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Unusual Suspects

20 of the Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time

Hello mystery fans! I love a courtroom drama, and Prime has a new one with a hell of a cast: The Burial. Let’s hope the studios finally do the right thing and the actor’s strike can end.

We’re here to enrich your reading life! Get to know the world of books and publishing better with a subscription to The Deep Dive, Book Riot’s staff-written publication delivered directly to your inbox. Find a guide to reading logs and trackers, hear about why the bestseller list is broken, analyze some anticipated books, and more from our familiar in-house experts. Get a free subscription for weekly content delivered to your inbox, or upgrade to paid-for bonus content and community features connecting you to like-minded readers.

Bookish Goods

a compact mirror with a library card image on the outside

Vintage Library Card Compact Purse Mirror by JoyfulMoose

Cute idea, would make a nice gift! ($16)

New Releases

cover image for Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal

Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery #3) by Raquel V. Reyes

For fans of cozy food mysteries and travel, looking for tropical weather!

Miriam Quiñone already has her to-do list full — as a mother with another child on the way and a food anthropologist with a popular cooking show — when she finds herself in multiple mysteries! When visiting her parents’ rental properties in Punta Cana, she discovers someone is damaging their property. In Puerto Rico, filming a special episode of her show, she travels around the island until the host of her rental is attacked! There are lots of mysteries to solve between cooking and eating delicious food!

If you want to start at the beginning, pick up Mango, Mambo, and Murder!

cover image for A Death in Malta

A Death in Malta: An Assassination and a Family’s Quest for Justice by Paul Caruana Galizia

For readers of true crime memoirs.

In the ’90s, Daphne Caruana Galizia became Malta’s first woman newspaper columnist, and her focus became the massive corruption of the government. Nothing ever made her back down, even challenging the Maltese government, “Do your worst, you bastards, until the only option left to you is to take out a contract on my life.” After years of threats to her and her family and attempts on their lives, Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated by explosives in her car.

Paul Caruana Galizia, one of her three sons, recounts his childhood, his mother’s life, her career, legacy, assassination, and the family’s continued fight for justice in this true crime memoir. He also narrates the audiobook.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Here are two backlist titles that are for fans of character focused crime books, leaning into the literary and psychological.

cover image for Untamed Shore paperback

Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

For fans of recent historical and slow-burn suspense.

Set in 1979 Baja, California — which is littered with dead sharks — we meet 18-year-old Viridiana. She’s grown up aware that her mom is anchored to her father and stuck in an unhappy life because of a pregnancy, so Viridiana’s mother’s insistence on Viridiana marrying her ex and working in the family shop is not going over well. It’s why Viridiana thinks it’ll be great to take a job with wealthy tourists, including moving into their rental. What could go wrong…?

(TW domestic abuse/past suicide mentioned, detail)

cover image of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)

For fans of remote settings with murders.

Janina lives in a remote Polish village and brings us into her constant thinking and chatting as a nature lover, hater of SUVs and their evil drivers, her philosophical beliefs on many topics, and her love of astrology. Because of her personality and being a single elderly lady, no one, including the police, wants to listen to her thoughts on who killed Big Foot — her human neighbor — or the bodies soon discovered…

(TW hunting, animal cruelty)

News and Roundups

20 of the Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time

The Biggest Show on Netflix Right Now Is Based on a Comic You Can’t Buy

64 Psychological Horror Movies That Will Seriously Mess With Your Head

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley Will Stream on Netflix in 2024

14 New & Upcoming Book-to-Screen Adaptations

90 Recent Books to Read This Native American Heritage Month

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

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Unusual Suspects

The Best Mystery of 2023 Lists Have Begun

Hello mystery fans! Happy Halloween-candy-is-half-off day! Related: my brain is not computing that it is, in fact, already November.

We’re here to enrich your reading life! Get to know the world of books and publishing better with a subscription to The Deep Dive, Book Riot’s staff-written publication delivered directly to your inbox. Find a guide to reading logs and trackers, hear about why the bestseller list is broken, analyze some anticipated books, and more from our familiar in-house experts. Get a free subscription for weekly content delivered to your inbox, or upgrade to paid-for bonus content and community features connecting you to like-minded readers.

Bookish Goods

sticker of cat reading book with title that says "how to buy new books & pretend like it was an accident"

cat reading funny book sticker by StickEmUpDE

Please teach me your ways! ($10––on sale for $3 until Nov 3)

New Releases

cover image for Blood Sisters

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

For fans of procedurals, archeologist leads, and MCs returning home to solve a mystery!

Syd Walker studied forensic anthropology but works instead for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rhode Island branch, trying to preserve Indigenous history. She doesn’t return home often, having left behind her parents, a sister with addiction issues, and her childhood, where she witnessed her childhood friend and parents’ murders. But she has to leave her pregnant wife and head back to Oklahoma when an old badge of hers is found in a skull, and her sister is now missing.

