Author: Jamie Canaves

If you’re looking for a cat-and-mouse thriller, absolutely grab this one for $4.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a great standalone mystery that will make you hot no matter how cold your current weather is and have yet to read Jane Harper, absolutely pick this up for $2.99! (Review)

If you’ve yet to read Attica Locke, you should really resolve that! Here’s here first novel set in 1981 Houston, Texas, following lawyer Jay Porter for $4.99!

If you’re looking for a remote setting (snowed in rest stop of strangers) and an intense thriller, pick this up for $1.99! (Review)

I don’t know how long this will last but as of writing this, this page-turning murder mystery, is less than a dollar which is ridiculous! If you want an interesting setup and a twisty book, pick this up! (Review)

Am I going to review every single Lady Sherlock book? Absolutely! I love this series so much–that same feeling you seek in watching things like Ted Lasso is how I feel every year with a new Lady Sherlock. It’s a delightful treat!

Do you need to start at the beginning of the series? I would definitely start with A Study in Scarlet Women because of all the character’s relationships and many are based on events from past books.

Just to give you an idea of how much I enjoy the humor and fun of these books: this time around we start with sexting but you know the very old school version of writing naughty things in letters that now sound PG. Charlotte Holmes is still keeping up the pretense that she works for Sherlock Holmes, her brother, and not that she is Sherlock Holmes. And who does she end up working for this time? None other than the big daddy of the nemesis Moriarty. Seems his daughter has found herself in a cult and he’s very worried about her and the money she’s giving them. So naturally Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to said cult to figure out what exactly is going on, while of course working for someone they can’t trust.

If you’re already a fan I highly recommend you catch-up with the series as you’ll once again be treated to a twisty tale that’s fun and humorous and exciting, plus it’s going to leave you with your mouth possibly hanging open (most certainly!).

If you’ve yet to discover Lady Sherlock, I highly recommend you get to know Holmes and Watson, the ladies who make a fantastic team filled with mystery solving and friendship.

Bonus: the audiobook narrator, Kate Reading, is the loveliest!

I have been bamboozled quite a few times recently with books being labeled thrillers that are not actually thrillers. So color me the most page-turning happy reader to discover this was very much a thriller, and hands down one of my favorite books of the year.

It’s such a great blend of page-turner thriller while also being a smart exploration of grief and the cost of revenge. And a whole lot of trying to figure out what is happening!

Camille Gardner is still angry that her daughter’s accused killer has not faced any consequences. So you can imagine how hearing that he’s winning a humanitarian award would tip her over the edge. Her spiraling puts her on the radar of the collective–a group of women with a secret chat forum that can get you selected to enter a world of enacting justice for someone else in the group who is grieving. Soon Camille is thrown into this world, but at what cost? Who is orchestrating their brand of justice? And is Camille ready for real revenge beyond the fantasy of it?

It’s so good, and wow do I want to tell you about my very favorite thing about this book but its the ending so *zips lips*. Pick this up and clear your schedule, you’re not going to be able to put it down.

(TW panic attacks/ recounts past suicide attempt, detail/ mentions of suicides, detail/ brief ableist language/ date rape/ dead name used/ mentions rape cases, not graphic)

If you’re looking for a crime novel that will making you say, “WTF?” grab this one for $1.99!

If you want a slasher film in book form with the mystery of who, pick up this fun book for $1.99!

If you’re looking for a cozy series set in a Jewish community in the ‘60s with a Rabbi solving crimes, snatch this up for $2.99!

The sequel to The Vanishing Season is $2.99 and I highly recommend Schaffhausen’s procedurals for anyone who is a fan of shows like Bones and Castle.

This is one of the few series that I wait in anticipation for and read as soon as I can get my hands on the newest release. Even if I was bored with historical mystery (I am not), I would still be reading this series. I think that while many series stick to keeping things familiar–which makes sense from the view of readers wanting to find comfort from what they have returned for–I love that this series has really allowed the characters to grow and evolve. For that reason I do recommend you start at the beginning with A Rising Man, although it isn’t a must in that you won’t be lost in this book since it’s all explained.

Set in 1920s Calcutta, during British rule, we get two points of view in alternating chapters. Both are officers with the Imperial Police Force but they are very different: Captain Sam Wyndham is a former Scotland Yard detective and Sergeant Surendranath Banerjee is one of the first Indians on the force. The book begins with Banerjee accused of murder. Raising the stakes even higher, he’s accused of the murder of a religious Hindu leader. Not only does he need to prove that he’s innocent to save his own life, but he needs to stop the ethnic violence that will come from a religious leader being murdered.

You get a whodunnit murder mystery–if not Banerjee, then who?–but also the contrasting personalities and POVs of Wyndham and Banerjee, along with the race against time based on the political situation and Banerjee being imprisoned for murder that makes this a huge page-turner to get lost in.

This is a thoughtful, compassionate look at a devastating case: the 2014 death of Padma and Lalli, two teen girls, who grew up in a village in western Uttar Pradesh. From their disappearance to the discovery of their bodies, everything in this case was mishandled.

