Category: Unusual Suspects

10 Great Historical Crime Novels

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 8, 2019

Another Favorite Australian Crime Writer

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 6, 2019

Sponsored by David Baldacci’s One Good Deed

It’s 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he’s sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do’s and a much longer list of don’ts. But the small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer’s years serving in the war or his time in jail. When a murder takes place right under Archer’s nose, police suspicions rise against the ex-convict, and Archer realizes that the crime could send him right back to prison . . . if he doesn’t use every skill in his arsenal to track down the real killer.

Hi mystery fans! I have a whodunnit on the Tour de France, an Australian crime novel, and a historical mystery for you this week!

A Whodunnit On The Tour de France!

The Black Jersey cover image The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda Patterson, Achy Obejas (Translation): I picked this up because of the author since I have zero interest in professional cycling and the Tour de France. I tell you this because if, like me, you don’t care about cycling this novel is still thoroughly enjoyable–including the interesting parts about the Tour de France and cycling. It’s kind of like Agatha Christie meets a sports memoir in a novel which turned out to be very entertaining. Marc, and his best friend, are racing on an elite Tour de France team when accidents start to happen. Accidents that sure could be construed as eliminating the competition. But whose competition? Asked by an investigator, because of his military background, Marc decides to secretly help the police investigate who may be committing these crimes… A good read if you’re looking for a whodunnit in a setting you haven’t read before, as the main character takes you into his current race, relationships (romantic and not), the investigation, and how his life led him into racing.

Past And Present Australian Crime! (TW suicide/ rape on page)

Second Sight cover image Second Sight by Aoife Clifford: Ever since reading Jane Harper I lunge for Australian crime novels and Clifford has fast become another favorite of mine. This one starts with action right from the start as Eliza Carmody is visiting her home town because of a case she’s on when she witnesses a crime. From there, the past and present are just two trains speeding towards each other! Carmody is a lawyer working on a case basically against the town she grew up in. The town where her father, and now brother-in-law, were/are the police. The town where her best friend disappeared from when they were teenagers, a case her father worked on. Now Carmody will have to deal with a town full of secrets about to find out who she’s working for, a sister she doesn’t get along with, a dying father, the crime she witnessed, and what really happened the night her best friend disappeared. This is a great crime read for fans of past and present chapters, missing person case, legal cases, towns reckoning with their past, and family drama. So good, I inhaled this one!

Unique-ish Historical Mystery!

lady in the lake by laura lippman Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman: This is a historical mystery with a suspenseful ending that I think will work really well for fans of historical novels and women trying to pave their way in the world. In Baltimore, 1966, Maddie Schwartz leaves her husband and decides to become a journalist. A tall order for the time. As she tries to fight her way into being taken serious as a newspaper journalist, and keep her sexcapades with a Black police officer secret, she’s haunted by the case of Cleo Sherwood–a dead woman police and journalist don’t seem to care about. While the novel focuses on Maddie’s “new life” and two murdered women cases there’s an undertone of noir threaded throughout and a really unique thing brings this Baltimore community to life: throughout the novel there are chapters that take you into random character’s lives, people who were just in contact with Maddie. From a jewelry store worker to whom Maddie tries to sell her engagement ring to a pervy movie theater patron. If you like to sink into a story, characters’ lives, and have a community and time period really come to life on the page, this is a great read. Also, the audiobook had a great narrator, Susan Bennett, who also narrated Sunburn.

Recent Releases

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (Looking forward to my library audiobook coming in! I’ve enjoyed all her books–In A Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman In Cabin 10–and this one is about a nanny in jail that slowly reveals what happened.)

Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron (TBR: A suspense about a professional organizer–with a hoarder husband–who finds herself possibly in criminal territory from new clients.)

Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman (Currently reading: Like gay Tinder meets a thriller!)

Bad Day at the Vulture Club cover image Bad Day at the Vulture Club (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation #5) by Vaseem Khan (Delightful series about an Indian P.I. with a baby elephant.)

Blackout (Pete Fernandez Mystery #4) by Alex Segura (Paperback) (Modern noir Miami P.I. series!) (TW pedophile)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

Unconventional Missing Person Stories

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 1, 2019

Sponsored by The Two Lila Bennetts by Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton

When she came to a crossroads, she took both paths. From bestselling authors Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton comes a riveting story of one woman’s past mistakes… with two unexpected endings. Read The Two Lila Bennetts. Prime members read for free.

Hello mystery fans!

