Category: Unusual Suspects

Hello mystery fans! Fellow Rioters brought to my attention that Pushing Daisies is now streaming on Amazon Prime. I’m not sure this show has ever streamed anywhere before, which is a shame because it is purely delightful, creative, fun, and filled with great mysteries! Plus, Lee Pace! So if you’ve never seen it before, or need a rewatch like I always need, the complete 2 seasons are streaming.

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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.

 

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

You can read the first two chapters of JoAnn Channey’s As Long As We Both Shall Live (January 15) now! I can’t say it enough: this thriller should be the thriller of 2019, and you want to read it before everyone is talking about it!

Amanda was a guest on On Point The Year In Books: Taking A Look At The Top Titles Of 2018 and she talked about one of my favorite mysteries.

Rincey and Katie did an episode of Read or Dead where they answered listeners recommendation requests.

I asked Rioters what their favorite 2018 mystery, thrillers, and true crime reads were and they told me!

Beaten, but Never Beat: PW Talks with Stephen Mack Jones –author of August Snow; Lives Laid Away.

So we sat down with Gabino to talk about his new book, Coyote Songs, and how his barrio noir is leading an influx of great indie lit about the immigrant experience.

9 Holiday Mysteries & Thrillers For Readers Who Prefer Their Mistletoe With A Side Of Murder

News And Adaptations

Doubleday Books announced that the fifth book in the Jackson Brodie series is coming out in 2019: Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

Roxane Gay announced she has an upcoming crime graphic novel: “My next comic is called The Banks, three generations of black women who are master thieves in Chicago. Their mantra: steal smart, right a wrong.”

Kindle Deals

The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani is $4.99 and if you like dark literary mysteries snatch this up real quick it’s the only time I’ve seen it on sale! (Review) (I don’t remember the specific trigger warnings but this was dark–like humanity has been evil throughout history and still is dark.)

If you’re looking for a suspenseful “who did I marry?” Undertow by Elizabeth Heathcote is $2.99 (Review) (TW rape)

Watch Now

C.B. Strike, the series adaptation of Robert Galbraith’s (J.K. Rowling) PI series Cormoran Strikes, is now out on DVD. You can watch the trailer here.

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.

Hello mystery fans! After reading a great mystery that is told in reverse chronology, I decided to roundup a few more mysteries told backwards.

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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.

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Backwards Procedural With Great Puzzle Mysteries (TW rape/ suicide)

The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei, Jeremy Tiang (Translation): This was a great read that I think will appeal to many types of mystery fans. You get an apprenticeship; a procedural; lots of good, different-from-each-other, twisty puzzle mysteries; and a historical look at social/political changes in Hong Kong. It starts in the present day moving to the past, always following the same detective, Kwan Chun-dok, who had a thirty year career with a hundred percent success rate–I know! Seriously, so great. The opening is big, too. It’s a case of a dead man that takes place in the hospital room of a comatose detective, who is solving the case while in said coma, and one of the victim’s family members, also in the room, is the murderer. Watching the twists, and the unraveling is really fun, and you get six different mysteries that are all different–while tied together because of the detective and his career. I found it to be a super satisfying mystery and demand more of Ho-Kei’s work be translated, please!

Small Town Mystery Told Backwards (It’s been so long I’m sorry I don’t remember potential trigger warnings.)

All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda: So this one overall is a thriller with a premise that is common: Young woman returns back to her small hometown where there is a long-ago mystery still unsolved. But this one stands out in that a good chunk of this book is told in reverse chronological order. Nic returns home to the town where, as a teenager, her best friend went missing; her and her brother, boyfriend, and friend’s boyfriend were all the suspects. Hence her getting out of Dodge and not being happy about going back, especially since upon returning another girl disappears! And that’s when this story goes backwards–literally. While this is a twisty page-turner, my favorite part that resonated with me was watching Nic as an adult reviewing for the first time her childhood relationships.

Suspense and Friendship Mostly Told Backwards (TW suicide)

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart: Jules appears to be on the run, or hiding, when it seems she’s found and must run again. From there, we’re taken back to her friendship with Imogen and we start to see the pieces of her life stack together, while being told backwards. While this isn’t so much a mystery about what, because we’re usually told that–or you’ll possibly figure it out–it’s more about the who, how, and why until the next reveal in the story which I found interesting. While I did enjoy the narrator on the audiobook and recommend it, if you zone out during audiobooks or get lost easily go with the print.

