Author: Jamie Canaves

I was recommending legal thrillers the other day to someone and saw that this great series starter is literally free at the moment, which you should grab and read ASAP! (Review)

If you’re looking for a slow-burn psychological crime novel that dives into nature vs nurture, here’s one I enjoyed for $1.99! (Review)

For fans of dark academia, mysteries, and Shakespeare, here’s a great choice for $2.99! The novel starts with Oliver being released from jail and a detective coming to ask if he’ll now finally reveal what really happened ten years ago at the Conservatory…

If the serial killer is in prison who is behind all the new bodies?! If that’s your fictional serial killer trope here’s a great start to a new British detective series.

DI Angelica Henley is having a rough time with her husband not wanting her to go back to work after a leave from being stabbed while on a case. With a young daughter and PTSD, he’d like her to just quit altogether. But she can’t not investigate when the same type of killings start again after the serial killer is already in prison… So she doesn’t actually tell him about the case she’s assigned to–whoopsie. Another big change is that she has a new partner at work, Salim Ramouter, to get to know and train. So between the bodies piling up (old serial killer got someone to work for them? Copycat killer?), a new partner, a pissed off husband, and some work drama, it’s the makings of an intense procedural you’d make a bucket of popcorn for if you were watching it on TV.

I really enjoyed the new partner dynamics (watching them have to get to know each other, trust each other, and navigate their own personal lives), Henley’s tug-of-war between her personal life and being a present mom while working, and that this felt very much like the procedural network shows I always get fully sucked into. I’m excited that it is the start to a series since I very much look forward to more of Henly and Ramouter and their next case. For fictional serial killer fans this should be your next pick!

(TW side character with early onset dementia/ mentions flasher case/ past rape case discussed, detail/ past suicide discussed, not detailed/ mentions suicide cases, brief detail/ panic attacks/ PTSD/ attempted rape)

This is a perfect read for fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club for the excellent balance of murder mystery that doesn’t feel dark because of the unique cast of characters. It’s just a delight to read.

I’ll start with a note on it being the second book in a series: both novels can be read as standalones, although they are both worth reading. The Stranger Diaries (Review) is for fans of the book-within-a-book trope and nods to gothic stories. There is a side character detective who is more focused in the sequel, and ties the two books together: Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur.

Now onto The Postscript Murders. Peggy Smith passing away in her 90s, with a heart condition, isn’t a thing to alert the authorities over. But her home health caretaker Natalka starts to get an uneasy feeling and has some questions about Peggy having been a murder consultant. Starting with, what exactly does that mean and why are there so many books dedicated to her and her help?

The characters of this really make the story delightful, and Griffiths’ clear knowledge and love of the mystery genre shines through. Come for the murder of a “murder consultant” and stay for the mid-30s gay Sikh Detective Sergeant, the ex-monk coffeehouse owner, and former BBC broadcaster, all joining Natalka to solve this murder while getting to know each other better.

I am thrilled to once again be in the land of being able to read the way I used to, and I inhaled two crime novels. I bought and thoroughly enjoyed Bury Me When I’m Dead, which is the start to a PI series. It’s actually three PIs and a secretary working together at their own agency who take on what seems like a simple-ish case of an employee who got caught scamming and disappeared. But as they rack up expenses for travel, get kidnapped, shot at, and discover a whole nest of secrets, they find more danger than answers. If you like PI stories that walk you through the case piece by piece, with great characters and real relationships, here is your next series. (TW parent early stage dementia/ ableism)

And I read The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John, which deceptively looks like a regular fiction book but is really a crime book à la Real Housewives (frenemies!) if they were on a boat with MURDER. All books are beach reads for me, but this is the kind those who use the term generally mean. I will note there were aspects of the writing for the Filipina character that I was not a fan of. (TW mentions past domestic abuse/ possible suicide attempt, not detailed/ past suicide mentioned, not detailed but a character imagines different scenarios with details/ rape recounted/ attempted statutory assault on page)

My current read: I absolutely loved Boyfriend Material (hilarious romcom) so you better believe that I grabbed Hall’s upcoming book, which is literally a romcom meets Great British Bake Off. You know when you get the most delicious dessert put in front of you and you have to fight between inhaling it because OMG so good and also eating it super slow because OMG so good. That is this book and me being at the halfway mark.

