The last of the pumpkin pie with chocolate crust has been eaten and I’m comforting myself with books. I have a lot of great books to talk about so I’ll wait a moment while you reinforce your shelves… Ready?
Read this, then that:
Catherine McKenzie’s Fractured is about an author, Julie Apple, who wrote a popular book, has a stalker, and moves to a new home where a neighbor is very intense about how the neighborhood should behave. The name of the book that the fictional character Julie Apple wrote is The Murder Game, which is now a real book—Meredith has to prosecute a friend from law school accused of murder whose defense lawyer is Meredith’s ex-boyfriend from law school. It’s a bit confusing BUT I recommend reading them backwards for a few reasons, including avoiding spoilery things, because they were great mystery page-turners. So read The Murder Game by Julie Apple and then Fractured by Catherine McKenzie (they’re both really written by McKenzie).
I love Marcia Clark’s new series!
It reminds me of Scandal/HTGAWM in twists, reveals, and the “good guys” aren’t always good guys. In Blood Defense, Sam is a defense lawyer trying to get her practice to succeed instead of hemorrhaging money and takes the case of a detective accused of murdering two women—one was a TV star. In Moral Defense, Sam, Michelle (her best friend/office manager), and Alex (criminal turned investigator) are back solving the case of a brutal family murder that left one surviving member: the teen daughter.
Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train, has a new book, Into the Water, scheduled for May 2017 release!
Did you know you can cook along with Chief Inspector Gamache? Well, sort of: Recipes from the world of Three Pines.
HBO’s Big Little Lies adaptation has a premiere date!
Calling all Veronica Mars fans:
I usually don’t see the connection when books comp VM, but I can see it with Stephanie Tromly’s Trouble Makes a Comeback (Trouble #2) audiobook. Especially compared to VM’s high school years: there’s the one big plot carried on from the previous season book that takes place outside of the school (the disappearance of Digby’s sister) along with the smaller plot inside the school. Zoe and Digby aren’t Veronica and Logan but the contentious relationship is there, along with the fun elements from the show. The book does a good summary of the previous book if you’re looking to jump in here.
For fiction/nonfiction fans looking for a good spy story and perfect for anyone looking for a non-violent mystery/true crime:
The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell: A Dyslexic Traitor, an Unbreakable Code, and the FBI’s Hunt for America’s Stolen Secrets by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee: This read like a spy novel/movie except it was true—which I had to keep reminding myself every time I thought, “That’s not realistic!” Bhattacharjee takes you into the world of a man who spent his life feeling he had to prove his intelligence so once he felt his life sinking he decided to save himself by concocting a plot you’d only see in a spy movie. Unlike fiction you get the real process the FBI has to take when a traitor is suspected amongst them.
Are you a fan of fictional serial killers? Here are 16!
Nailbiter by Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson (Artist): A dark and awesome graphic novel that takes place in Buckaroo, Oregon where 16 of the world’s most notorious serial killers have come from. Clearly there is something going on! At least that’s what NSA Agent Carroll believes when he calls agent Finch to come meet him. But when Finch arrives Carroll is nowhere to be found… Did I mention the infamous “Nailbiter” has been released from jail?
Adaptations On My Radar:
I wish I could already add the USA Network adaptation of Petra Hammesfahr’s novel The Sinner to my TiVo’s OnePass.
I want the novel and adaptation of Tangerine now!
Peter Cameron’s Andorra has a bookseller main character and the adaptation has cast Gillian Anderson which is all I need to want to read the book and watch the movie.
More Fantastic November Releases!
The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything (Avraham Avraham #3) by D.A. Mishani: I love Mishani’s series—for one I don’t think there are many crime/mystery novels coming from Israel and second his novels read as if they’re written with kindness. In the latest of the series Inspector Avraham Avraham (who takes issue with fictional mysteries since he thinks they always get the wrong person) recognizes a murder victim as the victim of rape from a previous case. Told in alternating POV you’re taken into the daily lives of Avraham and Bengtson, a woman in a troubled marriage. Perfect for fans of police procedurals and the exploration of human nature.
Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith (Translator): This begins as a detective mystery—detective Sasagaki is investigating the murder of a pawn shop owner and then a possible suicide—that segues into a crime novel that follows characters connected in some way to the deaths and then ends back with detective Sasagaki who refused to give up on his case. It’s a very dark crime novel, sprinkled with a great detective, and threaded with a whodunnit mystery.
Watch Now!
Tell No One: Adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel is about a couple who are attacked, leaving only the husband, Alexandre, as a survivor with no memory of the event. Eight years later, with Margot’s killer behind bars, two more bodies are found and Alexandre (I like to call him French Dustin Hoffman) finds himself once again a suspect. This had it all: mystery, crime, twists, chases, secrets, deception…
Currently streaming on Netflix.
Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime feel free to come talk books with me on Litsy, you can find me under Jamie Canaves.
No need to mince words here: we are giving one lucky Book Riot reader $250 to blow at Amazon. Overstuff those stockings or get a jump on your New Year reading pile–up to you. Go here to enter.
I’m still giving CBS all the side-eye possible for 
Among the Ruins
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta
The Trespasser
IQ by Joe Ide
The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P. D. James
Four Rabbi Small Mysteries: Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry, Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home, and Monday the Rabbi Took Off by Harry Kemelman
San Juan Noir by Mayra Santos-Febres