Recent Releases

For Better And Worse by Margot Hunt (If you like revenge and domestic thriller page-turners.) (TW pedophile/ brief discussion about child suicide)

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs (Paperback) (TBR: Literary mystery with a bookselling main character.)

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans! The first season of Killing Eve is now streaming on Hulu and I recommend you run to this fantastic show starring a psychopath I’m obsessed with–don’t judge, there’s a very good chance you’ll end up feeling the same way.

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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.

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

The Creators of LETHAL LIT on Your Next Bookish Podcast Obsession

7 Indie Horror, Mystery, and Crime Novels for Music Lovers

‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ & The Complicated Matter Of Sexual Assault In Thrillers

A great round-table discussion with some excellent crime writers.

News and Adaptations

Eric Bana has been cast as Aaron Falk in the film adaptation of Jane Harper’s The Dry. Super excited for this adaptation! Jane Harper is one of the best crime writers and her mysteries, characters, and settings are perfect for film/series adaptations.

Excited for the adaptation of Tana French’s Dublin Murders? We are! But you’re going to need Starz to watch it since they bought the eight-episode drama based on In the Woods and The Likeness. I’m super curious to see how the first two novels got blended into eight episodes. As much as I have been refusing to get anymore streaming services/channels. I may have to do a Starz add-on to Hulu for this one. *grumbles in vieja*

Continuing in exciting news: Polis Books launched Agora Books, a new imprint focused on crime fiction that explores important issues of our time, including culture, race, gender, sexuality, society, economy, and politics in unique and different ways, from a roster of talented and diverse authors. The first three books that will publish in 2019 are Three-Fifths by John Vercher, the story of a biracial man who discovers a childhood friend has become a neo-nazi; Remember by Patricia Smith, a novel about woman forced to reconcile with a painful past; and The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge, the tale of a woman who dedicates herself to becoming a modern day ninja after the murder of her sister. Guess who already begged for galleys?!

The BBC is working on an adaptation of David Burke’s The Spy Who Came In From The Co-Op: Melita Norwood and the Ending of Cold War Espionage.

Kindle Deals

If you want to start a GREAT procedural series Land of Shadows (Detective Elouise Norton #1) by Rachel Howzell Hall is $2.99!! (Review) (TW rape/ suicide)

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson $1.99 and perfect if you want an impactful missing girl mystery. (Review) (TW child abuse/ sexual assault)

If you like slow burn suspense and Shirley Jackson, The Boy at the Keyhole by Stephen Giles is $1.99! (Review) (TW 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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! We’ve made it to the end of this veeeeeeery long year, which you’ve probably noticed since everything is now dripping in holiday decor (Happy Hanukkah) and everywhere you look are Best Of 2018 lists. Since Best Of is really a “My favorite reads out of the books I read this year” I started thinking about the books that didn’t get the attention they should have so I’m going talk about some of those today. And if there’s a 2018 crime book you think didn’t get the love it should, email me at jamie@riotnewmedia.com and I’ll share the list in an upcoming newsletter.

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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.

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For Historical Mystery Fans

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang: New York in the mid-1800s you get grave robbing, anatomists, those obsessed with physical anomalies–and a young woman with two hearts! And if that woman would like to not end up on a slab for her hearts she better find out who is killing people with body anomalies. And that’s why she spends the night as a grave robber pretending to be her own twin brother. It’s awesome! (Full review)

A Death of No Importance (Jane Prescott Series #1) by Mariah Fredericks: A ladies’ maid for the rich in 1910 New York tries to figure out who murdered the fiancé of her mistress because it looks like either her mistress or her anarchist friend may be suspects–scandalous! This plays out amongst the upper-class while the city deals with anarchists and awful working conditions for the lower-class and has a great main character. (Full review) (TW pedophilia)

Psychological Suspense & Thriller

When You Find Me by P.J. Vernon: If you’re a fan of writers like Gillian Flynn just go pick this one up without knowing anything about it. Socialite Gray King returns home for the holidays and wakes up hungover, with no memory, and her husband Paul missing. Between Gray’s addiction, the small town secrets, family drama, and a stranger leaving a message claiming to know where Paul is you won’t be able to put this one down… (Full review) (TW alcoholism/ pedophile/ animal cruelty)

