What an absolutely amazing year it’s been for crime books—and it’s far from over! This fall is bringing with it incredible new crime fiction releases from returning favorites and genre newcomers alike. Today I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the very exciting new voices in the crime genre whose first thriller novels will be published this fall! In today’s spotlight on buzzy fall crime fiction debuts, I’m rounding up six thrilling debut crime novels that I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on this fall! Some of these books I’ve been lucky enough to read already and others are still on my personal TBR list, but all of them look poised to deliver truly unique, compelling, twisty crime stories for us to devour in the months ahead. From new psychological suspense to legal thrillers, Nordic Noir, and beyond, this list has a little something for everyone. Read on for my picks for most-anticipated crime fiction debuts publishing from September - December 2021, and make space on your fall TBR for these thrilling new releases!
Read MoreAugust 2021 Most-Anticipated Crime Books
Summer is here, and it’s bringing with it some incredible new crime fiction releases for us to devour! Summer 2021 is jam-packed with amazing crime books, some of which I’ve been lucky enough to read already and others that are still on my personal TBR pile. To help you plan your own reading lists, each month this summer I’ll be sharing monthly lists of my personal most-anticipated new crime fiction releases for that respective month. I can’t wait to share these books with you, and I hope they will catch your eye as much as they’ve caught mine! In case you missed it, you can check out my list of Most-Anticipated June 2021 Crime Books here, and Most-Anticipated July 2021 Crime Books here. August 2021 brings with it a number of suspense novels that look perfect for a late-summer vacation, including one of my top favorite books of the year, a returning “popcorn thriller” writer, a highly-anticipated new release by an acclaimed crime writer who hasn’t had a new book in a few years now, and more. August’s new crime fiction lineup looks twisty, binge-worthy, and thrilling, and I can’t wait to share these books with you. Read on for my picks for most-anticipated August 2021 crime fiction!
Read MoreBook Review: IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead
Welcome to Duquette University, where a 10-year college reunion is about to take a dangerous turn in Ashley Winstead’s dark academia debut, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE. Ten years ago, Jessica Miller and her friends—a clique known as the “East House Seven”—suffered a horrific tragedy when one of their own was brutally murdered in her dorm room, stabbed to death while she was sleeping. Now, Jessica is planning what is supposed to be her triumphant return to Duquette for her college reunion—an opportunity for her to prove to her college classmates once and for all that she has achieved the kind of success and status she always dreamed of. But an individual with close ties to the group has plans for Jess and her friends, and this college reunion is going to be about much more than reliving glory days gone by. Mystery and intrigue are on the weekend agenda, and Jess and her friends might just be walking unwittingly into a trap. Ashley Winstead’s immersive debut suspense novel IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE weaves an engrossing tale of murder, love, and obsession set against the backdrop of an elite southern university. Delve into the dark secrets and ever-shifting allegiances of the East House Seven in IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE, but watch your back—everyone in this friend group has something to hide, and some of their secrets are deadly. This page-turning debut suspense novel is perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and J.T. Ellison’s Good Girls Lie.
Read MoreBook Review: FOR YOUR OWN GOOD by Samantha Downing
Love a suspense novel set in the world of academia? Love books featuring villainous protagonists? Samantha Downing’s brand-new, wickedly fun suspense novel FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is the summer read for you. Enter the world of Belmont Academy: a prestigious prep school with a track record of excellence… and a pesky history of its community members dropping dead under suspicious circumstances. Could a killer be at work within the halls of Belmont Academy? Centering around a teacher who is willing to do anything – and I mean anything – to help his students and his school succeed, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is a deliciously twisted, highly readable suspense novel that takes readers on a surprisingly playful journey into the mind of an antihero with psychopathic tendencies. Pick this book up for its academic setting, stay for its irresistible characters and wildly entertaining, dark-yet-fun reading experience. In FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, Samantha Downing has proven herself once again to be the queen of the thriller with plenty of darkness and an attitude that never takes itself too seriously—an irresistible combination that makes FOR YOUR OWN GOOD a summer 2021 must-read.
Read MoreCBTB's Top 10 Crime Books of 2021 (So Far)
It’s hard to believe we are already more than halfway through 2021! This year has already delivered truly outstanding crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense books for us to devour, and today I wanted to round up a list of my favorite crime books published in the first half of the year! Whether you’re in the market for a chilling suspense story, a clever locked room mystery, or an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, this list has a little something for you. From new releases by returning favorites (Riley Sager, C.J. Tudor, Ragnar Jonasson, and more!) to thrilling debuts and new-to-me authors, 2021 has given me some absolutely incredible crime books to sink my teeth into - and I hope that this list will help you find a new favorite crime book or two for yourself, too! As you can imagine it was very difficult to narrow this list down. When making my selections here, I focused on books that I haven’t been able to stop recommending to others and thinking about myself—books that have had the kind of staying power for me that we all look for in favorite reads. The books included on this list were published from January 1, 2021 through July 6, 2021; stay tuned, because I’ll be rounding up a list of my favorite crime books from the second half of 2021 - plus a definitive list of my favorite crime books of the whole year - when 2021 comes to a close. Without further ado, let’s dig into this rundown of my favorite crime books of 2021 so far!
Read More