Category: Unusual Suspects

33 Highly Anticipated Crime Novels

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 24, 2019

Hi mystery fans! If it’s cold where you are, I hope you have the warmest Snuggie and a good book!

Historical Mystery, Small-Town Procedural, Missing Persons

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 22, 2019

Hi mystery fans! This week I have a historical mystery, a small-town procedural, and a missing persons mystery.

Sponsored by our Unusual Suspects giveaway of $100 to the bookstore of your choice!

We’re giving away $100 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter to win by signing up for Unusual Suspects, our mystery/thriller newsletter about new releases, book recommendations, book deals, and more. Enter here.

Historical Mystery (TW suicide/ pedophile–not graphic)

A Beautiful Poison cover image A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang: I loved Kang’s last novel, The Impossible Girl, so as soon as I finished that I went looking for more of her writing–and now I have a new author to love. This is set in New York in 1918 and follows three childhood friends, who have lost touch, brought back together to solve a murder. Allene is wealthy, engaged, and bored–so clearly the one who wants to play detective. Birdie is working at a factory, struggling to feed her little sister, and Jasper is working as a janitor, hoping to go to medical school one day and avoid the draft. While the deadly Spanish influenza is killing people Allene, Jasper, and Birdie are realizing that some deaths are murder and not sickness… This was a great read that showed you each character’s private struggles along with how childhood bonds evolve, break, repair, and change through life–all while staying focused on the mystery and teaching you some chemistry along the way.

Missing Persons Mystery

The Suspect by Fiona Barton cover image The Suspect (Kate Waters #3) by Fiona Barton: First, for any readers who may skip this thinking it’s the third in the series, the books are connected by a reporter character but read as standalones, so this series works both for standalone readers and series readers. What I really like about Barton’s novels is she creates unrelated characters and slowly starts weaving everyone together. This time there are two families who haven’t heard from their just-graduated-from-high-school daughters and aren’t sure what to do since they’re in England and their daughters are in Thailand. Journalist Kate Waters, with a somewhat missing son of her own, goes searching for answers along with DI Bob Sparkes, whose wife is terminally ill. Told in present, from multiple POV, it also weaves in one of the missing girl’s journals, which tells a very different trip from what they’d been reporting back home and posting on social media…

Procedural (TW suicide/ gambling addiction/ ableism)

Lost Lake by Emily Littlejohn Lost Lake (Detective Gemma Monroe #3) by Emily Littlejohn: This procedural follows Detective Gemma Monroe in Cedar Valley, Colorado. She’s a recent mom, has a fiancé, has a bit of an obnoxious work partner, and a grandmother with dementia. While juggling all those things she takes the case of a missing woman who was camping with her boyfriend and friends. Then there’s a museum theft and a murder and Monroe must figure out if the cases are related or not–all while trying to figure out who in her department is leaking information to the media. This gives you a good amount of procedural, as she tries to figure out what is happening, while also giving you scenes of her private life, but it never becomes a character driven novel. What I liked about Monroe was that she makes mistakes while investigating, as I imagine happens more often than we see with fictional detectives, and watching her try to balance her personal life with the work hours of a detective who can’t let go of cases. I jumped in here with the series and wasn’t lost at all. She gives you brief summaries of past cases without revealing the solve, and gives you enough information to know why her personal relationships are where they are.

Recently Released

The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2) by Maureen Johnson (TBR: I’ve been really looking forward to this sequel since the first book, Truly Devious, ended on a cliffhanger!)

The Smiling Man (Aidan Waits Thriller #2) by Joseph Knox (TBR: Procedural set in Manchester.)

The Hangman’s Secret (Victorian Mystery #3) by Laura Joh Rowland (Currently reading: Historical mystery, with characters I really like who photograph crime scenes and play detective.)

The Burning Island cover image The Burning Island (Charlie Cates #3) by Hester Young(TBR: A journalist who has visions/dreams that lead her to find missing children.)

The Current by Tim Johnston (TBR: “One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them.”)

Golden State by Ben H. Winters (TBR: Dystopian-mystery/speculative-mystery)

The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) by Alan Bradley (TBR: Flavia is a delightful child chemist who runs towards solving murders.)

