Hello, mystery fans! It’s Liberty here with you today, filling in for Jamie. I’m very excited, because I love mysteries, and I love talking about books. So this works out perfectly! Just for you today, I have a locked room mystery, a locked spaceship mystery, a cold case, an off-planet investigation, and more!
Before we begin, be sure to check out First Edition! BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.
Bookish Goods
I’m Basically a Detective sticker by AutonomousN
Who hasn’t watched several episodes of Monk or Murder, She Wrote and thought this? ($3)
New Releases
The Mill House Murders: The Classic Japanese Locked Room Mystery by Yukito Ayatsuji, Ho-Ling Wong (translator)
Pushkin Vertigo’s classic mystery series is great. They’ve already released Ayatsuji’s classic The Decagon House Murders. This is another in the “let’s go to an isolated location, what could go wrong?” genre. It’s about a group of friends making the trek to a remote castle to check on an old friend who hasn’t left his home since a horrible accident. But this time, there will be blood. Lots and lots of it. (CW for violence, injury, murder, and death.)
The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether
And this is an excellent, atmospheric debut mystery. In 1983, the remains of a woman and two little girls were found in barrels in the middle of a New Mexico forest. One girl was the woman’s daughter, the other was not. No leads are found, no identities are attached to the victims, and slowly, the case grows cold. Now on the 30th anniversary of their discovery, a police detective and a woman recovering from a double mastectomy will both become obsessed with the newly-reopened cold case. In this age of science, what new discoveries can be made? And what are these cold spots and feelings of being watched that they are both experiencing? (CW for mentions of violence, assault, and murder against women and children, cancer and cancer recovery, injury and death.)
This is inspired in part by the true case of decades-old murders in New Hampshire that were solved with DNA by Barbara Rae-Venter, the same genetic genealogist who helped uncover the identity of the Golden State Killer. She also recently released a book: I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
One of my most recent favorite mystery sub-genres is mysteries in space! Not “what kind of alien is that?” mysteries, I’m talking, “Who opened the airlock while the captain was in there?” mysteries! I am excited for everyone to read The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei, which comes out in July. In the meantime, please enjoy these two great recent releases!
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
This is a mystery aboard a spaceship, with a whopping side of horror, too. The Calypso has been flying aorund the universe for over a century, trying to find a new habitable planet for what remains of Earth’s humans. But supplies have dwindled and dissent is brewing. Jacklyn Albright has only been the acting captain of the ship for two weeks. For years, the Calypso has been subjected to attacks outside the ship from an unknown, unseen enemy. But now someone is attacking people inside the ship. Could it have something to do with the highly sensitive information that has been entrusted to an eerily human-looking robot? Jacklyn will have to find the killer to get answers. (CW for violence, murder, gore, loss of a loved one, suicide, mass casualties.)
The Mimicking of Known Successes (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti) by Malka Older
And last, but not least, a slim, fun romantic mystery set on Jupiter! While investigating the disappearance of a man in a colony on the largest planet, detective Mossa runs into her ex-girlfriend, Pleiti. Mossa’s case soon takes a turn and requires the help of Pleiti, a professor. But as old flames start to reignite, they can’t let them get in the way of solving the case. Malka Older is a great writer, and you should also check out her Centenal Cycle if you like smart sci-fi. (CW for animal death, injury, violence, murder.)
News and Roundups
Chaos Terminal, the sequel to the space mystery Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty, is headed our way in November!
Here are 16 New Mystery and Thrillers To Get Sleuthing With in May 2023!
I am loving so many of the recent middle grade mysteries that I have read, so I wrote a roundup of some of my favorites.
To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse by Howard Fishman, about the real-life enigmatic singer who drove away one day in 1974 and was never seen again, is now available.
Viking Penguin will publish Carson Faust’s debut novel, When the Living Haunt the Dead, a Native American Southern gothic.
Nancy Drew retro-style action aigures and an all-new novella are available through a new Kickstarter campaign.
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2023 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 Jamie on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find her under Jamie Canavés. (You can find Liberty on Instagram and All the Books!)
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