Each spring, Norwegian crime writers and crime writers from around Scandinavia - and the world - gather in Oslo for Krimfestivalen, an annual crime fiction festival that has quickly become one of my absolute favorites. I’ve been attending Krimfestivalen for a few years now (you can check out my very first trip to Krimfestivalen recapped here!) and it’s now something I look forward to every single spring. I’m in Oslo for Krimfestivalen this week, and can’t wait to take you guys along with me and share the crime festival fun with you all! I’ll be sharing live updates from Krimfestivalen on Instagram and Twitter, and I’ll also be recapping my time in Oslo for Krimfestivalen 2020 on my website once I return to New York. In the meantime, read on for a preview of this year’s festival, including my most-anticipated author appearances, an overview of the festival’s special events, and more!
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Cover Reveal and Excerpt: CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 by Lisa Unger
New York Times bestselling thriller writer Lisa Unger is back in 2020 with a brand-new standalone psychological thriller, and boy does it look fantastic. Gorgeous cover? Check. Plot reminiscent of crime fiction classics like Strangers on a Train? Check. Count me in. CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 will be available in the US in October, but, thanks to Lisa’s US publisher, Crime by the Book readers can get an exclusive glimpse into her 2020 release right here on CBTB! I am absolutely honored to be revealing the stunning cover for CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 today. Read on right here to check out the book’s cover, learn more about its plot, and catch an early sneak-peek of the story’s prologue. Happy reading!
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Book Review: EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson
What makes for the perfect murder? If you’re as crime fiction obsessed as I am, it’s probably a question that’s popped into your head once or twice in the context of the murder mysteries you are devouring. I’ve been a mystery reader since I was a little kid (I owe a debt of gratitude to Carolyn Keene and Nancy Drew for that!), and over the years certain books - and certain murders found in the pages of those books - have stuck out as “perfect.” In Peter Swanson’s EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS, fictional crimes become a blueprint for real-life violence. Following the owner of a mystery-dedicated bookstore in Boston, EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS imagines what happens when a person with a desire to do harm gets his or her hands on a guide to some of the most infallible murders in the crime fiction genre. Will these crimes prove as impossible to solve in the real world as they are on the page? In his newest release, Swanson delivers a shocking, addictive mystery with a classic crime twist. EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS is a love letter to the crime fiction genre. It’s a story steeped in genre history and present-day in-jokes, and it’s one that no crime fiction reader will want to miss. I haven’t had this much fun reading a crime novel in ages. Put on your amateur sleuth hat and join Peter Swanson on this delightfully nostalgic, utterly clever journey through the greatest murders in crime fiction.
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CBTB's Guide to Riley Sager Thrillers
You know those authors whose work just instantly clicks for you? That’s me with Riley Sager’s thrillers. Over the past few years, Riley Sager has quickly cemented himself as one of my absolute favorite writers working in the psychological thriller space. His books are an irresistible blend of compelling characters, can’t-stop-reading plots, and ode to horror film and fiction, and he’s one of those rare authors whose novels truly seem to just get better and better. I’m basically always waiting for the next book that Riley will release, and if you haven’t tried his books yet, consider this blog post your sign that it’s time to give them a try! I promise, time spent in any of Sager’s books is time well spent. In today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing my personal story and experience with Sager’s books, plus giving you a rundown of what kind of reader I think will best appreciate each of his fantastic previous releases. Sager is one of those authors I just can’t stop cheering for—he is so deserving of the success that has come his way over the past few years, and I can’t wait to hopefully get a few more readers hooked on his work today! Read on for my personal anecdotes on Sager’s books, and a guide to his thrillers so far.
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Book Review: THE SUN DOWN MOTEL by Simone St. James
Confession time: I used to hate mysteries with supernatural elements. Then I started reading Simone St. James. I’m a latecomer to St. James’ work, but in the relatively brief time I’ve been following her, she has transformed my reading habits. Beginning with St. James’ breakout novel The Broken Girls, and similarly reflected in her brand-new suspense novel The Sun Down Motel, St. James’ trademark blend of very earthly intrigue and otherworldly suspense has utterly won me over. In St. James’ hands, the psychological thriller gets a welcome makeover: her books are fresh, utterly addictive examples of the very best in mystery-meets-ghost story, and The Sun Down Motel is my favorite book of hers yet. Masterfully straddling two timelines, The Sun Down Motel drops readers into a small town in upstate New York—a place where time seems to have stood still, and the ghosts of the past might be a bit more literal than you’d imagine. Following a young woman who travels to Fell, New York in pursuit of the truth about her aunt’s mysterious disappearance in the same town, The Sun Down Motel will entrance with a rich sense of place, 80’s nostalgia, and an utterly gripping - and genuinely creepy - mystery. Here we have a compelling family drama, a modern ghost story, and a gripping mystery all wrapped up in one irresistible package. I loved The Sun Down Motel, and I’m betting you will, too.
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