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

Fiction’s First Lesbian Private Eye

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 17, 2019

Hello mystery fans! It’s the weekend and I’m excited to watch the start of True Detective‘s third season and read every book–every single one is my goal! Hope you have a good book or are out being your best Scooby gang–that makes sense in my head.

Flatiron Books, publishers of As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney

You can’t be married to someone without sometimes wanting to kill them…As Long As We Both Shall Live is JoAnn Chaney’s wicked, masterful examination of a marriage gone very wrong, a marriage with lots of secrets.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

3 Fun & Light Mysteries Rincey Recently Read

Caleb Roehrig Talks About His New Novel Death Prefers Blondes

10 British Crime Shows You Can Watch On Netflix

Alice Feeney’s psychological thriller Sometimes I Lie is being adapted by Ellen Degeneres’ production company and Sarah Michelle Geller will star in and executive produce.

Best-selling author Sherrilyn Kenyon tells fans she suspects her husband poisoned her

An excerpt from Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and the Con Man I Almost Married by Abby Ellin

Here’s an awesome Kickstarter: A new graphic novel based on the 1978 series by Eve Zaremba starring Helen Keremos, crime fiction’s first lesbian private eye.

AND get the muppet arms ready because we get to read Attica Locke’s Bluebird Bluebird sequel this year!

Kindle Deals

Meddling Kids cover image Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero is $2.99 if you’re looking for a modern twist on the Scooby-Doo gang.

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele is $2.99 if you’re in the mood for a suspenseful new take on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.

Broken Places by Tracy Clark is $2.99 (which I just reviewed this week) if you haven’t gotten it yet it is beyond worth this ridiculous sales price.

Some Books I Acquired This Week

I just got galleys for House Of Beauty by Melba Escobar (which is pitched as “Narcos meets Claws in this thought-provoking Colombian crime novel set in and around a beauty salon in Bogotá.”); The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda (Miranda is an author I follow because I’ve enjoyed all her mysteries so far); The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides on audiobook (a thriller a fellow Rioter really enjoyed, which is all I needed to know.)

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

Deliciously Twisted Fun!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 15, 2019

Hello mystery fans! This week I have for you a great PI I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of, a deliciously evil thriller, and a missing persons mystery.

Sponsored by Last Woman Standing by Amy Gentry

Dana Diaz is an aspiring stand‑up comedian—a woman in a man’s world. When she meets a tough computer programmer named Amanda Dorn, the two bond over their struggles in boys’ club professions. Dana confides that she’s recently been harassed and assaulted while in L.A., and Amanda comes up with a plan: they should go after each other’s assailants, Strangers on a Train–style. But Dana finds that revenge, however sweet, draws her into a more complicated series of betrayals. Soon her distrust turns to paranoia, encompassing strangers, friends—and even herself. At what cost will she get her vengeance? Who will end up getting hurt? And when it’s all over, will there be anyone left to trust?

I Want The Next Book Now! (TW suicide)

Broken Places cover image Broken Places (A Chicago Mystery #1) by Tracy Clark: I’d been craving a solid mystery from beginning to end for a while now, and finally a book delivered! This starts with Cass Raines as a police officer, but after a traumatic work incident she quits the force and starts her own Private Detective firm in Chicago. When the priest who helped raise her is murdered, she’s forced to deal with a cop she hates, while stopping at nothing to find out what happened. I love Raines character, her heart and humor, and really enjoyed how the novel takes you through her process of searching for clues and witnesses. And it isn’t a simple case of “this clue lead to this, and this, and bingo.” She also has her ex-partner as a friend, a childhood friend, and a nun who are great for witty banter; interesting characters; and found family. If you’re looking for a good mystery, don’t miss this one.

Deliciously Twisted Fun! (TW suicide/ rape/ revenge porn/ domestic violence)

As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney: If you’re a fan of thrillers get thee this book now without knowing anything about it–trust me! For everyone else going, “Yeah, no, you’re going to have to tell me more,” here’s my leaving-everything-I-can-out review: There’s a dude whose first wife died in a house fire and his current wife just fell to her death while on a hike. As you can imagine, the cops have their eyebrows raised at him because that’s a hell of a coinkydink, dude! You get a detective character who I loved (she’s smart and by the book and patient) trying to figure out what happened on this hike, while also bringing in a pure a-hole detective character from Chaney’s previous book, What You Don’t Know, who has a past mystery of his own coming to get him. This book is a wicked page-turner, dripping in dark humor, and a hell of a ride you won’t realize you are on until it’s too late to get off. So strap-in, and read this before anyone spoils the fun.