Death Notice by Zhou Haohui, Zac Haluza (Translator): Great cat-and-mouse thriller filled with tension and action! This follows a vigilante who is toying with the police by putting out a “death notice” and watching the police scramble to save the person before they get what the vigilante thinks they deserve. (Full review) (TW rape/ suicide)

 

Character Driven Mystery

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, Giles Murray (Translator): If you’re a fan of character-driven novels this one is super interesting as each section follows a different set of characters that are living and/or working in a Japanese business district where a woman was murdered in her apartment. Detective Kaga, a very perceptive man, must navigate all of their secrets and drama to piece together what may be related to his actual case. This one also works for fans of cozy mysteries that are looking for something set outside of the U.S. (Full review)

British Procedural

Salt Lane (DS Alexandra Cupidi #1) by William Shaw: This was such a good from-beginning-to-end-procedural that has a complicated lead that you’re totally rooting for. Really one of the best procedures this year that I think no one heard about–which is a huge shame! DS Alexandra Cupidi not only has a difficult Jane Doe case but she’s just moved to a new town and department, her daughter is rebelling, and her mother keeps showing up. To solve this case, and survive her personal life, Cupidi is going to have to learn to keep her temper and quick mouth in check, and if she wants to stay alive she’s going to have to be less careless! (Full review) (TW rape)

Recent Releases

Love, Hopes, & Marriage Tropes (A Romaine Wilder Mystery Book 2) by Abby L. Vandiver (Currently Reading: This is a fun cozy mystery with a zany side character and humor centering around a funeral home.)

Into the Night (Gemma Woodstock #2) by Sarah Bailey (TBR: the followup to The Dark Lake — an Australian procedural I recently enjoyed and reviewed. Great for fans of complicated leads.)

Hong Kong Noir (Akashic Noir Series) by Jason Y. Ng (Editor), Susan Blumberg-Kason (Editor)

Broken Ground (Inspector Karen Pirie #5) by Val McDermid (TBR: Follows DCI Karen Pirie of Police Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit.)

Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza (TBR: Procedural that won the Tony Hillerman Prize in 2017.)

Murder at The Mill (An Iris Grey Mystery #1) by M.B. Shaw (Tilly Bagshawe) (Cozy English whodunnit)

The Man who Would be Sherlock: The Real Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle by Christopher Sandford (Biography/True Crime)

What You Don’t Know by JoAnn Chaney (Paperback) (If you haven’t gotten to this one yet and you like dark serial killer books run to this one! Full review) (TW 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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! I’ve got for you some news, book talk, deals, books I’m excited for, and a couple things you can watch now as we slide into the weekend. Hope you have a good book with you!

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Sponsored by Freefall by Jessica Barry

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie are back discussing The Goodreads Choice Awards, Tom Cruise no longer being Jack Reacher, and a spoiler-filled chat about The Witch Elm by Tana French on the latest Read or Dead.

Louise Penny Gives Readers a Sneak Peek at Her Latest, Kingdom of the Blind

Megan Abbott’s Work Diary: ‘My Psychiatrist Notes How Tired I Look, Which Is Great’

The New ‘Dirty John’ Book By Host Christopher Goffard Contains SO Many Fascinating True Crime Stories

Meet The Mystery Author Who Wants Readers To Draw On Her Book Covers

Adaptations And News

All the muppet arms for this announcement: As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney (Junuary 15, 2019) sold the rights and will be adapted into a film! This is gonna be the thriller of 2019, and my advice is to know nothing about it and read it before there’s too much talk because it’s a hell of a page-turner!

Writer Linda Fairstein’s past as a prosecutor overseeing the Central Park Five case causes award controversy and the conclusion, Mystery Writers of America Withdraws Fairstein Award

We have the first winner for the Staunch prize, the award created last year for a thriller “in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered.”

Watch Now

If you don’t have an HBO subscription you can now watch the Gillian Flynn adaptation for Sharp Objects on DVD. (TW addiction/ self harm/ rape)

And speaking of Gillian Flynn, she co-wrote Widows with Steve McQueen which you can go watch now in theaters. It stars Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson. Watch the trailer.

