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.
Read MoreCrime Books to Read While You Stay at Home
Mini Review & Author Interview: DARLING ROSE GOLD by Stephanie Wrobel
I had the pleasure of reading Stephanie Wrobel’s stunning debut novel DARLING ROSE GOLD this past fall, and boy oh boy did I love it. Today marks the US publication day for this exceptional new suspense read, and to celebrate, I’m so excited to give CBTB readers a two-for-one feature on what is sure to be one of my favorite books of 2020. In this blog post, you’ll find a mini review of DARLING ROSE GOLD, plus an interview with author Stephanie Wrobel herself! I had the pleasure of sitting down with Stephanie to talk all things DARLING ROSE GOLD when she was in New York in advance of her book’s publication, and I absolutely loved our conversation. We talked true crime, mental health, getting into the heads of your characters, and a whole lot more. For any reader looking for a deliciously dark suspense novel to dig into this spring, consider DARLING ROSE GOLD a must-read. Read on for details on DARLING ROSE GOLD, my mini review, and an interview with the author!
Read MoreCrime Festival Preview: Krimfestivalen 2020
Each spring, Norwegian crime writers and crime writers from around Scandinavia - and the world - gather in Oslo for Krimfestivalen, an annual crime fiction festival that has quickly become one of my absolute favorites. I’ve been attending Krimfestivalen for a few years now (you can check out my very first trip to Krimfestivalen recapped here!) and it’s now something I look forward to every single spring. I’m in Oslo for Krimfestivalen this week, and can’t wait to take you guys along with me and share the crime festival fun with you all! I’ll be sharing live updates from Krimfestivalen on Instagram and Twitter, and I’ll also be recapping my time in Oslo for Krimfestivalen 2020 on my website once I return to New York. In the meantime, read on for a preview of this year’s festival, including my most-anticipated author appearances, an overview of the festival’s special events, and more!
Read MoreCover Reveal and Excerpt: CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 by Lisa Unger
New York Times bestselling thriller writer Lisa Unger is back in 2020 with a brand-new standalone psychological thriller, and boy does it look fantastic. Gorgeous cover? Check. Plot reminiscent of crime fiction classics like Strangers on a Train? Check. Count me in. CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 will be available in the US in October, but, thanks to Lisa’s US publisher, Crime by the Book readers can get an exclusive glimpse into her 2020 release right here on CBTB! I am absolutely honored to be revealing the stunning cover for CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 today. Read on right here to check out the book’s cover, learn more about its plot, and catch an early sneak-peek of the story’s prologue. Happy reading!
Read MoreBook Review: EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson
What makes for the perfect murder? If you’re as crime fiction obsessed as I am, it’s probably a question that’s popped into your head once or twice in the context of the murder mysteries you are devouring. I’ve been a mystery reader since I was a little kid (I owe a debt of gratitude to Carolyn Keene and Nancy Drew for that!), and over the years certain books - and certain murders found in the pages of those books - have stuck out as “perfect.” In Peter Swanson’s EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS, fictional crimes become a blueprint for real-life violence. Following the owner of a mystery-dedicated bookstore in Boston, EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS imagines what happens when a person with a desire to do harm gets his or her hands on a guide to some of the most infallible murders in the crime fiction genre. Will these crimes prove as impossible to solve in the real world as they are on the page? In his newest release, Swanson delivers a shocking, addictive mystery with a classic crime twist. EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS is a love letter to the crime fiction genre. It’s a story steeped in genre history and present-day in-jokes, and it’s one that no crime fiction reader will want to miss. I haven’t had this much fun reading a crime novel in ages. Put on your amateur sleuth hat and join Peter Swanson on this delightfully nostalgic, utterly clever journey through the greatest murders in crime fiction.
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