Return To Small-Town Mystery (TW physical child abuse/ stalking)

The Disappearing cover image The Disappearing by Lori Roy: I inhaled this audiobook since it gave me a few things I always like: good, multiple narrators; small-town secrets; multiple POV–and it just happened that while I was watching You on Netflix, one of the points-of-view in the book happened to be a similar voice as Joe, so I was curious to see how that turned out. Lane, a former journalist, returns to her small Florida hometown with her two daughters after her divorce. It is not a fun homecoming being that the town still remembers when Ted Bundy came through, and her father was accused of horrible crimes. Then Lane’s daughter goes missing… If you’re a fan of small-town mysteries with thriller endings, secrets, and watching characters wrestle with their own demons this was a good read and listen.

Recent Releases

no exit by taylor adams cover image No Exit by Taylor Adams (TBR: Group-of-strangers-snowed-in-and-there’s-a-kidnapper-amongst-them thriller and one young woman is going to attempt to go all John McClane (Die Hard) on the situation.)

Mala Vida by Marc Fernandez, Molly Grogan (Translator) (TBR: Spanish noir starring a reporter looking into murders.)

No Mercy (Ellery Hathaway #2) by Joanna Schaffhausen (TBR: Police procedural. “Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it.”)

Last Woman Standing by Amy Gentry (TBR: Author of Good As Gone‘s new thriller about two women out for revenge using the Strangers on a Train method.)

No Sunscreen for the Dead (Serge A. Storms #22) by Tim Dorsey (TBR: Satirical mysteries set in Florida with a vigilante serial killer and plenty of mayhem.)

Dupe cover image Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and the Con Man I Almost Married by Abby Ellin (TBR: True crime memoir)

The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk (Thriller following an FBI agent hunting a Russian mole.)

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene (Domestic thriller)

The Liar’s Room by Simon Lelic (Psychological thriller)

Now Out In Paperback

Two Girls Down cover image Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna (Review) (TW child cruelty/ pedophilia/ suicidal thoughts)

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian (Review) (TW date rape)

Macbeth by Jo Nesbø

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser (Review) (TW suicide discussion/ domestic abuse)

The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen

The Elizas by Sara Shepard (TW: suicide)

The Legacy (Children’s House #1) by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir,Victoria Cribb (Translator) (Review) (TW incestuous 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

All About Eve

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 10, 2019

Hi mystery fans!

Sponsored by our Unusual Suspects giveaway of $100 to the bookstore of your choice!

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

You can see all the 2019 books Rioters are excited for including a section of mystery/thrillers.

Speaking of 2019 mystery and thrillers, Rincey and Katie talked about what they’re looking forward to in the latest Read or Dead.

Karen M. McManus Takes Readers Inside Her Latest YA Thriller

‘The Likeness’ By Tana French Is The Novel I’m So Jealous You Get To Read For The First Time

7 Spy Romance Novels To Pick Up

Changing the Face of Crime Fiction: 6 Writers of Color on Writing Mysteries, Crime Novels and Thrillers

Adaptations And News

Love this promo image for the upcoming Big Little Lies season two.

All the congratulations to Sandra Oh for winning the Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Drama for her role on Killing Eve. The show is so good that even Netflix told people to watch it even though it’s streaming on rival Hulu.

Speaking of watching Killing Eve we now have a premiere date for season 2: April 7 at 8 p.m. ET on BBC America. April can’t get here fast enough.

The trailer for the new Carmen Sandiego is here and one Rioter discusses her feels and thoughts.

Kindle Deals

A Quiet Place cover image A Quiet Place by Seicho Matsumoto, Louise Heal Kawai (Translation) is $1.99 and great for fans of slow-burn suspense with a punch.

And if you’re looking for a British procedural with a criminal psychologist: Insidious Intent (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #10) by Val McDermid is $1.99 !

