Sponsored by The Nemesis Manifesto by Eric Van Lustbader.
Russian meddling, American fragmentation, and global politics collide in this action-packed thriller. New York Times bestselling author Eric Van Lustbader, delivers an epic adventure of the predatory forces that are threatening the fabric of democracy with a singular new hero for our time. Evan Ryder is a lone wolf, a field agent for a black-ops arm of the DOD, who has survived unspeakable tragedy and dedicated her life to protecting her country. When her fellow agents begin to be systematically eliminated, Evan must unravel the thread that ties them all together… before her name comes up on the kill list.
Hi mystery fans! I have some super exciting crime books for you this week: a best-ever crime novel, a translated true crime about a prisoner who has served his sentence but is not being released, and a page-turning legal thriller.
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby: Every time I sit down to read a crime novel Blacktop Wasteland is what I’m hoping for but rarely get. Not only is this an exceptional crime novel, it has the best car chase scenes! I’ve seen comps for Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive and that’s fair but also sells this novel short because it’s infinitely more.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage has worked hard for an honest-living life but with the bank calling on his business, his son needing braces, his mom about to be evicted from a nursing home, and his daughter needing college tuition, he’s presented with an opportunity he feels he can’t refuse. And also doesn’t want to. Because Beauregard is the family man, business owner, and honest car mechanic. But Bug is the best wheelman/getaway driver you’ve never met with a crime dad who disappeared in his childhood, and who he’s never been able to shake. So he goes in for one robbery that he plans out to a T, which will solve all his problems and he can continue as Beauregard. It is an understatement to say everything goes wrong…
If you’ve been needing to read an excellent crime novel, here are just some of the amazing things this one does: an opening that went not one bit as I expected; the exploration of nurture vs nature and the ghosts of our past; southern noir; an excellent character voice that snatches you from the opening; the action scenes; our ties: family, friendship, and found family; writing that makes you feel, see, hear, and taste every scene. What I’m saying is run to this novel, clear your schedule, and strap in. Also, this BETTER get adapted into a series or film! (TW parent with cancer/ homophobia, racism, slurs/ fat shaming/ torture)
Magnetized: Conversations with a Serial Killer by Carlos Busqued, Samuel Rutter (Translator): Magnetize is a quick and impactful read that sets out to answer questions about a series of senseless murders in the early ’80s, and it does, but more importantly it leaves you with many important questions. It’s a true crime book unlike the others: For starters it’s a work in translation, which still make up only a small percentage of US books and are basically nonexistent in the true crime genre; it’s narrative nonfiction (feels like a novel); it focuses more on the after the crime than the crime.
Thirty years after Ricardo Melogno was arrested for the 1982 murders of four taxi drivers in Buenos Aires, author Carlos Busqued began visiting him in prison hoping to learn why he’d committed the murders. Here, Melogno recounts his childhood, the murders, his case, sentencing, times in mental hospitals, and prison. He takes readers into a case where doctors didn’t agree and a prison sentence served doesn’t seem to mean anything when no one knows what to do because, at the heart of forgiveness, it seems people need to be given a clear cut why. (TW recounts past child abuse/ discusses child suicide attempts and thoughts, details/ suicide discussed/ past animal abuse recounted/ talk of threat of prison rape/ prison abuse/ torture recounted)
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight: I am a sucker for the did-he-or-didn’t he mysteries and legal thrillers, so you can imagine my enthusiasm when a book promises both. And delivers!
Lizzie Kitsakis went from being a happily underpaid federal prosecutor to a not so happy defense lawyer at an elite law firm due to debts incurred by her alcoholic husband. She’s trying her best to like her job, work on her marriage, and ignore what she can’t deal with. So let’s add on more, shall we? A past friend from law school calls her from prison, asking for her to take his case; he’s accused of murdering his wife. As much as she tries to get out of it, she ends up representing him and having to poke into his murdered wife’s life of wealthy friends, a sex party that isn’t a sex party but anyone who wants to use the upstairs as such will have no questions asked, an elite school, and more secrets than anyone can count. You get courtroom scenes, family drama, a journal, and secrets upon secrets, all why playing the did-he-or-didn’t-he game?! If you like multi-cast audiobooks 100% go with that format. (TW alcoholic/ past child rape in journal recounted, not graphically detailed/ recounts child abuse, brief detail/ mentions nude photos taken without consent/ side character cancer diagnosis/ attempted suicide mention, detail)
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2020 upcoming releases and 2021. An Unusual Suspects Pinterest board. Get Tailored Book Recommendations!
Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.