Stuart Turton
[isbn]
An atmospheric mystery with a time travel twist. Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11 p.m. the night of her parents’ gala at Blackheath Estate. And until he can uncover the murderer, Aiden is doomed to relive the day again and again, waking in the body of a different guest each time. Who can he trust? What can he change? This completely unique novel grabbed me immediately, and still hasn’t let me go.
Recommended by Madeline S.
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Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner
[isbn]
Lovers of Michael Mann's quintessential heist film Heat will be absolutely riveted by the sequel novel, Heat 2, co-authored by Mann and Meg Gardiner. The book's plot is a pincer, equal parts prequel and sequel to the former film's depiction of robbery and homicide in 1990s Los Angeles. A nuanced and detail-driven tale of criminality, Heat 2 exquisitely depicts the ethos shared by thieves and those tasked with... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
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Juneau Black
[isbn]
Shady Hollow is the first in a lovely, cottagecore, cozy-murder mystery series that will satisfy your need for a fast-paced and witty amateur sleuth whodunnit.
Recommended by Sarah B.
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Kirino, Natsuo
[isbn]
In Grotesque, Kirino shows off her ability to dive into the most deplorable corners of the human psyche and make readers want to stay there even as they're squirming to get away. The book showcases three different perspectives, all of which are unreliable in their own ways. As one reads, their grasp on the reality within the book becomes tenuous, and that sense of tension forms all of the unease and discomfort you could possibly want... (read more)
Recommended by Mar S.
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Sara Desai
[isbn]
After reading The Marriage Game series, I was far too excited for another title by Sarah Desi. And she did not disappoint. The protagonist, Simi Chopra, doesn't have a lot of things. But she does have a mountain of student loan debt, a flooded apartment, and willingness to commit a crime to keep her best friend out of jail. Millennial girlies can relate, right? This book has so much to offer — from the instant chemistry the protagonists have to... (read more)
Recommended by Lindsay P
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Mary Doria Russell
[isbn]
This book absolutely dazzled me, taking a common sci-fi premise — humanity finally makes contact with alien life — and making it feel completely new. A team of scientists, anthropologists, and linguists journeys into space to meet the newly discovered extraterrestial culture. Their mission is funded by the Jesuits, but there are a range of religious beliefs, and lack thereof, among them. The vision of what the alien world would be like is... (read more)
Recommended by Claire A.
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Dennis Lehane
[isbn]
A gritty and unflinching look at South Boston during a time of racial unrest in the 1970s — a mother stops at nothing to find her missing daughter, tearing an Irish mob-run city apart with her fists and her teeth. Written with beautiful prose and insightful, layered characters, this breathtaking, unforgettable read is one bloody-knuckled knockout of a book that will leave you walloped and bruised. I sit here licking my wounds and recommending... (read more)
Recommended by Heather A.
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Kara Thomas
[isbn]
Calling all mystery/thriller readers: Kara Thomas is an author you NEED to pay attention to. Every time I thought I had made it to the climax or the main reveal in Out of the Ashes, Thomas surprised me with another unexpected twist. This book is somewhat like a roller coaster, but more like one of those amusement park rides that aggressively whips you around in a figure eight and might actually be unsafe for riders.
Recommended by Sarah B.
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Thomas Pynchon
[isbn]
Pynchon at his most accessible, this labyrinthine noir has a pleasing and mind-bending internal logic. Immerse yourself in this hilarious, brainy, conspiracy-filled caper!
Recommended by Adam B.
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Jessa Maxwell
[isbn]
Don't be fooled by the flashy cover — this is a deliciously cozy mystery through and through. Devout followers of the Great British Bake Off will devour this sweet homage and love the in-depth descriptions of the different bakes. Safe to say that stodgy bottoms are the least of anyone's worries when there's dead bodies about...
Recommended by Alice S.
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Alan Bradley
[isbn]
Oh, what a charming little ditty of a mystery. Firstly, Alan Bradley has a knack for weaving words in such a precise tapestry that you feel, smell, and absorb the world he creates around you. It's so exact and precise in description, with little flourishes of sighs for gentle beauty, that you feel as if you've settled into a warm memory. Nice light prose that bubbles off the page in lyrical humor and subtle grace.
Secondly, little... (read more)
Recommended by Benvolio E.
