CBTB’S 10 BEST CRIME BOOKS OF 2021
I can hardly believe it, but we’re coming to the end of 2021… and that means that it’s time to celebrate the incredible crime books that this year has given us! Let’s be honest, every year is a great year for new crime fiction, and 2021 was no exception. This year saw the return of some of my personal all-time favorite authors and introduced me to debut and new-to-me crime writers whose work I will be following for years to come. From atmospheric mysteries to page-turning thrillers to Nordic crime fiction and everything in between, 2021 had so much to offer us crime fiction readers. In today’s blog post, I’m thrilled to share my picks for the best of the best that this year had to offer! Today’s blog post is dedicated to rounding up my 10 Best Crime Books of 2021 (and a few bonus selections at the end of this blog post as well!). In keeping with a tradition I started last year, I’ve given each of my selections in this blog post a superlative—everything from “Best Book of 2021” to “Best Plot Twist” to “Best Setting” and more. Whether you’re someone who has been closely following the books I’ve been reading and loving this year or someone who’s just stumbled upon CBTB and is curious what my favorites from the year were, I hope this blog post will be useful! I am so thankful for all of the amazing authors whose books kept us readers company this year, and I hope you’ll find a book or two on this list that catches your eye!
Before we dive into today’s blog post, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single one of you who followed along with CBTB this year. I am endlessly grateful for the time you took out of your busy schedule to read one of my blog posts, tune in to an Instagram Live Author Chat, chat with me about your current reads, and beyond. There’s really nothing I could say in this little paragraph to accurately convey just how grateful I am, so I will just say: thank you. I am so grateful to be a part of your reading life, and I look forward to all the great books that 2022 will surely have in store for us! Without further ado, let’s dive into my picks for best crime books of 2021!
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Best Book of 2021:
56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard
Why I Loved It:
Catherine Ryan Howard has been one of my favorite “hidden gem” suspense writers for a while now, and this year she published a book that simply couldn’t have been more perfect for the world we’ve found ourselves living in these past nearly two years. 56 DAYS is a thriller set against the backdrop of Ireland’s strict lockdown rules in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a young couple who meet and fall in love just before COVID hits Ireland’s shores, 56 DAYS uses lockdown as a pressure cooker, raising the stakes and forcing our two protagonists into confinement together. Before lockdown is lifted, one of the two will be dead—but who? And why? 56 DAYS isn’t a thriller focused on the pandemic, but rather a thriller that uses the circumstances created by the pandemic—the heightened emotions and tensions inherent to quarantining with another person—to raise the stakes for its characters. COVID is in the background here, with little references to masks and hand washing keeping readers grounded in reality, while the story’s tense and secret-filled plot simultaneously whisks us away in a gripping murder mystery. Catherine Ryan Howard’s brilliant ability to play with plot structure and timeline gives 56 DAYS an irresistible readability; readers will find themselves moving between the early days of our central couple’s relationship and the police investigation after a body is found. Clever shifts in time and perspective keep readers on their toes, and a surprising and highly satisfying conclusion ties the story together. Leave it to Catherine Ryan Howard to write a thriller that manages to be both timely and escapist all at once—56 DAYS is something special, and it’s my favorite book I’ve read this year.
Read My Full Review of 56 DAYS
About the Book:
No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.
35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who—and what—he really is.
TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.
Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?
Best Debut Thriller:
MY SWEET GIRL by Amanda Jayatissa
Why I Loved It:
What can I say about MY SWEET GIRL that I haven’t already said? Amanda Jayatissa’s outstanding debut thriller instantly captivated me—I think it sounds a bit cliché to say “I couldn’t stop telling everyone about this book,” but if my roommates could chime in on this blog post, I am quite confident they would say that’s actually true here! In MY SWEET GIRL, Jayatissa delivers one of the year’s standout crime novels—not only for its superb plotting and masterful storytelling, but, perhaps even more importantly, for the strength of its narrator’s voice. Central to MY SWEET GIRL is a protagonist who, once you’ve met her, I’m betting you will never forget. Paloma is a young woman living in San Francisco who finds her life upended and a secret from her past catching up to her when she finds her roommate murdered in her apartment. As Paloma investigates the murder of her roommate, she becomes convinced that this horrific crime has ties to a terrible secret from childhood that she thought she had left behind when she came to America. If there’s one thing I hope you take away from my recommendation of this book, it’s this: you’ve never met another narrator quite like Paloma. Paloma’s voice leaps off the page, vibrating with anger, humor, and paranoia in turn. Jayatissa expertly moves readers between Paloma’s precarious present and her mysterious past, allowing readers glimpses into the circumstances that led her to where she is today. Laced with Gothic inspiration (this book involves an orphanage and a ghost story… yes please) and featuring an ultra-satisfying final reveal, MY SWEET GIRL is an absolute standout. I am already eagerly anticipating whatever author Amanda Jayatissa writes next!
