I’m so honored to be able to give Crime by the Book readers an exclusive sneak peek into the newest novel by a writer who has quickly become one of my go-to, must-reads: Tessa Wegert! If you’re in the market for a new detective series to add to your fall reading list, Tessa’s novels featuring Senior Investigator Shana Merchant might just be your perfect fit. I’m so excited to be able to give the Crime by the Book community the inside scoop on Tessa’s next Shana Merchant novel, DEAD WIND, coming to a bookstore near you April 5, 2022! In today’s blog post, you can check out the atmospheric and intriguing cover for Tessa’s newest book, learn more about its plot, and read an exclusive excerpt from the book’s prologue. (Plus, if you’re interested in checking out all of Tessa’s books, scroll all the way down on this blog post and you’ll find links to them all!) Huge thanks to Tessa for letting me get involved in this cover reveal—I’m so excited to be able to participate, and to share this sneak peek with the CBTB community!
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Book Excerpt: THE ICE COVEN by Max Seeck
Nordic Noir fans, listen up: if you haven’t yet explored bestselling Finnish crime writer Max Seeck’s page-turning thrillers, today’s post is for you! Last fall, I devoured Seeck’s gripping debut THE WITCH HUNTER, and this month, he’s back with his next dark crime novel featuring investigator Jessica Niemi. In THE ICE COVEN, available in the US today, protagonist Jessica finds herself caught in a race against time to find a link between a body bearing cryptic markings that has washed up on the shore in Finland, and the puzzling disappearances of two Instagram influencers. Seeck’s first thriller THE WITCH HUNTER blended page-turning plotting with a dark serial killer plot and elements of the occult—it was one of my personal favorite Nordic thrillers I read last year, and I’m so excited to see what his next crime novel has in store for us! Fans of Nordic crime writers like Lars Kepler and Søren Sveistrup, as well as any reader who’s in the market for extra-chilling serial killer stories, won’t want to miss Max Seeck’s dark and engrossing work. In today’s blog post, I’m thrilled to give CBTB readers the chance to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Max Seeck’s newest thriller, THE ICE COVEN! I’ll be digging into this new thriller today, and I’m so excited to give you the chance to start reading along with me. For more information on Seeck’s first thriller THE WITCH HUNTER, you can find my full review on the CBTB blog here. Read on for more information on THE ICE COVEN, and to sample an excerpt from the book’s first chapter!
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Book Review: DARK THINGS I ADORE by Katie Lattari
Katie Lattari’s DARK THINGS I ADORE is easily one of the most unusual suspense novels I’ve read this year—and I mean that as a compliment. DARK THINGS I ADORE is a book that manages to be both beautiful and horrific all at once; author Katie Lattari delivers a unique and beguiling blend of lush storytelling and disturbing content that kept me engaged from the book’s first page to its very last. While this book’s dark subject matter and slow-burning pacing won’t be for everyone, readers who gravitate towards dark tales with immersive world-building will relish DARK THINGS I ADORE. In this lush-yet-disturbing story, the author weaves an irresistible tale of past sins that have never truly been forgotten, and present-day vengeance for those past evils. Centering around an art student and her professor caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, DARK THINGS I ADORE explores the dark corners of artistic inspiration, drawing readers into a world where villains get their comeuppance and victims fight back. DARK THINGS I ADORE is both beautiful and sinister, an elegant story of revenge with very sharp teeth.
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Book Review: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Alice Feeney
If you love domestic suspense and aren’t reading Alice Feeney yet, you’re missing out. The author of deliciously twisty and dark thrillers including His & Hers and Sometimes I Lie returns this week with her newest suspense novel ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, a winning blend of chilling atmosphere, cinematic setting, and unpredictable characters. In ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, a couple’s anniversary getaway takes a dark and dangerous turn… and their happily ever after might be ending sooner than they thought. True to form for Feeney, ROCK PAPER SCISSORS is a domestic suspense novel that stands out thanks to a masterful twist (or two, or maybe more…) and vividly-drawn characters who leap off the page. While ROCK PAPER SCISSORS may not be my personal favorite of Feeney’s thrillers—that title still belongs to Feeney’s 2020 release His & Hers, which has one of my favorite final reveals of any thriller I’ve ever read—it is nevertheless a standout in the domestic suspense space, a must-read for anyone who loves stories that delve into the darkest corners of interpersonal relationships.
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September 2021 Most-Anticipated Crime Books
September is here, and what an incredible month it is for us crime fiction readers! This month is bringing with it an almost too-good-to-be-true lineup of new crime, mystery, and thriller books for readers to devour—and in today’s blog post, I’m rounding up the (many!) books releasing this month that are on my personal most-anticipated list. This month sees the return of fan-favorite authors including Lisa Jewell, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Alice Feeney, and it also includes a number of my most-anticipated debut crime novels of the entire year (of particular note: debuts by authors Amanda Jayatissa and Catherine Dang, among many more!). It’s got chilling Nordic crime novels, stories involving serial killers, psychological suspense that will make you suspicious of everyone, dark revenge stories, and lots more—in short, this September is a crime fiction reader’s dream. Many of the books on today’s list I’ve already been fortunate enough to read, and others are still on my TBR list for the fall season, but all of them look exceptional. Dig into today’s blog post and clear your calendar—we’ve got some amazing books in store for us this month!
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