This is a great procedural––with a strong character voice right from the start––about being haunted by the past, struggling with the present, and the history of real atrocities towards Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women and Two-Spirit.

I really enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Carolina Hoyos and Erin Tripp, and will absolutely read any future books if this becomes a series.

(TW addiction, past survived overdose/ mentions past child abuse/ graphic child harm)

cover image for Kill for Love

Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer

For fans of satire, a-hole women on a killing spree of men, and readers who maybe want a gender-swapped American Psycho!

Tiffany isn’t winning any kind of decent human award: she grew up being awful to her younger sister, is awful to her sorority sisters, and is basically spoiled and behaving as such. And now she’s found something to actually make her feel something and open her appetite: killing men! Quickly realizing––and even checking with a lawyer for advice––that she’ll quickly be suspected if she continues killing frat guys, she expands her killing spree to random prey. But satisfying her murderous desires isn’t enough when copycat killers begin. The boyfriend she’s trying to make “the one” won’t stop grieving, and the relationship starts to show cracks…

(TW fatphobia, diet culture, eating disorders, disordered eating/ mentions past parent cancer death/ date raper, drink drugging/ hidden camera to record sex/ domestic abuse)

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I was working on lists for January 2024 releases and noticed that there are a few mysteries where a group of people are trapped somewhere (on a cruise, on a train, in a villa), so I thought I’d do a couple isolated/remote mysteries.

cover image for Breathless

Breathless by Amy McCulloch

Trapped on a snowy mountain!

On the eighth-highest peak in the world, Manaslu, you’ll find Cecily Wong. Why is she suddenly climbing to the summit? Because to get the career she wants, she needs to interview a famous mountaineer, Charles McVeigh, and he will only let Cecily interview him if she makes it to the summit with him. But when people start dying, Cecily may need to focus on staying alive over getting that interview…

cover of City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita; image of a snow-covered town as seen from across a frozen lake with a big crack in the middle

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

Trapped in a town where all the residents live in the same building!

After a teenager finds severed body parts in the remote Point Mettier, Alaska, Anchorage detective Cara Kennedy gets snowed in by a blizzard in the town where all 205 residents live in the same high-rise building. Now partnered with local officer Joe Barkowski, she’s going to have to figure out what happened, even though the residents of this community have no desire to talk.

The audiobook has a great multicast: Aspen Vincent, Shannon Tyo, and Anna Caputo.

(TW questions suicide as cause for case/ past child deaths/ recounts domestic abuse, murder/ recounts child abuse)

News and Roundups

Taron Egerton to Star in Feature Adaptation of Jordan Harper Crime Thriller She Rides Shotgun

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Series in Development at Amazon MGM Studios Sets Veena Sud as Showrunner (EXCLUSIVE)

14 Best Detective Films for Solving a Mystery

They May Not Be The Most Targeted, But They’re Still Banned

Publishers Weekly put out its Best Mystery/Thriller of 2023 list and placed two of the crime novels under the fiction category, separate from mystery.

Ending Censorship Applies to Prison, Too

For mystery lovers, five new novels for your nightstand

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

How John le Carré’s Serial Adultery Shaped His Spy Novels

Hi mystery fans! I spent the day finding chores to do so that I could inhale the audiobook of Britney Spears‘ memoir, and now that I’ve finished, I’m just sitting here with so many feelings and thoughts––and I hope someone is holding her the way she needs.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

sweatshirt with skeleton holding book illustration on chest and down sleeve printed text "read more worry less"

Read More Worry Less Bookish Crewneck Sweater by MiasMakingThings

If this worked, I wouldn’t have a single care in the world! ($27)

New Releases

cover image for The Blue Monsoon

The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai #2) by Damyanti Biswas

For fans of thrillers, series, fictional serial killers, and procedurals that equally focus on the detective’s personal life!

Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput disappoints his family by missing his teen daughter’s dance performance when he’s called to a brutal crime scene: a dismembered man found on the steps of a Mumbai temple. It’s an intense case that forces Arnav to try and stop a serial killer, all while trying to also care for his pregnant wife and daughter.

If you want to start at the beginning of the series, pick up The Blue Bar.

cover image for The Christmas Appeal

The Christmas Appeal by
Janice Hallett

For fans of fun holiday murder mysteries, lawyer MCs, epistolary novels, and a theater setting!

In Janice Hallett’s The Appeal, we met two law school students who were given case files to go through for an appeal and ended up sifting through tons of emails and texts to help with the case. Now, the same lawyers are back and once again looking at The Fairway Players––and sifting through emails and police transcripts––in order to solve a murder during the production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

‘Tis the season for some horror(ish) mysteries!

cover of The Keeper by Guadalupe García McCall; illustration of a young white boy and a young Latine girl standing in front of a spooky house

The Keeper by Guadalupe García McCall

For fans of middle grade, mystery, folk horror, and who grew up on Scooby-Doo! Also great for anyone scared to jump into horror and would like to cautiously dip a toe in.