About the Book:
Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…
Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.
Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.
Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
Best Plot Twist:
SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager
Why I Loved It:
At this point, it will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I can’t get enough of Riley Sager’s work—but this year, he gave us a thriller that, in my opinion, out-shines all his others. (And that’s saying something—he’s one of my favorite writers, and I consistently love his work!) SURVIVE THE NIGHT is Sager’s most personal thriller yet. Inspired by movies that Sager himself loves, SURVIVE THE NIGHT takes readers on a non-stop thrill ride you’ll want to devour in one sitting. This white-knuckle thriller places readers in the passenger seat as protagonist Charlie, a film student, finds herself in the car with a man she suspects might be a murderer. Where Sager’s previous release HOME BEFORE DARK was an intricate, layered story, SURVIVE THE NIGHT is all forward motion—once this story takes off, it doesn’t relent until the book’s very last page. Of course, I won’t spoil anything here, but I will say that the twist Sager reveals to readers late in this story is everything I could have hoped for and more. It’s one of those mind-bending revelations that alters every last thing about how you’ve perceived the story that came before. Sager sticks the landing beautifully in SURVIVE THE NIGHT, delivering a genuinely jaw-dropping finale I’m not sure I’ll ever quite get over. If you’re not reading Riley Sager yet, this is your sign to do so now.
Read My Full Review of SURVIVE THE NIGHT
About the Book:
It’s November 1991. Nirvana's in the tape deck, George H. W. Bush is in the White House, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the shocking murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father—or so he says.
The longer she sits in the passenger seat, the more Charlie notices there’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t want her to see inside the trunk. As they travel an empty, twisty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly anxious Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s jittery mistrust merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?
One thing is certain—Charlie has nowhere to run and no way to call for help. Trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse played out on pitch-black roads and in neon-lit parking lots, Charlie knows the only way to win is to survive the night.
Best Setting:
THE SANATORIUM by Sarah Pearse
Why I Loved It:
You know those books that just completely obsess you and keep you thinking about them even while you’re not reading them? That was me with Sarah Pearse’s excellent debut crime novel THE SANATORIUM. I read this book last winter and was so obsessed with it—and with its setting in particular—that I even had my teenage brother helping me Google more information about the real-world inspiration for it. (Yes, we did find some wild footage from old sanatoriums back in the day… and yes, it only served to make me even more obsessed with the way Pearse weaves this history into her novel!) THE SANATORIUM is a locked room-style mystery that takes place in a former sanatorium that has been converted into a swanky hotel. Following a detective who finds herself reluctantly traveling to this isolated hotel to celebrate her brother’s engagement, THE SANATORIUM is a gripping blend of locked room mystery and sinister, Gothic touches. Pearse brings her story’s highly memorable setting to life through details big and small: the hotel’s isolated location in the Swiss Alps, memorabilia from its dark past displayed throughout the hotel, and a killer who even wears a creepy mask from the hotel’s past while committing his crimes. There is so much to love about Pearse’s debut crime novel, but it was this book’s setting that really brought this story to life for me. If you’re looking for a chilling and atmospheric winter crime story, THE SANATORIUM will make a perfect choice.
Read My Full Review of THE SANATORIUM
About the Book:
You won't want to leave. . . until you can't.
Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.
An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge--there's something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in. . .
Best Dark Comedy:
FOR YOUR OWN GOOD by Samantha Downing
Why I Loved It:
No one writes darkly comedic crime novels quite like Samantha Downing, and her 2021 release FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is my favorite book of hers yet. Set in the world of a competitive, cut-throat private school, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD follows a teacher who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. For Teddy Crutcher, ensuring the success of his students and his school is priority number one, no matter the cost. Who cares if others pay the price for his schemes? Not Teddy, that’s for sure. Vindictive, spiteful, cunning, devious… and also quirky, hilarious, and sometimes even a bit sympathetic, Teddy is the kind of zany, vividly-drawn character that readers have come to know and love in a Samantha Downing thriller. Downing gives readers an up-close-and-personal glimpse into the life of an antihero with decidedly psychopathic tendencies in FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, and readers will relish every step of this journey. A trademark of Downing’s writing is a deft ability to blend darkness with an attitude that never takes itself too seriously, and FOR YOUR OWN GOOD perfectly encapsulates this unique quality of her work. This book is dark, yes, but it’s also darkly hilarious and wickedly fun to read. I can always count on Samantha Downing to keep me on my toes while reading one of her books, and FOR YOUR OWN GOOD is my favorite book of hers yet.