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K. J. Charles
[isbn]
If you like M/M historical romance and haven't discovered the wonder that is K. J. Charles, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a great place to dive in. Joss Doomsday, head of a smuggling clan, meets Gareth Inglis, newly minted baronet. Gareth is a newcomer to Romney Marsh and discovers that life on the marsh is a whole different ball of wax than living in a city. Full of adventure, intrigue, and delicious banter, The Secret... (read more)
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Brendan Slocumb
[isbn]
Dr. Bern Hendricks has landed his dream job, authenticating a lost manuscript by his favorite musician. While researching the piece of music by Frederick Delaney, Bern and his friend Eboni discover that the revered composer might not be the musical genius everyone believes him to be. I loved the alternating timelines, one modern and one during the jazz age, both populated with fascinating characters. As more secrets are uncovered and the drama... (read more)
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Emily Ruskovich
[isbn]
I'm glad I read this book. Beautiful writing, unique and engaging story, but nearly prohibitively sad! A rural couple reels from and tries to make sense of tragedy. So good, and so sad.
Recommended by Adam B.
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Walter Mosley
[isbn]
There's no writer like Walter Mosley and no protagonists like his creations: Easy Rawlins, Leonid McGill, and now Joe King, returning in a new era noir, facing tough moral choices, and pulling the reader — you — up close and into every fraught moment.
Recommended by Doug C.
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John Darnielle
[isbn]
The perfect Halloween read, Devil House is the We Do it Different on the West Coast of novels, the alternating light and dark of a picturesque Golden State story with something indiscernibly and undeniably sinister between its pages. John Darnielle (or, Mr. Goats, as I lovingly refer to him) has never disappointed me before, and it is both a relief and a joy to see his artistic talent transcend from my stereo to my bookshelf.
Recommended by CJ H.
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Kelley Armstrong
[isbn]
While drawn to the sound of a woman in distress, Mallory ends up attacked... and wakes up in 1869 Edinburgh, in the body of a house maid for an undertaker. Now it's a race to figure out who attacked them and get back to her own body in 2019. First in a new series, I can't wait for the next one!
Recommended by Mecca A.
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Patrick Rothfuss
[isbn]
The Name of the Wind is the story of Kvothe, who grows up in a nomadic troupe of players, the Edema Ruh, where he learns the fundamentals of magic, music, and the dramatic arts. After years as a penniless orphan in Tarbean, he eventually attends the University, where he narrowly avoids expulsion several times. Kvothe is brilliant, full of panache and daring, but certainly not exempt from suffering or heartbreak. The genius of The... (read more)
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Richard Osman
[isbn]
I absolutely love the Thursday Murder Club series. Four pensioners living in a retirement community in the English countryside meet every Thursday to discuss unsolved crimes. Once they make friends with a local police constable and her boss, they start putting their detecting skills to work in the real world. The charming characters, the clever plots with just the right amount of twists and the idyllic setting, make this series one of my new... (read more)
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Paula Hawkins
[isbn]
Hawkins keeps you guessing until the very end and then still manages to make you rethink everything you thought you knew. The multiple narrators will keep you on your toes, though the storyline continuously flows along with the harrowing river that women keep disappearing into. I loved the allusions to the European witch hunts, as the book had a very witchy vibe to me from the start.
Recommended by Parker W.
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Kerrigan Byrne
[isbn]
The Fiona Mahoney Mysteries will suck you into a gritty Victorian era London full of murders. After finding the brutalized body of her friend, Fiona inadvertently creates a new job for herself... cleaning up the blood from crime scenes. Now she's pulled into another mystery surrounding murdered sex workers, while still trying to seek justice for her friends' death. Surrounded by an eclectic cast of friends and foes, from Jack the Ripper to Oscar... (read more)
Recommended by Mecca A.
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Dan Chaon
[isbn]
A love child of Mad Max: Fury Road and Cosmatos's Mandy with a peppering of The Last of Us, Sleepwalk is fast-paced chaos and the epitome of what I affectionately refer to as dystopian trucker fiction. Trust me, that's a compliment. Chaon's blending of hallucinatory storytelling and commentary on the human condition is truly masterful.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Viet Thanh Nguyen
[isbn]
The Sympathizer has burrowed itself deep into my psyche. It has elicited a radical change in my perception, filling me with new concerns and confidence. The book has penetrated my growing list of Asian American fiction, rightfully claiming a place in my top three Asian American narratives. Nguyen strikes at the history and realities we all too frequently forget or overlook. The narrator, our antihero, a double agent communist spy, is... (read more)
Recommended by Jun L.
