy Lucas and Harper Perennial.

On the western edge of Los Angeles is the beachside city of Santa Monica, where the sun-kissed, wealthy residents seem to inhabit real-life California dreams. When movie-star-handsome fitness coach Zack Doheny is found dead at his gym, the tragedy shocks the elite community. As the narrative flashes back to the months leading up to Zack’s death, it quickly becomes clear that things in this coastal paradise are not as glittering as they seem… Addictively suspenseful, sharply observed, hilarious, and compassionate, Santa Monica captures readers with propulsive storytelling alongside emotional urgency, irresistible characters, ambitious themes, and a vivid sense of place.

Hello mystery fans! It’s been another week so I’m back with a bunch of podcasts, roundups, giveaways, upcoming releases I’m super excited for, and Kindle ebook deals.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie appreciate talking about some good news and get into the fall spirit with some dark, creepy campus novels on the latest Read Or Dead.

Liberty and Vanessa chat I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan and In the Study with the Wrench: A Clue Mystery, Book Two by Diana Peterfreund on the latest All The Books!

(A handful of mystery/thrillers) October 2020 Earphones Award Winners

Ian Rankin: ‘I became a suspect in a real-life case while researching my first novel’ (This needed many followup questions!)

Nikki Dolson has a short story you can read right now: Liars, Killers and Thieves

If you missed the live conversation with mystery authors Kellye Garrett, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Valerie Wilson Wesley you can watch the recording here.

Crime Writers of Color podcast: Kim Johnson–This is My America

Crime Writers of Color podcast: Nikki Dolson–Love and Other Criminal Behavior

5 Spooky Books to Read This October

Megan Abbott has a new novel, The Turnout, publishing in 2021 and I am absurdly excited.

I’m also excited that Stacey Abrams has an upcoming political thriller: While Justice Sleeps

And some more muppet arms because S. A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland, has a new crime novel coming in 2021: Razorblade Tears

Agatha Christie’s Best Poirot Mysteries Other than Orient Express

Five excellent new thrillers and mysteries take us back to the pre-COVID-19 era

(Some true crime and mysteries) The Best Books to Elevate Your Reading List in 2020

Win a Book Lovers Puzzles Prize Pack

Enter to win a $250 Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Kindle Deals

A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder Cover

A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery Book 1) by Dianne Freeman

If you’re in need of a funny historical mystery that will feel like a cozy blanket around your soul here is one for $2.99 and there are 2 more books in the series out. (Review)

Lay Your Sleeping Head (Henry Rios Mysteries Book 1) by Michael Nava

All seven books in Henry Rios legal series are $3.99 right now so if you’re looking to marathon a series here you go.

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

If you’re looking for a unique character driven spy novel and love historical novels here’s one for $4.99. (TW suicide mention/ sexual harassment/ attempted rape)

Unusual Suspects

The Mysteries I Haven’t Gotten To Yet

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 13, 2020

Killer Kung Pao (A Noodle Shop Mystery #6) by Vivien Chien

This is one of those mouth watering cozy series that I just always enjoy. There’s a slow burn romance between Lana Lee (the young woman who moved back home who finds herself constantly solving mysteries while running her family’s Chinese restaurant) and a police detective. Plus, as you can imagine, yummy food.

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

All I know about this book is that it’s about an English professor who kills the man at her university she deems the worst every year. That’s all I need to know, I’m in!

The Coyotes of Carthage by Steven Wright

Here’s a political thriller that basically takes you behind the scenes of dark money politics as it follows a political consultant sent to Carthage, South Carolina for a campaign as punishment (maybe he can redeem himself) for a past mistake. “The goal: to manipulate the locals into voting in favor of the sale of pristine public land to the highest bidder.”

Is Rape a Crime?: A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto by Michelle Bowdler

Since the #metoo movement got widespread public attention there have been some excellent books including Know My Name by Chanel Miller. In Bowdler’s memoir she not only discusses her rape and recovery, but also takes a look at why, in our society, rape “is not treated as a crime of brutal violence but as a parlor game of he said / she said.”

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

This one sounds like the YA mysteries that fall in my wheelhouse: mystery + crime podcast. A young woman arrives at a small Hamptons village to be a summer nanny and ends up not only looking like a missing woman, but also confessing to the crime–eh, what?! Enter a podcaster who decides she’ll uncover the truth of what happened and why Zoe confessed.

Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong,Chi-Young Kim (Translator)

Jeong wrote The Good Son, so this naturally is a must-read for me. This time, we have the mystery of a young girl found dead and the three men somehow connected to the incident who start a cat and mouse game with each other to clear their own names without having to reveal what they are hiding. I am always here for a cat and mouse game.

