CBTB’s Best Crime Books of 2020
Another year is drawing to a close, and what a year it’s been. To call 2020 a challenge would be, frankly, the understatement of the year. I’ve always been thankful for the escape that a great crime book can bring, but I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as thankful for great books as I have been this year. 2020 brought with it outstanding new crime fiction from CBTB favorites and new-to-me authors alike; it saw some of my longtime favorite writers embarking on new directions in their writing careers; it introduced me to new series that I expect I’ll be following for years to come. From psychological thrillers to Nordic Noir to creepy, horror-inspired suspense and a little bit of everything in between, this year brought with it lots of new crime novels to love, and in today’s blog post, I’m sharing my picks for the very best of the best that this year had to offer. I’m thrilled to share with you my picks for Best Crime Books of 2020, this year with a fun twist! I’ve given each book included in this list a superlative: everything from “Best Plot Twist” to “Best ‘Popcorn Thriller’” to “Best Nordic Noir Series Installment” and more. Narrowing down this list was exceptionally challenging, so I’ve also included a list at the end of this blog post of additional books that were strong contenders for this year’s “best of” picks. They are all worth checking out!
Before we get into the book recommendations, I also just wanted to take a moment to thank every single one of you who have taken the time to read one of my blog posts, follow along with me on social media, or participate in one of my virtual events this year. Having this community to connect with online during this time of social distancing and isolation truly was such a bright spot for me this year, and I am so grateful for your time and support this year, as always. I hope you’ll enjoy this blog post as we bid farewell to 2020—and here’s to a better new year ahead of us, with lots more great crime fiction to come.
Without further ado, read on for my Best Crime Books of 2020!
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Best Crime Book of 2020:
THE KINGDOM by Jo Nesbø
Why I Loved It:
This one is a no-brainer! Jo Nesbø is my all-time favorite author, and any new release of his is always cause for celebration for this reader. This year, Nesbø’s standalone novel THE KINGDOM was published—and while I was quite confident I would thoroughly enjoy it (I haven’t met a Nesbø book I didn’t like yet!), I couldn’t have predicted just how much I would come to love this book. THE KINGDOM is now in my top 5 - maybe even top 3 - Nesbø books ever. In this tragic tale, the reunion of two brothers sets in motion a series of events that threaten to unearth the deadly secrets of their childhood. This is an exceptional novel that explores greed, loyalty, and love, all told through the tragic story of two brothers and their ill-fated lives in a small Norwegian town. This book is very, very different from Nesbø’s series novels, but it has his trademark intensity and grit in spades. THE KINGDOM also exemplifies Nesbø’s knack for getting inside his characters heads. THE KINGDOM isn’t an action-packed thriller; instead, this is a story where the suspense and intensity stems from the development of the story’s characters, and from the revelations about their past that come to light throughout the novel. For an author who is primarily known for his dark, quite action-packed serial killer novels, THE KINGDOM is a true departure—and it’s a home run.
Read My Full Review of THE KINGDOM
About the Book:
Two brothers. One small town. A lifetime of dark secrets.
Roy has never left the quiet mountain town he grew up in, unlike his little brother Carl who couldn't wait to get out and escape his troubled past. Just like everyone else in town, Roy believed Carl was gone for good. But Carl has big plans for his hometown. And when he returns with a mysterious new wife and a business opportunity that seems too good to be true, simmering tensions begin to surface and unexplained deaths in the town's past come under new scrutiny. Soon powerful players set their sights on taking the brothers down by exposing their role in the town's sordid history.
But Roy and Carl are survivors, and no strangers to violence. Roy has always protected his younger brother. As the body count rises, though, Roy's loyalty to family is tested. And then Roy finds himself inextricably drawn to Carl's wife, Shannon, an attraction that will have devastating consequences. Roy's world is coming apart and soon there will be no turning back. He'll be forced to choose between his own flesh and blood and a future he had never dared to believe possible.