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Viet Thanh Nguyen
[isbn]
The Committed is a sequel as praiseworthy as its predecessor, The Sympathizer. Viet Thanh Nguyen has once again crafted something so multifaceted and provocative in its content that I am left in awe. The explorations into the mind of the antihero just hit harder and harder as you witness the effects of the events of the previous book play out in his new life in Paris. I rocketed through The Committed, propelled forward... (read more)
Recommended by Jun L.
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Emmeline Duncan
[isbn]
I’m looking forward to reading the second installment of this cozy mystery series set in a food cart pod in Portland. This time, master barista Sage has brought her coffee cart to an eco-friendly music festival, where she finds the body of one of the band’s managers. I expect this story will bring the same great cast of characters and very real Portland vibe that made Fresh Brewed Murder so much fun to read.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Maria Gainza
[isbn]
Maria Gainza takes readers on a thought-provoking quest for truths about forgery in an atmospheric neo-noir novel. Just what an artist — and an art market — should aspire to are questions that loom over the narrator’s obsessive quest to learn about a largely unremembered past, and an entirely forgotten artist.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Nita Prose
[isbn]
Meet the Amelia Bedelia of locked-door cozy mysteries. Molly is too literal to navigate social niceties, but she’s an absolutely perfect hotel maid — until she finds the body of a wealthy guest in an executive suite. Zany, adorable, and compelling, The Maid is a real midwinter treat.
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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John Darnielle
[isbn]
John Darnielle has created an intriguing, multilayered novel that interrogates the true crime genre’s highest aspirations and basest instincts. Devil House is a gripping read that raises important questions about what the true costs of salacious stories are, and who pays them.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Noah Hawley
[isbn]
Curious about where our current sociopolitical trajectory might take us? Brace yourself. Set in a grimly plausible not-so-distant future, Anthem is the literary equivalent of a Netflix binge: nonstop action, wild plot twists, and unanswered questions will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. A gritty, propulsive thriller that puts America on notice.
Recommended by Tove H.
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Kate Racculia
[isbn]
I had so much fun reading Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts! Racculia has created some of the quirkiest, relatable characters I've ever read; I care about all of them, which makes the book so, so hard to put down. It's smart-fun with streaks of mystery, romance, and just a hint of horror. Pairs well with a cozy blanket, best read on a rainy day.
Recommended by Summer R.
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Olga Tokarczuk
[isbn]
Meet Janina. But please do not forget that she cannot tolerate her own name and that she prefers to name the people around her according to their personalities or physical characteristics. She lives alone in a small, rather remote Polish village maintaining several properties for people who have summer homes there. She dabbles in astrology, translates William Blake, and is an animal lover, and one day her two dogs do not come home. Around the... (read more)
Recommended by Paul S.
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James M. Cain
[isbn]
Like many people, I saw the film Double Indemnity first, and it is, of course, a top-notch film noir, arguably one of the best — but I love the book just as much. Leaner, simpler, James M. Cain’s novel is a lightning-fast, tension-laced read full of pulpy goodness, exploring themes of obsession and the corruption of the soul through Cain’s everyman-gone-wrong, Walter Huff. The end of the book — completely different from the film, by the... (read more)
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Lisa Jewell
[isbn]
As a birthday present, a friend gave me an advanced reader copy of this book. I initially ignored it because I thought the title sounded ridiculous (Don't judge a book by its title, amiright or amiright?).
One night, I was feeling especially bored, and I picked it up. I read the first page and instantly was like, "Oh. So this is actually good." Told through the eyes of three characters, each unreliable in their own way, the story reaches into the... (read more)
Recommended by Briauna M.
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Wanda M. Morris
[isbn]
Ellice Littlejohn is a corporate attorney in Atlanta, who goes into the office for a meeting and finds her boss dead. She is offered his job, but can she trust the others in the executive circle? This debut thriller is a page-turner full of twists you won’t see coming.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Cherie Priest
[isbn]
Hugo and Nebula Awards nominee Priest has written her first mystery novel, and I hope it is the first of many. Leda is a travel agent and inconsistent psychic. Based on a very strong feeling, she rebooks a customer’s flight and accidentally saves them from an airplane that catches fire. When that customer, detective Grady Merritt, returns to Seattle, he tracks down Leda and recruits her to help with a case he can’t crack. I look forward to... (read more)
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Larry McMurtry
[isbn]
Suddenly I liked cowboy stories. Retired Texas Rangers, cattle drives, small western town shenanigans, what it means to get old, humor, drama (and, oh, the radishes!). This is why I read: a fictional world in which you can hide, a story you don’t want to end.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Chris Whitaker
[isbn]
A story both beautiful and broken. Small-town people who surprise themselves by living in their town forever, and the tragicomedy that encompasses all our flawed lives no matter where we live. You'll be happy to meet these characters even as they break your heart.