I You We Them: Volume 1: Walking into the World of the Desk Killer by Dan Gretton

This is a memoir plus true crime mix, but the true crime part isn’t the usual. It’s a look into the people who were behind the orders of crimes against humanity so they essentially get to pretend their hands are clean– the “desk killers”. This is the kind of book that hits hard on the moral questions while shinning a light into the dark corners of our society.

Unusual Suspects

21 Lighthearted Cozy Mystery Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 8, 2020

Sponsored by The audiobook edition of Dear Child by Romy Hausmann, read by Nicky Diss, Jane Collingwood, & Simon Slater.

A woman held captive finally escapes—but can she ever really get away? Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, Romy Hausmann’s DEAR CHILD is a captivating thriller with all the ingredients of a breakout hit. You won’t want to miss this #1 internationally bestselling thriller where Gone Girl meets Room. Listen to DEAR CHILD by Romy Hausmann.

Hello mystery fans! It’s time for your news and roundup links, what to watch, and Kindle deals!

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

15 Detective Books for Young Sleuths

10 Great Books About Kid Detectives

5 of the Best Criminal Friendships

7 Unconventional HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES Adaptations

Riot Roundup: The Best Books We Read In July-Sept 2020

Here’s @crimebythebook with an IG Live Author Chat with Rachel Howzell Hall

Robert Downey Jr.’s third Sherlock Holmes film aims to kickstart Marvel-style ‘mystery-verse’

Top 10 underrated Agatha Christie novels

21 Lighthearted, Cozy Mystery Books to Settle Down With This Fall

Watch Now

Hulu: Agatha Christie’s Marple, British ITV television series loosely based on Christie’s book series and short stories is a completed series with 6 seasons. Watch the trailer here.

Kindle Deals

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar is $5.99!

For fans of Sadie, I loved this crime novel and it did not get the attention it should have. (Review) (TW sexual assault on page/ terminal illness/ past child abuse/ talk of suicide with some details)

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey is $4.99

For fans of investigative journalism here’s an in depth look at the Pulitzer-prize winning reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein’s years of abuse. (TW rape/ sexual harassment/ suicide attempt mentioned/ gaslighting)

When You Find Me by P. J. Vernon is $1.99!

For fans of psychological thrillers with bite! I look forward to his next book. (Review) (TW alcoholism/ pedophile/ animal cruelty)

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang is $1.99!

If you’re looking for a great historical mystery, and want to play vampires or human murderer this–and all of Kang’s mysteries–is great! (Review) (TW brief mention of past child abuse, detail/ brief mention of past partner abuse, familial abuse on page/ addiction/ brief mention past suicide; attempted suicide, detail/ attempted rape, on page; alludes to past rape)

Unusual Suspects

(10/7) 1920s Speakeasy Murder Mystery!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 6, 2020

Sponsored by Size Zero by Abigail Mangin.

Condom dresses and space helmets have debuted on fashion runways. A dead body becomes the trend when a coat made of human skin saunters down fashion’s biggest stage. The body is identified as Annabelle Leigh, the teenager who famously disappeared over a decade ago from her boyfriend’s New York City mansion. This new evidence casts suspicion back on the former boyfriend, Cecil LeClaire. Now a monk, he is forced to return to his dark and absurd childhood home to clear his name. He teams up with Ava Germaine, a renegade ex-model. And together, they investigate the depraved and lawless modeling industry behind Cecil’s family fortune.

Hello mystery fans! Do you know what is officially out in the world that you can go snag with your greedy little read-all-the-book hands? Tana French’s new standalone The Searcher (I’ll talk soon about it!) and Sherry Thomas’ 5th Lady Sherlock, Murder on Cold Street (Review). And if you were a fan of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton’s new historical mystery The Devil and the Dark Water is also out and sitting next to my bed. And now on to the books I have for you this week: the start to one of my favorite procedural series and a delightful historical mystery set in a speakeasy.

The Unquiet Dead cover image The Unquiet Dead (Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak #1) by Ausma Zehanat Khan: This is one of my all-time favorite series so I went looking to see if there is any book announcement for a 6th book. I did not find one, but it reminded me that I never read the first book in the series because I started with the second book–you already know I am like this. The thing with going back to start at the beginning of a series is that many times, for me, the first book is not as strong as the later books. Not the case at all with this series, Ausma Zehanat Khan hit a homer with her first book.