Twelve-year-old James and his ten-year-old sister Ava have grown up in Texas, but their parents have just moved them to Oregon. Along with the emotions of a new place and a big move, they are grieving their abuela, who died shortly before the move. As they try to settle and find their place, strange things start to happen, which leads them to learn that the town has a history of children disappearing…

(TW kidnapped children/ mentions past child deaths)

paperback cover image for White Rabbit

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

For fans of whodunnit murder mysteries with a slasher movie body count!

Not only is Rufus Holt not trained in sleuthing, but he has to solve a murder (that is only the beginning of killings!) to help out his half-sister (who is not nice and from the side of the family who pretends Rufus doesn’t exist!) by partnering up with his ex-boyfriend (who he’s still in love with!). So why would he get involved in something so dangerous when his sister may be actually using him and did actually murder her boyfriend? Because she offers him money, something he really needs as his mom is struggling to pay the bills. Not only will he have to deal with a lot of personal issues. But he’ll have to try and stay alive, too.

News and Roundups

How John le Carré’s serial adultery shaped his spy novels

Black Queer Author Leah Johnson Shares the Inspiration and Rage Behind Opening a Banned Books Store

Reservation Dogs Star Devery Jacobs Says Watching Killers of the Flower Moon Was “F***ing Hellfire”

Round Out Your Spooky Season With These Thrilling Mystery Books

The Guest List Limited Series in the Works at Hulu

Richard Roundtree, Shaft Star, Dies at 81

Scholastic Says They’ll Walk Back Their Separate Diversity Collection for Book Fairs

Why Killers of the Flower Moon Changed The Book’s Biggest Mystery Explained By Scorsese: “It Doesn’t Matter Who Did It”

5 mysteries and thrillers new this fall

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

The Best Detective Movies of All Time, Ranked

Hello mystery fans! If you like cozy food competitions and Halloween, I highly recommend the Halloween Baking Championship (Max). I’m currently watching season 9, and it’s not only delicious––and gross!–but the judges are funny, and whoever does their costumes deserves an award.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

sticky note pad with illustration of books and cursive text saying "I'd rather be at book club"

I’d Rather Be at Book Club Sticky Notes by PeanutButterTaco

If you always have sticky notes around, here’s a cute bookish one. ($4)

New Releases

cover image for Murder in Drury Lane

Murder in Drury Lane (Lady Worthing Mysteries #2) by Vanessa Riley

For fans of historical mysteries and theater-set mysteries!

Armchair travel to England in the early 1800s, where an abolition bill is pending, and Lady Abigail Worthing is married to an older lord who is mostly away. To distract her from her marital issues and a recent break-in, Lady Worthing is at the Drury Lane theater watching A Bold Stroke for a Wife. Except her recent trip to the theater is not all acting, at least not when the playwright is murdered. Now Lady Worthing will find herself once again putting on her amateur sleuth hat!

cover image The Night I Died

The Night I Died by Anne Frasier

For fans of “returning home to face the past” mysteries and PIs!

Olivia Welles left her small town in Kansas for a life in Venice, California, where she’s now a PI. Bonnie Ray-Murphy, who survived the car accident that killed Olivia’s mother, calls her out of the blue asking for help––she’s incarcerated on charges of killing her child. Olivia returns home ready to look into whether Bonnie is the monster the town accuses her of being or if there is a bigger mystery to solve…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Here are two true crime memoirs authored by poets.

cover of Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey

Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey

Trethewey recounts with beautiful and heartbreaking introspection her early childhood, her life with her mom’s second husband and the terror of living with him, her mother’s escape from the abusive marriage, and then her murder.

(TW domestic abuse/ emotional child abuse, gaslighting/ threats of murder suicide)

Natasha Trethewey’s poetry collections include Native Guard (Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry), Thrall, Monument: Poems New and Selected.

The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson cover image

The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson

Nelson’s true crime memoir not only shines a light on her aunt’s murder––Jane Mixer was murdered in 1969, and the case wasn’t solved until 2004––but it’s also a meditation on society and humanity.

(I don’t remember TWs, sorry.)

Maggie Nelson’s poetry collections include Bluets and Jane: A Murder.

News and Roundups

A Humanitarian Crisis is Unfolding in Gaza. Here’s How You Can Help

Are Gatekeepers Giving Up The Fight Against Book Bans?