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

10 YA Thrillers You Won’t Be Able to Put Down

7 Unconventional Missing Person Stories

(SPOILERS) VERONICA MARS Reminded Us It’s Noir And That’s Okay!

The millennial scammer is alive and well in these fascinating new books

The Dark History Behind the Year’s Bestselling Debut Novel

Rincey highlights a few new crime releases in this week’s New Release Tuesday.

Adaptations And News

Candace Cameron Bure Returns This Summer with Three New AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES

‘Orange Is The New Black’ Launches Foundation To Support Incarcerated Women

Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes 3 to Receive Near-Record $20.8 Million in California Tax Credits

True Crime

50 States of True Crime

20 Best True Crime Books That’ll Make You Want to Sleep With the Lights On

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ Tarantino and When Violence Against Women Is a Punchline

Kindle Deals

Yesterday by Felicia Yap is $3.99 if you’re looking for a unique thriller with bite! (Review) (I don’t remember if it has TW, sorry.)

The Widow by Fiona Barton is $1.99 if you’re looking for a twisty mystery! (Review) (I don’t remember if it has TW, sorry.)

The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman is $1.99 if you’re a literature fan and true crime fan. (Review) (TW suicide/ pedophile/ rape)

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

Audiobooks: Just started City of Windows by Robert Pobi so I’m about to find out if I can do a political thriller in our current climate. And The Whisper Man by Alex North which is a dark British serial killer novel because who likes to sleep without nightmares? I finished Daniel Nieh’s Beijing Payback, which had a great narrator, and traveled from the U.S. to Beijing (duh) and back as a college student learns of his father’s criminal involvement after his death. And I inhaled my mystery break Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon which was everything I wanted it to be.

I am super excited to have acquired these egalleys: Iced in Paradise (A Leilani Santiago Hawai’i Mystery) by Naomi Hirahara; Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel; Francesca Momplaisir’s My Mother’s House!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

My Kid Didn’t Do It!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 30, 2019

Hi mystery fans! Let’s say goodbye to July with a fun serial killer novel, a great legal mystery, and a slow-burn suspense about secrets.

Sponsored by The Hound of Justice by Claire O’Dell.

After the Brotherhood of Redemption extremists launched a failed assassination attempt on the president that caused mass destruction, covert agent Sara Holmes takes on the task of investigating the Brotherhood – then abruptly disappears. When Dr. Janet Watson receives a mysterious message that Holmes’ disappearance might be connected to the Brotherhood and to Adler Industries, Watson goes on a high-stakes mission to reunite with Holmes once more. It is a thrilling, action-packed journey through the deep South to clear Holmes’s name, thwart the Brotherhood’s next move, and bring their nemesis to justice for the atrocities she’s committed in the New Civil War.

Fun Serial Killer! (TW child abuse/ stalking/ suicide/ past domestic abuse mentioned)

Find You In The Dark cover image Find You In The Dark by Nathan Ripley: This really worked for my need for a novel that would let me disconnect from stress and all the horrible things happening, which you may be raising an eyebrow at me considering this is a serial killer book but it’s like watching shows like Castle and Dexter where it isn’t believable enough so it gets to be fun. Yes, you can judge me. Anyhoo, I really liked the premise of this one: Martin Reese pays a cop for unsolved cases and then solves the part of finding where the body is buried, which he then calls into the cops anonymously. No one, including his wife and teen daughter, know what he does. But he’s only going to get to play vigilante for so long before he’ll have to answer questions and possibly pay with his life because his crooked cop partner is questioning their arrangement and a killer is not happy with him finding buried bodies… I like that this gave us a romantic relationship between two cops looking into this case–including the hardship of dating in their profession–and a balance between Martin’s body-hunting/mental rationalizing he’s doing good work and his relationship with his wife and daughter.

Legal Mystery! (TW child murder/ discussion of statutory rape/ pedophile/ homophobia/ fat shaming/ suicide)

Defending Jacob cover image Defending Jacob by William Landay: This is one of those solid mysteries from beginning to end that follows an assistant district attorney working on a murdered teen boy case when his son is arrested for the crime. I know! It takes you through the whole thing, which procedural fans will appreciate, as Andy Barber works on the case–from interviewing fellow students of the murdered child to harassing a pedophile he thinks is responsible–then follows as he has to hire a lawyer for his son’s defense case, that case, and him being a witness in court. You get a lot of good court scenes, an entire book of “did he or didn’t he,” and a look at how something like this affects and changes a family. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Apple streaming adaptation of this book which will have Chris Evans playing Andy Barber–so very much here for his “my kid didn’t do it” portrayal. And Michelle Dockery will play the wife, whose character I loved and she’s fantastic in Good Behavior so really we’re about to find out how good Apple is at adaptations.