Faleiro, who grew up in Delhi, thankfully isn’t interested in the gawking nor the “sport” that a big portion of true crime has become (or maybe always was). She brings Padma and Lalli to life, along with the town, and takes a look at the legal system in India (particularly laws and cases around rape), the caste systems, and the pressures of being a girl/woman in India. There are a lot of layers to this book, including the way this case was reported and discussed around the world, and it takes care to use the central case of this book to discuss a lot of things leaving readers with much to question and think on.

I went with the audiobook format, narrated by the author, and was very glad I made that selection.

(TW mentions gang rape case, details/ case is debated murder or suicide, detail/ brief discussion of infanticide/ <— those are the ones I made notes on, there was discussions about violent cases and histories.)

Here’s another of my favorite historical mystery series. It’s set in the same time period as Abir Mukherjee’s series but both feel very different from each other with Sujata Massey’s series focusing on the cases of Perveen Mistry, one of the first female solicitors in India. If you want to start at the beginning pick up The Widows of Malabar Hill for all the character’s personal life bits, but you won’t be lost starting with the third book.

Edward VIII, Prince of Wales is coming to visit Bombay to start a four-month tour and there is unrest. A young Parsi college student had gone to Perveen seeking guidance on a school matter in what they could force students to do and not do regarding protests. Now she’s dead, having fallen from a second floor during a procession for the Prince. The coincidence of her having just visited Perveen raises questions for Perveen in whether this was an accident or not and when the coroner says it was a murder, Perveen offers her service to the family.

I loved that as much as this is a murder mystery, we also get to see a lot of the legal side of cases during this time period, including a court inquest, a lot of different voices, and how Perveen always thinks about how her behavior can impact any female lawyers that are coming up behind her. I always look forward to what is in store for Perveen.

(TW questions if case can be suicide/ attempted forced undressing of woman/ brief mention of past domestic abuse, not detailed/ ableism)

And in case you missed my review earlier this year and want a standalone historical mystery, here’s another case of a woman falling to her death and the question of whether it’s murder. (Review)

A comedy of errors mystery meets a romance novel for $6.99! (Review)

An excellent true crime memoir for $1.99 (Review)

A British procedural about a detective tasked with figuring out how there are new murders if the serial killer is behind bars for $1.99! (Review)

A literary historical novel set during the Atlanta Child Murders by an exceptional writer for 2.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a deep dive into a journalist’s life that takes you through her work and personal life as she reports on what starts as a missing child case, grab this one. You get inside the life of a reporter, community activism, politics, and a case from beginning to end. (TW teen murder sexual assault not on page, recounted by medical examiner/ discussions of sexual assault cases; predators and groomers, not graphic/ brief suicide on page/ mentions past murders by domestic abuse partners)

If you want a page-turner with corporate intrigue, family drama, past and present chapters, and a lawyer MC that becomes the main suspect, this was one of my rare reads this year that kept me up past my bedtime! (Review)

If you like cozies, food, and want to start a brand new series, here’s your next delicious read, set in South Florida! Bonus: recipes! (Review)

The sequel to An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good is finally here! I would recommend reading the first because it’s fun but also this one starts at the end of that one, and even though it’s stories of her past, it still tells you how the last one ended and what she’s doing now. Spoiler: still up to no good.

I really liked Fallen Mountains and have been anticipating Kimi Cunningham Grant’s next novel. This is set in the Appalachian woods where a man and young girl live cut off from the world except for two people who know they are there. When one of them doesn’t show up for his yearly trip to bring them their food supply, things begin to unravel…

If you want a cozy mystery that feels written for fans of Practical Magic (widow, magic, witches, family) with a murder mystery, here you go. And perfect vibes for fall reading if you’re a mood reader.

A fantastic way to find great new mystery writers is through an anthology filled with short stories by awesome crime writers. Steph Cha has taken over the annual Best American Mystery Stories anthology and her first editor selected was Alafair Burke, who produced this collection. If you’re curious about the stories, Steph Cha posted a Twitter thread!

Here’s a dark and twisty school mystery that is set in 1940s Washington, DC. Two teenage girls try to solve the murder of a classmate and determine why one of their teachers has dramatically changed. This sounds like a great read if you’re looking for a nod to the femme fatale noir classics.

If you’re a fan of Nordic noir and want the dark storytelling without graphic violence on the page, here’s one with a journalist lead! It’s especially for fans of the trope “a person on the run reaches out to a journalist who gets mixed into the murder plot.” (TW: discussions of sexual assault and child abuse)

If you’re looking for a procedural series set in Chicago, here’s the sequel to Only The Holy Remain. This time around the murder mystery Detective Frank Calhoun is working on is of a rookie police officer and a social worker.

Mystery meets quirky, comedic, and paranormal: a travel agent who is psychic, and has a murdered fiancé, teams up with a Seattle PD detective to solve a cold case.