A Haunting in Venice to Get Digital Release on Halloween

Titan and Hard Case Crime preview Noir Burlesque

Anne Hathaway’s Prison Psychologist Is an Alluring, Twisted Influence on Thomasin McKenzie in Eileen Trailer

Hang Tight On That Next Bond Reboot, Because The Producers Admit They ‘Haven’t Even Started’ On It Yet

The Black Book Is Nigeria’s First Runaway Netflix Hit

The Best Detective Movies of All Time, Ranked

14 New & Upcoming Book-to-Screen Adaptations

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Stay In and Read with 51 of This Year’s Coziest Mysteries!

Hello, mystery fans! I am on an excellent reading roll–which I am hopefully not jinxing–and it really is the best feeling: Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander (December, joyful romance); Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper (delightful memoir); Role Playing by Cathy Yardley (funny romance, 40s MCs); Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero (all the emotions, mostly funny and inspirational memoir); Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett (2024 domestic mystery about a woman on a weekend gateway with her boyfriend who wakes up to find the body of a missing woman in their vacation rental).

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

a keychain of an illustration of a young Black woman in glasses holding a book

Black woman reading keychain by ChocolatesStickers

I love this illustration! Bonus: if you’re not into keychains, there’s a sticker version. ($7)

New Releases

cover image for Vengeance is Mine

Vengeance Is Mine by Marie NDiaye, Jordan Stump (Translator)

For fans of translated crime, psychological, and lawyer MCs!

This is my current audiobook listen, and it definitely feels like fans of literary crime and dives into questioning memory would enjoy this.

Marie NDiaye (Maître Susane), a 42-year-old lawyer in Bordeaux, doesn’t seem that happy in her life. In her personal life, she’s hired a housekeeper, Sharon, after a man at a dinner party spoke with disregard about her. Marie becomes intent on helping Sharon become a legal citizen of France, along with her husband and children. But Sharon continues to fail to provide the marriage certificate Marie asks her for, and Marie continues to clean her own home, uncomfortable by making Sharon do it.

In her professional life, she’s asked to take on the case of a woman, Marlyne, who murdered her young children. Marlyne’s husband, Gilles Principaux, has brought the case to Marie. She recognizes him from her childhood or thinks she does, thinking he may be the teen who encouraged her intelligence. But when she brings up the memory to her parents, her father is upset that the teen must have taken advantage of Marie, leading Marie to break off from her parents for assuming the worst.

Between her personal life and her professional one, Marie slowly starts to unravel, grasping at what is happening and what did happen…

cover image for The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023 edited by Lisa Unger, Steph Cha

For fans of short story collections!

Short story collections are a great way to find new-to-you authors and also really help with getting in some reading time when you’re schedule doesn’t allow you to sit down for long stretches of time with a long book.

You’ll get stories from loved and widely known authors like Silvia Moreno-­Garcia, S.A. Cosby, Walter Mosley…and also maybe new-to-you authors (whose work I’ve loved) like William Boyle and Faye Snowden.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I’m currently reading Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah––a fantastic dystopian that imagines our future with private prisons setting up death matches for inmates to try and win freedom as a sport––so I thought I’d focus on the U.S. prison system from three angles: by a lawyer, by someone once falsely incarcerated, and the history of a detention center.

A Knock At Midnight cover image

A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom by Brittany K. Barnett

In Barnett’s memoir, she talks about her childhood––a loving family with a parent who dealt with addiction––and growing up to become a lawyer. She then realized that the “war on drugs” was wildly disproportionate, including creating different fixed sentences for crack cocaine vs. cocaine powder and putting a lot of people in prison for life for nonviolent drug offenses. Barnett not only takes you into the cases she handled, but also the system and history and laws created by the war on drugs.

cover image for Better Not Bitter

Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice by Yusef Salaam

Yusef Salaam was one of the five children wrongly convicted of raping a woman in Central Park, NY, in 1989. Not only does Salaam discuss the case, horrific injustice, and time he spent incarcerated, but he also focuses on the support he always had, his faith, and channeling the rage of injustice into action for change.

cover image for The Women's House of Detention

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan

This is the history of the House of D, a cruel women’s prison that was started in 1932 in Greenwich Village, NY, that incarcerated “tens of thousands of women and transmasculine people” and wouldn’t be closed until the early 1970s. Not only does Ryan dive into the history of the House of D and queer communities, but he also gives important focus to many of the people’s lives who were incarcerated there.

News and Roundups

Stay In and Read with 51 of This Year’s Coziest Mysteries!

In Anatomy of a Fall, a Murder Trial Reveals Queer Secrets

How Simon & Schuster’s Sale to KKR Could Affect the Company

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Producers on Casting Wednesday Star Emma Myers, Making a Modern-Day Agatha Christie

Martin Scorsese’s Axed Flower Moon Script Was Over 200 Pages Long and ‘Was Going to Take Four-and-a-Half Hours Just to Read’

Suspect in Natalee Holloway’s disappearance revealed what happened as part of a plea deal

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Tiffany D. Jackson announced her next YA thriller!

