Gothic suspense gets a Nordic makeover in C.J. Cooke’s beguiling and bone-chilling 2020 release THE NESTING. In this inventive suspense novel, there’s more than just wildlife lurking in the woods of Norway, and an unsuspecting young woman is about to realize that her new home isn’t just slightly creepy… it’s flat-out dangerous. When I first learned of C.J. Cooke’s book THE NESTING, I could hardly believe my good luck. It felt like one of those rare moments when an author somehow managed to craft the exact right combination of things you personally love as a reader—for me, in this case, a combination of Gothic suspense and a Norwegian setting—and I could hardly wait to dive in. I’m happy to report that Cooke’s latest release more than met my (high!) expectations. THE NESTING puts a modern spin on a classic Gothic suspense premise, and wraps it all up in the atmosphere of Scandinavia. Fans of Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor and Ruth Ware’s THE TURN OF THE KEY (both of which pay homage to Henry James’ classic THE TURN OF THE SCREW, I would be remiss not to add!) will adore the immersive Gothic tale Cooke spins in her latest novel, while readers who love stories set in Scandinavia will sink effortlessly into the dark forests of Norway in which THE NESTING is set. As we enter the colder, darker months of the year, C.J. Cooke’s THE NESTING is the perfect spine-tingling story to add to your TBR list.
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Book Review: INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell
Queen of the just-one-more-page thriller Lisa Jewell is back with what is undoubtedly my favorite book of hers yet: INVISIBLE GIRL, available this week in the US. INVISIBLE GIRL is a perfect encapsulation of the delicious blend of dark intrigue and entertainment value that I’ve fallen in love with in Jewell’s writing. It’s a story of chance encounters, intersecting lives, and sinister secrets, all of which plays out against the seemingly innocuous backdrop of a high-end neighborhood in London. There is no one sole protagonist in Jewell’s latest novel, but rather a cast of characters whose intersecting fates provide the sinister drama central to this engrossing, unputdownable psychological thriller. Behind closed doors, everyone has something to hide, and none of Jewell’s characters are spared having their darkest secrets laid bare in INVISIBLE GIRL. Readers looking for a fresh take on domestic suspense will find Jewell’s INVISIBLE GIRL an irresistible blend of juicy drama and razor-sharp thriller writing. INVISIBLE GIRL is one of the best psychological suspense novels I’ve read this year, and a must-read for any suspense aficionado’s fall reading list.
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CBTB's Halloween 2020 Reading List
Friends, it’s the most wonderful time of year: spooky season!! Halloween is my favorite time of year (yes, I consider it a time of year—not just a single day!), and it’s the perfect time to cozy up with an extra-chilling crime, suspense, or thriller read. I’m so excited to share with you a blog post that has been quite a while in the making: my Halloween 2020 Reading List! While many (if not most!) of the books I read and cover here on Crime by the Book could fit on a Halloween reading list, the books I’ve chosen for this blog post have that little something extra that will make each of them perfect for Halloween reading (think: ghosts, supernatural sightings, extra-creepy villains, and more!). Dive on in and find your perfect Halloween read!
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Book Preview: THE WITCH HUNTER by Max Seeck
This fall is bringing with it a huge variety of exciting new crime novels to read, and one that’s high on my personal list of most-anticipated fall releases is Finnish writer Max Seeck’s US debut, THE WITCH HUNTER. A new Nordic thriller is basically always something I’m excited about, but there are a couple of different elements to Seeck’s new novel that have particularly caught my eye. First and foremost: this serial killer thriller involves a villain who appears to be reenacting murders from a (fictional) book trilogy. If you’ve been around Crime by the Book for a little bit, you’ll no doubt know just how much I love crime books that somehow involve books—and I cannot wait to see what Seeck does with this thread of his story. Add in themes of witchcraft and the occult, and you’ve got yourself a thriller that looks absolutely perfect for your fall (and Halloween!) TBR list. Thanks to Seeck’s US publisher, Berkley, I’m thrilled to be able to give CBTB readers an inside glimpse into this highly-anticipated new thriller! I’ll be digging into this book tonight, and you can dip into the book with me right here in this blog post, where you’ll find an excerpt from the book’s first chapter! You can also learn more about the book’s plot and find a link to pre-order the book, should it catch your eye. Happy reading!
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Excerpt: THE CHESTNUT MAN by Søren Sveistrup
There’s nothing I love more as a reader than discovering a great new Nordic crime novel, and that’s exactly what I found last year with Søren Sveistrup’s excellent debut thriller THE CHESTNUT MAN. If you haven’t yet explored Sveistrup’s debut, you’re in luck: this outstanding Nordic serial killer thriller is available now in paperback! In THE CHESTNUT MAN, an unlikely investigative duo is on the trial of a brutal serial killer in Denmark, and this villain has a very creepy calling card: a chestnut doll (a traditional children’s craft in Denmark), which he leaves behind at each crime scene. Author Søren Sveistrup is the creator of the TV show The Killing, and his background shines through in his debut crime novel’s engaging pacing and larger-than-life protagonists and villains. Blending the immersive atmosphere of Denmark with a pacey, page-turning plot you won’t be able to put down, THE CHESTNUT MAN is an excellent Nordic thriller perfect for fans of Lars Kepler—and perfect for any reader looking for an atmospheric, chilling thriller to dig into this fall. Thanks to the publisher, I’m thrilled to be able to give CBTB readers a glimpse into THE CHESTNUT MAN today. In today’s blog post, you can revisit my full review of the book, read a Q&A with the author, and read the book’s first chapter! Read on and enter the world of THE CHESTNUT MAN.
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