CBTB’s Weekend Checklist - 5/19/18
Happy weekend, readers! I thought it might be fun to try something totally different today: a “Weekend Checklist,” aka the crime fiction (and other crime-y things!) that I’m recommending you check out this weekend. In this post you’ll find a weekend binge-read, a podcast recommendation, the crime TV show I’m watching, and more. Without further ado, let's dive right in - happy reading! xx A
Agatha Christie's CROOKED HOUSE
What could be better than spending a weekend cozied up with an Agatha Christie novel? Christie is known as the "Queen of Crime" for a reason, and CROOKED HOUSE is one of my favorites of her books. (For those of you curious, my top favorite is ENDLESS NIGHT - another excellent choice for weekend reading material!) CROOKED HOUSE is also one of Christie's darkest stories, making it the perfect choice if your weather is anything like the rainy, overcast weather we're having in New York today. CROOKED HOUSE draws readers into the eccentric Leonides family as they try to uncover the truth behind the untimely death of the head of the household, Aristide. Bonus: once you've devoured the book, you can watch the fantastic recent film adaptation of the book starring Christina Hendricks, Gillian Anderson, and Glenn Close.
Dirty John / The L.A. Times
Have you listened to Dirty John yet? Reported and hosted by Christopher Goffard from the L.A. Times, this is one of my favorite true crime podcasts I've ever listened to - and that's saying a lot, because I listen to a ton of podcasts. Dirty John made a big splash when it first released in the fall of 2017, and, to be honest, I’m still looking for a new show that can top it! Dirty John tells the true - and very disturbing - story of Debra Newell, who fell in love with and married John Meehan after the two met on a dating site. John seemed to be the perfect man: a chivalrous doctor with picture-perfect good looks. Debra fell for John hard and fast, but her children warned her that something about her new love seemed off… what follows is a genuinely shocking story worthy of the best fictional domestic thriller.
This is a very dark and disturbing story, so do go into it with caution—but I absolutely loved every episode of it! You can learn more about Dirty John online here.
Harlan Coben's Safe
I’ve been eagerly awaiting Harlan Coben’s Safe for quite a while - and it’s finally available on Netflix! If you’ve ever read a Harlan Coben thriller, you’ll know they tend to be pure page-turning fun, and I’m hoping this show will be the television equivalent—something that I’ll just get totally swept up in. Safe follows Tom Delaney, a surgeon and the widowed father of two teenage daughters. When one of his daughters goes missing, Tom finds himself drawn into a web of secrets as he desperately searches for her…
For more information on the TV show, Coben did a great Q&A with Parade that you can read online here.
Dot Hutchison's THE SUMMER CHILDREN
On Sale 5/22/18
This coming Tuesday, Dot Hutchison’s THE SUMMER CHILDREN releases! You can catch my full review of the book here, but the short story is that I loved this read. THE SUMMER CHILDREN follows FBI Agent Mercedes Ramirez as she tackles a strange and disturbing case: a killer is targeting parents, and is depositing their children - unharmed, but soaked in their parents' blood - on Ramirez's doorstep in the middle of the night. THE SUMMER CHILDREN is book three in Hutchison’s Collector Trilogy—and in this case, I would recommend that you start with the beginning of the trilogy. But the good news here is that the trilogy as a whole is well worth your time; each book is very distinct in tone, but they’re tied together through their endearing characters and common exploration of the experiences of survivors.
You can catch my reviews of all three Collector Trilogy books here:
THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN / THE ROSES OF MAY / THE SUMMER CHILDREN
Plot Summary - THE SUMMER CHILDREN:
This FBI agent has come to expect almost anything—just not this…
When Agent Mercedes Ramirez finds an abused young boy on her porch, covered in blood and clutching a teddy bear, she has no idea that this is just the beginning. He tells her a chilling tale: an angel killed his parents and then brought him here so Mercedes could keep him safe.
His parents weren’t just murdered. It was a slaughter—a rage kill like no one on the Crimes Against Children team had seen before. But they’re going to see it again. An avenging angel is meting out savage justice, and she’s far from through.
One by one, more children arrive at Mercedes’s door with the same horror story. Each one a traumatized survivor of an abusive home. Each one chafing at Mercedes’s own scars from the past. And each one taking its toll on her life and career.
Now, as the investigation draws her deeper into the dark, Mercedes is beginning to fear that if this case doesn’t destroy her, her memories might.
Murder on the Beach / Delray Beach, FL
Friends in Florida - it's time to make a trip to Murder on the Beach! I recently visited this independent bookstore for the first time on a vacation to Florida, and I loved it. This store is jam-packed with great crime fiction selections, everything from new releases to antiquarian editions and a whole lot more. As a bonus, this bookstore has a robust events calendar! A couple events to take note of: this coming week, Alex Segura will be visiting the store for his new book BLACKOUT, and in July, Lori Roy will visit for her forthcoming release THE DISAPPEARING. My personal favorite discovery at this store? They have a door covered in the handprints and signatures of the many, many authors who have visited the store!
You can connect with Murder on the Beach on their website and on Twitter @murdronthebeach.
That's a wrap on my first-ever Weekend Checklist! If you'd like to see more posts like this, I'd love to hear from you - feel free to comment below and/or email me at crimebythebook@gmail.com. Thank you for reading, as always! xx A
Home ownership feel like a distant dream? Zillow listings have you convinced you’ll be renting for the rest of your life? The woman at the heart of Carissa Orlando’s debut The September House feels your pain—and she’s prepared to put up with a lot if it means she and her husband can finally have a place to call their own. In this case, that might just mean living in a house that’s haunted. Playful and irreverent, spine-tingling and spooky, The September House puts a fresh spin on the classic haunted house story, delivering an immersive tale about the secrets lurking within one building’s walls, and within the lives of its inhabitants.