Show me a “locked room”-style mystery, and I’ll show you a book I simply have to read. Luckily for me (and, I suspect, for many of you!), Tessa Wegert has crafted an utterly irresistible modern-day mystery that is deeply indebted to the great “locked room” puzzles of the past. In DEATH IN THE FAMILY, a complex protagonist - a female police officer who has just moved out of the big city to escape a recent trauma - is called to a private island where a crime has occurred, and the favorite grandson of a wealthy matriarch has gone missing. Investigators descend on the island, and find themselves smack in the middle of a complex web of family secrets and hidden motivations. When a nor’easter descends, the investigators are trapped on the private island with their suspects--and a killer on the loose. DEATH IN THE FAMILY has all the best elements of Agatha Christie-inspired crime fiction: a clever puzzle, a cast of eccentric characters, and a moody atmosphere. But this is not just a Christie homage: it’s also a smart, decidedly modern crime novel that puts a woman’s inner fight with past trauma front and center. This immersive, engaging murder mystery will fill the Agatha Christie-sized hole in your heart, and in your TBR list.
Read MoreInterview with C.J. Tudor, Author of THE OTHER PEOPLE
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!
Read MoreBook Review: THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.J. Tudor
I breathe a sigh of relief every time I start a new book by C.J. Tudor. That’s not because these books are light, relaxing reads—they’re not, not by any stretch of the imagination. It’s because C.J. Tudor, perhaps more so than any new author I’ve discovered in the past few years, writes with the kind of confidence and assurance that puts the reader totally at ease. Tudor’s stories are dark, intricate, mind-bending confections, the kinds of books that creep under your skin and demand you keep turning the pages well beyond your bedtime. They are, for me, pure escapism—stories worth setting aside your to-do list to devour. Tudor’s third outing, which just went on sale in the U.S. earlier this week, is no exception. THE OTHER PEOPLE begins with an apparently straightforward missing persons mystery: a father is on the hunt for his young daughter, a girl who went missing three years prior. He is the only one who believes she is still alive, and he won’t give up until he finds her. But there are more sinister forces at work here, namely, an anonymous and shadowy group that lives on the dark web—The Other People. Who are these “other people,” and what involvement do they have, if any, with our protagonist’s missing child? As readers follow the threads of this intricate mystery, they will quickly discover that the bigger picture of THE OTHER PEOPLE is even more fascinating than its individual parts. Laced with supernatural suspense and brimming with page-turning entertainment value and emotional heft, THE OTHER PEOPLE cements C.J. Tudor as the modern queen of creepy. Any reader who loves crime fiction that pushes the envelope simply must add C.J. Tudor to their to-read list.
Read MoreBook Review: THE TENANT by Katrine Engberg
Katrine Engberg’s star is on the rise. The author of the critically-acclaimed Korner & Werner series, Engberg has amassed dedicated readers in her native Denmark and around Europe—and this week, Engberg’s debut novel hit American bookstores. THE TENANT effectively blends elements of bookish suspense, human drama, and police procedure to deliver a story that, despite is Nordic setting, refuses to be confined to the “Nordic Noir” category—or to any single crime fiction category at all, for that matter. Engaging, offbeat characters and an intricate mystery drive THE TENANT: readers follow two Copenhagen police officers who are tasked with solving a bizarre murder, one which appears to be heavily inspired by the unpublished manuscript of the victim’s landlady. What secrets do the landlady and her manuscript hold? What motivation could she possibly have had for murdering her tenant? And if she didn’t do it, who did? In her debut crime novel, Engberg takes readers down a twisty path filled with plenty of red herrings, a moody Danish atmosphere, and a dash of humor, too. THE TENANT is a strong debut, a slow-burning story that will surely earn Engberg a loyal American fan-base.
Read MoreInterview with Lars Kepler, Author of THE RABBIT HUNTER
I’ve been a Lars Kepler fan for years now, and a new book by Kepler is always cause for celebration! Today, Kepler’s newest U.S. release THE RABBIT HUNTER hits bookstores, and I’m thrilled to share a Q&A with the authors to celebrate their newest crime novel. Kepler, the pen name for a husband-and-wife writing duo, is known for writing big, intricate, terrifying serial killer thrillers. These books follow a police officer in Stockholm, Sweden, but their real focal points are their villains: psychopaths with well-crafted, totally creepy backstories and motivations, whose shocking crimes seem built for the big screen. THE RABBIT HUNTER is no exception. In THE RABBIT HUNTER, the Stockholm police face off against a twisted killer with a terrifying modus operandi: first, his victims hear a nursery rhyme… and nineteen minutes later on the dot, his victims die. Read on for more information on THE RABBIT HUNTER, including plot details, early praise, and my conversation with Lars Kepler!
Read More