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Hello fellow mystery fans! He did the mystery mash! The mystery mash. It was a forensics smash… (Sorry, not sorry.)

Sponsored by The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Rosalind’s secrets didn’t die with her.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake. And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School.

Rosalind’s enigmas frustrate and obsess Gemma, who has her own dangerous secrets—an affair with her colleague and past tragedies that may not stay in the past. Brilliantly rendered, THE DARK LAKE has characters as compelling and mysteries as layered as the best thrillers from Gillian Flynn and Sophie Hannah.

Great Start to a Very Long Running Mystery Series:

A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone, #1) by Sue Grafton: I did something I rarely do and started all the way at the beginning of a very long running mystery series! How long you ask? Well the series has a title for every letter of the alphabet and is currently at Y (Y is for Yesterday). The final in the series looks to release in 2019, so I’ve got a lot of reading to do!

The first book in the series introduces us to Kinsey Millhone, a thirty-two year old California PI with two ex-husbands and zero kids. She’s mouthy, observant, a good liar, and while I love me an unlikable female character, for those who don’t, she doesn’t cross into that territory. Her current case is a woman just released from prison after finishing her sentencing for murdering her husband. Except she claims she never did, and wants Millhone to find out who actually did. Being that the murdered husband was a womanizing divorce lawyer, Millhone has plenty of suspects to reevaluate while also keeping an eye on the widow–wouldn’t be the first time someone claimed to be innocent who was not. Millhone isn’t all business though, as she seems to have an eye for the fellas… A solid mystery, great detective character (reminded me of my love for Kat Colorado), humorous, and with a bit of action. I totally get why so many people love Millhone and this series and look forward to continuing.

A Little Q&A: Attica Locke (I give authors I’m excited about 5 questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

And ohmygod I’m so excited! Attica Locke is one of those writers that I will pickup any book she writes–and watch any show she is a producer/ writer for: Empire. She wrote one of my favorite opening scenes in a novel which takes place in a historic plantation house: The Cutting Season. And her recent novel Bluebird, Bluebird (which you’ve heard me raving about for months) and the Texas ranger character Darren Mathews are now all time favorites of mine. Locke is not only a great writer when it comes to plotting mysteries but my favorite thing about her writing are her characters–who are always completely alive in my mind from their introduction–and her ability to 100% immerse me in her settings.

And here’s Attica Locke:

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters who would it be?

Darren Mathews in the newest book, Bluebird, Bluebird  ’cause he gets to carry a gun. And I like bourbon probably as much as he does.

If you were to blurb your most recent/upcoming book (à la James Patterson):

“It’s my favorite, but don’t tell the others.”

The last book you read that you loved?

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Thanks Attica! I’m going to have to bump Eleanor Oliphant up on my reading list. And I really hope that Bluebird, Bluebird is the beginning of a series because I need more Darren Mathews!

Cozy Mystery October Read!

Hallowe’en Party (Hercule Poirot #36) by Agatha Christie: I’ve been wanting to reread Christie for-EV-er, and while I was planning on finally reading her in order, I couldn’t pass up reading this one for Halloween. It was an entertaining, cozy reread for me, but does have some political and societal things that may have gotten some side-eye– like every character believed the only answer to who the culprit could be was a mental patient released because of overcrowding. The adults really didn’t seem to like children much, which for some reason I found amusing, and I enjoyed the look at Halloween and the games played in the opening. It’s certainly not a happy Halloween party (a thirteen-year-old girl is found “drowned” in the apple bobbing bucket). But Poirot, asked by the host of the party to look into it even though the police are on the case, will solve the cas,e and all will be explained by the end of the book. (You can read Christie out of order, except leave the final Poirot novel for last.)

Links to Click:

Over on Book Riot I added even more books to The Past is Gonna Get ‘Cha mysteries.

I’m so freaking excited that Kathleen Kent’s The Dime has a script commitment because it’s a fantastic book perfect for an adaptation.

Excited for Riverdale‘s season 2? Here’s an interview with Ashleigh Murray (Josie): “We’re only just getting into the thick of the turmoil that’s happening between Josie and the Pussycats.” (Premieres Oct. 11th on the CW)

Speaking of S2 premieres: Good Behavior will be back on TNT Oct. 15th. If you need a s1 recap here you go.

Netflix’s Mindhunter (based on the true crime book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit) will be streaming Oct. 13th.

Great Books In Kinds Deals! (But there’s a caveat: I have no idea when the sales expire! As of me sending this out they are on sale, fingers crossed they stay that way until you get your ebook.)

Speaking of the fantastic Attica Locke Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1) is $4.99

Megan Abbott’s noir novels Bury Me Deep and The Song is You are each $3.99

Silent City (Pete Fernandez Mystery #1) by Alex Segura is .99cents (Miami journalist turned PI throughout series.)

The Undertaker’s Daughter by Kate Mayfield is $4.99 (Memoir of growing up in a small town as the mortician’s daughter.)

And Sometimes I Wonder About You (Leonid McGill #5) by Walter Mosley is $4.99 (NYC-based PI.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.