Hi, mystery fans! The third season of Slow Horses has started on Apple TV+! It’s fun because it’s a twist on the spy genre — these spies have all been kicked out of MI5 for various reasons.
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that bookish special someone in your life this holiday season? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! Here at TBR, we pair our customers with a professional book nerd (aka bibliologist) who just gets them. They fill out a survey and then sit back and relax as we pick books just for them. We’ve got three levels — recs-only, paperback, and hardcover — and you can gift a full year or one time, so there are options for every budget! Get all the details at mybtro.com/gift.
Bookish Goods
Let’s all go to the library vinyl sticker by CTKRStudio
I’ll forgive this sticker for giving me an earworm because it’s so cute! ($3)
New Releases
The Owl Cries by Hye-Young Pyun, Sora Kim-Russell (Translator)
For fans of noir, anxiety-inducing genre blends, atmospheric and slow-burn reads, and translated crime!
Bak Insu is a forester living nearby with his family and a recovering alcoholic. The forester prior to him mysteriously disappeared, but Bak Insu—and those living in the small village dependent on the forest—claim no knowledge of the previous forester. Then an accident, death, attempted break-in, and mysterious note occur, and Bak Insu must question what exactly may be happening in this forest…
Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree that Changed America by Harry N. MacLean
For readers of true crime and history!
Over the course of two years, in the late 1950s, Charles Starkweather (19) and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate (14) traveled across Nebraska and Wyoming. Starkweather killed 11 people, including Fugate’s family. It’s the case behind Natural Born Killers and Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. Many questions have remained, including Fugate’s involvement, which MacLean sought out to answer not only with existing research but also by interviewing Fugate.
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
In the previous two newsletters, I highlighted graphic novels for mystery fans (Lady Killer, Volume 1 and Goldie Vance Vol. 1) and middle grade mysteries (Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland and Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce) that you should absolutely read since Goodreads dropped those categories from its awards. So this time, I’m focusing on poets writing true crime memoir and mysteries.
Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping by Shane McCrae
For true crime memoir readers!
Shane McCrae’s maternal grandparents kidnapped him when he was a toddler in order to hide him from his Black father and have him raised by a white family. Shane was tricked into participating to keep his father from him until Shane’s false memories made him question his life and identity, ultimately sending him looking for the truth and his father.
Shane McCrae’s poetry collections: In the Language of My Captor; Sometimes I Never Suffered; The Gilded Auction Block; Cain Named the Animal
The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani
For fans of dark crime novels!
Sunli, a doctor who specializes in sociopathy, is to evaluate conjoined twins Fire and Water because they were found bathing near a barrel that was filled with blood. The detective on the case needs to solve this case and is certain Fire and Water must be responsible, thus wanting Sunli to prove him correct. But Sunli has his doubts…
Chris Abani‘s poetry collections: Smoking the Bible; Sanctificum; Kalakuta Republic; Hands Washing Water
I had also previously — in an October newsletter — highlighted two poets who’d written excellent true crime memoirs: Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey and The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson.
News and Roundups
Aussie Crime Series Troppo Sells Across Europe
Without a Cue spins A Christmas Carol into interactive murder mystery
It’s the Perfect Time to Curl Up with a Cozy Book
Kay Scarpetta confronts Bigfoot clue in excerpt from Patricia Cornwell’s Unnatural Death
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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