Best Plot Twist:
HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney
Why I Loved It:
Alice Feeney is one of my go-to authors when it comes to dark, twisty psychological suspense, and her 2020 release completely exceeded my expectations. HIS & HERS is without a doubt the book with my favorite plot twist of 2020! In this sinister and quite disturbing psychological thriller, a TV reporter returns to her sleepy hometown to cover the case of a local woman found murdered in the town. She is hesitant to return, but with her career on shaky ground, she has no choice but to take the assignment. Her paths soon cross with the local detective spearheading the investigation, who becomes instantly suspicious of her involvement… until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. HIS & HERS is a blend of police procedural and psychological suspense, a story that delves deep into the lives of its protagonists, and delivers a genuinely shocking final reveal for readers. I loved this book’s expert use of alternating narrators, and the way the author constantly shifts suspicion onto every single one of her characters. This is a book where you will suspect everyone… and yet, somehow, you still won’t see the book’s shocking finale coming. HIS & HERS is dark, disturbing, and an absolute standout.
Read My Full Review of HIS & HERS
About the Book:
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.
Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
His & Hers is a twisty, smart, psychological thriller. A gripping tale of suspense, told by expertly-drawn narrators that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Best Chilling Suspense:
HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager
Why I Loved It:
Riley Sager is an absolute favorite author for me, and his 2020 release HOME BEFORE DARK is his most ambitious - and creepiest - suspense novel yet. Sager, an avid horror movie fan, gives readers his take on a haunted house story in HOME BEFORE DARK… and he knocks it out of the park. Enter the chilling world of Baneberry Hall, a remote estate in the Vermont woods, where a woman has just returned to her childhood home, determined to dispel the stories that her father has woven about this very same house. HOME BEFORE DARK finds Riley Sager at his absolute best: weaving a tale worthy of a horror movie, driven by a strong, compelling protagonist, and filled with creepy moments that will stick in your mind long after you’ve turned the book’s final page. As an added bonus for readers, HOME BEFORE DARK isn’t just one story: it’s actually two stories in one. HOME BEFORE DARK has a “book within a book” structure, alternating between chapters focused on Maggie’s present-day experiences at Baneberry Hall and chapters from the (fictional) bestseller “House of Horrors,” which Maggie’s father wrote about the terrifying events he and his family, including a young Maggie, experienced when they lived at Baneberry Hall so many years ago. HOME BEFORE DARK is a wildly ambitious thriller, and it succeeds on every level. I read lots of creepy books this year, but of them all, HOME BEFORE DARK won out for me. Sager is a master of the just-one-more-page thriller, and HOME BEFORE DARK is an outstanding suspense novel for anyone who has ever wondered about the things that go bump in the night.
Read My Full Review of HOME BEFORE DARK
About the Book:
In this chilling thriller, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?
Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His horror memoir of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.
Alternating between Maggie’s uneasy homecoming and chapters from her father’s book, Home Before Dark is the story of a house with long-buried secrets and a woman’s quest to uncover them—even if the truth is far more terrifying than any haunting.
Best Serial Killer Thriller:
LAZARUS by Lars Kepler
Why I Loved It:
No one writes serial killer thrillers quite like Lars Kepler. Kepler, the pen name for a husband-and-wife writing duo, returned this year with their latest serial killer thriller LAZARUS, and I found it to be their most deliciously terrifying release yet. It was also my favorite serial killer thriller I read this year, delivering a deep-dive into the mind of not one but two genuinely scary villains, and a heart-pounding race to stop them before they can kill again. LAZARUS is the latest installment in Kepler’s series following detective Joona Linna and his colleague Saga Bauer, set in Stockholm, Sweden. In LAZARUS, a shadowy villain is killing off some of Europe’s most loathsome criminals one by one. When Joona investigates one of the crime scenes, he recognizes a calling card that can only mean one thing: a terrifying villain from his past is back, and he is coming for Joona. Kepler is at their best when crafting their books’ villains, and LAZARUS sees the return of Kepler’s most iconic serial killer, a mysterious character who will remind readers of Hannibal Lecter. LAZARUS also gives readers a brand-new villain, one whose brutality and terrifying “gift” (he knows exactly when people will die…!) make him a standout in Kepler’s pantheon of villains. LAZARUS is, true to form for Kepler, quite a violent and dark serial killer thriller. Also true to form for Kepler, this is the kind of thriller that you genuinely won’t be able to put down—it’s a long book, clocking in at about 500 pages, but I read it in two sittings. Fans of Kepler’s previous thrillers and readers looking to discover a terrifying new serial killer thriller won’t want to miss this outstanding new release.