Hi mystery fans! I watched the adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Starz) this weekend: I really enjoyed it, felt super old that Rachel McAdams is now playing mom roles, and spent some time discussing how some things surrounding puberty don’t change, and others have drastically changed thanks to things like the entire internet.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

illustrated sticker of a skeleton reading a book that says "just one more chapter"

Grim reaper reading sticker by LorelaiMarketWonders

At least when you’re a skeleton, you can stay up all night playing this game ––I assume. ($4)

New Releases

cover image for Murder by Degrees

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji

For fans of historical mysteries (Philadelphia, 1875), amateur sleuths, and doctor leads!

Dr. Lydia Weston has her schedule full as she helped create a low-cost clinic for the working class where she treats patients, and she’s also a teacher for future doctors at the Woman’s Medical College. After a patient of Weston’s goes missing, and an unidentifiable body with the patient’s diary is found, Weston ends up assisting with the autopsy and then the detectives on the case. But will what she knows about her patient help solve the case, and do they, in fact, have the correct body?

cover image for Lay Them To Rest

Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton

For readers of forensic science, cold cases, and true crime.

Norton is the host of the podcast The Fall Line, which focuses on cases that haven’t gotten much attention, centering minority communities in Georgia. In Lay Me To Rest, she takes a deep dive not only into cold cases, but into the unidentified dead cold cases specifically, and the forensic science/tools for identification throughout history up until the newest generation of the science.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Casey McQuiston (Red, White and Royal Blue) announced their next book publishing in 2024(!), so I decided to go back to my fun game of looking at crime releases to be super excited for in 2024, along with the author’s current work that you can read now!

Under Lock & Skeleton Key cover image

Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery, #1) by Gigi Pandian

For fans of fun murder mysteries, amateur sleuths, family mysteries, food, and intricate puzzle mysteries!

Tempest Raj has lost her career as a magician with a Las Vegas show, so naturally, she returns to live in a tree house at her family’s home. Her father, who builds intricate hidden spaces in people’s homes, has offered her a spot on his crew. Except, instead of working on a new fun project, a dead body is discovered in a wall, and it looks just like Tempest… Guess who will go from magician to amateur sleuth?

(TW brief mention of past suicide assumption, detail/ past domestic violence mentions/ stalker)

The second book, The Raven Thief, is out now. The third book, A Midnight Puzzle, will be released in March 2024.

cover image for paperback edition of The Initial Insult

The Initial Insult (The Initial Insult, #1) by Mindy McGinnis

For fans of dark YA and revenge!

Tress Montor is filled with a lot of anger: her parents disappeared; she’s been shunned by her town as she lives and works with her grandfather at an animal attraction with dangerous wild animals; she’s certain her once best friend fed her dog to her alligator, graffitied her home, and knows what happened to her parents. So what’s a girl to do? Take some inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado and slowly brick her best friend into a wall in order to force a confession out of her. I know!

McGinnis’s next psychological YA mystery, Under This Red Rock, will be released in March 2024.

News And Roundups

Tiffany D. Jackson announced her next YA thriller, The Scammer, coming in 2025!

Critics At Large podcast: Spies, Sex, and John le Carré

Suspect Arrested in Connection to Several Illinois Library Bomb Threats

Anatomy of a Fall Is the Year’s Most Gripping Murder Mystery

10 Underrated Japanese Crime Dramas

Travel Books: 5 Cozy Mystery Series To Satisfy Your Wanderlust

These ‘Final Girl’ horror films will get you in the spooky spirit

What Else Do Parents Who Believe Librarians Should Be Prosecuted for Library Materials Think?

Halloween Tote Bags To Put A Spell On Your Books

Scholastic Offers Option to Exclude Diverse Books from Book Fairs

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

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Unusual Suspects

10 Thrilling Crime Shows Like LUPIN You Can Stream Right Now

Hello mystery fans! I am excited that Moonlighting is finally on streaming (Hulu), so that is definitely my next show.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

sticker sheet of book stacks and books with a skeleton sitting in a chair reading

Book Loving Skeleton Sticker Sheet by MarigonaSuliArt

‘Tis the season! ($3)

New Releases

cover of Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

Murder and Mamon (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #4) by Mia P. Manansala

For fans of family cozy mysteries with delicious recipes!

Lila Macapagal’s life revolves around the cafe she runs with two of her friends. But now her godmothers–the Calendar Crew, which consists of April, Mae, and June–are opening up a laundromat, and many in town are not happy. Plus, April’s niece, Divina de los Santos, is visiting from the Philippines, and Lila isn’t enamored with her. Throw in the laundromat being vandalized and a murder, and Lila is back to baking and solving crimes!

