CBTB's Top 10 Crime Books of 2021 (So Far)

July 12, 2021

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!

Book Review: THE BURNING GIRLS by C.J. Tudor

February 10, 2021

C.J. Tudor never writes the same book twice, but you can always count on her books to be consistently great. Tudor, author of fan-favorite thrillers including The Chalk Man and The Other People, returns this week with her latest offering: THE BURNING GIRLS, a sinister story that blends folk horror with small-town mystery to chilling end. Tudor’s genre-bending novels are some of my favorites, and THE BURNING GIRLS more than met my high expectations. In this spine-tingling story, Tudor invites readers to Chapel Croft, a small village with a dark history that seems to be informing the sinister events of its present. Things haven’t been right in Chapel Croft in quite some time, and for newcomer Jack and daughter Flo, a fresh start in the quiet village is going to be much more complicated—and potentially dangerous—than either could have imagined. Jack is the town’s new vicar, come to step in after the untimely death of their predecessor. As Jack and Flo navigate this new community, they find themselves confronted not only by the town’s brutal and violent history, but also by the ghosts of the past that seem to linger in Chapel Croft to this day. THE BURNING GIRLS is a story of folk horror perfect for fans of The Wicker Man; it’s also a compelling mystery, inviting readers to unravel the truth about a missing persons case that has long gone cold, but has never stopped haunting this small community. Written with C.J. Tudor’s trademark razor-sharp plotting and sinister, atmospheric suspense, THE BURNING GIRLS is perhaps the author’s most ambitious—and most haunting—story yet.

CBTB's Halloween 2020 Reading List

October 6, 2020

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!

Crime Books to Read While You Stay at Home

March 19, 2020

It’s safe to say these are unprecedented times. With the rapid spread of the new coronavirus around the world, a whole lot of us (yours truly included!) are finding ourselves with a whole lot more solitary time on our hands as we stay home and self-isolate. If you’re in this position and looking for a new book or two to take your mind off the news cycle, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve compiled a big list of highly-recommended crime books for you to peruse—and my hope is that one of these (or a few of these!) can keep you company and give you a sense of escape during these very overwhelming times. To help you find a book that will suit your reading tastes, I’ve organized this reading list by mood. Whether you’re in the mood for something binge-worthy, something bookish, or something downright scary, there’s a book for you here.

Interview with C.J. Tudor, Author of THE OTHER PEOPLE

February 2, 2020

I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome C.J. Tudor to Crime by the Book today to discuss her brand-new release, THE OTHER PEOPLE—a gripping, inventive thriller following a father on the hunt for his missing daughter. THE OTHER PEOPLE is, true to form for Tudor, an utterly entertaining and seriously chilling thriller that blends elements of supernatural suspense with a mystery very grounded in reality. In this conversation, we cover everything from the story’s dual plotlines to Tudor’s approach to plotting her novels to her next project (which, if it’s possible, sounds even better than anything she’s written thus far). A huge thank you to C.J. Tudor for taking the time to answer my questions, and to her US publisher for making this Q&A possible. Read on for more information on THE OTHER PEOPLE, and to catch my full conversation with C.J. Tudor!

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