Have you ever picked up a book by a new-to-you author and just felt instantly in step with the author’s voice and style? That’s exactly how I felt when I first dove into Thomas Enger’s Henning Juul series. Enger’s writing is accessible and engaging, his stories’ atmospheres are gloomy and moody, and (perhaps best of all) his main character, Henning Juul, is endearing and sympathetic for the entirety of the series. For long-standing fans of Henning Juul, KILLED will prove a satisfying and heartbreaking finale to a much-loved series.
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Book Review: THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN by Dot Hutchison
THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN grabs readers by the throat and doesn’t let go—from its first page to its cinematic finale, this stunning launch to Hutchison’s Collector Trilogy will thrill and disturb even the most seasoned crime reader. Fans of serial killer thrillers will be hooked on the story’s disturbed villain; fans of police procedurals will love the author’s measured, masterful plotting. Come for this book’s stunning cover, stay for the brutal, inventive crimes at its core; with the final installment in this trilogy releasing in May 2018, now is the perfect time to enter Hutchison’s dark and twisted world.
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Book Review: THIS IS HOW IT ENDS by Eva Dolan
THIS IS HOW IT ENDS (on sale 3/13/18) will suit readers looking for a crime book that shifts focus away from the crime at its core and towards the social and cultural tensions that precipitated it—and the interpersonal fallout that it, in turn, precipitates. Thought-provoking and gritty, this socially-aware crime novel delivered one of my more conflicted reading experiences in recent memory. Writing this review has been a challenge precisely because there were just as many things I enjoyed about this book as there were qualities that frustrated me and held me back from fully sinking into this read.
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Book Review: THE PERFECT MOTHER by Aimee Molloy
When I picked up THE PERFECT MOTHER by Aimee Molloy (on sale May 1st), I was hoping for a domestic thriller that would fill the BEHIND CLOSED DOORS-shaped hole in my heart—and that’s exactly what I found. THE PERFECT MOTHER is that perfect blend of breezy plotting, chilling subject matter, and addictive interpersonal drama that makes for what I like to call “popcorn reading”: an utterly addictive, can’t-get-enough kind of read. Fans of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris, LIE TO ME by J.T. Ellison, and BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty will feel right at home in Molloy’s story of the pressures of motherhood and the lies friends hide from one another.
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Book Review: LET ME LIE by Clare Mackintosh
There are a handful of authors whose books have been central to Crime by the Book—and Clare Mackintosh is one of them. In her newest release LET ME LIE, Claire showcases yet another facet of her talent, delving into a story that is perhaps her lightest in suspense yet, but that explores family dynamics - and secrets - to great effect. LET ME LIE is heart-tugging, tense, and subtle… so subtle, in fact, that I didn’t even know how wrong everything I thought I knew was until the book’s gut-punch ending.
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