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Today In Books

MOMA Opens Archives & Sells Rare Books: Today In Books

MOMA Opens Archives & Sells Rare Books

MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is digging into its archives and selling rare art books since the museum has been closed during the pandemic. “Many of these books—focused on the fields of art, photography, architecture, and more—are in excellent condition and renowned for their high production values.” Check out the, so far, 119 books priced between $25 to $2,500.

As You Wish

Disney+ is blessing us with the gem of a movie The Princess Bride, which it will add to the streaming service on May 1st. You can watch the adorable Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes) reveal the news. And if you’ve never read the novel by William Goldman that the film is adapted from, now is an excellent time to get lost in that world–there’s so much more detail and story!

More Time To Read The Shortlist

The Booker Prize Foundation announced it was postponing announcing the winner for the International Booker Prize award due to *gestures wildly at world* causing major disruptions in publishing and readers having a hard time getting copies of the shortlist. So we have more time to get a copy and read the excellent works up for the prize: The Enlightenment of The Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar (anonymous translator); The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (translated by Iona Macintyre and Fiona Mackintosh); Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin); Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes);The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (translated by Stephen Snyder); The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (translated by Michele Hutchison).

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Unusual Suspects

Locked-Room Mystery With Time Travel!

Hello mystery fans! I think I’ve succeeded in giving different types of mystery readers books to get sucked into immediately and lost in for a bit of time. One is a thriller, one is a locked-room mystery with time travel, and the last is a funny procedural.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier: An intense and absorbing thriller! When starting my next round of reads I’ll read the first chapter of a handful of books/listen to the opening of a few audiobooks, and the ones that catch my attention most stay in my now-reading pile. In this case, I listened to the opening of Little Secrets and then whoops I was already halfway in and fully absorbed.

So a perfect thriller if you need something to grab your attention and let you escape for a while. You are fully up in Marin Machado’s mind and life, first on the day her four-year-old son Sebastian is taken, then a year later as there are still no answers. From the outside she’s a very successful hairdresser, wealthy, in a marriage people envy, and the mother of the abducted child no one has found. Inside, she has not moved on from that day, her husband Derek and her don’t really communicate, and she’s secretly hired a PI since the FBI stopped actively looking for Sebastian. And then the PI drops a bomb in her life: she hasn’t found her son, but she accidentally found out Derek has a mistress. And now Marin has something else to obsess about…

This is one of those great thrillers that goes beyond the good vs bad, showing everyone is capable of different degrees of behavior when pushed into situations they’d never imagined. Also, everyone’s got secrets–can you guess them? (TW child kidnapping/ mentions self harm, not detailed/ domestic, child, partner abuse/ attempted past suicide, detail/ suicidal thoughts)

the psychology of time travelThe Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas: Okay, so yes this is sci-fi but stay with me if you don’t read that genre: it’s 100% set in our world, just with the invention of time travel. Also, it’s a locked room mystery!

Four scientists invent time travel in 1967 but as they’re revealing their amazing accomplishment one of the four women, Barbara, has a mental health crisis. In response, they ostracize Barbara and continue on without her. In the present day there’s a body found in a locked-room and, since it is highly unlikely that a person would be able to shoot themselves multiple times, it is thought to be a murder. But how and why? And a year prior to the current time, we have Barbara’s granddaughter who is discovering the family secrets of who her grandmother was and what she’d contributed to time travel.

This jumps around timelines and characters as we get more and more pieces to solve the locked-room murder, but this novel also has a lot of interesting characters, relationships, and fun time travel bits: like using it to save plants; and characters can visit themselves in different ages and meet and chat. It’s fun and smart! I’d note that the audiobook is for experienced listeners because you need to be able to keep track of the time period and the character changes. (TW case suspected of suicide/ self harm/ disordered eating)

A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1) by Darynda Jones: This is the start to a new procedural series that is perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series, and a bit of the mother-daughter relationship in Gilmore Girls. It’s kickass women, with a dose of laughs that range from the absurd to dark humor.