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

I got my hands on two galleys I’m super excited to read: Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon (May 14, Cinco Puntos Press) and The Plotters by Un-su Kim (January 29, Doubleday). The first follows a young Chippewa woman who “begins to dream the Cities and blonde Scandinavian girls calling for help” and the second is “an alternate Seoul where assassination guilds compete for market dominance.”

I just downloaded two audiobooks: Tana French’s 1st mystery In the Woods in preparation for the upcoming adaptation series; Black Edge by Sheelah Kolhatkar since I’m still obsessed with nonviolent true crime.

And I’m halfway through two novels I’m currently loving: Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal (my mystery break read) and Broken Places (A Chicago Mystery #1) by Tracy Clark.

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

Publishing Is Awake Again!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 8, 2019

Hello mystery fans! This week I’ve got for you a PI with action scenes, small-town mystery, and a great crime novel–plus, a bunch of new releases now that publishing is back to full production mode!

Sponsored by our Unusual Suspects giveaway of $100 to the bookstore of your choice!

PI & Action!–Would Make A Great TV Show Adaptation (TW suicide/ human trafficking/ rape)

Lives Laid Away cover image Lives Laid Away (August Snow #2) by Stephen Mack Jones: If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while now you know I’m a fan of ’80s/’90s action movies and mystery/thrillers that are either that in book form or have scenes like that. Jones has created a great character, community, mystery, and tossed in some action scenes which I love! August Snow is a former Detroit cop living in Mexicantown, Detroit, where he helps take care of the community, and works as a PI. He’s asked to look into the death of an unknown Hispanic woman who is pulled from the Detroit river dressed as Marie Antoinette. That’s only the beginning of the problems though, as ICE has been spending too much time harassing residents, and Snow and his friends are trying to protect their community and residents. I really like that the book brings to life this community made up of many different races and ethnicities, while weaving in Snow’s PI work, and ramping up the action scenes. It’s in no way a realistic look at the FBI or a procedural but who expects that in action movies?–Not I! Definitely pick up this series if you’re a fan of Joe Ide’s IQ series. If you’ve read neither, here’s a perfect chance to pick up two great new PI series where the leads are very different from each other but the communities are similar. (Reads as a standalone.)

Small-Town, Unsolved Mysteries

Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus: Ellery and her twin brother, Ezra, are forced to move to her mother’s small-town, Echo Ridge, with their grandmother when their mother is sent to rehab. This is the small-town where Ellery’s aunt disappeared in high school, where, five years ago, Lacey was murdered, and now another girl has disappeared. It’s a family, and town, of secrets and Ellery is obsessed with true crime so she’s gonna start poking around… This was a page-turner for me since I really liked the twin characters, found it mindful of the “dead girl” trope, and enjoyed the alternating point-of-view between Ellery and Malcolm–the younger brother of the always suspected murderer of Lacey. If you’re looking for a twisty mystery ride, pick this one up–and the audiobook had good narrators that especially brought Ellery to life.

Great Crime Novel! (TW rape/ domestic abuse/ addiction/ pedophile)

Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe: This one put its claws in me from the first line: “I’m eight years old the first time I watch my daddy kill a man.” Harley McKenna is raised as the only child of widow Duke McKenna, the violent top-dog criminal of North County. And he raises her to survive anything–including his enemies coming to harm her. A tough and gritty read as adult Harley struggles with how much of her mother she is–including running the motel for abused women seeking help–and how much of her violent criminal father she is. She’s now reached a part of life where she must decide what will happen next, and she’s got a plan, but will anyone come out of it alive? I loved Harley, who isn’t a tough girl character just in term, but a very real character that has been shaped by her life and is doing her best to not only survive but to just be. I really love Sharpe’s writing of girls and women and look forward to more from her. If I’d gotten to this one last year it definitely would have been on my 2018 favorites list. Can’t recommend enough if you’re a fan of dark crime shows like Ozarks.

Recent Releases

An Anonymous Girl cover image An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen (TBR: from the authors of Wife Between Us this looks to be another twisty thriller.)

Scrublands by Chris Hammer (Australian mystery with a journalist lead.) (TW mass shooting/ pedophile/ PTSD/ rape/ animal cruelty/ suicide/ domestic violence)

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks (TBR: child abduction thriller)

The Paragon Hotel cover image The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye (TBR: historical mystery that 100% has my attention: “The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong.”)