If you like unsolved murder mysteries and small towns, here’s one for $1.99! (Review) (TW suicide attempt/ talk of pedophile)

For a clever cat and mouse fictional serial killer read that strips the perps of their power, this is a great thriller and currently $0.99! (Review) (TW rape/ domestic abuse/ mentions suicide, detail)

For fans of nonviolent true crime stories, here’s one that takes a look at who owns dug up dinosaur bones for $2.99! (Review)

This was a surprising YA thriller that started like You and then took it’s own little path. Delilah is having a really hard go as of late: her father has passed away and her mom’s current boyfriend is abusive. Being a cop has put them both in an even more difficult situation, fearful they won’t be believed. When a fellow student, Logan, takes interest in Delilah, her life is only set to get scarier.

He’s not only already following her and obsessed with her, but after witnessing an act that he filmed, he decides to blackmail Delilah into dating him. Cornered and scared, she feels she has no choice but to lie to her best friend and mom and go along with the charade of dating Logan. But how long can she let him control her life? How will she ever get away from him?

This is about being cornered and feeling no one can, or will help. Of being scared. Of believing the wrong choices become correct if they feel like the only lifelines– but where is the line of defense and when does it turn into attacker?

This is listed as the first in a series and I’m curious to see how this can/will continue.

(TW stalking/ domestic abuse, emotional part on page/ dead father/ past suicide attempt, brief detail/ past suicide, brief detail/ drugging without consent)

I’m a fan of Gailey’s novels; they always have super interesting hooks that suck me right in. And anything that gives me any level of an Orphan Black vibe is a thing I am here for. So in case you haven’t realized it, this is both a crime novel and sci-fi. But before you run away if you don’t read sci-fi, it’s very much set in our world, just with a little advancement in science. Clones to be exact.

Evelyn Caldwell has just been awarded for her research and work and should be on top of the world. Except she’s hiding a huge secret. Her husband stole her research and cloned a new wife–more to his specifications!–off of Evelyn. Yup! He lives with that new wife, Martine, and no one can know or Evelyn’s research and career will be in serious danger.

What could go wrong? Oh, just a little death. And clean up. And ex and clone teaming up because crime upon crime just means the cover up needs to be bigger and more involved…

I really liked the idea of a wife having to team up with the “better made version of herself” who wants and is all the things she doesn’t want to be and isn’t. It creates a great dynamic while raising a bunch of questions (including ethical science ones), and leaves the reader kind of rooting for getting away with murder. And I am excited for the adaptation!

If you’re an audiobook reader I recommend listening to a sample before deciding, I switched to print and had a totally different experience in tone and voice of the character.

(TW past child and domestic abuse, mostly alluded/ present domestic abuse recounted/ death faked as suicide, brief detail)

Holy revenge, Batman! This is a delicious page-turner with so many layers of revenge, you won’t soon forget. I absolutely loved watching how this unfolded starting with a jerk teacher at a prep school who thinks it’s his job to punish others into being better… I’m super excited about this one so mark your calendars for July 20th.

If your checklist has dark, fictional serial killer, and page-turner, pick up this thriller from Hillier for $2.99! (Review) (TW: rape scenes/ domestic violence/ pedophilia off page)

Looking for history and true crime? For $1.99 you got it!

If you want to travel to the 1950s and wonder what is under London, here’s a fun secret organization murder-mystery for $2.99! (Review) (TW past suicide mentioned kind of as reveal, brief detail)

If you can read brutal true crime memoirs, this was the first true crime memoir I read that I found to be an excellent read and it’s currently $2.99. (Review) (All the trigger warnings)

Why yes the retired NBA player is an author of a Sherlock series, and you can check it out for $2.99!

If you’re looking for a recent in history historical and a character-driven spy story, here you go for $2.99! (TW child abuse/ suicide)

Baby read her first manga. And loved it! I am kind of mad at myself that this whole time I just assumed manga wasn’t for me and was totally wrong and I have been missing out. If a part of your brain just asked anything about manga, this may help.