Recommended by Tracey T.
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Alex Michaelides
[isbn]
This clever campus murder mystery thriller is a satisfying follow-up to The Silent Patient. Michaelides builds an aura of menace while throwing out enough red herrings to make the big reveal surprising and satisfying. The intriguing characters and expertly woven-in Greek mythology keep The Maidens engrossing, even for readers who aren't psychological thriller devotees.
Recommended by Emily B.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Another solid King novel, his third in the Hard Case Crime series. There's certainly nothing unique about the story. It's a coming-of-age tale of a kid with a special power (or is it a curse?), but it's done well, as King tends to do, and if you're a fan of the bestselling author, this is a must-read. If you're not a fan, Later is a good gateway to other works.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Raymond Khoury
[isbn]
Intrigued by the synopsis of a mysterious naked man covered in tattoos of strange writings, I knew I had to read Raymond Khoury's Empire of Lies, a fascinating and
exciting thriller of alternate history and time travel.
I loved this book and absolutely loved Nisreen!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Alex Pavesi
[isbn]
Like a series of nested Russian dolls, this clever, twisting story claims to lay out the rules by which all murder mysteries must abide, while slyly breaking them all.
Recommended by Warren B.
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Stacey Abrams
[isbn]
Maybe you need a breather before the next extremely stressful election night, but you still crave a thrill? Stacey Abrams can provide that too: here’s a twisty tale of shadowy operatives, corrupt politicians, enigmatic Justices, and a law clerk caught in the middle.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Paula McLain
[isbn]
Suspenseful and edgy, Paula McLain's When the Stars Go Dark is a gripping mystery that centers around a missing child case and a detective struggling with her past. Beautifully written, filled with heartbreak and redemption, When the Stars Go Dark will haunt you long after the last page.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Riku Onda, Alison Watts
[isbn]
The Aosawa Murders was listed by the NYT as one of the Notable Books of 2020. But even more notable is that my sister, who mostly reads political and economic tomes and who rarely reads any fiction, practically devoured this book — I felt quite heroic that I agreed to let her read the book even though I was halfway through it! The murders are recounted decades later through multiple points of view, and the author does a... (read more)
Recommended by Sheila N.
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Natsuo Kirino
[isbn]
I ventured into Out having gone on a detective murder mystery kick: the great Raymond Chandler, the invincible Dorothy L. Sayers... So it was no surprise that I next turned to Japan's queen of crime writing. Out is a can't-stop-reading, classy, well done, get-into-their-heads-type psychological you-know-whodunnit. Excellent translation, her first into English. I can't wait to read more by Kirino!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Viet Thanh Nguyen
[isbn]
In the long-anticipated sequel to The Sympathizer, we find our antihero embroiled in the Paris underworld. Beneath the rip-roaring action resides dark humor, deep character study, and meditations on identity, capitalism, and colonization. The Committed is a powerful follow-up to Nguyen's award-winning, way-more-than-just-a-spy-novel.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Paraic O'Donnell
[isbn]
I love a Victorian mystery but The House on Vesper Sands wowed me. The dialogue is pitch-perfect and at times outright hilarious. Add a creepy church, missing urchins, a ghostly woman, a crumbling mansion, and a villain of perfect Oscar Wilde proportions. This is a great, fun, breathtaking read.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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James Lee Burke
[isbn]
Nobody can bring the sights and flavors of Louisiana to mind quite like James Lee Burke. The incredibly steadfast Detective Robicheaux will guide us through another mystery, but this particular novel contains quite a bit of the supernatural. There is always a little something for everyone in James Lee Burke's novels, and I suspect this one will bring a few more followers to the fold.
Recommended by Corie K-B.