Amsterdam Noir by René Appel (Editor), Josh Pachter (Editor)

Sydney Noir by John Dale (Editor)

Burned cover image Burned: A Story of a Murder and the Crime that Wasn’t by Edward Humes (TBR: true crime)

Freefall by Jessica Barry (TBR: a thriller that follows estranged mother and daughter starting with a plane crashing that the daughter is on.)

Tangerine by Christine Mangan (Paperback) (Slow-burn suspense–Full review) (TW suicide)

Force of Nature cover image Force Of Nature (Aaron Falk #2) by Jane Harper (Paperback) (Great Australian procedural series–Full review) (TW eating disorder)

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

How Indigenous Reporters Are Elevating True Crime

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 3, 2019

Hi mystery fans! We survived the first week of a new year so I give everyone permission to cancel all weekend plans, build a bookfort, and do you.

Just for Book Riot readers: sign up for an Audible account, and get two audiobooks free!

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie discuss their favorite mystery and thrillers from 2018 on Read or Dead.

Indie Press Polis Launches Diversity-Focused Crime Imprint Agora Books

5 Murder Mystery Books By Women To Bring A Chill To Your New Year

13 mystery books for the thrill-seeker on your list

“The Harris Company, has optioned the crime series Darby Holland from veteran tattoo artist and crime novelist Jeff Johnson for six-figures in a bidding war that took place over the holiday.”

True Crime

True-life arson mystery ignites ‘The Library Book’

How Indigenous reporters are elevating true crime

DNA in the dock: Crime dramas such as CSI are leading to more innocent people being convicted as juries become disproportionately influenced by forensic evidence, claims professor

Kindle Deals

The Unquiet Dead cover image The Unquiet Dead (Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak #1) by Ausma Zehanat Khanis $2.99 and a great series that I love–perfect if you like police procedurals, traveling to different countries, and current social issues. (TW there are triggers throughout the series because it deals with serious issues but I don’t remember specifics, I’m sorry.)

If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin is $1.99 (Suspenseful mystery which also works for literary fans–Full review) (TW suicide)

Overturned by Lamar Giles is $1.99 and one of my favorite crime novels of 2017–Full review.

A Bit Of My Week In Books

invisible by stephen l carter I’m currently listening to two audiobooks: Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L. Carter–A really good biography, not only about Eunice Hunton Carter but that also delves into US history of racism and intersectional feminism; The Disappearing by Lori Roy–Small town (Florida) mystery with missing girls that starts with a strong voice.

I downloaded a galley of Carmilla by Kim Turrisi because I saw the words “Buffy the Vampire” “mixed” “Veronica Mars” and that’s all I need to know about that. I’m thinking of starting The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley next since I’m a sucker for friends-snowed-in-with-a-murderer.

And I’m finishing the fun cozy mystery Love, Hopes, & Marriage Tropes by Abby L. Vandiver and the really interesting historical mystery The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins–along with like 10 other books but we won’t talk about my messy reading brain.

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

Cozy, Icelandic, and Some Revenge!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 3, 2019

Hello mystery fans! I am back and ready for a new year filled with mystery and suspense and thrills–and really anything that fits under the crime umbrella. Let’s start with a cozy, a dark Icelandic mystery, and some revenge.

Just for Book Riot readers: sign up for an Audible account, and get two audiobooks free!

Cozy!

In the Dog House by VM Burns cover image In the Dog House (Dog Club Mystery #1) by V.M. Burns: This was a great cozy to read during the holiday stress; it had a good pace for me and balance. You get dogs, but it doesn’t become the focus nor draw away from the mystery, and things keep happening to the characters so it doesn’t become too character driven where no one seems to remember they should be solving a mystery. Lilly Echosby’s husband left her and is of course with a younger woman. Lilly’s friend Dixie, who is in the dog show circuit, comes to visit to lift her spirits. Except when Lilly’s husband is found dead and Lilly becomes the suspect, friends and dogs aren’t going to make her feel better unless they solve what is actually happening–which they attempt to do, also joined by Lilly’s daughter who is a lawyer. (The ebook is currently $.99.)