Sunshine Vicram had run away from her hometown, Del Sol, New Mexico, as a teen but is back now that her parents entered her–without her knowledge–in the election for sheriff. And Sunshine won. So she’s back, with her teenage daughter, and running the police department. But before she can settle in, there’s a kidnapping, a teen girl who since childhood predicted this would happen. And Sunshine isn’t the only one on the case. Her daughter Aurora, who is struggling fitting in her new school since she’s been labeled a narc, is her own Nancy Drew–if Nancy had looked up to Lisbeth Salander.

This walks that line of dealing with real issues but staying in the fun read category because of the character’s sense of humor and some zany antics. So if you like a quirky town with secrets and are looking for an entertaining read, this is your next book. And for audiobook fans: remember how I mentioned Evanovich’s series? Same audiobook narrator for the recent releases! Lorelei King managed to voice a bunch of characters seamlessly without sounding grating or annoying with wild voice changes. (TW past child suicide thoughts and attempt, detail/ past date rape, kidnapping)

Recent Release

The Silence Of Bones by June Hur (Great historical mystery–Review.)

The Closer You Get by Mary Torjussen (Thriller where coworkers having an affair select date and place to meetup after telling their spouses but only one shows up…)

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh (Slow-burn psychological suspense.)

Final Judgment (Samantha Brinkman #4) by Marcia Clark (Defense attorney Samantha Brinkman’s latest case is defending her current lover, and now client!)

Strike Me Down cover imageStrike Me Down by Mindy Mejia (Thriller following a forensic accountant!)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2020 upcoming releases. An Unusual Suspects Pinterest board. Get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, 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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Today In Books

Read Mitch Albom’s New Book Free: Today In Books

Read Mitch Albom’s New Book Free, One Chapter A Week

The author of Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom, is writing a new novel, Human Touch, and releasing one chapter a week for free online. The idea is to raise money for coronavirus relief so you’ll find a donate button at the bottom of the page. You can head on over and read the first two chapters now.

SDCC Cancelled For First Time

San Diego Comic-Con, the convention that gathers comic book and multi-genre entertainment fans together, has cancelled for the first time in fifty years. This year’s event would have been held July 23 to July 26. “’Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision,’ said SDCC spokesperson David Glazner in a statement.” They’ll be back July 22–25 in 2021.

Share You Poem

Children’s author and poet, Kwame Alexander, has a lovely and interesting project with NPR’s Morning Edition you can join: Write a poem about COVID-19 that starts with the line “what I’m learning about grief,” and he will take lines from the poems and create a community-style poem for everyone. You can upload your poem here and read Nancy Cross Dunham’s poem.

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Today In Books

Budget Cuts And COVID-19 Challenges For Libraries: Today In Books

Budget Cuts And COVID-19 Challenges For Libraries

San Diego’s library system has 36 branches that have been closed since March 13th, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they’re facing budget cuts due to the “$250 million budget gap caused by plummeting tax revenue during the pandemic.” The proposed budget cuts, which include closing on Sundays and Mondays, would affect reopenings, along with tough questions like, “How will the open libraries operate if social distancing continues as a requirement?” You can expect this to be an issue for more public libraries dependent on local economies.

Free Coronavirus Picture E-Book Gets Tons Of Downloads

Head teacher of London’s Arnham Wharf Primary School, Sara Haynes, and children’s publisher, Kate Wilson, released a free picture e-book to help children deal with the fear of COVID-19. Coronavirus is illustrated by Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo) and written by Elizabeth Jenner, Wilson, and Nia Roberts. Within a day of its release it had already been downloaded 640,000+ times in the U.K.

We Have A Premiere Date!

While Disney has postponed many of its upcoming film releases, like Mulan and Black Widow, Artemis Fowl will release on Disney+ June 12th. The film is adapted from Eoin Colfer’s fantasy series, following a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, and we’ve also got a new trailer!