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Tana French
[isbn]
Tana French's latest is set in a small Irish village and features a retired Chicago cop. It's richly atmospheric. Like all French's work, it is dark and utterly compelling.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Anthony Horowitz
[isbn]
Horowitz returns to the wonderful characters from Magpie Murders and revisits the book-within-a-book plotting device. It works again, brilliantly, in this bright, modern homage to Agatha Christie.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Alyssa Cole
[isbn]
The publisher describes this as Rear Window meets Get Out. The heartbreak of your lifelong neighborhood being lost to gentrification turns to fear, paranoia, and wonder. What is happening to all those people who moved out of the neighborhood? I can't wait to find out.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Jo Nesbo
[isbn]
Here is a standalone thriller from the master of Scandinavian dark mysteries. I'll make sure to read this with the lights on. Sure glad I don't live in Norway!
Recommended by Doug C.
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John Banville
[isbn]
This traditional mystery threatens to become much more. It's the 1950s in Ireland, and the Catholic Church stands against any truth the police might uncover in the untimely murder of a priest.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Emily St. John Mandel
[isbn]
The Glass Hotel is a haunting tale of inner demons and personal catastrophe. Fans of Station Eleven will not be disappointed, for the characters in this story are just as richly flawed and gorgeously detailed. An ethereal and dreamlike quality seeps into the pages, guiding readers through a plot that rewards them with a deeply satisfying ending. This is a contemporary ghost story unlike any other I've read.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Oyinkan Braithwaite
[isbn]
A TENSE book. It just goes and goes. Be prepared to be stressed out whenever you have to set it down. Dark, funny, with fascinating gender dynamics. I can see this becoming an HBO or Netflix miniseries in the future. Mark my words!
Recommended by Maddy F.
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Jennifer McMahon
[isbn]
Jennifer McMahon hits another one out of the park with her sinister story of a family descended from a witch. Hattie repeatedly warned of impending disasters, and was hung for her foresight. When Nate and Helen buy Hattie's old property at the edge of a bog and begin to build their dream house, the townspeople are less than thrilled. Soon things are disappearing, Helen and Nate are seeing things, warnings are revealed, and evil (?) things are... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Ivy Pochoda
[isbn]
In These Women, Pochoda wastes little ink on the villain of the story, focusing instead on the women whose lives have been affected by his crimes. A grieving mother, a dancer, a vice cop, a burgeoning artist, a strait-laced neighbor, a survivor — their narratives share a common thread, but it’s easy to imagine each of their stories as the basis for an equally compelling standalone novel. A subversion of the standard serial killer trope,... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Elly Griffiths
[isbn]
Elly Griffiths writes a spooky ghost story and a chilling murder mystery tangled into one creepy novel. Set in a school on the moors of rural England, with a haunted mansion and plenty of intrigue, The Stranger Diaries is framed by a sinister horror story, and absolutely every character is hiding something. Peppered throughout with literary references and — surprisingly — some spot-on humor, this is the brilliant gothic/ghost/school... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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JP Delaney
[isbn]
Wow! The Perfect Wife hooked me right from the start! Fascinating and suspenseful
throughout, this is a must-read. Super awesome and brilliant!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Shari Lapena
[isbn]
I loved The Couple Next Door, so I was excited to read Shari Lapena's new book. Someone We Know is a delicious domestic thriller, fast-paced and filled with lies,
secrets, suspicion, and gossip. So much fun! I really enjoyed this compelling, twisty, and highly entertaining mystery!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Craig Russell
[isbn]
Are you brave enough to read this novel of intense crime and horror?
In 1935, outside of Prague, is a castle that houses an asylum for the criminally insane.
With only six inmates, Dr. Kosarek desires to find the Devil Aspect.
At the same time, a serial killer stalks Prague.
A macabre and Gothic tale. Chilling!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Felicity McLean
[isbn]
The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is a languidly told novel set in a sizzling long hot Australian summer, as Tikka, her sister, and their neighbor friends spend their time together.
Yet, like multi-layered onion skin, there is hidden subterfuge. Intriguing and atmospheric.
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Iain Reid
[isbn]
After being blown away by Iain Reid's Foe, I picked up I'm Thinking of Ending Things — wow, smart move! He's mostly a nonfiction writer, but, man, this guy can write the hell out of fiction. This story starts with Jake and his girlfriend taking a long drive out to the country to have dinner with Jake's parents. She's having doubts about the relationship, but sticking with it for now. So far so good, but hang on... this thing... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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David R Dow
[isbn]
I went into this book expecting a violent story of revenge — and that would have been fine with me — but instead I got an incredibly tender and affecting portrait of a man failed both by the judicial system and by himself. I loved Rafa despite his flaws (and they're big ones), and that's something I really value in a character.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Samantha Downing
[isbn]
A perfect balm for those of us with domestic thriller fatigue, My Lovely Wife tells the dark and twisty tale of a husband-and-wife team of murderers who think their system is foolproof. But maybe they can't trust each other quite as completely as they think...