About the Book:
Sometimes the past won't stay buried.
All across Europe, the most ruthless criminals are suffering gruesome deaths. At first, it seems coincidental that their underworld affiliations are finally catching up to them. But when two of the victims are found to have disturbing connections to Detective Joona Linna, it becomes clear that there’s a single killer at work. Still, police are reluctant to launch an investigation. If a mysterious vigilante is making their jobs easier, why stand in his way?
Joona, however, is convinced this is no would-be hero. These deaths serve a much darker purpose.
Desperate for help, Joona turns to Saga Bauer. If his hunch is correct, she’s one of the few people who stands a chance at bringing this criminal mastermind down. But Saga is fighting her own demons — and the killer knows just how to use them to his advantage. He continues to strike with impunity, and no one, it seems, is safe. When the killer begins targeting those closest to Saga and Joona, it appears more and more likely that Joona has been right all along, and that tracking down the person responsible will force him to confront a ghost from his past...the most terrifying villain he’s ever had to face.
Best Detective Novel:
THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY by Eva García Sáenz
Why I Loved It:
Every year, there is one book that comes seemingly out of nowhere and goes on to become one of my favorite releases of the year. This year, that book is THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY, the first in a trilogy from crime writer Eva García Sáenz. THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY is exceptional on every level. This detective novel takes place in the Basque Country, and follows an inspector known as “Kraken” as he chases down a killer with dramatic flair. THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY is equal parts The Silence of the Lambs and The Da Vinci Code: this is a book that blends a truly creepy serial killer story with an exploration of local mythology and lore. This book’s villain, you see, loves to display his victims at locations with historical significance to the city. As Kraken and his police colleagues follow the clues and attempt to apprehend the killer, they delve into local mythology and history along the way, too. I absolutely adored everything about this book, from its immersive setting to its compelling characters and very creepy killer. As someone who loves having the ability to “armchair travel” through my crime reads, it was such a pleasure to “travel” to the Basque country in THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY. As it turns out, a book that allows me to explore a region’s history and mythology through a series of murders is my ideal kind of “guided tour”! Of all the detective novels I read in 2020, this one was absolutely my favorite, and I can’t wait to read the next trilogy installment in early 2020.
Read My Full Review of THE SILENCE OF THE WHITE CITY
About the Book:
A madman is holding Vitoria hostage, killing its citizens in brutal ways and staging the bodies. The city's only hope is a brilliant detective struggling to battle his own demons.
Inspector Unai López de Ayala, known as "Kraken," is charged with investigating a series of ritualistic murders. The killings are eerily similar to ones that terrorized the citizens of Vitoria twenty years earlier. But back then, police were sure they had discovered the killer, a prestigious archaeologist who is currently in jail. Now Kraken must race to determine whether the killer had an accomplice or if the wrong man has been incarcerated for two decades. This fast-paced, unrelenting thriller weaves in and out of the mythology and legends of the Basque country as it hurtles to its shocking conclusion.
