Hello mystery fans! I’m currently watching Based on a True Story (Peacock) and so far not sure it knows what it wants to be? We’ll see how it continues. My reading life has been excellent recently and I got an early audiobook for Juno Dawson’s The Shadow Cabinet (sequel to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven) and I started Angie Kim’s upcoming Happiness Falls — both have me hooked already!
And have you checked out Book Riot’s newest newsletter? If you’re looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals, subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.
Bookish Goods
So Many Books, So Little Time Mini Puzzle by PeanutButterTaco
For fans of mini puzzles — this also looks like a great gift! ($9)
New Releases
What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman
For fans of neighborhood murder mysteries and secrets!
Alexis — pregnant with her second child and looking to leave her past behind — and Sam — working to make partner at his law firm — have just bought a fixer upper in a D.C. suburb. And while they are welcomed into their community, when a neighbor is found dead it ends up dividing people, raising tensions, and forcing secrets to start to come out.
The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson
For fans of Nordic crime, murder mystery, and everyone-has-a-secret thrillers!
After becoming a widower, Bill Olsson is struggling financially and allows a lodger, Karla, to move in with him and his daughter. Karla is a law student who works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Rytters. Then the Rytters are murdered and Karla is brought in for questioning…
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Here are two murder mysteries — one past, one present — set on school campuses, that have great audiobook productions.
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
For fans of murder mysteries, school settings, and multiple POVs for right before the murder and right after!
Kenneth, Trey, and Ramón attend a charter school in D.C., The Urban Promise Prep School, that uses cruelty and punishment as it prides itself on being a great education for raising boys into men. When the school principal is murdered, all three boys become suspects as we follow each one’s life right before the murder and since, and also get to hear community members chime in on their opinions on the boys.
The audiobook has a great full cast and well-produced production that adds, without distraction, atmospheric sounds. The narrators are Alfred Vines, Anthony Lopez, Brad Sanders, Christopher Hampton, Eliana Marianes, Hannah Church, Henriette Zoutomou, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Maria Liatis, Renier Cortes, Suehyla El-Attar, and Xenia Willacey.
(TW child abuse/ mentions alcoholism)
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
For fans of returning to past school, a past murder mystery being questioned, and a true crime podcast host!
Bodie Kane doesn’t have the fondest memories of attending Granby School, a boarding school in New England, where her roommate was murdered. However, that doesn’t stop her from taking a job to teach a film class there. One of her students decides to focus her assignment on the past murder, believing the man in prison may be innocent, forcing Kane to reconcile with her present and her past…
Audiobook fans get a great production that is mostly narrated by Julia Whelan with a bit narrated by JD Jackson.
(TW brief mention past drug overdose, brief mention past addiction and death unknown if suicide, detail/ brief mention past domestic abuse/ mentions sexual assault case/ eating disorder/ rumors of statutory student teacher/ past memory possible suicide attempt/ recounts past groping/ mentions suicide cases, method mentioned/ mentions of terminal cancer diagnosis and death)
News and Roundups
Start Reading the Queer Murder Mystery Manslaughter Park
Readers’ Top New Mysteries from the First Half of 2023
Alex Segura is teaching a one day online Masterclass with the Miami Book Fair: Blending Genres to Benefit Your Story with Alex Segura
Sarah Michelle Gellar reunites with Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Machine at Universal Studios
Amazon’s Best Books of 2023 So Far
The latest First Edition podcast dives into the audio boom!
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 me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
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