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Today In Books

Julie Andrews’ New Bookish Podcast: Today In Books

Julie Andrews’ New Bookish Podcast

Dame Julie Andrews will continue to delight audiences, this time through a podcast hosted with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. Julie’s Library is arriving ahead of schedule and starting April 29th, with 5 episodes to follow, once a week. Aimed at children ages 4-10, there will be book readings, guest chats, and vocab word learning. If you wanted more from the mother-daughter duo, they’ve co-authored quite a few books including a memoir (Home Work by Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton) and children’s book series (The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, Christine Davenier)

Perry Mason Returns Young

Defense attorney Perry Mason had a long run clearing the names of falsely accused people in the courtroom drama Perry Mason on CBS in the late ’50s. Now the character–based on the character from Erle Stanley Gardner detective fiction from the ’30s–is getting an HBO series starring Matthew Rhys (Mason), Tatiana Maslany, and John Lithgow, focusing on his early career. While we have to wait until June 21st for the show, we now have a teaser trailer!

Little Known History

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste is a historical novel that focuses on history that rarely gets focused on: Benito Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Now the novel is getting an adaptation and Kasi Lemmons will write and direct the film: “The imagery is so rich and powerful and the characters so vividly drawn, it naturally lends itself to adaptation. I’m very honored to be a part of bringing this brilliant book to the screen and I’m thrilled to be working with everyone at Atlas.”

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Unusual Suspects

Addictive New Thrillers 🔪

Hi mystery fans! We got through another week and that’s a hell of a feat. I rounded up some interesting things to read, watch, found a bunch of great Kindle deals, and shared some things that made me happy this week in hopes they may also bring you even a few moments of joy.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

The Betel Nut Tree Mystery cover imageRincey and Katie are back with a new Read or Dead talking about some changing release dates, Tiger King, and the books they turn to when they need some comfort.

Bolder and Wiser: 3 Shows About Older Women Writer-Detectives

9 Addictive New Thrillers to Add to Your TBR List This Spring

48 Mystery and Thriller Recommendations by Trope

The Hollywood Golden Age Producer Turned Cold War Spy

Enter to Win a $250 Gift Card to Barnes and Noble!

Enter to win 6 cozy mysteries!

What to Watch on Lockdown: 14 James Bond Alternatives to Take the Place of Delayed ‘No Time to Die’

7 Shows Like Bosch That Are Not Bosch That You Should Watch If You Liked Bosch

‘Da Vinci Code’ Author Dan Brown Is Teaching a Free Class on Writing Thrillers

“She’s a dangerous person”: “Killing Eve” head writer discusses the consequences of Eve’s survival

Watch Now

Amazon Prime: The sixth season of Bosch returns on April 17th (today!). The TV series is adapted from Michael Connelly’s long running procedural book series which follows LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch.

Kindle Deals

Your House Will Pay cover imageOne of 2019’s best crime novels: Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha is $2.99! (Review)

If you’re looking for a boarding school mystery with revenge: People Like Us by Dana Mele is $2.99! (Review) (TW suicide/ statutory rape/ cyber-exploitation)

If you wanted to start a long running spy thriller series: Daniel Silva’s The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Series Book 1) is $2.99! AND The Other Woman which is the 18th book in the series is also $2.99!

For fans of noir and Japanese crime: The Gun by Fuminori Nakamura and Allison Markin Powell (translation) is $1.99!

I'll Be Gone In The Dark cover imageIf you read true crime and still haven’t read McNamara book, it’s a must: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara is $3.99! (Review) (TW rape)

Looking for a seaside set thriller? The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda is $1.99!

Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Parasite is on Hulu (Also, Elvira and Romancing The Stone)! Kim’s Convenience season 3 dropped on Netflix! Insecure on HBO is back!

Alyssa Cole’s upcoming social thriller When No One Is Watching is so freaking good! I may have asked on my work Slack for a note to spend the day finishing it instead of working (super professional)–I ended up getting all of my work done first and then read the second half in one sitting because it’s the kind of intense and suspenseful read that you can’t put down, and when you do put it down you can’t stop thinking about it.

A 93-year-old woman got a massive Coors Light delivery after a viral plea for more beer.

I’m still playing the Dixie Chicks’ new song Gaslighter on a loop.