Slow-burn Suspense! (TW past domestic violence/ fat shamming/ alcoholism/ eating disorder/ statutory rape)

Never Have I Ever cover image Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson: If you’ve been following along for a bit you know I like a lot of things in this book: slow reveal of past incident; secrets coming to get you; slow-burn suspense; interesting job. And since I read a lot of these types of novels it’s always a bonus to find one that feels different in a way. This one surprised me with a few turns it took and I really loved the stepmother and daughter relationship which in itself went against the tired evil-mom trope. We start with a group of women at a book club who end up playing a “have you ever” type game that has ramifications when one woman uses it to blackmail another woman: Amy Whey, a scuba instructor and mom, is suddenly faced with the predicament of what would she do to keep her past a secret? Except this isn’t the over-the-top Lifetime thriller type plot (not that I don’t like those too) which looks at quite a few things including how long do we have to pay for terrible mistakes? This one works really well for fans of slow-burn suspense, secrets, and domestic dramas. I also really enjoyed the audiobook–narrated by the author!–which is one of the very few audiobooks where child voices are done that did not annoy me at all!

Recent Releases

A Capitol Death cover image A Capitol Death (Flavia Albia Mystery #7) by Lindsey Davis (Historical mystery set in ancient Rome that caught my attention so I just got the first in the series: The Ides of April.)

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena (In a NY suburban neighborhood a teen has been breaking into homes and learning everyone’s secrets… Author of The Couple Next Door and An Unwanted Guest.)

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Paperback) (One of my favorite reads–Review) (TW child abuse/ domestic abuse/ rape)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

15 Must-Read Thriller Books of 2019

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 25, 2019

Starts With A Murderer’s Confession…

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 23, 2019

If Crime Novels Were Food 🥡🔪

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 18, 2019

Hello mystery fans!

Sponsored by TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations

TBR is Book Riot’s new subscription service offering Tailored Book Recommendations for readers of all stripes. Been dreaming of a “stitchfix for books?” Now it’s here! Tell TBR about your reading preferences and what you’re looking for, and sit back while your Bibliologist handpicks recommendations just for you. TBR offers plans to receive hardcover books in the mail or recommendations by email, so there’s an option for every budget. Sign up here.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

If Crime Novels Were Food

9 reasons Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels are actually fantasy

7 Thrilling Page-to-Screen Adaptations You Cannot Miss in 2019

Havana to Miami: Crime Fiction Across the Straits of Florida

Midcoast mystery writer keeps unleashing his passion for dogs

News And Adaptations

Lashana Lynch will be ‘introduced to Bond 25 audiences as the new 007′ (Give Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Lashana Lynch the keys to the franchise!)

Mindhunter season 2 premiere date set, Jonathan Groff will hunt more minds this August

‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2 Turmoil: Inside Andrea Arnold’s Loss of Creative Control

Amazon Developing Jack Reacher Drama Series From Nick Santora Based On Lee Child Books

‘Killing Eve’ Looks To Avenge Last Year’s Emmy Disappointment As Brit Spy Series Scores Nine Nominations Including Best Drama Series & Two Lead Actress Nods

True Crime

7 Best True Crime Books Written By Women, Because These Reads Will Have You Gripped

Vatican mystery deepens over 15-year-old girl missing since 1983; bones found

Spy Series Based on Real-Life ‘Isdal Woman’ Mystery in the Works

Kindle Deals

Death Notice cover image Looking for a cat-and-mouse thriller? Death Notice by Zhou Haohui, Zac Haluza (Translation) is $4.99 and super good. (Review) (TW suicide/ rape)

For a fun locked-room mystery that is also equal parts “chick lit” I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Bourland is $1.99! (Review) (I don’t have notes on TW for this one so it may not have any or I wasn’t keeping notes then–sorry!)

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

Have I mentioned my only goal this summer is as much pool reading as possible? (Beijing Payback by Daniel Nieh; Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson; Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman) And of course I’m flipping between print and audiobook on those three.

Also on audio: I just finished, and really liked, When I Am Through with You by Stephanie Kuehn. Starting Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translation), because I am OBSESSED with the title. And my current nonfic is Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire by Elaine Shannon.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

Scandinavian Whydunnit 🔪

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 16, 2019

Hi mystery fans! This week I have for you a dark Japanese crime novel, a historical mystery, and a Scandinavian whydunnit.