Best “Popcorn Thriller”:
INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell
Why I Loved It:
No one writes “popcorn thrillers” quite like Lisa Jewell. If you’re new to Crime by the Book, a “popcorn thriller” is simply my term for one of those thrillers that you just devour. A “popcorn thriller” is lighter on violence, jam-packed with entertainment value, and totally binge-worthy—and if that doesn’t describe Jewell’s 2020 release INVISIBLE GIRL, I don’t know what does. INVISIBLE GIRL is a suspense novel centered around a posh street in London, where a seemingly unrelated cast of characters will soon find their lives intersecting when one of their own goes missing. INVISIBLE GIRL is brimming with Jewell’s trademark page-turning pacing and entertainment value, but what elevated this book for me was the surprising dark subject matter that Jewell explores within this book’s pages. While I do still consider this book a “popcorn thriller,” it’s a “popcorn thriller” infused with an unexpectedly dark edge. In INVISIBLE GIRL, Jewell explores themes of isolation, insecurity, toxic masculinity, and more. Just about every single character in this book has a dark secret to hide, and I loved my time spent discovering what exactly those secrets were. While this book does have a central mystery to it (the mystery of a teenage girl’s disappearance), the primary focus of this suspense novel really is its characters: their inner darkness, the secrets they are hiding, and how those secrets may have impacted the lives of those around them.
Read My Full Review of INVISIBLE GIRL
About the Book:
Young Saffyre Maddox spent three years under the care of renowned child psychologist Roan Fours. When Dr. Fours decides their sessions should end, Saffyre feels abandoned. She begins looking for ways to connect with him, from waiting outside his office to walking through his neighborhood late at night. She soon learns more than she ever wanted to about Roan and his deceptively perfect family life. On a chilly Valentine’s night, Saffyre will disappear, taking any secrets she has learned with her.
Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct—accusations he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel forums, where he meets a charismatic and mysterious figure.
Owen lives across the street from the Fours family. The Fours have a bad feeling about their neighbor; Owen is a bit creepy and suspect and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night. Could Owen be responsible? What happened to the beautiful missing Saffyre, and does her disappearance truly connect them all?
Evocative, vivid, and unputdownable, Lisa Jewell’s latest thriller is another “haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author).
Best Domestic Suspense:
LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hillier
Why I Loved It:
How on earth was this the first Jennifer Hillier book I read?! Domestic suspense novels can admittedly be hit-or-miss for me—in general, I’m wary of books that center around cheating spouses or marital secrets simply because I’ve read so many of them, and it can feel hard to find something really fresh and unique in this category for me personally. I had nothing to worry about when it came to LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hillier. LITTLE SECRETS is a story about a marriage with secrets, and it’s also a story about a kidnapping, and about a woman’s unrelenting quest to find her missing son. LITTLE SECRETS begins with every parent’s worst nightmare: one day, while shopping at a local market, protagonist Marin takes her eyes off her son for a brief moment… and he is suddenly gone, kidnapped in broad daylight. From this shocking opening, Hillier unspools a gripping story of a marriage with terrible secrets, and a mother determined to save her son at all costs. Fans of domestic thrillers will love Hillier’s fresh, inventive take on the genre; readers who, like yours truly, can sometimes be skeptical of domestic suspense will find this book an absolute breath of fresh air. I loved this book’s compelling, complex female leads, its page-turning pacing, and its emotional impact (yes, I cried at the end of this book). This was an instant-favorite for me, and it’s prompted me to explore Hillier’s backlist, too!
Read My Full Review of LITTLE SECRETS
About the Book:
All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family―until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.
Permanently.
Best Nordic Noir Series Installment:
THE ABSOLUTION by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Why I Loved It:
Nordic Noir is my personal favorite crime fiction subgenre, so it’s absolutely no surprise that I devoted a significant portion of my 2020 reading to Nordic crime fiction. I follow a lot of Nordic crime fiction series, and this year, my favorite Nordic series installment was the newest installment in Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s outstanding Children’s House series, THE ABSOLUTION. Set in Reykjavik, Iceland, THE ABSOLUTION exemplifies all that I’ve come to love in Sigurdardottir’s work: its gritty atmosphere, clever plotting, and utterly engaging protagonists make this series, and this series installment, must-reads. In THE ABSOLUTION, Sigurdardottir turns her keen eye toward the topic of online bullying. THE ABSOLUTION begins with a shocking event: teenagers at a local school receive a horrific Snapchat showing one of their peers begging for forgiveness. Not long after, her body is found, brutally murdered. This unthinkable crime launches the investigation central to this story, which finds Detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja working together once again to solve the case, and prevent the killer from striking again. Sigurdardottir’s Children’s House books pull no punches: these are procedurals with a very dark side, both in terms of the themes and topics they explore, and in terms of the on-the-page violence they depict. I have genuinely found that each new installment in this series is better than the one that came before it, and THE ABSOLUTION is no exception.