If you want to start at the beginning of the series, pick up Arsenic and Adobo.

cover image for Die Laughing

Die Laughing (Amos Parisman Mystery #4) by Andy Weinberger

For fans of L.A. settings and elderly PI series!

Al Pupik, a legendary late-night comedian, has been murdered in his L.A. home, which becomes Jewish PI Amos Parisman’s new case. The police are looking at this case with the comedian’s best friend, Benny Wolf, as the suspect, hence why Benny hires Amos. Not only are Benny’s recent memory issues complicating the case, but it also overlaps with Amos’ personal life, where he’s recently had to put his wife in a care facility because of her dementia.

If you want to start at the beginning of the series, pick up An Old Man’s Game.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Here are two translated crime novels that I really enjoyed–one from China and one from South Korea– which are on the darker side.

cover image for Bad Kids

Bad Kids by Zijin Chen, Michelle Deeter (Translator)

This book follows three young teenagers, two who have run away from an orphanage, and the man they decide to blackmail. Two unrelated events take place to propel all the characters and story into a game of wits, crime, and getting away with murder: a sibling is accidentally murdered, and a man is unintentionally recorded killing his in-laws…

(TW brief domestic abuse, mention of child abuse/briefly mentions rape, not detailed/mentions past child sexual abuse/police discussions of child sexual assault)

Book cover of The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo, Chi-young Kim (translator)

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo, Chi-Young Kim (Translator)

Hornclaw has been a contract killer for decades. She kills for money, doesn’t ask questions, and has always been very good at her job. She’s 65 though, reaching the age of retirement and being assigned less jobs. The problem is she’s not looking to retire, but does she get a choice? Is retiring even an option for contract killers? When she makes an error on a job and her life gets turned upside down, Hornclaw is suddenly faced with a lot of questions and answers she doesn’t like.

(TW attempted sexual assault/ mentions drug overdose/ baby killing/ natural dog death from age/ child kidnapping)

News and Roundups

Arsène Lupin books in order – how to read the novels behind Netflix series Lupin in English

Traditional Osage Design Shines in Killers of the Flower Moon

Andrew Walker and Nikki DeLoach Return for a New Curious Caterer Mystery on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries!

10 Thrilling Crime Shows Like Lupin You Can Stream Right Now

Monk Reunion Movie Starring Tony Shalhoub Sets December Premiere Date at Peacock

Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap and Brad Pitt’s Plan B in Talks to Co-Produce The Thin Man Remake

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

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Unusual Suspects

The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

Hello mystery fans! If you’re looking for a fun time travel to the ’80s slasher film era, I really enjoyed Totally Killer on Prime.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

poster of a black cat reading To Kill A Mockingbird that says Reading Makes Me Feel Less Murdery

Reading Makes Me Feel Less Murdery Poster by MiriVintage

You know the rule: if it makes me laugh, you get to see it! ($25)

New Releases

cover image for Untraceable by Aya de Leon

Untraceable (The Factory #2) by Aya de León

For fans of spy organizations and prequel stories!

While this is the second book to be released in this series, after Undercover Latina, it’s a prequel and can be read as a standalone.

At 15, Amani Kendall’s entire life is upended when her family goes on the run: her mom is being pursued by a stalker, and her scientist father is missing. This leads to her being moved from a wealthy, all-white school to an underfunded school where her fellow classmates look like her. With everything going on in her life, she’s worried about who is after her family, how much danger they are in, and how easy it may be to find them. But her mom isn’t giving her satisfactory answers, so she decides to investigate herself…

I recently wrote a Reading Pathways to reading Aya de León if you’re looking for where to start with her work.

cover image for The Bell in the Fog

The Bell in the Fog (Andy Mills #2) by Lev AC Rosen

For fans of modern historical fiction and ex-cops turned PI!

Andy Mills is now a PI in San Francisco during the early 1950s. But business is certainly not booming for a few reasons, including that many people in the queer community aren’t signing up to trust a former cop. This is why he feels he has to take a case from an old flame—plus, how hard can a simple blackmail case be? Ha, it’s a PI novel, so of course, it’s going to get complicated. And for Andy, that means getting drawn back into the world of the Navy.

If you want to start at the beginning, pick up Lavender House!

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Towards the end of every year, this fun thing happens where my brain starts to have a mini-meltdown over all the books that have been released this year that I’ve yet to read—as if all those books won’t just still exist in the new year. So I thought I’d look at two books released earlier this year that I’m still very excited for and have only not gotten to just because *gestures like a muppet being electrocuted at all my unread books*

cover of Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor; black with gold font

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

I’ve seen people liken this to a better, modern The Godfather and call it epic in scope with a focus on corruption (amongst many themes), which is keeping this high on my TBR.