Recommended by Emily F.
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Louise Penny
[isbn]
A Better Man, the latest from master mystery writer Louise Penny, sees Armand Gamache back in his old position of head of homicide, after a demotion due to his actions in previous books. Penny's graceful, gentle writing and incisive psychological portraits continue to make this series better and better; this most recent addition to the story of Three Pines will please current fans and recruit new ones.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Melanie Golding
[isbn]
I'll read just about anything with elements of creepy folklore, so I was all over this contemporary-thriller-meets-modern-fairy-tale. And it met my high hopes — I was fully engaged from the beginning, and sections were downright terrifying.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Jane Harper
[isbn]
Like Harper's previous novels, The Lost Man is full of atmosphere, understated drama, and imperfect characters that work their way into my heart. I love her style of literary suspense, and I always feel lucky to take another trip to Jane Harper's Australia.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Olga Tokarczuk
[isbn]
Crackling with energy and wholly original, Olga Tokarczuk dazzles with this literary thriller that is both ecofeminist manifesto and page-turning whodunit. Tokarczuk transports the reader to a snowy, isolated plateau in Poland where villagers are mysteriously turning up dead. This book is fierce and essential, fundamentally challenging how we perceive the world.
Recommended by Mary S.
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Molly Gloss
[isbn]
Set in the brutal Oregon high country in the 1890s, The Jump-Off Creek tells the story of the widow Lydia Sanderson and her struggles to settle in an unforgiving land. Gloss did her research, drawing on pioneer journals and hand-me-down stories, and she writes with a quiet restraint that respects the characters and their vast surroundings. Anyone interested in what life was actually like for Oregon's pioneers — the elaborate... (read more)
Recommended by Renee P.
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Tana French
[isbn]
French's latest is a brilliant psychological mystery. It left me feeling deeply unsettled, in the very best way. It is an intelligent, painful examination of familial bonds. It questions the price of embracing the dark night of the soul and the moral danger inherent in close examination of individual intent, in facing truths clouded by time, personality, and affection. It also has a creepy mansion, a long dead body, conflicted characters, a... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Wendy N Wagner
[isbn]
An enjoyable thriller on an alien world. The story moved quickly, but with thoughtful pauses in the action for character and meaning. Relatable to our own world, but not in a preachy way. I’d love to see more of the protagonists and just more in general from this author.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Un-Su Kim
[isbn]
The Plotters by Un-Su Kim is a beautifully written dark-humored tale of a den of assassins based in an old library where the orphaned Reseng, now an assassin, was raised by Old Raccoon. Awesome characters are layered with little gems of delight throughout. This book is a sensational pleasure and a pure joy to read. Loved this!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Ruth Ware
[isbn]
Ruth Ware writes another twisty tale for us to devour. This time around there's a surprise letter from an attorney, a will to be read, new family members, and too many secrets to keep quiet. Ware does her typical terrific job of sussing out the motivations and fears of her characters, and her story is flooded with tension. She delivers the goods: a creepy psychological portrait of a family rife with lies and desperation. Delicious!
Recommended by Dianah H.
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James Ellroy
[isbn]
This is grit lit crime fiction that will suck you in and spit you out feeling like you've just spent an hour in an interrogation room with Vogel and Koenig. The splendid and grotesque Black Dahlia, the first in Ellroy's L.A. Quartet series, it a terrific place to begin.
Recommended by Eva F.
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Jo Nesbo
[isbn]
With Knife, Jo Nesbø, one of my favorite authors, delivers another explosive crime novel! Harry Hole, the tough, beat-up alley cat-type somehow attracts women like a magnet. And Nesbø is the best at creating human monsters! Will someone please tell Jo Nesbø and Walter Mosley to collaborate on a Harry Hole-Easy Rawlins international thriller?
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Kate Atkinson
[isbn]
Jackson Brodie is back! The protagonist of Kate Atkinson's terrific mystery series, he is funny, dark, kind, and understated — as are the books themselves. Atkinson always approaches her characters with compassion and understanding, which helps keep her mysteries (centered around lost girls) from sliding into too-dark territory. More Jackson, please!
Recommended by Leah C.