Sponsored by A Murder On Jane Street by Cathy Cash Spellman.

A brutal murder.
A heinous secret.
A deadly conspiracy.
The brutal murder of the little old lady next door puts FitzHugh Donovan on the case. A retired New York City Police Chief, he knows a cover-up when he sees one and his Irish Cop conscience can’t let that happen. Now, Fitz, his family and his quirky band of Bleecker Street Irregulars are ensnared in the bizarre secret the woman died to protect. Is this a cold case turned hot again, or an unspeakable conspiracy that could alter the course of history?”

Dark Japanese Crime Novel! (TW rape/ past suicide attempt/ graphic violence/ statutory relationship)

In the Miso Soup cover image In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami, Ralph McCarthy (Translator): If you’ve been listening to me blab about crime books for a while you know my love for Japanese crime novels, and here’s another great one. Once again we have a crime novel that doesn’t use guns, is dark, explores Japanese subculture, and compares U.S. and Japanese societies. This one is a quick read that starts with an American in Japan hiring a tour guide for the sex industry in Tokyo. But from the beginning Kenji starts to feel like something is off with Frank, and while he doesn’t care at first, as the night continues he starts to question whether he’s in danger and you start to feel his dread… This one also works for fans of psychological thrillers since as the night progresses we’re really in Kenji’s mind, and it works for horror fans who like the exploration of a killer’s mind.

Historical Crime Novel! (TW there are brief mentions of news headlines containing rape and suicide)

Girl Waits With Gun cover image Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters #1) by Amy Stewart: This one straddled a line between historical mystery and cozy mystery with a dash of crime novel and family drama–and I loved it. In the early 1900’s Constance Kopp and her sisters live together, unmarried, since their mother’s passing when they find themselves in a buggy accident. When Constance tries to get the man who caused the accident to pay for the damage she sets off a chain of events that puts the sisters in danger and also places Constance on the path of trying to find a missing child. You get to know the sisters, especially in a past storyline, while following as Constance navigates a tough world for a single woman who needs to find a way to make a living. This really sets up how she comes to be in a position of working in law enforcement, and it’s based on the true story of one of the first woman deputy sheriff’s in the U.S. I especially recommend the audiobook narrated by Christina Moore, who also narrated The Spellman Files, if you like to feel like you’re friends with the character as they tell you their story.

Multi-Point Of View, Scandinavian Whydunnit! (TW rape on page, statutory/ domestic abuse/ partner abuse)

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson, Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translation): This is another crime drama that blends a few things well: family drama; courtroom trial; whydunnit; told in three sections from three different points of view. We start with a pastor, husband, father, whose eighteen-year-old daughter is on trial for murder. Then we get Stella’s story from jail as she meets with her lawyer, tells us about her parents, her best friend, and the man she was dating. Finally, we hear from Stella’s mother, who is a lawyer, as the trial comes to its conclusion. This was another great audiobook that had a different narrator for each character’s section.

Upcoming Titles

It’s summer and publishing takes a bit of a power nap before all the fall releases so rather than new releases this week I’m going to highlight two upcoming 2020 titles I’m excited for, and that you should have on your radar: Kwei Quartey, author of the Darko Dawson police procedural, will start a new P.I. series set in Ghana with The Missing American. And we’re getting a sequel to Two Girls Down which will take us to San Diego with Alice Vega: The Janes. If you’ve yet to read either author’s previous work I very much recommend you do so while you wait for their upcoming titles!

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

“I Will Keep Doing Veronica Mars Until Everyone in Neptune Is Dead”

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 11, 2019

Hi mystery fans!

Sponsored by Book Riot’s Amazon store. Shop our favorite summer reads (including some of our favorite books of 2019 so far), bookish accessories, deals, and more.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

United States of a Mystery: Essential Illinois Crime Fiction

50 Must-Read Crime Titles from July and August 2019

I Read the Unpublished MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Novel And I Must Scream

Kristen Bell: ‘I Will Keep Doing Veronica Mars Until Everyone in Neptune Is Dead’

Rincey and Katie talk mystery news, rereading Nancy Drew, and new releases in the latest Read or Dead.

Sarah Lyu’s New YA Thriller ‘The Best Lies’ Was Inspired By A Gruesome True Crime, ‘Kill Bill,’ And Harry Potter

Adaptation And News

New ‘Goldie Vance’ and ‘Fence’ novels announced by Little, Brown and Boom! Studios (Lilliam Rivera wrote Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit so I did a lot of muppet arms and is it March 2020 yet?!)