The USPS Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat stamps arrived and they’re even more gorgeous in person.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2020 upcoming releases. An Unusual Suspects Pinterest board. Get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, 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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Today In Books

Study Finds Kids Prefer These Stories: Today In Books

Study Finds Kids Prefer These Stories

Any parent of a young child knows the question “why” well. And while it may be annoying to constantly be asked why over everything it’s kids’ way of learning and understanding everything that is essentially new to them. Turns out they feel the same way about storybooks: the journal Frontiers in Psychology published a study (based on 48 children ages 3 and 4) that found children prefer books that explain how the world around them functions.

Tom Hardy Reads Again

The English actor Tom Hardy will return to Bedtime Stories: Beginning April 27th Hardy and Blue, his French bulldog, will read 6 books for CBeebies, the BBC pre-school channel. The first book he’ll read is Hug Me by Simone Ciraolo.

We Need Diverse Books Starts Emergency Fund

Many are feeling the financial strain caused by the current pandemic and are in need of assistance. The nonprofit organization created with the goal of making kid’s publishing and books inclusive, We Need Diverse Books, has created an emergency fund in hopes of helping 70 diverse authors, illustrators, and professionals in publishing due to lost income. They’re also accepting donations for anyone who would like to add to the emergency fund.

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Today In Books

What Is Alex Trebek’s Memoir? Today In Books

What Is Alex Trebek’s Memoir?

Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy!, was so moved by people’s goodwill after his announcement of having stage 4 pancreatic cancer and during treatment that he decided to finally put pen to paper. “‘I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year,’ the Jeopardy! host writes in his memoir, according to the publisher.” The Answer Is… : Reflections on My Life will release July 21st.

Make Popcorn, Watch The Phantom of the Opera

The Shows Must Go On is a YouTube channel that has been airing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals for free–with permission from Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group. On April 17, at 2 PM ET, the 2011 production of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall, starring Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo, will stream for free for 48 hours. Get your living room tickets ready!

The Oxford English Dictionary’s Special Update

While the updates of adding new words and definitions to the Oxford English Dictionary usually happens on a schedule COVID-19 is an atypical exception. Now the OED has added 12 new entrants related to the pandemic ranging from ‘COVID-19’ to ‘WFH’ (working from home). ‘Infodemic’ was a new one for me.

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Unusual Suspects

Opening That Could Be In OCEAN’S ELEVEN 🔪

Hello mystery fans! I have officially entered the stage of having no clue what day or time it ever is, no matter how many times I look at the calendar/clock. But it is always time for me to talk books, especially the mystery kind, so let’s do that. I have a really entertaining historical mystery, an awesome narrative nonviolent true crime, and a mother daughter suspense.

The Silence of Bones by June Hur: I get a lot of requests from readers looking for historical fiction that isn’t set in WWII or Europe (because that market is saturated), so here you go! This is a highly enjoyable mystery set in 1800, Joseon Korean dynastic kingdom. Seol has had a pretty rough life, orphaned as a child and now sent by her older sister to the capital with the mission of finding her older brother’s grave, while being trained as a police damo. She’s basically an indentured servant to the Capital Police Bureau because Confucius’s law doesn’t allow men to touch women they aren’t directly related to. So Seol arrests women and touches dead women’s bodies on murder cases.

She’s scrappy, sensitive, and a quick learner, which is why Inspector Han forms a friendship with her and helps her learn to solve cases. But soon she’s questioning whether Han is involved in the murder of a woman… This has a great lead character and setting while delving into Korean history, including the persecution of Catholics, and I really hope this becomes a series. (TW past suicides mentioned, detail/ mentions public groping/ torture/ past child murder mentioned/ dog killed, skippable)

