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Crime by the Book

A girl investigates crime fiction from around the world, by the book.
  • Blog
  • Quick Reviews
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    • Introduction
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    • Book Recommendations
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#ReadWithCBTB Nesbo.png

#ReadWithCBTB: THE SON by Jo Nesbø

May 23, 2020

#REadWithCBTB Book Pick: THE SON by Jo Nesbø

Book Discussion: June 27, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST

Guest Host: Gilly Macmillan

I am so thrilled to share a brand-new virtual event series launching on Crime by the Book this summer: #ReadWithCBTB! This virtual event series will provide crime readers from around the world the chance to come together to read and discuss a CBTB-approved crime novel. Book discussions will take place over Zoom Webinar, and each book discussion will pair yours truly with a different guest host to join in the conversation! These guest hosts will be crime writers, but here’s the fun catch: they will NOT be the author of the book we’re discussing. The idea here is to bring all different voices and perspectives to share in the crime book-discussing fun! These special events will take place periodically, so be sure to register via the link below to stay up-to-date on all the latest #ReadWithCBTB news. (Bonus: the authors of the books we’re reading might, if we’re lucky, pop in to say hello to the buddy-reading crew via email!)

Many of our book discussions moving forward will be pegged to new crime fiction releases, but for our first #ReadWithCBTB event, I just had to start with a book by my personal favorite author, Jo Nesbø. Our first #ReadWithCBTB pick will be Jo Nesbø’s brilliant standalone novel THE SON—a chilling revenge thriller set in Oslo, Norway. For our first #ReadWithCBTB event, I am so, so excited to be joined by Gilly Macmillan, internationally-bestselling author of numerous psychological suspense novels including The Nanny and What She Knew, to discuss THE SON in June! Gilly is a brilliant crime writer in her own right, and she’s a huge fan of Nesbø’s work, too. She will be the perfect guest host for this first event. It is going to be such a pleasure to discuss this book with her, and with you all!

So how do you participate in #ReadWithCBTB?

Joining in this virtual buddy read and book discussion is easy! Simply read Nesbø’s THE SON on your own schedule over the next month (find some suggested places you can buy the book below!), and register via email at the link below. The day before the event takes place (June 26, in this case!), I will send everyone who has signed up via email a direct Zoom link that you can use to tune in for this book discussion. This will be a Zoom Webinar, which means that only me and Gilly will appear on video, but we welcome all reader thoughts, questions, and comments in the Zoom chat box! I will also solicit questions from readers via email in advance of the chat, so if you have a question you want to be sure we address in the Zoom conversation, you can submit it early!

It’s totally free to participate in these events—all you’ll need is a computer or mobile device that will allow you access to the internet to tune in for the discussion via Zoom. (Please note: when we discuss these books, we’ll be discussing all of the book. There will be spoilers in these book discussions, which is why we are hosting them via Zoom, rather than Instagram Live. I don’t want anyone accidentally stumbling upon these chats and having the book spoiled for them!)

I can’t wait to start reading with you guys!

Register for #ReadWithCBTB Here:

Register for #ReadWithCBTB!

Sign up with your email address to participate in #ReadWithCBTB!

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!

Jo Nesbo The Son.jpg
The Son Jo Nesbo.jpg

About Jo Nesbø’s THE SON:

The author of the best-selling Harry Hole series now gives us an electrifying tale of vengeance set amid Oslo's brutal hierarchy of corruption.

Sonny Lofthus has been in prison for almost half his life: serving time for crimes he didn't commit. In exchange, he gets an uninterrupted supply of heroin—and a stream of fellow prisoners seeking out his Buddha-like absolution. Years earlier Sonny’s father, a corrupt cop, took his own life rather than face exposure. Now Sonny is the center of a vortex of corruption: prison staff, police, lawyers, a desperate priest—all of them focused on keeping him stoned and jailed. When Sonny discovers a shocking truth about his father’s suicide, he makes a brilliant escape and begins hunting down the people responsible for his and his father’s demise. But he's also being hunted, and by enemies too many to count. Two questions remain: who will get to him first, and what will he do when he’s cornered?

Suggested Retailers:

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Bookshop.org


Gilly Macmillan.jpg

About Guest Host Gilly Macmillan:

Gilly Macmillan is the internationally bestselling author of five novels including WHAT SHE KNEW, THE PERFECT GIRL, ODD CHILD OUT, I KNOW YOU KNOW and THE NANNY. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH is coming in 2020.

A former art historian and photographer, Gilly studied at Bristol University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She lives in Bristol, UK, with her husband and three children.

Her first novel, WHAT SHE KNEW, was a Target pick, a LibraryReads pick, an Indie Next pick, an Edgar award nominee, and an International Thriller Writers award finalist. THE NANNY is a Spring 2020 Richard & Judy WHSmith Book Club pick.