Read My Full Review of THE ABSOLUTION
About the Book:
The Absolution is the third installment in Queen of Icelandic crime fiction Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s series about the psychologist Freyja and the police officer Huldar.
The police find out about the crime the way everyone does: on Snapchat. The video shows a terrified young woman begging for forgiveness. When her body is found, it is marked with a number “2”.
Detective Huldar joins the investigation, bringing child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murdered teenager's friends. Soon, they uncover that Stella was far from the angel people claim, but who could have hated her enough to kill?
Then another teenager goes missing, more clips are sent to social media, and the body with a “3” is found. Freyja and Huldar can agree on two things at least: the truth is far from simple. The killer is not done yet. And is there an undiscovered body carrying the number “1” out there?
Best Suspense with Supernatural Elements:
THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.J. Tudor
Why I Loved It:
C.J. Tudor is one of those authors who seems to get better and better with every book, and her 2020 release THE OTHER PEOPLE was an instant-favorite for me. Tudor is an expert at blending elements of otherworldly, quasi-supernatural suspense with very earthly mysteries, and she does exactly this in THE OTHER PEOPLE. THE OTHER PEOPLE is both a missing persons mystery and a tale of the otherworldly. This book begins with a father’s worst nightmare: one night, Gabe is driving home from work when he sees something unthinkable—his young daughter’s face, peering out at him from another car on the highway. He tries to follow the car, to no avail… and then he never sees his daughter again. While hunting desperately for his daughter, Gabe happens upon a shadowy organization known as “The Other People.” This mysterious organization aims to see justice done in situations where the law has fallen short. As Gabe becomes embroiled with this group, he gets closer to the truth about his daughter’s disappearance. THE OTHER PEOPLE is one of those books where, as you’re reading, you just keep wondering how on earth the story’s disparate threads will ultimately connect… and when you finally understand the book’s bigger picture, all you can do is marvel at the author’s creativity. In THE OTHER PEOPLE, C.J. Tudor masterfully blurs the lines between otherworldly, supernatural elements and elements that are very earthly and realistic, delivering a mind-bending suspense novel that kept me hooked throughout.
Read My Full Review of THE OTHER PEOPLE
About the Book:
Q: Why are you called the Other People?
A: We are people just like you. People to whom terrible things have happened. We’ve found solace not in forgiveness or forgetting. But in helping each other find justice.
Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl’s face appear in its rear window. She mouths one word: Daddy. It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. He never sees her again.
Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights traveling up and down the highway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe she’s dead.
When the car that he saw escape with his little girl is found abandoned with a body inside, Gabe must confront not just the day Izzy disappeared but the painful events from his past now dredged to the surface.
Q: What sort of justice?
A: That depends on the individual. But our ethos is a punishment that fits the crime.
Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the road. Not searching. Running. Because Fran knows what really happened to Gabe’s daughter. She knows who is responsible. And she knows what they will do if they ever catch up to her and Alice.
Q: Can I request to have someone killed?
A: If your Request is acceptable, and unless there are exceptional circumstances, we fulfill all Requests.
