If you’ve been around Crime by the Book since last year, you will no doubt remember how completely obsessed I was (and, let’s be honest, still am!) with Amanda Jayatissa’s debut thriller MY SWEET GIRL. Ever since I devoured that outstanding book last fall, I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for more information on Amanda’s next book—and the wait is over!! I am so incredibly honored to reveal the cover for Amanda’s 2022 thriller YOU’RE INVITED, and to give CBTB readers an exclusive sneak peek into the book today. YOU’RE INVITED falls into a crime fiction subgenre that I have a particular soft spot for: the wedding thriller. In this book, Amanda Jayatissa invites readers to attend a lavish Sri Lankan wedding—one which not every guest will survive. I simply cannot wait to see what Amanda does with this book’s instantly-appealing premise; based on how utterly original, dark, and gripping her debut MY SWEET GIRL was, I have no doubt YOU’RE INVITED will be another instant-hit! YOU’RE INVITED will hit US bookstores on August 9, but you can get an early glimpse into the book right here in today’s blog post! Read on to check out the book’s stunning cover, learn more about its plot, and read an exclusive, early excerpt. Huge thanks to Amanda’s US publisher Berkley for allowing me to do this reveal today—I am a huge Amanda Jayatissa fan, and it’s an absolute honor to be able to share this reveal with the CBTB community today! Happy reading!
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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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Book Excerpt: THE NESTING by C.J. Cooke
You know that feeling when you learn about a book that sounds so extremely up your alley, it almost feels like the author wrote it tailor-made for you? That’s my sneaking suspicion about C.J. Cooke’s forthcoming release THE NESTING, which will hit US bookstores in September. This book is—wait for it—a Gothic suspense novel set in Norway. Yes, you read that right, and this might just be the perfect combination for my reading tastes (and, I suspect, for many of yours, too!). THE NESTING follows an architect who has just built his dream high-concept home in Norway, and a nanny who begins to suspect that something isn’t quite right in the house… and that something sinister might be lurking in its shadows. I am beyond excited for this book: it has a Norwegian setting, a story of Gothic suspense, a character working on writing a Scandinavian crime novel… basically all of my favorite things wrapped up in one chilling package. THE NESTING is one of my personal most-anticipated reads of the fall season. Thanks to C.J. Cooke’s US publisher, I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to give CBTB readers an early glimpse into THE NESTING. In this blog post, you will be able to learn more about the book, including plot details and fabulous early praise from CBTB-favorite authors like Simone St. James (!), and you will also be able to read an early excerpt from the book’s first chapter.
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Book Preview: THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.J. Tudor
Every reader has that select list of authors whose new books they simply must read, no matter what. C.J. Tudor is on my version of that list. Beginning with her stunning debut THE CHALK MAN, Tudor’s fierce originality and utterly original voice has captivated me. And if I thought I loved THE CHALK MAN, I was doubly obsessed with her sophomore novel, THE HIDING PLACE. Tudor’s work is a blend of fresh psychological scares and throwback horror nostalgia; in short, it’s a must if you’re someone who wants to be thoroughly entertained and really, really creeped out. Tudor is a brilliant new voice in suspense fiction, and one of the rare authors whose work really does seem to just get better and better with everything she writes. I’m absolutely thrilled, then, to share with CBTB readers an early glimpse into C.J. Tudor’s newest novel: THE OTHER PEOPLE, coming to a bookstore near you on January 28, 2020!
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Book Preview: How Quickly She Disappears By Raymond Fleischmann
Some books just scream “read me” from the first moment you learn about them. Raymond Fleischmann’s debut is one such book for me. A literary crime novel being billed as The Dry meets The Silence of the Lambs, and boasting a fantastic praise quote from CBTB-favorite Riley Sager (among tons of additional early praise!), HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS looks practically tailor-made for CBTB readers. Thanks to the book’s publisher, I’m thrilled to share a sneak peek into the book with you today! It’s still a bit of a wait until the book goes on sale in January, but CBTB readers can dig into an early excerpt from HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS right here on the blog! Huge thanks to the book’s publisher, Berkley, for providing us with this early sneak peek into what’s sure to be a very buzzy early 2020 release.
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