I’m delighted to be on the blog tour today for the newest book from the King of Helsinki Noir, Antti Tuomainen! Tuomainen’s newest, THE MAN WHO DIED, is engaging and immersive; readers looking for a new crime read with a dash of dark humor and plenty of personality will find their perfect match in this Finnish crime novel. I’m not usually a reader who looks for humor in their crime fiction, but Tuomainen’s smart and poignant story delivered the perfect blend of thrills, investigation, character development, and comedy to keep me engaged from the first page to the last. THE MAN WHO DIED is yet another example of publisher Orenda Books’ sharp eye for unique, original crime fiction; it’s smart, sensitive, and engaging, and guaranteed to be unlike anything else in your crime fiction library.
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September 2017 Wrap-Up & Favorite New Releases
September was a fantastic month in books for me! Between traveling to Scotland for Bloody Scotland, interviewing David Lagercrantz (the author of the new Lisbeth Salander book!), meeting and interviewing M.J. Arlidge (author of the Helen Grace series), and getting Halloween reading recommendations for CBTB from horror writer Ania Ahlborn, I basically couldn't have asked for a better bookish month! October is shaping up to be an equally fantastic one - but more on that soon. In this post, you'll find a summary of the books I read in September, and some fun bookish stats from the month!
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Halloween Reading List: Ania Ahlborn Guest Post
Happy, Happy October!! Halloween is just around the corner, and you know what that means—it’s time to stock up on spooky reads to get you in the Halloween spirit! While the majority of books I read and review here on Crime by the Book could work for your Halloween TBR, I decided to turn to the experts for advice. I’m delighted to share a fantastic Halloween guest post from Ania Ahlborn, queen of all things Halloween and horror, recommending her top Halloween reads for your TBR!
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Author Q&A: Dirk Kurbjuweit, FEAR
There are a select few authors where, whenever I see their name associated with anything, I simply must investigate their connection to it. Dutch writer Herman Koch is one such author for me. When I saw his fantastic praise quote for German crime novel FEAR by Dirk Kurbjuweit (on sale this week - 10/3/17), I knew right away this was a book I had to read—and I am so glad that I listened to that instinct. Thanks to Kurbjuweit’s US publisher, I had the opportunity to ask a few of my most pressing questions of the author of FEAR, which will surely be one of the smartest and most unsettling books I’ll read this year.
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Book Review: THE LAST MRS. PARRISH by Liv Constantine
Try as I might not to judge a book by its cover, some are just too pretty to resist—THE LAST MRS. PARRISH by Liv Constantine is a prime example. Unfortunately, my experience reading this book didn’t quite live up to how enamored I was with its cover. While undeniably entertaining and fast-paced, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH won’t work for crime readers looking for dark, twisty psychological suspense; on the other hand, this book does still tackle themes that might be too dark for readers looking to enjoy a work of women’s fiction. Is it dark romance? Psychological suspense? Contemporary fiction? This genre-bending wouldn't be an issue, aside from the fact that I've seen this book largely promoted as a "twisty psychological thriller". I would not recommend THE LAST MRS. PARRISH for crime readers, but I also would never deny that there is something very entertaining about this book—it’s just not quite the shocking thriller it’s billed to be.
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