Best Series Finale:
THE MIST by Ragnar Jonasson
Why I Loved It:
I am a huge fan of Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jonasson, and his most recent project, his Hidden Iceland trilogy, is likely to remain one of my favorite Nordic Noir series for a very long time. This spring, the final installment in Jonasson’s trilogy was published in the US. You know when you are absolutely loving a series, and you get a little bit nervous to see how the author will tie it all together in the series’ last installment? That’s how I felt going into THE MIST—I had such high hopes, and was both nervous and excited to see how this trilogy would come to an end. It turns out, I had nothing to worry about. THE MIST is an outstanding finale to what has to be one of the most inventive crime fiction trilogies to be published in recent years. Jonasson’s Hidden Iceland trilogy is told in reverse chronological order, following a police officer in Reykjavik, Iceland, as she moves through her career in the police department. In the first trilogy installment, THE DARKNESS, readers meet protagonist Hulda at the end of her career in the police; in the second installment, THE ISLAND, readers see Hulda in the middle of her career; and finally, in THE MIST, readers witness the early days of Hulda’s career—and they finally uncover the truth about mysterious elements of Hulda’s personal life that have been hinted at throughout the trilogy. THE MIST is a perfect finale to this outstanding trilogy. In THE MIST, an utterly chilling mystery involving a stranger who appears at a farmhouse one snowy night, bringing with him nothing but trouble, is paired with tragic revelations about Hulda’s personal life, delivering a crime novel that is both clever and emotional. THE MIST is a fitting finale to an outstanding crime fiction trilogy.
Read My Full Review of THE MIST
About the Book:
The final nail-biting installment in Ragnar Jonasson's critically-acclaimed Hidden Iceland series, The Mist, from the newest superstar on the Icelandic crime fiction scene.
1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.
The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't.
The couple should never have let him in. But they did.
An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever.
Best Locked Room Mystery:
DEATH IN THE FAMILY by Tessa Wegert
Why I Loved It:
I can’t get enough of locked room mysteries, and Tessa Wegert’s DEATH IN THE FAMILY was an instant-hit for me when I read it earlier this year—and it’s remained my favorite locked room mystery that I read in 2020. In DEATH IN THE FAMILY, police officer Shana Merchant is called to investigate the case of a man who has gone missing on a private island owned by a wealthy family. Shana and her partner travel to the island, and find themselves smack dab in the middle of an eccentric family with money - and secrets - to spare. DEATH IN THE FAMILY has major modern-day Agatha Christie vibes: from the book’s isolated setting to its mysterious and wealthy family to its clever plotting, everything about this book screams And Then There Were None for the modern day. Wegert’s accessible, engaging writing will instantly immerse you in this story, while her book’s clever plot will keep you guessing until the very end. Add in her story’s compelling protagonist and you’ve got the recipe for a perfect locked room mystery.
Read My Full Review of DEATH IN THE FAMILY
About the Book:
A storm-struck island. A blood-soaked bed. A missing man. In this captivating mystery that's perfect for fans of Knives Out, Senior Investigator Shana Merchant discovers that murder is a family affair.
Thirteen months ago, former NYPD detective Shana Merchant barely survived being abducted by a serial killer. Now hoping to leave grisly murder cases behind, she's taken a job in her fiancé's sleepy hometown in the Thousand Islands region of Upstate New York.
But as a nor'easter bears down on her new territory, Shana and fellow investigator Tim Wellington receive a call about a man missing on a private island. Shana and Tim travel to the isolated island owned by the wealthy Sinclair family to question the witnesses. They arrive to find blood on the scene and a house full of Sinclair family and friends on edge.
While Tim guesses they're dealing with a runaway case, Shana is convinced that they have a murder on their hands. As the gale intensifies outside, she starts conducting interviews and discovers the Sinclairs and their guests are crawling with dark and dangerous secrets.
Trapped on the island by the raging storm with only Tim whose reliability is thrown into question, the increasingly restless suspects, and her own trauma-fueled flashbacks for company, Shana will have to trust the one person her abduction destroyed her faith in—herself. But time is ticking down, because if Shana's right, a killer is in their midst and as the pressure mounts, so do the odds that they'll strike again.