We follow various characters, including Ajay, who was sold into servitude to Sunny Wadia’s family, and Neda Kapur, a journalist working on a corruption story. A decade into working for Sunny, Ajay finds himself at the scene of a crime where a car has hit and killed five people, but he cannot explain how this has happened.

cover image for All That's Left To Say

All That’s Left to Say by Emery Lord

This is a YA mystery exploring grief that wasn’t on my radar the month it was released, so it’s been added to my missed-but-will-definitely-be-reading pile.

A year ago, Hannah MacLaren’s cousin/best friend died of an overdose. While trying to process her grief, she’s become fixated on needing to know who exactly sold her cousin the drugs, certain this will at least help the family with closure. To do this, she gets a new look and lies her way into the expensive private school her cousin attended. But life is complicated, and so are people, and Hannah finds herself having to choose between a new crush and potential friends or staying true to her mission of finding out who is responsible for her cousin’s death.

News and Roundups

The amount of times I have talked about and written about and screamed into the void about the mystery genre being the worst in gatekeeping is enough to feel like a broken record, so here’s proof: “I’ve spent the last year recording every English language fiction deal in Publisher’s Marketplace, googling over 4000 authors, and this is what the current book deal landscape looks like…mystery 89% white” (SFF author Jessica V Aragon on Twitter)

An interview with Only Murders In The Building costume designer Dana Covarrubias on the third season’s look

20 Engaging Whodunits and Mysteries: Light-hearted Fun without the Chills

The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

Does the Pioneer Woman Really Own All the Land from Killers of the Flower Moon? The Real Story Is Stranger.

Detective Monk and friends return in first look at Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie

20 of the Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

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Unusual Suspects

The Fate of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING Revealed

Hi mystery fans! I am so excited that Omar Sy is back in Lupin Part 3 (Netflix)!

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

vinyl sticker of a coffin with a skeleton with a pumpkin head reading a book

Vinyl sticker of skeleton reading book in coffin by FrydaGorgonArt

Best bookish Halloween sticker is best. ($4)

New Releases

cover image for Glory Be

Glory Be (Glory Broussard Mystery #1) by Danielle Arceneaux

For fans of new amateur sleuth series with older protagonists!

Glory lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, and works as a bookie after church services at a coffee shop. When local officer Beau Landry is called to the scene of a crime, Glory learns that her best friend, a local nun, is dead and tags along with him. The police are quick to rule it a suicide, but Glory won’t accept that, so she teams up with a NY lawyer, her daughter, to find out exactly what is going on.

cover image for The Death of Us

The Death of Us by Lori Rader-Day

For fans of past mysteries, small towns, and multiple POVs!

Fifteen years ago, Ashley Hay showed up at Liss Kehoe’s doorstep with her infant and then disappeared. Liss has since raised Callan, always fearing Ashley would return at any moment for her son. But instead, Callan is in an accident that unearths Ashley’s car and body, opening an investigation into the murder and casting suspicion on those from her life years ago…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I keep seeing a lot of talk about cozy weather reading and cozy books, but my brain this year needs quick, attention-grabbing reading. So, if you’re also in that boat, I’ve got two backlist thrillers for you!

cover image of Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

For fans of campus settings, multiple POVs, and someone targeting a group of people!

A university professor has created a secret study for sociopaths, believing that the way society treats and views them is wrong. The students keep a journal, meet regularly with the professor, and keep a specific smartwatch on them at all times.

Charles is using the study to learn new tools to do well in school, deal with family issues, and maintain his relationship with his girlfriend. Chloe is using the program to get revenge on a fellow student who assaulted her as a teen. Andre is lying about being a psychopath because he needed the free tuition. Soon, they quickly learn about each other and need to figure out if it’s safest to join together because someone is killing them off…

(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)

cover image for Security

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf

For fans of fun slasher films in books!

The setting is a high-end resort on the California coast — hedge maze included! It’s the eve of the resort’s opening, so the staff are running around trying to have every final detail ready — except they are unaware that someone is hunting them one by one…I had a lot of fun shouting, as you do in slasher films, “Don’t go in there!”

News and Roundups

Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza is a 2023 National Book Awards finalist!

The Fate of Only Murders in the Building Revealed

Banned and Challenged Mystery Books to Read Now

5 Offbeat Mystery Novels to Spice Up Your Reading List

A Nigerian Revenge Thriller Is Dominating Netflix’s Worldwide Charts

20 Engaging Whodunits and Mysteries: Light-hearted Fun without the Chills

Detective Pikachu Returns – Official Story So Far Trailer

Detectives duel over London murder in first look at Criminal Record on Apple TV+

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Barack Obama Gave Script Notes on Netflix’s New Disaster Movie Starring Julia Roberts

Hi mystery fans! Happy Halloween month to all who celebrate! I will be doing some rewatching of films like The Addams Family (the original films and the 2019 animated film!), Beetlejuice, Paranorman — I really need to go put together my list and look up where all the ones I don’t own are currently streaming!