Gilly’s novels have appeared on the New York Times, Sunday Times, Globe & Mail and Der Spiegel bestseller lists and have been translated into over 20 languages. She’s been described as ‘one heck of a good writer’ (Wall Street Journal) and her novels have been praised as ‘nuanced, completely addictive’ (People), ‘riveting’ (Publishers Weekly), and ‘visceral, emotionally charged…heart-wrenchingly well told’ (The Daily Mail).

Connect with Gilly on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and find a link for her latest release THE NANNY below!

The Nanny: A Novel
By Macmillan, Gilly
Buy on Amazon

I am so excited about this new virtual event series, and I hope it will provide an opportunity for you to discover great new crime reads! If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at crimebythebook@gmail.com. This is a brand-new experiment for us all, so I’m sure there will be questions that arise along the way, and I’m totally happy to help however I can! I look forward to discussing THE SON with you all! xx A

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Sep 6, 2023
Book Review: THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE by Carissa Orlando
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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.

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Announcing Crime by the Box!
Aug 12, 2023
Announcing Crime by the Box!
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I am so thrilled to announce a new partnership between Crime by the Book and the amazing Murder by the Book, a crime fiction-focused independent bookstore here in Houston, TX. Starting this October, I am going to be teaming up with the bookstore to curate a book subscription service! Crime by the Box will deliver a hand-selected, newly-released hardcover mystery, thriller, or suspense novel right to your door on a monthly basis. Read on for all the details!

Aug 12, 2023
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Apr 3, 2023
Cover Reveal + Sneak Peek: BLOOD SISTERS by Vanessa Lillie
Apr 3, 2023

I’m so honored to be able to reveal the cover for Vanessa Lillie’s buzz-worthy new mystery here on CBTB today! BLOOD SISTERS is a gripping mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister. The book has already been praised as “riveting” (Megan Miranda) and “bingeworthy” (Caroline Kepnes), and it’s sure to be one of fall’s must-read crime novels. BLOOD SISTERS will be published in September, but thanks to Vanessa and her publisher, we’re able to get an exclusive early glimpse into the book right here in today’s blog post! Read on to check out the book’s gorgeous cover, read a behind-the-scenes mini Q&A with Vanessa, and dip into the book’s first few pages! And make sure to preorder your copy of BLOOD SISTERS at your favorite bookstore while you’re at it. Huge thanks to Vanessa and her publisher for giving us this early sneak peek—I can’t wait to read BLOOD SISTERS this fall!

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Jan 10, 2023
Book Review: ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham
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Stacy Willingham returns today with her sophomore thriller ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS, a lyrical, immersive mystery that delves into one mother’s waking nightmare—and the dangerous secrets she will uncover as she seeks the truth about the two tragedies that have defined her life. I devoured ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS over my holiday break this year, and found this to be one of those rare books that genuinely is impossible to put down. Moving between past and present, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS delves into the darkest corners of the life of one mother as she investigates the disappearance of her son one year prior—and, in the process, confronts long-buried secrets from her own childhood. Stacy Willingham’s masterful use of dual timelines adds intrigue and atmosphere to this compelling mystery, while her immersive writing draws readers into our protagonist’s increasingly unstable state of mind. Slow-burning yet simmering with tension and suspense, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is hypnotic, immersive, and emotionally-impactful—the kind of mystery you’ll sink into, not coming up for air until you’ve turned the final page. Highly recommended for fans of Lisa Jewell’s THEN SHE WAS GONE and Jennifer Hillier’s LITTLE SECRETS, this is a 2023 mystery not to be missed.

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CBTB's Top 10 Crime Books of 2022
Dec 31, 2022
CBTB's Top 10 Crime Books of 2022
Dec 31, 2022

I can hardly believe we’ve come to the end of 2022—and what a year it’s been! I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but 2022 has truly been another outstanding year for crime fiction readers. As I reflected on my year in books while writing this blog post, it felt nearly impossible to narrow down my picks. I genuinely think we might be in the golden age of crime writing; the books crime writers had in store for us this year were nothing short of superb. From the return of fan-favorite authors to thrilling new voices being published for the first time, the crime fiction genre was in top form in 2022—making it all the more challenging to pick just 10 books from the year to highlight here! But tough choices had to be made, and made they were. Without further ado, I’m so excited to share with you my personal picks for the Top 10 Crime Books of 2022 in today’s blog post! More than any other criteria, the key thing these books have in common is simple: they are all books I’ve continued to think about since I finished reading them. These are stories that entertained me, challenged me, thrilled me, and kept me on the edge of my seat; in this list you’ll find Gothic horror, Nordic Noir, psychological suspense, and much more; a wide array of crime fiction subgenres, but all excellent books that stood out from the pack for me in 2022.