This is the first volume in a series about a spy, which is more than enough to keep me interested. But this is so much more. Loid is a spy and for his next mission to be successful he must get close to his target, and the best way to do that is through their kids at a private school. Easy peasy. Except Loid doesn’t have any kids. The obvious solution for him is to randomly adopt a kid and find a wife to fake a family with him, as one does (?). Here is where this gets fun-fun: unbeknownst to Loid, the child he adopts, Anya, is able to read people’s thoughts, and the fake wife, Yor, is actually an assassin. I know!

It makes for a lot of fun that none of them know this about each other while they form this fake family to get Anya enrolled into an elite school, where they need to get her accepted first for Loid to have any chance at accomplishing his mission. Nothing is going to go right! I inhaled the first two volumes and the only thing that has slowed down my reading from already being caught up is they seem to randomly go out of print (in paperback), and you have to wait a little for a new printing. Totally worth the wait. So if you want a fun read with laughs, spies, assassins, and action here you go! If you’re hesitant about reading a manga, you can read the opening on Amazon with the “preview”.

I recommend going into this with zero knowledge, as I did, to enjoy its unfolding. For readers who do not read that way, here you go: this is an unexpected crime story, with slow build suspense, and a bite. It’s about ambition, and identity, not being satisfied, and thinking why not take what you think is owed to you (as if the world owes anyone anything).

We start with Florence Darrow working in publishing who finds herself fired, rightfully so, but before long she has a dream job. A famously anonymous author is hiring an assistant. Not only will she get to work with her, but she’ll get to see her next book, and be one step closer to being an author herself. But after a voyage, and an accident, Florence starts to wonder if maybe it would just be easier if she herself became the anonymous author. I mean if only one other person really knows who she is how hard could it be…

I really enjoyed this and it was a total page-turner for me. It took a thing I’ve read before and made it feel fresh, which is something I always appreciate. (TW mentions story of man obsessed with teen girl, doesn’t give details)

It is so hard to be working right now because all I want to do is go finish this book! It starts with an unnamed narrator telling you part of their revenge plot. Then you meet the university students who are in a mystery club–nicknamed after famous writers–on their way to an island where unsolved horrible murders were committed. It’s like a Japanese ode to Agatha Christie and I just got to the point where they are gonna start to die and I’m so excited (do not judge me!).

I’m planning on continuing my awesome nonfiction streak by listening to Megan Rapinoe’s memoir One Life. Why yes I did shout goooooooooooal in my head while writing that sentence.

And Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby landed on my doorstep and I squealed–I loved Blacktop Wasteland–so I read the first chapter while walking the book to my physical TBR and I already love it and am ready for it to break my heart? Take me on a wild ride? I don’t know and I don’t care, I’m in.

If you’re in the market for a crime thriller that also works for horror fans (If Annie Wilkes and Norman Bates birthed a book) and is set in Brazil, here’s one for $4.49. (TW I don’t remember but think dude kidnaps woman to make her love him.)

If you like dark, character driven Japanese crime novels, here’s one that unfurls from one event: a girl’s murder and her mother’s threat on four girls. And it’s $1.99! (I don’t remember TWs, sorry.)

If you’re on a nonfiction kick like me, here’s a great one for fans of journalism for $5.99. (TW gaslighting/ rape/ sexual harassment/ suicide attempt mentioned)

If you want a fun light historical mystery book, here’s a great recent series starter for $2.99!

And if you STILL haven’t read Tana French and are in the mood for a procedural in Dublin, her first book is $1.99! (TW rape/ child death)

The author of The Hunger and The Deep (which add a nice little added horror element to history) has a new thriller. And we get not one but TWO lady spies working for the CIA. Add in dead informants and there-must-be-a-mole-we-have-to-find and you’ve got what is certain to be a page-turning, twisty spy thriller.