The Falcon Thief cover imageThe Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird by Joshua Hammer: If you enjoyed The Feather Thief this is a must-read. Also, this is a great read for fans of narrative nonfiction, nonviolent true crime, adventure, and nature. Look, I know this sounds boring like The Feather Thief and Bad Blood because, whatever, how exciting is bird stealing or a Silicon Valley startup? SO VERY MUCH when the stories are kind of bonkers. And in the case of The Falcon Thief you get adventure stories, and an opening that could be in Ocean’s Eleven–if they were after falcon eggs–and really interesting animal facts, and history. Plus, it’s all narrated like a fantastic story taking you into the world of rare egg smuggling (after being stolen from nests!), falconry, the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, and plenty of finger pointing “it wasn’t me, they’re lying.” If you’re a fan of being told a story and British narrators, go with the audiobook. (TW talks of past crime cases that include suicide, detail; rape, no detail; child deaths, no detail/ some animal harm, but I’d say more what you find in animal documentaries)

Darling Rose Gold cover imageDarling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel: This is one of those novels I recommend knowing as little as possible about beforehand for full suspense effect. If you still want to know what it’s about, then read on.

It’s told in alternating points of view between mother and daughter: Rose Gold Watts, a young woman, is picking up her mom, Patty Watts, from prison after her five year sentence. Patty was found guilty of making Rose Gold sick all her life and Rose Gold’s testimony put her mom in prison. But Patty doesn’t understand why Rose Gold lied and the few people in Rose Gold’s life don’t understand why she’d forgive her mother and give her another chance. Who, if anyone, is lying? Are they rebuilding their relationship? Or are they trying to pull one over on the other?… Highly recommend the audiobook, which has two narrators and really sinks you into each character’s thoughts and actions. (TW alludes to attempted suicide/ past suicide, brief detail/ disordered eating/ talk of past PTSD, addiction, miscarriage/ child abuse)

Recent Releases

No Going Back (Nora Watts #3) by Sheena Kamal: A great PI series with thriller scenes and endings!  (Review for 1st book in series.)

Death of an American Beauty (A Jane Prescott Novel Book 3) by Mariah Fredericks: Historical mystery series with a great lead (a lady’s maid) and interesting historical moments in early 1900s NY. (Review for first book in series.)

 

miracle creek cover imageMiracle Creek by Angie Kim (Paperback): Mystery + family drama + court room drama! (Review) (TW child abuse/ suicide/ sexual assault)

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger (Paperback): Return home, murder mystery I hope becomes a series! (Review) (TW addiction/ PTSD/ statutory rape/ suicide mention, detail)

Conviction by Denise Mina (Paperback): What if you were listening to a true crime podcast and realized you once knew the accused?! (Review) (TW suicide, suicidal thoughts/ eating disorder/ rape/ addiction/ animal cruelty)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2020 upcoming releases. An Unusual Suspects Pinterest board. Get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, 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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Today In Books

Watch THE HUNGER GAMES Free On YouTube: Today In Books

Watch THE HUNGER GAMES Free On YouTube

Want to escape the feeling of currently living in a real life dystopia by watching a fictional dystopian adaptation? Good news: film production company Lionsgate has created Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies to stream free films on Youtube. Up first is The Hunger Games which will stream Friday at 6 pm ET, hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis. Perfect timing considering the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is set to release in May.

Goalkeeper, Publisher, And Author

Did you know that Portland Timbers’ (Major League Soccer) goalkeeper Jeff Attinella is a children’s author and has a family founded publishing company called It Had To Be Told? He has four children’s books that are sports themed (The Curse Ends: The Story of the 2016 Chicago Cubs), and one about the race to get to the moon (The Great Space Race: The Story of How America Put a Man on the Moon)! Story time just got extra fun for sports loving parents.

All The Congratulations!

The 2019 Otherwise Award (which was renamed last October) has been awarded to author Akwaeke Emezi for their 2018 debut Freshwater! And their other novel Pet joined eight other works for the Otherwise Award Honor List: Rivers Solomon’s The Deep; Yukiko Motoya’s The Lonesome Bodybuilder; Laurie J. Marks’ The Elemental Logic series; Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars; Innocent Chizaram Ilo’s “Of Warps and Wefts” (Transcendent 4: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction); Kameron Hurley’s Meet Me in the Future; Meg Elison’s The Book of Flora; Kylie Ariel Bemis’ “Dreamborn” (Maiden, Mother, Crone).