CBTB’s Weekend Checklist - 8/11/18
Happy weekend, readers! It’s rainy and thunderstorm-y in the city today, so I thought… why not use this morning to put together another Weekend Checklist? In this post, you’ll find all the crime fiction entertainment I’m recommending - and loving myself! - this weekend. Without further ado, let’s dive right in. Happy reading!
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ENDLESS NIGHT By AGATHA CHRISTIE
Dark and stormy weather always puts me in the mood for Agatha Christie—and if you haven’t yet read my favorite of Christie’s books, now might be the perfect time! ENDLESS NIGHT is one of Christie’s more unusual books; this isn’t your standard murder mystery, and it doesn’t feature either of Christie’s infamous detectives, Poirot or Marple. So what do I love about this book? ENDLESS NIGHT has richly-developed atmosphere, a pervading sense of chill, and a plot that rivals the best of modern domestic suspense. You read that right: this Agatha Christie book reads more like a precursor to the psychological suspense that’s “trendy” right now than a traditional detective story, and it’s so good. If you’re in the mood to explore a lesser-known piece of Christie’s bibliography, this is a fantastic place to start!
(And if you prefer a more traditional detective novel, you could always check out my second-favorite Christie book, CROOKED HOUSE.)
Plot Summary:
When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems that all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores an old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal “accidents” happen.
CASEFILE TRUE CRIME
I feel like I’m beginning to run out of true crime podcasts to try - but this one has been on my “to-listen” list for forever, and I’m finally making a serious attempt at digging in! I’ve sampled a number of episodes from this show in the past and have always enjoyed them, but for whatever reason I’ve yet to actually listen to a full episode all the way through—until today, that is. I’ve decided to listen to Episode 91, which tells the story of Carly Ryan - a disturbing case about a young woman who went missing in Australia nearly a decade ago. Suffice it to say, I’m very interested to learn more…
Learn more about Casefile online here.
SHARP OBJECTS
Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn
Major shoutout to my new roommate who has HBO Go and has finally given me access to Sharp Objects, the buzzy TV show based on Gillian Flynn’s novel. Starring Amy Adams, this series takes readers along for the (very grim) ride as journalist Camille Preaker returns to her hometown to report on a disturbing case: young girls are going missing, and turning up dead. I’ve been following the story surrounding this show for quite a while now - I absolutely love Amy Adams, and have been so fascinated by the interviews she’s given about what it took to prepare for the role of Camille. I watched the first episode of Sharp Objects last night, and even the first episode has given me a taste of just what a challenging and complex character Adams has taken on - her portrayal of Camille is haunted and raw, and I’m absolutely loving it. So far, so good - and I’m so excited to see where the show goes next. There’s a very good chance I binge all the available episodes this weekend!
Caz Frear’s SWEET LITTLE LIES
On Sale 8/14/18
This coming Tuesday, Caz Frear’s buzzy debut SWEET LITTLE LIES will release—I’m reading it right now and I’m loving it. SWEET LITTLE LIES is a police procedural made modern and fresh: from its gorgeous packaging to its strong female lead, there’s so much to love about this story. SWEET LITTLE LIES begins with a standard procedural setup: our protagonist, Cat Kinsella, is tasked with solving a murder. But things get really interesting when Cat discovers that the victim is none other than a woman whom Cat and her family met on vacation decades earlier - and who disappeared without a trace on that very same trip. Cat has long suspected that her father had more to do with the girl’s disappearance than he ever admitted, and now her present-day assignment is going to bring her face to face with the ghosts of her past once and for all.
If you love a slow-burning mystery with a superbly-woven puzzle at its core, SWEET LITTLE LIES is likely to be right up your alley. I’ve been savoring each page of this read - there are a lot of threads and details to puzzle through, and I’m loving following the breadcrumbs the author drops for readers along the way.
You can read an excerpt from SWEET LITTLE LIES online here!
Plot Summary:
Your father is a liar. But is he a killer?
Even liars tell the truth . . . sometimes.
Twenty-six-year-old Cat Kinsella overcame a troubled childhood to become a Detective Constable with the Metropolitan Police Force, but she’s never been able to banish these ghosts. When she’s called to the scene of a murder in Islington, not far from the pub her estranged father still runs, she discovers that Alice Lapaine, a young housewife who didn’t get out much, has been found strangled.
Cat and her team immediately suspect Alice’s husband, until she receives a mysterious phone call that links the victim to Maryanne Doyle, a teenage girl who went missing in Ireland eighteen years earlier. The call raises uneasy memories for Cat—her family met Maryanne while on holiday, right before she vanished. Though she was only a child, Cat knew that her charming but dissolute father wasn’t telling the truth when he denied knowing anything about Maryanne or her disappearance. Did her father do something to the teenage girl all those years ago? Could he have harmed Alice now? And how can you trust a liar even if he might be telling the truth?
Determined to close the two cases, Cat rushes headlong into the investigation, crossing ethical lines and trampling professional codes. But in looking into the past, she might not like what she finds. . . .
MURDER BY THE BOOK / HOUSTON, TX
When I visited Houston earlier this summer, I took my friend to visit Murder By the Book - a fantastic mystery-focused bookstore near Houston’s Rice Village. My friend fell instantly in love with the store and walked out with a whole stack of books - and has sent me lots of photos from the store in the months since! Murder By the Book has pretty much every kind of crime novel you could want, from domestic suspense to international thrillers to Nancy Drew. They also host wonderful author events, which you can learn more about online here. If you’re in the Houston area, it’s absolutely worth popping by this excellent indie!
Learn more about Murder By the Book online here.
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.