Not to brag, but I have the best job that basically works to match people with what they want to read more of through TBR, if you want to give it a try. Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

the back of a black hoodie with colorful bubble letters saying It's a good day to read a book

It’s A Good Day To Read A Book Sweatshirt by PrettyTeeStore

Accurate! And great for anyone who is getting to enjoy cozy sweatshirt weather. ($19)

New Releases

cover image for And Don't Look Back

And Don’t Look Back by Rebecca Barrow

For fans of YA mysteries focused on past secrets with past and present chapters!

Harlow Ford’s life has never had stability: her mother moves them often like they’re on the run but has never shared with Harlow what exactly the danger is. Then, her mom dies in a car accident and leaves 17-year-old Harlow with instructions for where to find a safety deposit box. This leads Harlow to a house in a small town in Washington, along with photos that introduce her to her mother’s past. Now, instead of running, as she was instructed, Harlow is ready to make a decision for herself and stay in a possibly creepy house and find out what her mother was running from and why…

The audiobook has great dual narrators: Jade Wheeler and Kimberly Woods.

cover image for One Puzzling Afternoon

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley

For fans of unsolved missing person cases, older protagonists, and two timelines!

In 1951, two teen girls, Edie Green and Lucy Theddle, became friends. Lucy tells Edie a secret, something Edie is conflicted over keeping secret, but then Lucy disappears.

In 2018, Edie, now 84, still lives in the same town and swears she sees Lucy. Except the Lucy she sees is the one still age 15, and so this gets brushed off by everyone as part of her dementia. But she won’t leave it alone and instead gets her granddaughter to help her finally find out what happened to Lucy…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Here are two 2022 titles I really liked that are now in paperback, if that’s the format you wait for.

Cover of Undercover Latina by de León

Undercover Latina (The Factory #1) by Aya de León

This is a contemporary middle grade focusing on a family of spies that is also fun for adults, one that’s filled with action, friendship, family, and first crush!

Andréa Hernández-Baldoquín’s life gets thrown a hell of a curve ball when, at 14, she learns that her parents are spies for a world organization. If that wasn’t enough, it turns out she’s the only person in the organization in the age range needed who can pass as white, and they want her to go undercover at a high school in California. I know!

She’s going to learn all about being an undercover agent on the go but also has to do some major soul-searching when she immediately has to drop the accent in her name and pretend not to know Spanish.

cover image for The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh; image of a house at night with one window lit and a person in the reflection

The Last Party (DC Morgan #1) by Clare Mackintosh

For fans of multiple POV, procedurals, everyone is a suspect, and forced detective pairing!

Rhys Lloyd’s body is found on New Year’s Day. He was a famous celebrity and, up until his death, had been a developer selling to wealthy outsiders. Which is all to say he had plenty of enemies who wanted him dead in his small town. Enter DC Leo Brady of Cheshire Major Crimes and Ffion Morgan, who is with the North Wales Police, who technically have met before (you’ll see!) and are forced to work together to figure out who killed Rhys. You’ll follow the investigation along with various members of the community leading up to Rhys’ final moments…

I’m very excited about the sequel publishing in 2024, A Game of Lies.

(TW mentions past overdose/ mentions violence towards sex workers/ sexual harassment/misgendering/ teen sexual assault by adult/ past father cancer death, not detailed/ mentions miscarriages, no details/ attempted rape/ lesbophobia/ secretly drugging child to sleep at night)

News and Roundups

Lupin Part 3: Release Date, Trailer, Plot, and What to Expect

Agatha Christie SonyLIV Series Charlie Chopra Set for Franchise Expansion by Vishal Bhardwaj (EXCLUSIVE)

The Trailer for Leave The World Behind Has Just Dropped

Here is What Parents Think of Book Bans: EveryLibrary & Book Riot Survey Results

The FTC is Suing Amazon for Maintaining an “Unlawful” Monopoly

BPL’s new podcast series Borrowed and Banned tells the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves. In seven episodes, they’ll talk with students on the frontlines, librarians, and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and writers whose books have become political battlegrounds.

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis Star in the Female-Led True Detective Season 4

Dick Tracy will return to action at Mad Cave Studios

Donna Leon dislikes violent books. She takes a different tack in her own.

The Other Americans: Laila Lalami’s novel is the California Book Club’s March 2024 selection.

Florida Librarians Told to Remove Books With LGBTQ+ Characters, Even if Not Sexually Explicit

Barack Obama gave script notes on Netflix’s new disaster movie starring Julia Roberts.

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.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.