And now for fans of fictional serial killers and British detectives. Oh, and the trope: if the serial killer is already in prison why all the new dead bodies?! You get a lead detective, Anjelica Henley, who put the serial killer in prison and now has to deal with her PTSD, her husband who wants her to quit, and figure out why all the dead bodies–in literal pieces. (TW early onset dementia side character/ mentions flasher case/ past rape case discussed, detail/ mentions suicide cases, brief detail/ panic attacks/ PTSD/ attempted rape)

If you’re looking for a bit of travel (Nigeria) and like your mysteries solved by the untraditional detective or amateur sleuth stumbling along, here’s a case with a psychologist who specializes in crime tapped to investigate. The case is also not the usual in the mystery genre: 3 students were tortured and murdered publicly.

If you like some fun, witty banter, and adventure in your historical mysteries here’s the latest in this must-read series. Nothing like impersonating a princess to get you into trouble! (Review)

If you’re looking for a hell of a read built on suspense, identity, and some Veruca Salt but-I-want-it mentality here’s your next page-turner. I would 100% recommend knowing nothing about this for a full ride experience. But if you don’t dare here’s a bit: Imagine working for an anonymous author whose identity basically no one knows and finding that maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to slip into their role… (TW mentions story of man obsessed with teen girl, doesn’t give graphic details)

Here’s your cozy mystery fix with sprinkles on top! You get all the tropes you’re looking for, plus delicious ice cream flavor descriptions, except Bronwyn Crewse is more on the I-don’t-want-to-meddle side when her best friend is very much insisting they solve the murder of the mall developer.

For fans of the murder-mystery A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Review) there is now a sequel! Pip is back, although not as a detective. The case from the 1st book is wrapped up and she’s doing a podcast on the details of it but not actively sleuthing. Buuuuuut this is a sequel to a mystery book so of course she’ll be convinced to one-more-time look into a case: a young man has disappeared and only the family is worried.

The author of The Reunion (Review) is back with a new thriller! A Parisian cop wakes up in Central Park with no memory. That’s a mystery in itself but she’s not alone: She’s handcuffed to a stranger who has blood all over his shirt! She better put her detective skills to use…

The sequel to Mrs Mohr Goes Missing (Review) is here! Set in Cracow, 1895, we once again follow the socialite turned amateur sleuth Zofia Turbotynska. This time it seems her maid has gone missing, and after the body is found she works with the police to figure out what happened. This is a great series for fans of historical mysteries and Agatha Christie.

And the sequel to Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor is here! Five orphans in a house with a sword-wielding vigilante clearly means there is plenty of mystery and adventure to be had!

Another sequel and more traveling–this time Argentina. There’s a lead journalist as the investigator, who of course doesn’t trust local police, and murders that include sacrificial offerings nearby.

If you need your cozy mysteries to have great titles, awesome covers, and delicious food inside, Chien has got you covered. Also, everything you want and expect in a cozy. This time with Lana Lee going to culinary school. Maybe she’ll manage her family’s restaurant AND be able to help out in the kitchen. Or probably just find another dead body and figure out who and why?! *why-not-both-taco-girl-shrug

I stayed up WAY TOO LATE reading this and regret nothing! What does Stevie Bell do after solving the Ellingham Academy cold case? She gets roped into solving another cold case–this time at a summer camp! There is a lot to love in Johnson’s originally mystery trilogy including her clear love and knowledge of the mystery genre and its broad appeal for teen and adult readers. Now she’s tossed in slasher films and the strange, intrusive, often times gross obsession with true crime. Because while Stevie herself is respectful and just trying to solve who murdered four camp counselors in the woods in the ’70s, the dude who “hired” her to solve it is just obsessed with making money off of a true crime podcast. Thankfully, Stevie is good at ignoring people and brings along two friends to the camp with her to focus on the mystery she’s determined to solve.

Johnson is so good at understanding the tropes crime readers love and giving them to you with a story that feels classic and fresh at the same time. Stevie is a wonderful character managing her anxiety, her immediate response to shy away from difficult emotions, and her immediate response to look at everything like a mystery and always think about how to solve crimes. If you enjoyed the trilogy I would absolutely pre-buy/request your library purchase the fourth installment (June 15th), and future you will be so grateful for past you who had this ready for you on release day. Haven’t read the previous books yet? I would get those read from here to June, BUT if you want to start with the 4th book you can. Johnson kindly doesn’t spoil the actual solve from the trilogy, and while you need to read those three in order this one felt like a standalone book that comes after the trilogy. And in case I wasn’t clear, run to this book!