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Alexis Schaitkin
[isbn]
It is purely by chance that Claire even recognizes Clive, since she was just a little girl the last time she saw him. But as she's getting out of a cab, she realizes her driver was one of the suspects in her sister Alison's death, which remains unsolved. This random encounter ignites something in her and she begins an obsessive investigation of own, scouring the internet for information and following Clive around his neighborhood every night. But... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Lisa Lutz
[isbn]
They call it The Darkroom and it is Stonebridge Academy's most shameful legacy. For years, the male students have used it as a digital scoreboard to rank their female classmates by their sexual activity — pictures included. It's a disgusting display of misogynistic entitlement, but anyone who's tried to expose it has paid a steep price. Until a small group of girls decides to fight (and bite) back, but their burgeoning resistance has consequences... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Ruth Ware
[isbn]
Ruth Ware pens a riveting Gothic ghost story set in the Scottish highlands, giving a nod to Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, and ratcheting up the suspense. Rowan desperately wants the nanny position at Heatherbrae, but when she gets it she's not prepared to care for three small children 24/7. And what is going on with the house? Things keep disappearing and reappearing, there are noises coming from the attic, and what about that... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Jane Harper
[isbn]
I so enjoyed Jane Harper's previous novel, The Dry, I immediately wanted to read The Lost Man. Its plot is seemingly simple: two men meet in the remote Australian outback, where their brother has been found dead under odd circumstances. What follows is a convincing family mystery set in a landscape (central Queensland, Australia) so unforgiving that running out of gas while running errands can be fatal. The themes of isolation... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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Lucy Foley
[isbn]
Oh, I love the sound of breaking glass!
Take a New Year's party of friends, place them in a secluded Scottish lodge,
add high-octane drinking, buried secrets, resentments, and jealousies,
throw in a blizzard for good measure, mix well, and you may end up with
someone dead... just like in Lucy Foley's Hunting Party. A perfect weekend treat!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Hanna Jameson
[isbn]
As the Doomsday Clock inches towards midnight, we are forced to consider what the end of the world will look like. For Jon it arrives as a series of increasingly terrifying news alerts: there have been multiple nuclear attacks around the world, starting with Washington, DC. Just prior to this he was eating breakfast at a hotel in Switzerland, not thinking about anything in particular, completely unaware of what was to come — isn’t that always the... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Anthony Horowitz
[isbn]
Magpie Murders was a magnificent masterpiece, and Anthony Horowitz's newest mystery is as
delicious as a fine bottle of wine... like the very expensive 1982 Château Lafite, the murder weapon
in The Sentence Is Death. Witty, enjoyable, and engrossing, Hawthorne and Horowitz are a
smashing duo!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Lars Kepler
[isbn]
With international acclaim comes Kepler's latest thriller, Stalker, a horrific and heart-pumping crime novel which follows a terrifying path of murders in Sweden. Prior to each murder, a tape is released to the Swedish National Crime Unit which begins the countdown to the killer's latest victim. Kepler's style is well-researched, describing the psychology behind stalkers in gruesome and uncomfortable detail, and following police... (read more)
Recommended by Alex Y.
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David Simon
[isbn]
Before he created HBO's The Wire, David Simon was a journalist on the murder beat in Baltimore. There, he embedded with a homicide unit for a year. In Homicide, he tells that unit's story through the lives of its officers. It's both a riveting mystery and a brilliant analysis of society, crime, and justice in the United States. The Wire gave viewers a municipal civics lesson in the guise of fiction, but... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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Alex Michaelides
[isbn]
Whoa! This book. Brilliant! So psychological and immensely engaging. Criminal therapist Theo Faber puts on his detective hat to unravel why Alicia Berenson has not spoken a word
in the six years since she shot her husband. Compelling read.