Best Investigative Duo:
DEATH DESERVED by Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger
Why I Loved It:
This year saw the English language release of DEATH DESERVED, the first book in a new thriller series co-written by two of Norway’s preeminent crime writers, Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger—and what a fantastic first book it is! DEATH DESERVED is a Nordic serial killer thriller with a flair for the dramatic: in this page-turning story, a serial killer is picking off local celebrities in Oslo one by one, and he’s doing so in a very public way. DEATH DESERVED isn’t your traditional Nordic Noir—this book reads more like a serial killer thriller that just so happens to be set in Norway, rather than a more traditional, dense, slow-burning Nordic Noir novel. DEATH DESERVED has so much going for it, but what made this book one of my 2020 favorites - and why I’ve given it the superlative that I have! - is its two protagonists. DEATH DESERVED follows a police officer (Alexander) and a celebrity blogger (Emma) whose paths cross by chance, as Alexander is investigating the disappearance of a popular athlete, and Emma is covering the story as part of her job. Alexander and Emma form an unlikely alliance, working both of their connections and networks to stop this brutal killer in his tracks. I loved the unlikely pairing that Horst and Enger give readers in these two protagonists; these characters are both highly sympathetic, complex, and engaging, and their interplay as they work to solve the story’s string of murders elevated DEATH DESERVED, and made it one of my 2020 favorites.
Read My Full Review of DEATH DESERVED
About the Book:
Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.
Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…
Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic, and thirst for attention.
Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…
Best Book-Within-a-Book:
THE NOTHING MAN by Catherine Ryan Howard
Why I Loved It:
One of my personal favorite new-to-me author discoveries this year was my discovery of Irish crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard. I picked up Howard’s book REWIND on a whim early in 2020, and was instantly captivated. So when I learned that Howard had a new book releasing in 2020, I knew it was one that I had to get my hands on… and I am so, so glad that I did. Howard’s 2020 release THE NOTHING MAN is an exceptional “book within a book”-style suspense novel that draws inspiration from true crime. THE NOTHING MAN centers around Eve, the lone survivor of a horrific attack by a criminal known as “The Nothing Man.” Eve has now written a memoir about her ordeal—a book called The Nothing Man, which details her efforts to identify her family’s killer. Howard’s book THE NOTHING MAN also focuses on a man named Jim, who, as it turns out, actually is “The Nothing Man,” the very same attacker who killed Eve’s family. When Eve’s memoir is published, Jim can’t help but purchase a copy and start reading… and he quickly realizes just how close Eve is to catching him. Catherine Ryan Howard’s tremendous gift for crime writing shines in THE NOTHING MAN, perhaps most of all in this book’s ambitious and wildly effective structure. THE NOTHING MAN is an outstanding “book within a book”, weaving between chapters set in the present day, following Jim, and chapters from Eve’s memoir, in which readers learn not only about Eve and her family, but also about the women who Jim previously attacked. THE NOTHING MAN is smart, sinister, genuinely impactful crime fiction, made all the more impressive for the deftness with which the author handles its complex structure.
About the Book:
At the age of twelve, Eve Black was the only member of her family to survive an encounter with serial attacker the Nothing Man. Now an adult, she is obsessed with identifying the man who destroyed her life.
Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle has just started reading The Nothing Man—the true-crime memoir Eve has written about her efforts to track down her family’s killer. As he turns each page, his rage grows. Because Jim’s not just interested in reading about the Nothing Man. He is the Nothing Man.
Jim soon begins to realize how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth. He knows she won’t give up until she finds him. He has no choice but to stop her first …
Best Private Investigator:
AND NOW SHE’S GONE by Rachel Howzell Hall
Why I Loved It:
In all my years reading crime fiction, I’ve found that I typically tend not to gravitate towards novels featuring private investigators or amateur sleuths. I honestly had begun to think that I would never find a crime novel in this category I would really love, but all of that changed this year with Rachel Howzell Hall’s outstanding 2020 release AND NOW SHE’S GONE. In AND NOW SHE’S GONE, readers meet Grayson Sykes, a woman working for a private investigation company who has just been given her first “real” case to solve: that of a missing woman, whose concerned boyfriend has reported her disappearance. The deeper Grayson digs into the case, the more she realizes that this woman might not actually want to be found. AND NOW SHE’S GONE is a missing persons story with one of my favorite protagonists of the year. Grayson Sykes is the kind of character I hope will get a whole series centered around her: she is one of those characters who feels so real and relatable that you wouldn’t be surprised to discover she is actually a real person. Throughout this novel, readers discover that the missing person central to this story is only one piece of this book’s puzzle—the other piece of the puzzle is Grayson herself, and the secrets and mysteries in her own past. AND NOW SHE’S GONE is an outstanding crime novel that introduces readers to a protagonist I hope we will be seeing lots more of in the future.