Esa Khattak is a second generation Canadian Muslim running a police unit focusing on community policing, which was recently created by the Canadian federal government. Khattak is perfect for this job as he understands the nuance and consideration (as does Ausma Zehanat Khan) that these complex cases need. One of his detectives is Rachel Getty, a cop’s daughter with family issues, who had seen her career sink after she’d filed a sexual harassment claim. But Khattak realized that meant she knew what it was like to not have your voice heard and requested her assigned to his unit.

Now they’re working on a case where they aren’t even sure why it’s a case: a man out for a walk fell to his death, and it was ruled an accident. But it turns out that Khattak knows one of the dead man’s neighbors, from his university days, and there’s a fiancé that may have stood to gain money, and something is off.

Ausma Zehanat Khan writes these great crime novels that spotlight history and modern issues that usually don’t get the attention they deserve. In this case we get flashback chapters about the 1990s Srebrenica massacre. I also adore Khattak and Getty’s relationship of trust, admiration, and friendship as they work to unravel cases. The audiobook has a lovely voiced narrator, Peter Ganim, and you have four more procedurals that follow for a great marathon. (TW child abuse/ war crimes, torture, rape camps/ pedophile not on page, discussed/ suicide, including past child, detail)

The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristin Lambert: If you want to be immediately transported to a 1920s speakeasy in New Orleans’ French Quarter, to solve a murder, run to this book.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1929 and Millie’s aunt has left her in charge of her speakeasy, Cloak & Dagger, for the first time. Of course everything is going wrong, starting with a group of wealthy patrons led by a socialite who is looking for a boy. Millie realizes Marion, the Cloak & Dagger’s drag performer, is the boy and tries to warn him someone is looking for him because she knows nothing about Marion’s life prior to arriving at the club and becoming her best friend. Cut to the socialite being found dead and Marion being suspect number one.

So Millie puts on her sleuthing, breaking-and-entering, cop-fighting hat and gets to proving that Marion couldn’t have done this. It won’t be easy though, seeing as her estranged mother has shown back up in her life, the speakeasy may be a friendly home to the queer community but the world isn’t, as much as she doesn’t want to she may be falling in love with a waitress, she has to rope in some friends to help her, and there’s a pesky cop that keeps standing in Millie’s way. This is a fun mystery with absolutely delightful characters that will make you swear you lived through the 1920s. Definitely pick this one up if you need an escape. (TW implied partner abuse/ homophobia)

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, 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.

Unusual Suspects

The Big Mysteries and Thrillers of Fall

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 1, 2020

Sponsored by Size Zero by Abigail Mangin.

Hi mystery fans! If you’re looking for distractions, I’ve got for you a bunch of links, a crime film adaptation, and a handful of ebook deals.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie pick up some fun Scooby-Doo themed books based on a listener request and get really excited about some recent reads on the latest Read Or Dead.

8 Books That Highlight How Broken the U.S. Criminal Justice System Is

8 Seriously Unnerving Science Thrillers

The Big Mysteries and Thrillers of Fall

Jordan Harper, the author of the fantastic crime novel She Rides Shotgun, tweeted that he turned in his next novel!

Thriller vs. Horror: Your Guide

Agatha Christie mysteries are still raking in the cash a century on

So sad (TW possible suicide, no details): Yuko Takeuchi, Japanese Actress of ‘Miss Sherlock’ and ‘Ring’, Dies at 40

Who Is Enola Holmes? 7 Facts About Nancy Springer’s Hit YA Book Series

The more you know: Kellye Garrett revealed she changed something in her novel to match the cover art.

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo–upcoming thriller about a serial killer after abusive men–has sold the rights, with Fargo attached to write and produce the pilot episode.

Win a year subscription to Audible

Watch Now

Netflix: Starring a full cast–including Bill Skarsgård, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson–the film adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s novel follows a group of characters from the end of WWII through the ’60s, including a husband-and-wife serial killers team. Watch the trailer here.

Kindle Deals

For gritty crime fans who want a modern day Sherlock: Righteous (IQ #2) by Joe Ide is $2.99! (Review) (Sorry don’t remember TW)

For a psychological thriller that just released: Girl Gone Mad by Avery Bishop is $4.99! (TW suicide–I haven’t read it, have no clue how it handles mental illness.)

For an Agatha Christie type mystery but on the Tour de France: The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda Patterson is $4.99! (Review)

For a French past-and-present will they get caught mystery: The Reunion by Guillaume Musso, Frank Wynne (Translator) is $2.99! (Review) (TW talk of rape/ suicide, thoughts/ teacher student relationship)

A true crime memoir for social science fans: Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and the Con Man I Almost Married by Abby Ellin is $2.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ rape/ briefly mentions cases with pedophile)

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, 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.