Welcome to Duquette University, where a 10-year college reunion is about to take a dangerous turn in Ashley Winstead’s dark academia debut, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE. Ten years ago, Jessica Miller and her friends—a clique known as the “East House Seven”—suffered a horrific tragedy when one of their own was brutally murdered in her dorm room, stabbed to death while she was sleeping. Now, Jessica is planning what is supposed to be her triumphant return to Duquette for her college reunion—an opportunity for her to prove to her college classmates once and for all that she has achieved the kind of success and status she always dreamed of. But an individual with close ties to the group has plans for Jess and her friends, and this college reunion is going to be about much more than reliving glory days gone by. Mystery and intrigue are on the weekend agenda, and Jess and her friends might just be walking unwittingly into a trap. Ashley Winstead’s immersive debut suspense novel IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE weaves an engrossing tale of murder, love, and obsession set against the backdrop of an elite southern university. Delve into the dark secrets and ever-shifting allegiances of the East House Seven in IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE, but watch your back—everyone in this friend group has something to hide, and some of their secrets are deadly. This page-turning debut suspense novel is perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and J.T. Ellison’s Good Girls Lie.
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Book Review: FOR YOUR OWN GOOD by Samantha Downing
Love a suspense novel set in the world of academia? Love books featuring villainous protagonists? Samantha Downing’s brand-new, wickedly fun suspense novel FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is the summer read for you. Enter the world of Belmont Academy: a prestigious prep school with a track record of excellence… and a pesky history of its community members dropping dead under suspicious circumstances. Could a killer be at work within the halls of Belmont Academy? Centering around a teacher who is willing to do anything – and I mean anything – to help his students and his school succeed, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is a deliciously twisted, highly readable suspense novel that takes readers on a surprisingly playful journey into the mind of an antihero with psychopathic tendencies. Pick this book up for its academic setting, stay for its irresistible characters and wildly entertaining, dark-yet-fun reading experience. In FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, Samantha Downing has proven herself once again to be the queen of the thriller with plenty of darkness and an attitude that never takes itself too seriously—an irresistible combination that makes FOR YOUR OWN GOOD a summer 2021 must-read.
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CBTB's Top 10 Crime Books of 2021 (So Far)
It’s hard to believe we are already more than halfway through 2021! This year has already delivered truly outstanding crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense books for us to devour, and today I wanted to round up a list of my favorite crime books published in the first half of the year! Whether you’re in the market for a chilling suspense story, a clever locked room mystery, or an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, this list has a little something for you. From new releases by returning favorites (Riley Sager, C.J. Tudor, Ragnar Jonasson, and more!) to thrilling debuts and new-to-me authors, 2021 has given me some absolutely incredible crime books to sink my teeth into - and I hope that this list will help you find a new favorite crime book or two for yourself, too! As you can imagine it was very difficult to narrow this list down. When making my selections here, I focused on books that I haven’t been able to stop recommending to others and thinking about myself—books that have had the kind of staying power for me that we all look for in favorite reads. The books included on this list were published from January 1, 2021 through July 6, 2021; stay tuned, because I’ll be rounding up a list of my favorite crime books from the second half of 2021 - plus a definitive list of my favorite crime books of the whole year - when 2021 comes to a close. Without further ado, let’s dig into this rundown of my favorite crime books of 2021 so far!
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Book Review: RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Cosby
Buckle up and clear your calendars: one of 2021’s most buzzed-about crime novels has arrived. On the heels of his breakout 2020 release Blacktop Wasteland, acclaimed crime writer S.A. Cosby returns this summer with RAZORBLADE TEARS, a gritty, compulsively readable thriller that packs as much of a punch with action and violence as it does with emotional resonance and depth of character development. RAZORBLADE TEARS centers around a seemingly random act of violence that sets off an inescapable chain reaction for two fathers. When their sons are murdered in a drive-by shooting, Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee team up to avenge their untimely death. Along the way, they confront not only the villains who stole their sons from them, but also—and perhaps even more impactfully—the prejudices that have defined their relationships with their sons, and with one another. RAZORBLADE TEARS moves at a breakneck pace, giving readers a front-row seat to the righteous quest for vengeance that Ike and Buddy Lee are about to undertake. Equal parts brazen, gritty, emotional, and heartfelt, RAZORBLADE TEARS delivers a pitch-perfect blend of action, thrills, and impactful character development. Pick this book up for its no-holds-barred premise, stay for its unforgettable characters and cinematic storytelling.
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July 2021 Most-Anticipated Crime Books
Summer is here, and it’s bringing with it some incredible new crime fiction releases for us to devour! Summer 2021 is jam-packed with amazing crime books, some of which I’ve been lucky enough to read already and others that are still on my personal TBR list. To help you plan your own reading lists, each month this summer I’ll be sharing monthly lists of my personal most-anticipated new crime fiction releases for that respective month. I can’t wait to share these books with you, and I hope they will catch your eye as much as they’ve caught mine! In case you missed it, you can check out my list of Most-Anticipated June 2021 Crime Books here. July 2021 delivers a thrilling assortment of gritty noir, wickedly fun psychological suspense, and lots more. This month sees the return of fan-favorite crime writers S.A. Cosby, Samantha Downing, Karin Slaughter, and lots more. Whether you’re in the market for juicy suspense or blistering, action-packed thrillers, there’s a little something for everyone publishing this month. Read on for my picks for most-anticipated July 2021 crime fiction!
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