Kindle Deals

Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2) by Jane Harper is $2.99!!!!!!! If you haven’t been reading this excellent Australian mystery series you should really run to it with open arms. (Review) (TW eating disorder)

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson is $1.99, which is perfect timing because the sequel, The Vanishing Stair, will publish in January! The first in the series is a delightful mystery set at an elite school, filled with nods to classic mysteries while remaining modern–Full review.)

Some Upcoming Books I Excitedly Got Galleys Of This Week

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (March 5, 2019) Atmospheric thriller–sold!

The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (May 21, 2019) This sounds so freaking good: A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this astonishing historical thriller that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to the fetid streets of Georgian London. (I REALLY wanted to put the cover here because I love it buuuuuuut I don’t see it yet anywhere publicly and I didn’t want to spoil if there is going to be a cover reveal article somewhere.)

Scrublands by Chris Hammer (January 8, 2019) Give me all the Australian crime. Please, and thank you.

 

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! This week I have a baby elephant, dark true crime, and Australian crime for you.

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by our $250 All the Books Barnes and Noble gift card giveaway! Enter here.

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I Can’t Resist A Baby Elephant! (TW mentions suicide/ child & domestic abuse off page but mentioned with detail)

The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation #2) by Vaseem Khan: This series walks a line between mystery and cozy mystery and should have a mass appeal because of that. It doesn’t shy away from real problems in the world and things that are dark, but it doesn’t sink into them which keeps the book feeling much lighter than many mysteries. It also moves at a much quicker pace than a lot of cozy mysteries. And while Inspector Chopra has a baby elephant as a “partner,” this really does stay in the plausible, if unlikely–but still realistic enough that I plan to retire with a baby elephant that will help me solve mysteries. In this book Inspector Chopra, still retired from the police due to a heart condition, is running a restaurant, solving mysteries, and caring for a baby elephant and a runaway child. At the heart of the book is the mystery of the stolen Koh-i-Noor diamond, but Chopra is also called upon for a friend who claims to be wrongfully imprisoned, a stolen bust, and plenty of chaos and drama involving the restaurant, caring for a baby elephant, and a runaway child. I love that baby Ganesha is given a full character, being that elephants really are very intelligent and emotional creatures. It’s a really enjoyable series to sink into and I always look forward to more Ganesha, and seeing how Inspector Chopra and his wife Poppy’s lives continue to evolve.

Excellent Dark True Crime (TW incest discussed/ rape/ torture/ suicide attempt/ self-harm)

People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo–and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up by Richard Lloyd Parry: This is one of those true crime books that has a dark and sad case at the heart of it, and I appreciate that Parry focused on the victims (even if I could have used a bit less of his opinion in a few spots). There is a banana-pants aspect to this, there’s a dive into Japanese clubs where men pay for women to flirt with them, there’s the look into the Japanese justice system, and misogyny. Lucie Blackman was a young British woman working as a hostess in Japan when she disappeared. Her family traveled to Japan, treating this the way British/US media would treat a white young woman missing, but discovered that in Japan things are done differently. At this point I swear Lucie’s father reminded me of Nick Dunne in Gone Girl, where we expect people to behave certain ways in certain situations but sometimes they don’t. The book reads parts of Lucie’s diary (I’m personally never comfortable with this unless their diary starts with “If I die you can publish this…”), takes medium-depth dives into some aspects of Japanese culture and history involving the racist treatment of Koreans in Japan, follows the case of what happened to Lucie, and the trial which goes a bit off the rails from what Japanese courts were accustomed to. There are a lot of interesting things in this book wrapped around a sad and avoidable murder of a young woman and a lot of things that would now get labeled #metoo. If you’re a true crime reader and had missed this one, definitely pick it up.

Australian Procedural (TW domestic violence/ rape/ suicide)

The Dark Lake (Gemma Woodstock #1) by Sarah Bailey: Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is a person with secrets, including that she’s having an affair with her partner–what could go wrong? She’s also just had a miscarriage she hasn’t told anyone about, including her boyfriend who she’s raising a son with. Adding to her stress is her new case: a strangled woman found in a lake who Woodstock knew from high school. The case is filled with complications, starting with: as much as Rosalind Ryan seemed to be a popular drama teacher, much of her life raises more questions than answers, and no one seemed to really know her, or why someone would murder her. Told in then and now, and also first person and third person, you mainly get to know Woodstock as she deals with the case at hand, her current chaotic life, and her reliving high school and what she knew of Ryan. This one should satisfy procedural fans who like complicated main characters.