More books? More books! My winning streak of nonfiction reads continues with the excellent Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, where Ijeoma Oluo takes a look at the damaging systems we have in place to deliberately benefit only a few, and the harming lasting effects this has had and why 2016 shouldn’t have been a shock. Definitely go with the audiobook narrated by Oluo if you audio buuuuuut you may also want a physical format that you can highlight. Mucho highlighting. Also, love that cover.

I am halfway through Dead of Winter (August Snow #3) by Stephen Mack Jones which is a series that gives me two things I love: mystery and action! Recommend for “gritty” crime fans and also for those who love Joe Ide’s IQ series.

And I got my greedy little hands on this upcoming mystery/thriller about trying to outrun your past that I am super excited about: My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa.

Here’s a great historical mystery–I say this about all of Kang’s books–currently on sale for $1.99. Come for the girl with two hearts and stay for the grave robbing and suspicious deaths! (Review)

Another historical mystery series for you, this time the start of a series which seems to have all the books in the series currently on sale for $0.99! (Review)

I swear I did not plan this to be so many historical mysteries it just happened! The sequel to A Death of No Importance is currently $2.99! (Review)

If you don’t read middle grade books, I can not express how much you are missing out on some book gems. Here you have a puzzle mystery (my favorite which there are not enough of) with one contemporary story line and one historical.

Candice Miller has moved from Atlanta to South Carolina with her mom while their home is remodeled. Her parents are divorced and she has a great relationship with both her mom and dad, but she’s really not happy that the move has taken her away from her dad and friends. As much as she loved her grandmother, whose house they are now staying in, it’s weird that people seem to only remember her for the meltdown that led to her being forced to retire from her post as city manager. Another issue she’s having is that her mom and neighbor have decided to force her and the neighbor boy to spend time together.

So Candace is bored and tethered to this kid who’s being bullied, Brandon Jones. But soon she finds a letter revealing there’s much more to her grandmother’s story, and she gets to know Brandon, a boy who loves books as much as she does and makes for a great friend. They find themselves solving the puzzle that her grandmother failed to figure out and that promises a treasure at the end. We watch both the history of the town and the current town in alternating stories as the past comes to meet the present, both the good and the bad.

This is super bookish, including playing off The Westing Game, with a wonderful friendship and families, and I honestly found more nuance and understanding than I do in adult books/characters sometimes. And for readers who are making their way through the 2021 Read Harder challenge I’ll add this one along with Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland (review) to must-read for the middle grade mystery task. But this is a great read for all readers with bonus points for excellent narration on the audiobook by Cherise Boothe.

A neighborhood drama with crime and bite! This was a book I picked up knowing absolutely nothing about it and a great reminder of why I love doing that: the opening itself had a nice kick and then I found myself on many twisty turns saying “OMG” out loud to no one.

The setup starts in the future looking back at an event in a Long Island suburb that appears to have started with a sinkhole opening up. But really the sinkhole just created enough new tension to explode out all the tension that was already simmering below the surface between the residents.

I’m going to go vague with this one so as not to spoil anything for anyone who wants the full experience. There’s the recently moved-in family of a rockstar husband, his pregnant wife whom everyone looks at as “trashy” because classism, and their two kids. The queen bee of the neighborhood is a mom of four with an always-working husband, the supermom that everyone turns to for help. While the daughters of the two families are friends and the mom’s were once friends too, there has been a rift recently and only one of them knows why. Enter a sinkhole and the secrets start to come out—and this pleasant, wealthy neighborhood becomes anything but.

I especially liked the balance of child voices and adult voices in the different perspectives of everything happening. This is a great book club pick, and/or one to read with someone else because you’re gonna want to seriously discuss some stuff in this as you process it all out.

(TW child abuse/ side character with cancer/ past addiction/ brief mention of suicide, detail/ murder suicide/ mentions suicidal thoughts, details/ ableism/ talks of past teen sexual abuse)