Dec 31, 2022
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5 Recommended Christmas Mysteries
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Christmas is around the corner, and if you’re a reader who likes to theme your reads to the season, today’s blog post is for you! I honestly never used to read crime novels specifically themed to particular holidays, but last year (for I think the first time in my reading life?!) I intentionally read a couple of Christmas mysteries during the Christmas season… and I absolutely loved it. Today I wanted to round up 5 mysteries I personally love that all involve Christmas—but this blog post has a little twist! Today’s recommendations are organized by how much Christmas actually factors into the book’s plot. Ranked from Christmas level 1 - 5 (with Level 1 being Christmas in the background of the story, and Level 5 being a full-on, 100% Christmas-y plot!), this list will help you find your perfect Christmas season mystery read!

Dec 11, 2022
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Nov 29, 2022
Iceland Noir 2022 Festival Journal
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I can’t believe that this year’s Iceland Noir has already come and gone. If you’ve been around Crime by the Book for a little bit, you already know how much I absolutely love Iceland Noir: a crime fiction festival that takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland in November. Iceland Noir brings together crime fiction readers and writers from Scandinavia and around the world for a long weekend of crime fiction programming, including everything from author panels to spotlight interviews to special events and more. It is an incredible festival, and truly the perfect environment for us crime fiction readers: basically imagine a bunch of likeminded bookworms gathering to celebrate crime fiction in one of the most special cities in the world. Sound amazing? It really is. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Iceland, or if you’re curious about attending a crime fiction festival in the future, I highly recommend adding Iceland Noir to your bucket list. I can’t say enough good things about it! In today’s blog post, I’m recapping my experience at Iceland Noir 2022, including a day-by-day recap of the festival, lots of photos, a rundown of the books I took home from the festival, and more!

Nov 29, 2022
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Nov 7, 2022
Book Review: THE FAMILY GAME by Catherine Steadman
Nov 7, 2022

Sometimes you just need to read a really fun psychological thriller—and that’s the boat I found myself in last week. After devoting my entire October to-read list to supernatural thrillers for spooky season, I was ready to get back to my psychological suspense roots this month—and ideally, I wanted something that was a little bit more lighthearted and “popcorn-y” for a change of pace. Luckily for me, I had the perfect book for the job waiting on my to-read pile: Catherine Steadman’s brand-new release, THE FAMILY GAME. THE FAMILY GAME is a page-turning suspense story about a writer, her fiancé, and her fiancé's dark family secrets. It was my first time reading a Catherine Steadman novel, and (spoiler alert!) it won’ t be my last. If you loved the movie Ready or Not or Jessica Knoll’s psychological thriller Luckiest Girl Alive, you’ll love Catherine Steadman’s THE FAMILY GAME. Page-turning, fresh, and just the right amount of weird, THE FAMILY GAME is a perfect choice for your winter to-read list. (Bonus: if you celebrate Christmas, this book takes place in the lead-up to the holiday! Plan accordingly.)

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CBTB's Most-Anticipated November 2022 Crime Fiction
Nov 2, 2022
CBTB's Most-Anticipated November 2022 Crime Fiction
Nov 2, 2022

I honestly can’t believe it’s already November—but I’m not complaining! I (obviously) believe that thrillers and mystery novels can (and should!) be read year-round, but there’s something undeniably perfect about cozying up with a great crime novel as the weather gets colder. This month has an amazing lineup of new crime novels in store for us, and today I’m rounding up my picks for most-anticipated new crime, mystery, and suspense novels publishing in November 2022! This month sees the return of a couple of my longtime favorite authors, plus new installments in Nordic crime series I’m loving, a chilling isolated location thriller, and more. Whether you’re hoping to keep the spooky season Halloween vibes going a little bit longer or are ready to dive into a wintry, chilling crime story, this month’s selection of new releases has you covered. A few of the books on this list I’ve already been lucky enough to read, and the rest of them are all on my personal to-read pile for the weeks ahead—but I’m excited about all of them. Read on for my picks for November most-anticipated crime fiction!

Nov 2, 2022
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Oct 15, 2022
Book Review: CURSE OF THE REAPER by Brian McAuley
Oct 15, 2022

There’s no better time to watch a slasher movie—or read a slasher book—than October, and if your idea of perfect Halloween entertainment involves villains like Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, the book I’m recommending today is the Halloween read for you. Brian McAuley’s CURSE OF THE REAPER is a thriller tailor-made for, as his dedication so aptly puts it, the “Halloween people.” Bloody, meta, occasionally self-deprecating, and always wickedly entertaining, CURSE OF THE REAPER draws inspiration from the world of slasher films to tell a delightfully devious tale of an actor, the silver screen villain to which he devoted his entire career, and the grip that villain might just have on him in the real world. This book is all kinds of bloody fun, a perfect Halloween reading choice for anyone who has ever contemplated which Ghostface killer(s) they would be most likely to survive, attended a genre convention, or, yes, set a timer to buy tickets for Halloween Ends the moment they went on sale (guilty on all counts).

Oct 15, 2022
Tags #ReadWithCBTB, The Son, Jo Nesbo, Buddy Read
← #ReadWithCBTB: HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager

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