Recent Releases (Okay, so this is going to be minimal until the new year, not because I’m getting lazy but because publishing slows down in November and December and then has a book explosion in January.)

The Novel Art of Murder (Mystery Bookshop #3) by V.M. Burns (If you’re looking for a cozy mystery with a bookstore setting.)

Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #14) by Louise Penny (I’m curling up with this one this week since Penny always delivers a satisfying procedural.)

Hellbent (Orphan X #3) by Gregg Hurwitz (Mass Market Paperback) (I really enjoyed the first one in this series, which was super action packed fun thriller, and look forward to continuing.)

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans!

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by our $250 All the Books Barnes and Noble gift card giveaway!

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Read an excerpt of Caleb Roehrig’s upcoming Death Prefers Blondes

Agatha Christie: A Crash Course on the Queen of Crime

The Crime Fiction Elephant in the Room

I have always been fascinated with the concept of the “black widow.” In 2007, I wrote a poem titled “Black Widow Spider.” And then I continued to write about women obliterating men. So writing My Sister, the Serial Killer was relatively easy, since I had basically been rehashing a similar plot over and over for years.— An interview with Oyinkan Braithwaite

‘Two Can Keep A Secret’ By Karen M. McManus Is A Must-Read YA Thriller If You Love ‘Riverdale’ & ‘Sharp Objects’

Jonathan Lethem’s Playlist for His Novel The Feral Detective

Adaptation News

Tess Sharpe’s Barbed Wire Heart (gritty crime novel) will be adapted by the production companies run by Margot Robbie and Dan Lin.

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver will get a new adaptation, this time as an NBC TV series. You may remember the first adaptation, a film in the ’90s that starred Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.

Kindle Deals

Attica Locke’s Black Water Rising is $1.99 if you’re looking for a character driven novel. It follows Jay Porter, a Texas lawyer, who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s one of my all-time favorite crime writers.

Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe is $1.99! If the adaptation news above made you curious about this one that’s a hell of a deal. I for one need a good thriller right now and loved her previous mystery Far From You (review) so I bought this real quick.

Pretty Fierce by Kieren Scott is $3.82 if you’re looking for a fun thriller! (Review)

Upcoming Books I Excitedly Got Galleys Of This Week

Let Me Hear A Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson (Both her previous books were twisty and awesome so I’m looking forward to her upcoming novel.)

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn (I adore this fun, feminist, historical mystery series!)

The Reckoning by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Icelandic crime!)

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! I’ve got a wicked read, a fun dark comedy, and debutantes up to no good for you this week!

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Sponsored by Mariner Books

This “charming, confident follow-up to Creatures of Will and Temper” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) picks up in 1927 Long Island, where Ellie West fishes by day and sells moonshine by night to the citizens of her home town. But after Ellie’s father joins a mysterious church whose parishioners possess supernatural powers and a violent hatred for immigrants, Ellie finds she doesn’t know her beloved island, or her father, as well as she thought.

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Hell Of A Debut! (TW child abuse/ domestic abuse/ rape)

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: Delicious, wicked, and smart–I absolutely adored this novel. It was a quick read at 240 pages, but that just made it a tight, excellent read. On the surface this is a story set in Lagos, Nigeria about two sisters: Korede keeps covering up Ayoola’s murders, but when Ayoola sets eyes on the same man as Korede, will she still be as quick to defend Ayoola? This novel reads fun with it’s satirical edge but speaks truths and packs a punch with its exploration of women’s issues. One of my favorites this year and a must-read! I can’t wait to read what Braithwaite delivers next.

Delightful Dark Comedy (TW alcoholism/ suicide attempt mentioned/ molestation incident mentioned)

The Spellman Files (The Spellmans #1) by Lisa Lutz: I knew nothing about this novel when I started the audiobook and was delighted by this banana pants family of PIs. It’s a quirky, fun, dark comedy that follows the members of the Spellman family, focusing on Izzy, the middle child in her 20s. A lot of this book is the family drama of growing up, and being a part of a family of PIs, and gets into two cases–mostly in the 2nd half of the book. Rae, the ridiculous and hilarious youngest teen child, has gone missing. Izzy also needs to solve a missing-person case as a deal with her parents in order to quit the family business. If you’re a fan of the humor in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, need something fun, or a bit different to read run to this one. I thought it was a standalone and was excited to discover there are six books in the series!