About the Book:
Isabel Lincoln is gone.
But is she missing?
It’s up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray’s search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman’s secrets and the truth she’s hidden from her friends and family.
Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, Rachel Howzell Hall's And Now She’s Gone explores the nature of secrets — and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.
Best Revenge Thriller:
THE GOLDEN CAGE by Camilla Läckberg
Why I Loved It:
Camilla Läckberg has been one of my favorite authors for a very long time, and this year, Camilla gave her fans a new book unlike anything she’s written before. In 2020, Camilla traded in the small, sleepy fishing village of Fjällbacka, Sweden for the glitzy, glamorous city of Stockholm, where her new protagonist, Faye, lives a life that most of us could only dream of. THE GOLDEN CAGE is a sexy, glittering revenge thriller perfect for fans of Big Little Lies. In THE GOLDEN CAGE, protagonist Faye has had enough with her husband’s controlling and unfaithful ways, and she sets out to exact her revenge through some very creative and wildly entertaining means. THE GOLDEN CAGE is pure please to read: this is a totally glitzy, glamorous revenge story that’s dripping with the opulence and wealth of Faye’s world. Speaking of Faye, she is the kind of heroine that my thriller dreams are made of: on the surface, she appears to be quite a posh and picture-perfect woman, but underneath that facade, Faye has a dark and violent side… and she’s not afraid to use it. This book marked a huge departure for Camilla Läckberg, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
About the Book:
An exhilarating new novel from a global superstar--a sexy, over-the-top psychological thriller that tells the story of the scorned wife of a billionaire and her delicious plot to get her revenge and bring him to his knees.
Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past. When Jack needs help launching a new company, Faye leaves school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night. With the business soaring, Faye and Jack have a baby, and Faye finds herself at home, caring for their daughter, wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world. And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly, undermining her intelligence and forgetting all she sacrificed for his success. When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished façade of their life cracks wide open. Faye is alone, emotionally shattered, and financially devastated--but hell hath no fury like a woman with a violent past bent on vengeance. Jack is about to get exactly what he deserves--and so much more. In this splashy, electrifying story of sex, betrayal, and secrets, a woman's revenge is a brutal but beautiful thing.
Narrowing down this list was exceptionally difficult this year. I read so many fantastic crime books in 2020, many of which proved the best companions during this uncertain and challenging time. While the books listed above were the best of the best for me this year, I have to also acknowledge a few additional books that particularly stood out to me this year! The below books were very strong contenders for this list, and are all well worth checking out:
EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson
DARLING ROSE GOLD by Stephanie Wrobel
UNSPEAKABLE THINGS by Jess Lourey
THE SUN DOWN MOTEL by Simone St. James
And that’s a wrap on my Best Crime Books of 2020! Thank you again for following along with Crime by the Book and for all of your support this year - it means more to me than I can say. I look forward to a new year filled with great new crime reads ahead of us! Happy reading! xx A
Home ownership feel like a distant dream? Zillow listings have you convinced you’ll be renting for the rest of your life? The woman at the heart of Carissa Orlando’s debut The September House feels your pain—and she’s prepared to put up with a lot if it means she and her husband can finally have a place to call their own. In this case, that might just mean living in a house that’s haunted. Playful and irreverent, spine-tingling and spooky, The September House puts a fresh spin on the classic haunted house story, delivering an immersive tale about the secrets lurking within one building’s walls, and within the lives of its inhabitants.