I can’t even tell you how excited I am to be writing this blog post right now. After three long years since the last Iceland Noir in 2018, my favorite crime fiction festival is back!!! In less than two months, I’ll be heading to Reykjavik to attend my third Iceland Noir crime fiction festival—and this year, I’m going to be moderating some amazing panels as well as attending as a fan!! In this blog post, you can learn more about Iceland Noir, check out a preview of some of the authors who will be attending, and more!
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Halloween Reads with Riley Sager and Jennifer Hillier
This evening, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting over Instagram Live with two of my favorite authors—Riley Sager and Jennifer Hillier—about Halloween reads!! Riley and Jennifer joined me for an IG Live where we all took turns recommending books that we think are perfect for your to-read list during this, the spookiest time of year. From horror novels to thrillers to mysteries and more, we covered a lot of ground during this chat, and had so much fun doing so! If you’re interested in watching a recording of our conversation, you can do so on my IGTV, here. In this blog post, I wanted to provide a one-stop shopping list for all of the books we recommended in tonight’s Instagram Live. Read on for a recap of the books that Riley, Jennifer, and I recommended, and get ready for a month of spooky reading ahead!
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Cover Reveal & Excerpt: DEAD WIND by Tessa Wegert
I’m so honored to be able to give Crime by the Book readers an exclusive sneak peek into the newest novel by a writer who has quickly become one of my go-to, must-reads: Tessa Wegert! If you’re in the market for a new detective series to add to your fall reading list, Tessa’s novels featuring Senior Investigator Shana Merchant might just be your perfect fit. I’m so excited to be able to give the Crime by the Book community the inside scoop on Tessa’s next Shana Merchant novel, DEAD WIND, coming to a bookstore near you April 5, 2022! In today’s blog post, you can check out the atmospheric and intriguing cover for Tessa’s newest book, learn more about its plot, and read an exclusive excerpt from the book’s prologue. (Plus, if you’re interested in checking out all of Tessa’s books, scroll all the way down on this blog post and you’ll find links to them all!) Huge thanks to Tessa for letting me get involved in this cover reveal—I’m so excited to be able to participate, and to share this sneak peek with the CBTB community!
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Book Excerpt: THE ICE COVEN by Max Seeck
Nordic Noir fans, listen up: if you haven’t yet explored bestselling Finnish crime writer Max Seeck’s page-turning thrillers, today’s post is for you! Last fall, I devoured Seeck’s gripping debut THE WITCH HUNTER, and this month, he’s back with his next dark crime novel featuring investigator Jessica Niemi. In THE ICE COVEN, available in the US today, protagonist Jessica finds herself caught in a race against time to find a link between a body bearing cryptic markings that has washed up on the shore in Finland, and the puzzling disappearances of two Instagram influencers. Seeck’s first thriller THE WITCH HUNTER blended page-turning plotting with a dark serial killer plot and elements of the occult—it was one of my personal favorite Nordic thrillers I read last year, and I’m so excited to see what his next crime novel has in store for us! Fans of Nordic crime writers like Lars Kepler and Søren Sveistrup, as well as any reader who’s in the market for extra-chilling serial killer stories, won’t want to miss Max Seeck’s dark and engrossing work. In today’s blog post, I’m thrilled to give CBTB readers the chance to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Max Seeck’s newest thriller, THE ICE COVEN! I’ll be digging into this new thriller today, and I’m so excited to give you the chance to start reading along with me. For more information on Seeck’s first thriller THE WITCH HUNTER, you can find my full review on the CBTB blog here. Read on for more information on THE ICE COVEN, and to sample an excerpt from the book’s first chapter!
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Book Review: DARK THINGS I ADORE by Katie Lattari
Katie Lattari’s DARK THINGS I ADORE is easily one of the most unusual suspense novels I’ve read this year—and I mean that as a compliment. DARK THINGS I ADORE is a book that manages to be both beautiful and horrific all at once; author Katie Lattari delivers a unique and beguiling blend of lush storytelling and disturbing content that kept me engaged from the book’s first page to its very last. While this book’s dark subject matter and slow-burning pacing won’t be for everyone, readers who gravitate towards dark tales with immersive world-building will relish DARK THINGS I ADORE. In this lush-yet-disturbing story, the author weaves an irresistible tale of past sins that have never truly been forgotten, and present-day vengeance for those past evils. Centering around an art student and her professor caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, DARK THINGS I ADORE explores the dark corners of artistic inspiration, drawing readers into a world where villains get their comeuppance and victims fight back. DARK THINGS I ADORE is both beautiful and sinister, an elegant story of revenge with very sharp teeth.
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