Hello, mystery fans! Everything Everywhere All at Once is streaming on Amazon Prime Video if you’re in the mood for a bananapants great film.
It’s happening, readers — we’re bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you’re on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we’ve got three different levels for gifting (to yourself or others) to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
Bookish Goods
The Librarian Tarot Card Soft Enamel Pin by librarycatdesigns
For fans of enamel pins and/or a great holiday gift (or any time gift) for a librarian in your life. ($12)
New Releases
Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown
For fans of narratives told in the past and present with diary entries and fictional true crime!
Simone’s father is in prison, having been convicted of murdering her mother when she was 13. Now an adult, she’s trying to prove what she’s always believed: her father is innocent, and her neighbor, the father of her best friend, committed the murder…
Daughter of Ashes (Teresa Battaglia #4) by Ilaria Tuti
For fans of translated procedurals with older protagonists and fictional serial killers summoning the detective to prison!
This is a great series where the lead, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, is in her sixties and has diabetes and dementia — the latter something she has kept hidden from everyone. So, while on sick leave, she’s just going to move into retirement — except a serial killer from her past summons her to the prison he’s held in. It turns out that during his recent escape, he was hired to commit a murder, but he won’t say anything about the crime, including who hired him. So, we watch Battaglia and her partner try to solve what is currently happening while also watching almost 30 years prior the cat and mouse game between the serial killer and Battaglia.
If you want to start at the beginning of this great series, pick up Flowers over the Inferno!
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
This year — and the last few, really — have been exceptional years for the nonfiction genre. I’ve talked a bunch about Liliana’s Invincible Summer being one of my favorite reads of the year, but I also wanted to discuss two more releases this year that are under the radar and worth your reading time. And because sometimes I can’t shut up about books I love, I’ll list at the end my favorite nonfic (not crime) reads of the year.
Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession and the Birth of the Lie Detector by Amit Katwala
For fans of history, criminal justice/forensics, and true crime.
Katwala dives into the history of the lie detector/polygraph, beginning with its creation in the 1920s. While you get that history, including a focus on the creators, it is especially interesting to see the criminal cases where the lie detector was used throughout history. And one would think it is odd that it is coming back into popular use, being that it does not meet scientific standards.
(TW domestic violence/ brief mentions of past child sexual assault, no detail/ suicide, detail, including murder-suicide)
Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba
For fans of genre blends including memoir, history, and crime.
I’ve been a big fan of Gurba since I read her memoir Mean, so I was very much anticipating her 2023 release and pressed play the second I got the audiobook — which she narrates!
Gurba seamlessly blends her life — including the violence that’s been inflicted on her — and our society’s history with violence through the lens of how we create, defend, and allow “creeps” to exist.
A quote I jotted down that has stayed with me: “The living expect a lot from dead women.”
(TWs she talks about so many stories, cases, and histories that it’s easiest to just say everything, though I’ll note it never feels gratuitous or graphic for the sake of it.)
My favorite nonfiction reads of 2023: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.; We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film by Tre’vell Anderson; Hi Honey, I’m Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume; Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper; Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero.
News and Roundups
The Pigeon Tunnel Director Errol Morris On The Suspicious Mind Of Spy-Turned-Novelist David Cornwell
The Maid Author Nita Prose Was Scared to Write a Sequel to Her Best-Selling Novel
The internet is obsessed with this Swedish murder mystery on Netflix. Why?
Nordic Crime Novel Big Brother Set to be Adapted for TV by Act 4
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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