Hello mystery fans! I am currently enjoying watching The Other Black Girl (Hulu) and am totally curious to see if and how the ending will be the same or different.
Newish newsletter alert + a chance to win books! Book Riot’s editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive! During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler plus five mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!
Bookish Goods
New Releases
Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar
For fans of gritty, historical crime novels!
Clyde “The Viper” Morton decided to leave Alabama in 1936 to pursue his dream of being a jazz musician in Harlem. But when his dream doesn’t happen, he finds a “career” in selling pot. That is until heroine becomes the drug, which he won’t sell, but it still manages to threaten the life he’s made for himself. Follow Viper from the ’40s to the ’60s as the music scene and crime scene unfold around him—including why he’s about to be arrested for murder.
Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter
For fans of murder mysteries with unique formats!
You will be fully immersed in solving this cold case murder mystery, which is entirely told through interviews, newspaper articles, text messages, and docuseries episode transcripts.
That docuseries you’re reading is put together by Guy Howard, who, as a child, was the only person in the house when his stepfather, Luke Ryder, was murdered in the garden. It’s been almost two decades since it happened, and no one was ever arrested, so Guy thinks this docuseries, and going over all the information of the case, will finally solve it. His mom has dementia, and his sisters want nothing to do with the show, but Guy is determined to have the case solved…
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
This week’s backlist theme is inspired by two things: I recently listened to the audiobook Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker, and I finally got around to listening to the podcast Maintenance Phase—the hosts, Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes, are hilarious and I highly recommend it!. So here are two mystery/thrillers that go into the “wellness” world.
Kismet by Amina Akhtar
Ronnie Khan will grab at any opportunity to leave her aunt in NY, which is how she ends up following Marley Dewhurst to Sedona, Arizona. But has she traded one bad situation for another by moving to a place where she only knows her recently met socialite wellness guru? It seems the town is being overrun by crows, and even worse, there’s a string of murders…
The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John
Sveta Bentzen ends up inheriting Xanadu, a wellness center in Mexico, when her uncle, the guru of said place, dies. But things are anything but okay when she arrives: her aunt wants the estate for herself, there are signs that maybe her uncle was murdered, and things are maybe not well in this wellness center.
News and Roundups
Chris Evans Reveals His Favorite Scene From Knives Out
Millie Bobby Brown Wrote a Wartime Mystery Historical Fiction Novel That She’ll Adapt Into a Film
54 New Books to Discover This Hispanic Heritage Month
Want to Crack the Case? These Are The 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2023 releases and upcoming 2024 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 Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
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