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Colson Whitehead
[isbn]
A novel which stands unique from anything I've read, The Intuitionist is at face value about the workers who inspect and correct elevators. Anything but simple or humdrum, Colson Whitehead explores class politics, race, and the effect of public outcry through the simple premise of a mysterious occupation. Newcomers to Whitehead will get a proper taste for his wit and intelligence as a writer who concerns himself with powerful allegories.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Marisha Pessl
[isbn]
Ever have the feeling that you've discovered a great, unknown author? Do yourself a favor and discover Pessl, who writes in a distinctly enjoyable style. This, her debut novel, has intrigue, young love, and literature references galore. When you're through, Pessl has the equally enjoyable Night Film and Neverworld Wake to devour next.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Jeff Vandermeer
[isbn]
Published within the span of a year, the Southern Reach trilogy begins with Annihilation. A stunning first part, the story is a strange mix of bio-horror and sci-fi. A little bit Alice in Wonderland, a little bit At the Mountains of Madness, VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy has earned him a place as one of the best contemporary sci-fi authors. Area X has an infectious hold on me, and restored my tumultuous... (read more)
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Mary Ann Shaffer
[isbn]
I have always loved historical fiction; it makes me feel as though I have a real connection to these places where all these amazing and world-changing things happened. Within the first few pages, Mary Ann Shaffer immerses you in a world with characters that you feel you've known all your life. You truly feel as though you are with them working through all the hardships and unknowns that arose in post-WWII Europe. The fact that it is written in... (read more)
Recommended by Rachel J.
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Ottessa Moshfegh
[isbn]
Newly reissued for a wider audience, Ottessa Moshfegh's first literary outing ventures into the fractured psyche of a drunken sailor, McGlue, who stands accused of murdering his best friend. You'd never read about McGlue in any history book, but Moshfegh lends dignity to his sad story. A must-read for fans of the author and a strange, standout work in its own right.
Recommended by Renee P.
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Attica Locke
[isbn]
Bluebird, Bluebird is a deeply troubling exploration of the penetrating racism that plagues huge swaths of America, and what can be set in motion when people feel backed into a corner by a cultural landscape they no longer recognize. This literary mystery is elegant, frank, and unswerving in its focus.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Laura Lippman
[isbn]
Adam and Polly meet at a dive bar in a tiny town, but neither one of them are who they say they are. Polly is running, but from what? And Adam is in pursuit, but of what? Fear, theft, insurance fraud, abuse, and maybe murder are in play in this fast-paced thriller. Laura Lippman's Sunburn is an intricately plotted noir mystery, with complex and intelligent characters, and enough sex appeal to cause a... well, a sunburn.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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David Joy
[isbn]
The Line That Held Us is a gorgeous and brutal story of love, violence, and loyalty so fierce it has the power to destroy everything in its path. David Joy has a gift for writing Southern noir, and he can hold his own with Cormac McCarthy, Donald Ray Pollock, Daniel Woodrell, and other gods of grit lit.
Recommended by Emily F.
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David Wong
[isbn]
If the idea of a talented, funny, irreverent author throwing all of his best ideas about aliens, drug use, horror, and slapstick into a bag, shaking it, and then throwing that hot mess onto the page sounds appealing, then John Dies at the End is for you. Me? I loved the novel's lack of preciousness, its verve, and its outrageous humor. My theory is that this book makes an auspicious gift for anyone you don't know well. It will either... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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Theresa Griffin Kennedy
[isbn]
Theresa Griffin Kennedy's small collection, Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories, explores the seamy and sordid underbelly of Portland's dark side. Kennedy's Portland is wet and dreary, and its inhabitants are broken; these characters are poor, struggling, addicted, angry, defenseless, and sometimes mentally ill. Yet, there is a ribbon of the thinnest hope that threads through these stories, and sometimes redemption is just hidden... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Alice Laplante
[isbn]
Dr. Jennifer White is a retired hand surgeon, who, unfortunately, is moving toward late-stage dementia. When her best friend is murdered and found with fingers surgically removed from one hand, Dr. White is the prime suspect. Yet, how to build a case, much less convict, on the bewildering ramblings of an Alzheimer's patient? Told from Dr. White's perspective, Turn of Mind is a moody, gauzy, wispy story; the haze of lost memory is almost... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Robert Goolrick
[isbn]
Frank advertises for a "mail-order bride," and Catherine accepts. She arrives in Wisconsin during a blizzard, which sets the initial tone for the chilly interaction between them. They both have sinister, unexpressed plans for each other. Heavy on themes of sex, greed, and self-interest, The Reliable Wife morphs into a pseudo-love story. Ralph suffers at Catherine's hand, and she seems untouchable, but is she? Catherine undergoes a... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Leila Slimani
[isbn]
She is beautiful, privileged, and cherished by her husband, but she is not happy. Like a modern-day Emma Bovary, Adèle shares her agitation and her discontent with a life of respectable comfort — she too seeks oblivion in ecstasy. And so she has affairs, many of them. But despite the graphically physical nature of these liaisons, no one ever really touches her. She is alone with her all-consuming fear, her unacceptable desires, her indifference... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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