Dark Icelandic Mystery (TW suicide/ torture/ fat shaming)

Last Rituals (Thora Gudmundsdottir 1) by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Bernard Scudder (Translator): This was a mystery that, for me, balanced the focus on solving the mystery and the main character’s personal life in that you get to know her and her life but it’s not the focus, the mystery is. It also goes into dark subjects and dark histories, but never felt like it was just trying to shock, and it moved along pretty quickly from each instance. I really disliked that the secretary character was created as a stereotype and just to fat shame, but since the majority of the book takes place away from the main character’s office it’s only a few obnoxious times in the novel. The mystery starts with a German student being found dead at an Icelandic university in a gruesome way. While there is an arrest and the case is thought to be solved, the victim’s family has concerns and hires Matthew Reich to look into the matter. Being German, they want a local person to help Reich navigate and end up asking an attorney, Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, to help. As a single mother with a practice she doesn’t think she’ll be much help, since she’s not a PI, but needs the money the very wealthy family is offering, so she agrees. While this doesn’t go down the rout of thriller or suspense, I did enjoy watching them try to uncover the mystery and also the history of Iceland’s witch hunting.

Time for revenge! (TW brief discussion about child suicide/ pedophilia)

For Better and Worse cover image For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt: I read this knowing NOTHING about it and recommend you do the same if you like domestic thrillers (I hate that term) and/or authors like Gillian Flynn. I think the summary gives away too much of how things unfold but if that doesn’t matter to you, you can go read that. I’m going to keep it sparse. This had a great opening hook for me: a couple on their first date plays the “Could you get away with murder game.” Or, to be more accurate, only one of them really plays. Years later they’re married with a young son and have hit the stage of marriage where things aren’t great but nothing is broken in a way that anyone is thinking to work on the relationship. And then someone in their lives, and part of their community, is accused of molestation, which will test them as individuals and as a family…

Recent Releases (Publishing is still sleepy but I promise next week this will explode with books.)

Watching You cover image Watching You by Lisa Jewell (Currently Reading: I’m a fan of Jewell’s mysteries which usually follow a group of people, has secrets, and stars women and girls.)

The Drowned Girl (Louise Rick #3) by Sara Blaedel (Scandinavian procedural)

Live and Let Pie (A Bakeshop Mystery #9) by Ellie Alexander (Cozy mystery)

Truly Devious cover image Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (Paperback) (Delightful mystery with nods to old school mysteries set at an elite school- Full review)

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp (Paperback) (Corey tries to unravel what really happened to her best friend in an insulated Alaskan town: Full review) (TW I don’t remember specifically but it’s heartbreaking look at mental illness.)

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

Mystery Novels Featuring Ernest Hemingway

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date December 20, 2018

Hello mystery fans! I’ve got another roundup of news and links and Kindle deals for you and then I’ll see you all back here in the new year! Until then, if you want to drink too much eggnog and solve a neighborhood mystery you have my full blessing, I’ll write you a note!

Sponsored by Book Riot’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 Giveaway.

We’re giving away ten of our favorite works of nonfiction of the year! Click here to enter.

Adaptations And News And Things Of Interest

9 Mystery Novels and Series Featuring Ernest Hemingway

11 Thriller & Mystery Authors Recommend The Best Books In The Genre That They Read In 2018

John le Carré to publish novel about ‘the new political turbulence’ in 2019

24 Podcasts For Readers Who Love Mysteries, Thrillers, And True Crime

A look at the lady detectives in Victorian Literature

BBC1’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders has a trailer and will air in three parts on December 26, 27, and 28 at 9 p.m.

True Crime

Hulu Inks First-Look Deal With Journalist & Author David Kushner (If you’re a fan of true crime memoirs Alligator Candy is very good– Full Review) (TW I remember this being very dark and it’s a crime against a child.)

The story about the murder of JFK’s lover, American painter Mary Pinchot Meyer, is being developed by Warner Bros TV as a potential limited series. (Based on Peter Janney’s book Mary’s Mosaic.)