Hello, Revenge!

Little White Lies (Debutantes #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Debutantes up to no good I tell you! Eighteen-year-old Sawyer Taft lives in a small town with her mom, both doing their best to really raise each other. It felt a bit like the story behind Gilmore Girls–rich teen runs away to have baby and they raise each other and then grandma shows up wanting a relationship with her granddaughter. Except Sawyer doesn’t know who her father is, and hides from her mother that she’s signed a contract with her grandmother. The contracts means Sawyer needs to participate in debutante season and will have the money she needs for college. But really she’s figured this will be the perfect opportunity to find out who her father is… Enter debutantes who blackmail and kidnap each other, family drama, and family secrets. Fun and twisty with more to it than you might think. Sawyer leapt off the page from the beginning as a smart, determined, resourceful, and quick mouthed woman who knows when to hold her tongue–will definitely read the next in the series if it continues.

Recent Releases

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, Giles Murray (Translator) (For fans of character driven mysteries: Review)

A Map of the Dark (The Searchers #1) by Karen Ellis (Paperback) (For fans of procedural/thrillers: Review) (TW child abuse/ self-harm)

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James (Paperback) (For fans of past and present mysteries: Review) (TW rape/ suicide)

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Perveen Mistry #1) by Sujata Massey (Paperback) (One of my favorite 2018 releases perfect for fans of historical mysteries: Review)

Insidious Intent by Val McDermid (Paperback) (TBR: Criminal psychologist and former detective team up to catch a serial killer going after single women at weddings, set in North England.)

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hi mystery fans! So it’s that time of year where I create a nifty little survey and you tell me what you want more/less of–and any other opinions related to this newsletter. Basically opine away, I’m listening. And don’t worry, it’s anonymous.

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Sponsored by The Folio Society’s new illustrated collection, The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

This stunning new edition is a collection of ten perennially popular cases in which the brilliant detective shows off his incredible powers of deduction. Max Löffler creates optical illusions through illustration and adds menacing realism and a contemporary twist to the tales. The selection is introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Dirda. As a member of the oldest Sherlock Holmes society, the Baker Street Irregulars, his involvement in the edition was elementary.

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From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Reflecting On Emma Cline’s Legal Win

Liberty joined Rincey this week and they talked all things Agatha Christie–because Liberty stores a lot of facts up in her brain matter–on the latest Read or Dead.

Andreja Pejić Talks Playing Lisbeth Salander’s Lesbian Lover in The Girl in the Spider’s Web

50 Must-Read Books with Unreliable Narrators

Cover Reveal: Temper By Layne Fargo

“ ‘Dead body floating …’ ,” Nolan said, referring to the kind of notes Flynn would leave next to the refrigerator or on the coffee table. He had always assumed the Post-its were evidence of something his wife was working on professionally, and not literal evidence, but did we see that article yesterday, about the woman who wrote about how to kill her husband and then was indicted on a charge of killing her husband? — Gillian Flynn Peers Into the Dark Side of Femininity

Adaptation News

Theodora Goss’ The Strange Case Of the Alchemist’s Daughter will be adapted as a series for The CW. The daughter of Dr. Jekyll and the daughter of Mr. Hyde (yup, that Jekyll and Hyde) team up to solve murders in Victorian England–how have I not read this series yet?!

If Hitchcock’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca isn’t your favorite or you’ve been wanting to see it adapted again: wish come true! Lily James and Armie Hammer have signed on already.

Jack Reacher adaptations will continue as a TV show  and Tom Cruise will no longer play Reacher.

True Crime

Did y’all know Chris Pine is starring in a limited series on TNT directed by Patty Jenkins “following a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Hollywood gynecologist connected to the legendary Black Dahlia murder?!” It’s set to air in January 2019 and here is the trailer for clearly my next obsession!

The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome: “Unexplained brain injuries afflicted dozens of American diplomats and spies. What happened?”

Kindle Deals

I know nothing about this book other than based on the title I obviously have to read it: Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S Choi is $1.99

Borrower of the Night (Vicky Bliss #1) by Elizabeth Peters is $4.49 and Peters’ books are probably the most recommended to me on my TBR.