Rachel Howzell Hall has an upcoming cat and mouse P.I. novel and I want it so bad!

Why on Earth Did Big Little Lies Cut That Deranged Ice-Cream Scene?

Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn slams theory novel is related to missing woman case

‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ Producer Riza Aziz Arrested In Malaysia, Will Face Money Laundering Charges

Rami Malek Demanded His Bond Villain Had No Religious Or Ideological Affiliations

Kindle Deals

If you’re looking for a great procedural One Small Sacrifice (Shadows of New York #1) by Hilary Davidson is $4.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ PTSD)

Goldie Vance Volume 1 by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams is currently $2.34 and it’s a great read for Nancy Drew fans. And for less than $3 it’s a perfect way to dip your toes into reading graphic novels and see what you’re missing out on.

I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie is $4.99 is a good read if you’re looking for a past mystery, family drama set at camp! (Review) (TW suicide)

Audiobooks On Hoopla (If you don’t know about Hoopla)

Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth cover image Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth (Review) (TW for racism/ antisemitism/ xenophobia)

It All Falls Down (Nora Watts #2) by Sheena Kamal (Review) (TW rape/ suicide)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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

Hello, Page-Turner! 🔪

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date July 9, 2019

Hello mystery fans! This week I have for you a Southern lit mystery, a favorite P.I., and a page-turner that ended nowhere near where it began.

Sponsored by Cold Aim by Janice Cantore, new in paperback from Tyndale House Publishers.

Southern Lit With Past Mystery (TW past child abuse/ suicide/ dog harmed–you’ll see it coming and it’s skippable)

the gone dead cover image The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz: I took a Southern lit course in college I loved so I gravitated toward this one RUL fast. Billie James returns to Mississippi for the first time since childhood after her mother’s passing, which left her her father’s property. Her father was a poet and activist who died when she was four years old and there’s always been a strange mystery surrounding his death. Her return will dredge up the past–of course–thanks to neighbors who used to own her family, seeing relatives she hasn’t seen since she was a child, and a researcher looking to write a book on her father. James will not only have to question everything she knew at the time of her father’s death and since, while also coming face-to-face with the racism of the past and present. This character-driven, past mystery is a great read for fans of Southern lit. And, this really should have been the lead, Bahni Turpin narrates the audiobook. If she narrates I will listen!

Great P.I. Series (TW suicide/ discussion of eating disorder)

The Stories You Tell cover image The Stories You Tell (Roxane Weary #3) by Kristen Lepionka: This continues to be a series that makes me anticipate the next read and keep up-to-date with. If you’ve yet to start this one, and are a fan of P.I. stories, go pick up The Last Place You Look because you should really read from the beginning to see Weary’s character growth. This time around she’s more settled, including with her ex-girlfriend, now girlfriend again–they’re even double dating. Anyhoo, while Weary is trying to focus on a case about a business owner trying to track down counterfeit merch, she ends up really having to figure out what happened to the woman who disappeared from her brother’s home… This series, and book, works great if you’re a fan of P.I. stories with thrilling endings, family drama, struggling characters you root for, good twisty mysteries, and a modern facelift to the comfort of P.I. genre tropes. Look how many things there are to love!

A Past Mystery + A Will They Get Caught Crime Novel (TW talk of rape/ suicide, thoughts/ teacher student relationship)

The Reunion cover image The Reunion by Guillaume Musso: This ended up being really fun for me because I swear I started this with it being one thing, and then it’s like I was asked to change rides at one point and strapped in for something else. And since you know I hate to give anything away I’m only going to focus on the beginning of this story: Two men return to their prep school’s reunion twenty-five years later, not so much for the reunion but because the gym is going to be renovated and the body they hid in there is gonna be discovered! So they have one weekend to figure out what to do, if anything, before their lives are never the same again–except there is more to the story. They know one of the missing people was murdered, because they committed the crime, but everyone thinks that person is missing along with a student. But what happened to the missing student that day?… I read this in almost one sitting while floating in the pool because hello, page-turner!

Recent Releases

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar (Reading: Friend searching for missing friend–this one was highly recommended to me.)

The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Reading: bananapants setup that is a page-turning thriller.)

Knife (Harry Hole #12) by Jo Nesbø (Scandinavia procedural thriller series.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And 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.