Hi mystery fans! After two mystery books that did the old mental illness boogeyman I needed a palate cleanser, so I grabbed the audio for Alexis Hall’s Husband Material, which I’d been saving as a treat, and it’s the best decision I made this week (I can listen to Joe Jameson say Lucian on a loop forever and ever if anyone makes that happen). And this weekend I plan on finishing two winter titles: Keigo Higashino’s Death In Tokyo and Maureen Johnson’s Nine Liars (Truly Devious #5). I hope you’re also reading great things and if not hopefully I’ve got you covered below with new releases, FBI nonfic, and news and roundups.
Bookish Goods
New Releases
The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao
For fans of past mystery and coming of age stories! Anna Xu is a university freshman so school and everything related should be taking up all her time, except seven years ago her childhood babysitter went missing as a sophomore at the same university. So naturally she’s going to solve the case! Which is difficult enough but she has way more stress on her plate considering her parents’ bakery now has competition and the son of the competing bakery is also in school with her. How will he fit in with everything already going on in her life?!
When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff
(TW sexual assault) This is one of those books with a setup that immediately hooked me: Twenty-three year old Cassie Quinn gets a phone call that her younger brother Billy has been arrested for raping his girlfriend. Quinn immediately knows it’s a lie. Not because she doesn’t believe that our rape culture exists (she does), but because she’s certain Billy is the exception. She hates his girlfriend and believes they’ve had a volatile relationship so she returns home to be there for Billy, her parents, her other brother, and help with the trial. From there we get to know this wealthy family, the lawyers taking on the case, and even the accuser–all through Cassie’s eyes. This is both an exploration of our rape culture and a family drama, with a good dose of legal mystery. I inhaled the audiobook which has a great narrator, Marin Ireland.
(TW date rape case, past attempted assault/ recounts alcoholic parents/ grooming, statutory)
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
FBI nonfiction: one on the violent side and one on the not violent side.
Three Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History by Joe Navarro
Joe Navarro was an FBI agent who retells his obsession with proving that a former American soldier, Rod Ramsay, was a spy after noticing his body language in an interview. But because of agency politics and Ramsay’s intelligence, it took years for Navarro to slowly gain Ramsay’s trust and get enough evidence to prove his initial hunch. This is the real life trope of an obsessed investigator who won’t let go of a case to the detriment of their personal life and health with a glimpse into the FBI in the ’80s and counterintelligence.
A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind by Ann Wolbert Burgess, Steven Constantine
This is for readers of sociology, serial killers, social profiling and those interested in the creation of of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. There’s been a bunch of these books over the years but they’re always by a white man so even though I knew these cases, I grabbed the audiobook–Gabra Zackman does a great narration. It was really interesting to hear how Ann Wolbert Burgess went from being a nurse focused on sexually assaulted women to working for the FBI and helping to build the model for how the FBI profiles and studies serial killers.
(All the TWs as it’s just all the most violent cases.)
News and Roundups
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Liberty and Tirzah discuss new releases including Complicit by Winnie M Li on All The Books!
Miss S: How the HBO Max Show Puts a Chinese Spin on Murder Mysteries
Everything we know about HBO’s true-crime series ‘My Dentist’s Murder Trial’
5 mystery books of 2022 that will keep you hooked
How to Help Libraries Affected by the Kentucky and Missouri Floodings
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Livestreaming on Crowdcast: September 13th at 7pm Deanna Raybourn in conversation with Liberty Hardy
Will The CW Nexstar deal affect Walker, Nancy Drew, and more?
Meet this Season’s Dark and Twisty Hits
Censorship News
Florida School District Puts Warnings on 100 Books, including EVERYWHERE BABIES
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2022 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!
Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
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