Menendez Brothers spotted on 1990 Knicks basketball card

Serial killer Dennis Rader’s daughter shares her story in new book

True Crime & Cooking Show Obsessions Affect Your Brain In The Same Way, According To Experts

Kindle Deals

A detective mystery set in Jamaica with a pairing of a Jamaican detective and a Scottish detective sounds super good and it’s $4.09 right now: Murder in Montego Bay by Paula Lennon

One of my favorite Agatha Christie novels is $2.99: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

And I recently reviewed the very good The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei, Jeremy Tiang (Translator) in the backwards mysteries newsletter and it’s $2.99! Don’t snooze! (Review) (TW rape/ suicide)

Now I’m off to try and see how many books I can finish reading before the new year because you gotta have goals!

Currently halfway through and enjoying: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins; Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe; Scrublands by Chris Hammer; Paper Gods by Goldie Taylor.

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

YOUR Best Under the Radar Mysteries

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date December 18, 2018

Hi mystery fans! A few weeks back I asked you to tell me about mysteries you enjoyed this year, which you thought didn’t get the attention they deserved, and I’ve collected those here. And of course I added some more because I always have more books to talk about.

Sponsored by Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak.

The official story was that Sloane’s mother abandoned the family, which hadn’t sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen. But not even a fresh start in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn’t just difficult—he was deadly. Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend, and a father and brother who’d rather see her silenced.

“I don’t know how much attention it received, but I stumbled on Monday’s Not Coming, I also loved Tangerine by Christine Mangan but didn’t hear much about it.”–Tynisha

“The Real Michael Swann by Bryan Reardon. Very good, and twisty.”– Sandra

“I read Our Kind Of Cruelty by Araminta Hall early in the season and was certain it would be one of the most talked about books of the year. But in fact, the opposite was true. I heard very little about this smart, thrilling, captivating book that had me anxiously turning pages from the very first page of the book. If you want to read an edge of your seat mystery with multi dimensional characters, this book is for you.”– Columbus

“I didn’t hear anything about The Ruin anywhere but book riot and I thought it was A++”– Maddie

“Emma Viskic’s books are awesome, but I’m not sure if they are both out in the US yet (Resurrection Bay and And Fire Came Down)”–Sue (They are both out in the U.S.!)

“Tear Me Apart by JT Ellison was pretty great.”–Jennie

“I know you already know about Salt Lane. I did also like November Road, and it didn’t seem to make much of a dent.”–Jessica

“Ways to Hide in Winter by Sarah St. Vincent: It’s gorgeously written and beautifully sad, and really thought-provoking.”– Liberty

And I’m going to add:

The Night In Question by Nic Joseph cover image The Night In Question by Nic Joseph: For fans of character driven mysteries that are exploring an idea–like where the line between good and bad is? Also, great for fans of characters unraveling after a bad decision. (Review)

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar: If you like “fun” psychopaths/satire/Serial Mom meets Devil Wears Prada. (Review) (TW suicide attempt)

The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth’s Ultimate Trophy by Paige Williams: If you enjoyed Bad Blood and The Feather Thief–my current obsession are these nonviolent, bonkers true crime reads–this is another must-read. (Review)

A Dangerous Crossing cover image A Dangerous Crossing (Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak #4) by Ausma Zehanat Khan: I love this procedural series that focuses on two Canadian detectives, and travels around the world–it should get way more attention than it does. Plus, I’m super excited that the next book in the series, A Deadly Divide, comes out in February! (Review) (TW child deaths/ rape/ torture)

Hollywood Ending (Detective by Day #2) by Kellye Garrett: If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries this one has a great group of friends, is funny, and I love seeing Day evolve in the second book to work towards becoming a real P.I. Can be read as a standalone. (Review) (TW suicide)

Recent Releases + End of December Releases (If they don’t have TW in this case it’s because I haven’t read them yet and don’t know.)

Eggs on Ice cover image Eggs on Ice (Cackleberry Club #8) by Laura Childs (Cozy mystery)

The Drowned Girl (Louise Rick #3) by Sara Blaedel (Dec 24) (Scandinavian procedural)

Live and Let Pie (A Bakeshop Mystery #9) by Ellie Alexander (Dec 31) (Cozy mystery)

Half of What You Hear by Kristyn Kusek Lewis (Dec 31) (Being compared with Big Little Lies.)

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy (Paperback Dec 31) (Missing child thriller that, if I remember correctly, Reese Witherspoon chose as a book club pick; and it’s being adapted into a film.) (TW domestic abuse)

The Pope of Palm Beach by Tim Dorsey (Paperback)

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.