Hello mystery fans! Book Riot is giving away 15 of this year’s mystery/thriller releases to one super lucky person, so pet a Luckdragon and enter here.
Sponsored by MURDER AT HALF MOON GATE by Andrea Penrose published by Kensington Publishing Corp.
A wealthy lord who happens to be a brilliant scientist…an enigmatic young widow who secretly pens satirical cartoons…a violent killing disguised as a robbery…Nothing is as it seems in Regency London, especially when the Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane join forces to solve a shocking murder.
For Cozy Mystery Fans
Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery #1) by Vivien Chien: Lana Lee is suddenly back home–working at her parents’ Chinese restaurant–after a work meltdown and huge breakup. Life does not always take the path you want it to, which is an understatement when you find yourself delivering the dumplings that kill a man. And by “man,” I mean the owner of the strip mall Lee’s parent’s restaurant is in. This naturally puts her and the chef on the detective’s radar. What’s a woman to do but throw herself into not-well-thought-out scenarios, dangerous positions, and hardcore snooping to find out what exactly really happened. The ending certainly left me wanting to continue reading a series starring Lee.
For fans of Big Little Lies (TW: domestic violence/ suicide discussion)
Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser: Take a group of friendly neighbors in a small Ohio town, disappear one, and watch the secrets rise to the surface. After a ladies’ night around a fire pit, where neighbors drank too much and may have divulged too much about themselves, one goes missing. Kristin, mother of twins, has disappeared along with her children, and when questions quickly turn towards her husband, those who knew Kristin realize maybe they didn’t know everything. You have her best friend, also a mother, and a new-to-town single woman who’s really just trying to run away from her life. While the women aren’t actively trying to solve the disappearance, the novel follows the effect it has on them–especially when one starts to date Kristin’s husband–and does solve the mystery of what happened to her, giving me the Big Little Lies vibes. Also BLL vibes: the relationship between the women and the secrets. (I enjoyed Erin Bennett’s narration on the audiobook.)
Great Historical Fiction (TW: pedophilia)
A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks: In 1910 New York, Jane Prescott, raised by a religious uncle with a home for rescued women, is a ladies’ maid for the rich. Prescott’s voice grabbed me immediately and kept me invested throughout, even before the mystery is presented: the fiancé of Prescott’s mistress is murdered. Prescott begins to investigate mostly out of concern for the possibility that she may know two people who may be suspected in the murder: her mistress, and a childhood friend who is now an anarchist. The mystery plays out amongst the upper-class while the city deals with anarchists and awful working conditions for the lower-class. A great read for fans of historical fiction.
Recent Releases:
I Know a Secret (A Rizzoli & Isles #12) by Tess Gerritsen (Paperback) (review) (Little Q&A with Tess Gerritsen)
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Paperback) (review on All The Books podcast)
Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka (Paperback) (For fans of mystery, lit fic, YA, and multiple pov) (TW: It’s been too long for my brain to remember but I want to say stalking was definitely one.)
Dangerous Ends (Pete Fernandez Mystery #3) by Alex Segura (Paperback) (Detective series set in Miami–I especially liked the “past” chapters that were historical fiction relating to the Cuban Revolution.)
Macbeth by Jo Nesbø (Currently listening to audiobook: A Shakespeare retelling set in a Scottish town in the 1970s.)
The Sixth Day (A Brit in the FBI #5) by Catherine Coulter, J.T. Ellison (on my TBR)
You All Grow Up and Leave Me: A Memoir of Teenage Obsession by Piper Weiss (currently reading: fantastic coming-of-age memoir + true crime) (TW: suicide/ child predator)
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.
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