Let’s get into the whole “cozy mystery” subgenre for a second: it, like the romance genre, has rules–albeit very different ones. There is no sex, cursing, or graphic violence on page in a cozy mystery. While many readers of the subgenre are only looking for the “cozy” feeling and don’t necessarily care or realize the rules, they are still there. I say all this because I’ve seen this book labeled a cozy mystery even though it breaks the actual genre rules and I hate to see a book not find its intended audience–meaning I don’t want readers who read the genre for the very specific rules to then go tank the ratings because there is swearing and talk of sex. You do get the cozy vibes of baking and small town, without graphic violence– but toss in a lead who can be abrasive as she many times blurts out what she’s thinking before editing the thought, and has a business of making macabre desserts (yum!). Not only is she going to have to figure out who killed her ex-boyfriend’s uncle, but she may want to take care to not be on the list of next to die…

And I’ll end October with two blockbuster books. The first, on a sad note since this was posthumously published. It is of course about the spy world and ties the past to the present, but fans will also probably be thrilled to discover it’s set in an English seaside town and follows Julian Lawndsley who has just taken over a bookshop.

Hillary Clinton teamed up with Louise Penny, her IRL friend and the author of the very popular mystery series Chief Inspector Armand Gamache to write a political thriller. I’m currently listening to the audiobook and am especially curious to see how much feels overlapped to her being the main character–I may have LOLed at her having made the character a widow.

If you’re looking for a fictional serial killer page turner here’s one for $2.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a Scandinavian whydunnit with court room scenes here’s one for $2.99! (Review)

From the author of Mexican Gothic and Certain Dark Things, this slow-burn suspense and coming-of-age story set in Baja California, Mexico is on sale for $1.99 (Review)

There’s a study being conducted on psychopaths at a university, by one of the professors. He believes much of what has been believed and the way society treats psychopaths is wrong. The students enrolled wear specific smart watches and keep a journal along with meeting with the professor. They do not know of any other members in the study, nor does the public know of this study.

We mainly get the point of view of three students in the study: Chloe, Charles, and Andre. Chloe is very clearly in the study and at this school for only one reason: she’s going to kill the student who assaulted her when she was a tween. That’s it, get out of her way. Charles is very much using the program to learn and adapt and trying to do well in school and maintain his relationship with his girlfriend. Andre is lying about being a psychopath–what started as kind of a joke snowballed and then he couldn’t turn down a full scholarship. While they all have their own individual issues, they all end up with one shared issue: someone is killing them off!

This worked for me on a lot of levels, starting with it being thoughtfully written and not another book filled with stereotypes. I really liked how different all the characters were and following their individual stories. As for the main reasons I couldn’t put this book down: I really needed to know if Chloe would succeed and also to find out who is behind the murders! I really look forward to what Kurian writes next.

(TW nonconsensual drugging/ past tween rape/ adult child abuse/ briefly recounts teacher student statutory relationship, not graphic/ webcam hacking and non-consensual distribution of sexual images/ past suicide briefly mentioned, detail)

I absolutely stayed up way past my bedtime reading this. I was grabbed from the very opening page as Phoenix, a seventeen-year-old, is sent to rob a home by her mother–I mean there is already so much to unpack! I will stop here for a second to say I knew NOTHING about this book when I started and loved watching how layer by layer everything past and present unfolds. Brooke Lauren Davis clearly understands that part of a good mystery/thriller can be in the way information is doled out to the reader. So with that said, I can’t remember what is revealed early vs later, so if you like the full ride, just go grab the book rather than reading below.

After that tense opening scene, you follow along as this mother duo team (Phoenix and Nina), who are living in a van and steal everything they need, make their way to a small town that Nina grew up in. They have one very clear mission: ruin the life of the man who ruined Nina’s life. It’s not going to be so easy though, because Ellis Bowman is literally the town hero. The head of the perfect and beloved family. He’s also a blockbuster author who keeps putting out memoir/self-help books based on how perfect his life is.

But Nina has a plan, and Phoenix is to carry it out. Except things immediately go wrong, and Phoenix ends up being taken in by the Bowman family. Maybe this new plan will work better? But while Bowman’s son is like a golden retriever in human form and ready to believe all of Phoenix’s lies and help her, his sister Melody is the complete opposite. Melody is certain Phoenix is there for the family’s recent misfortune and to sell information to the papers.

What starts as a straight revenge plan suddenly gets more complicated for Phoenix as she recognizes herself in Melody and starts to have difficult decisions to make in carrying out her mom’s plan.

I loved the way this unfolded, how you get to know past and present Nina, and Melody and Phoenix’s relationship. I also loved the way the points of view are shown: instead of the present story being from the revenge seekers POV, we only see in past chapters what happened to lead up to Nina wanting revenge and the rest of the book is narrated by Phoenix who doesn’t know she’s caught between it all until it’s too late.

(TW domestic abuse, not graphic nor on page but a “fleeing” scene/ statutory rape/ brief mention of past suicide, detail/ side character with terminal cancer)

Excellent memoir + true crime nonfiction that is a great comp for readers who liked Just Mercy. And it’s $4.99! (Review)

This is “chick-lit” meets mystery and currently $1.99! (Review)