 

And A Few Galleys I Excitedly Got My Hands On This Week

Smoke And Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (March 5, 2019)

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark (February 19, 2019)

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig (January 29, 2019)

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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Hello mystery fans! This week I have for you a great Japanese mystery, an elderly woman with no qualms about murder, and revenge at a boarding school.

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Japanese Mystery

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, Giles Murray (Translator): While this is technically the 8th in this detective series I promise you can read this as a standalone. For starters, most of his books haven’t been translated and the ones that have, have come out of order. Which is a shame only because I love Higashino’s mysteries and think they should all be available around the world. In Newcomer we get a really interesting unfolding of the mystery. A woman is murdered in her apartment and Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is on the case. The structure of the book is by sections which each follow a different set of characters that are living and/or working in the business district where the woman was murdered. Everyone has drama, and secrets, and day-to-day life problems making Kaga have to work to unravel what may be connected to his case and what is not. And of course in the end we get an explanation and wrap up. Something I really like about Higashino’s writing is he doesn’t write for shock value, but rather explores people and behaviors, which is always interesting to me and even more so in cultures and ethnicities that are different from my own. Detective Kaga is also super observant and intuitive making him an excellent detective that usually baffles those around him. And for cozy mystery fans, who shy away from Japanese crime novels because they are usually dark, this one doesn’t go into much graphic detail and mostly focuses on following all the potential suspects.

Murderous Swedish Octogenarian! (TW domestic abuse)

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten,Marlaine Delargy (Translator): Two things before I get into this: One, if you like the title just read it without knowing anything, it’ll make it that much more “fun.” (Fun is in quotes because while this 90% lands in cozy crime territory it’s dark humor.) Two: It’s a handful of short stories BUT even if you aren’t a fan of short stories you’ll be fine with this one as they’re all connected and about the same character, so it reads very similar to a novel. Now for the review: let’s start with that I fell off the sofa laughing at the first story in this collection! Maud is an 88-year-old Swedish woman who ended up living rent free in an apartment most of her life thanks to her father’s will. But before you start to feel bad for Maud as a “lonely old lady” she has no qualms about murder. And by that I mean threaten her, treat her like a feeble old woman, or piss her off and you’re probably going to die. So if you’re into crime stories, dark humor, and want it centered around an octogenarian, run to this collection–I just loved it to pieces!

Boarding School Mystery With Revenge (TW suicide/ statutory rape/ revenge porn)

People Like Us by Dana Mele: I’m a sucker for private school/boarding school mysteries and this one finally broke my reading slump. It’s twisty, fast-paced, and while obviously dealing with teen drama it never felt melodramatic since the characters were developed well beyond the “mean girls.” Kay Donovan and her friends stumble across a dead body while partying, which is traumatic enough, but then Donovan receives an email from the dead girl–I know! Turns out Donovan is being blackmailed and forced to solve puzzles and carry out the messages or else! Now Donovan is lying to everyone, complying with things she wants no part of, and a suspect in the dead girl’s case… Everyone has secrets, everyone looks guilty, and everyone is capable of revenge! I went with the audiobook and enjoyed Erin Spencer’s narration, it felt like I was watching a good Freeform/CW series–or like the first season of Veronica Mars, minus the actual teen PI.

Recent Releases

Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator) (I’m really looking forward to sitting down with this one as it’s the author of Six Four, who mostly does 80% deep dive procedural and then shoots you into a thriller at the end.)

The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston (Another one I’m looking forward to as it looks like it’ll hit a bunch of my sweet spots–and sounds perfect as a Freeform/CW show. Owen’s privileged life unravels in a moment when it turns out his dad was embezzling. Now he’s stuck trying to finish his senior year, survive the death threats, and solve his father’s cryptic note and find him.)

Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson (Currently reading: True crime that looks at two killers in London after WWII, a serial killer and lethal smog.)

Naughty on Ice (Discreet Retrieval Agency #4) by Maia Chance (Historical cozy mystery)

City of Secrets (Counterfeit Lady #2) by Victoria Thompson (Historical mystery)

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (Paperback) (Will Satisfy Mystery, Women’s Fic, and Domestic Thriller Fans: 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 Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.