Read My Full Review of FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
About the Book:
USA Today bestselling author Samantha Downing is back with her latest sneaky thriller set at a prestigious private school—complete with interfering parents, overeager students, and one teacher who just wants to teach them all a lesson…
Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.
He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.
Teddy really can’t be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that’re looking more and more like murder or with the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.
All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way. If not, well, they’ll get what they deserve.
It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.
Best “Chiller”:
THE LOST VILLAGE by Camilla Sten
Why I Loved It:
Camilla Sten’s first book to be published in the US, THE LOST VILLAGE, blends so many elements that are right up my alley. Set in a remote, abandoned mining village in Sweden, THE LOST VILLAGE draws on horror inspiration to deliver a spine-tingling tale perfect for fans of The Blair Witch Project and Midsommar. Following a documentary film crew who set out to uncover the mystery of an abandoned town’s disappeared residents and uncover something much more horrifying than they could have imagined in the process, THE LOST VILLAGE blends a Nordic sensibility with a spine-tingling tale that kept me completely hooked. Author Camilla Sten brings the creepy abandoned mining village where our story takes place to life through haunting details that have stayed in my mind ever since I turned this book’s final page: houses with breakfast dishes still set out, toys scattered in front yards, a school with books still on the shelves… anyone who is fascinated by abandoned locales will love the world Sten crafts here. Shocking revelations about the town’s past, woven into the story through sinister flashback chapters, give THE LOST VILLAGE a haunting, horror-inspired edge. Readers who gravitate towards “chillers”—aka crime novels with chilling, possibly-supernatural elements—will devour this creepy story.
Read My Full Review of THE LOST VILLAGE
About the Book:
The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.
But there will be no turning back.
Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:
They are not alone.
They’re looking for the truth…
But what if it finds them first?
Come find out.
Best Action Thriller:
RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Cosby
Why I Loved It:
I knew I was in for a thrill ride when I picked up S.A. Cosby’s newest release RAZORBLADE TEARS, but I didn’t anticipate that I was in for a story brimming with as much emotion as action. RAZORBLADE TEARS is a pitch-perfect blend of action thriller, noir, and redemption story. In Cosby’s page-turning prose, this revenge thriller takes readers on a journey into the dark corners of its characters lives as two men seek to avenge the murder of their sons, and, in doing so, to right the wrongs of their own pasts. RAZORBLADE TEARS follows an unlikely duo: Ike and Buddy Lee. When Ike and Buddy Lee’s sons are murdered in cold blood, the two fathers must put aside their differences to catch their killers. This powerful story thrills with cinematic scenes, and gets under readers’ skin with thought-provoking and heart-tugging examinations of prejudice and racism. Pick this book up for its action-packed plot, stay for its powerfully emotional story of redemption. I expected this book to deliver plenty of thrills (which it absolutely did—this thriller is often quite bloody, violent, and cinematically action-packed), but I didn’t anticipate it to make me cry (which it did as well). Cosby’s gifts for storytelling and character development shine through in this outstanding thriller.
Read My Full Review of RAZORBLADE TEARS
About the Book:
A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.
Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid.
The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss.
Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father's criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.
Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.
Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change - and maybe even redemption.
Best Nordic Noir Series Installment:
THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE by Katrine Engberg
Why I Loved It:
Danish crime writer Katrine Engberg’s detective series set in Copenhagen has earned a dedicated fanbase here in the US, and her second series installment, THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, was the book that really solidified my love of this series. THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE follows Engberg’s series protagonists, detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner, as they race against the clock to catch a serial killer who seems to have ties to a local hospital. In THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, the quirky personalities of Engberg’s protagonists are once again front and center, and this time, the pair find themselves operating independently of one another. With Anette Werner on maternity leave, Jeppe Kørner finds himself assigned a new partner with whom he must tackle a series of disturbing crimes that seem tied to a local Copenhagen hospital. But Anette isn’t one to be left behind, and she sets out to conduct her own off-the-record investigation into these very same murders. As she and Jeppe close in on the truth at the heart of a complex web of intrigue, they discover shocking abuse of power at an institution that is meant to help, not harm. THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE is an engaging, fresh take on Nordic Noir, a procedural brimming with personality, eccentric characters, and plenty of mystery and intrigue.
Read My Full Review of THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE
About the Book:
In this “engrossing piece of Nordic noir” (Booklist, starred review) and sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Tenant, detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner race to solve a series of sordid murders linked to some of the most vulnerable patients in a Danish hospital.
Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. But in the coronary care unit at one of Copenhagen’s leading medical centers, a nurse fills a syringe with an overdose of heart medication and stealthily enters the room of an older male patient.
Six days earlier, a paperboy on his route in central Copenhagen stumbles upon a macabre find: the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain with arms marked with small incisions. Cause of death? Exsanguination—the draining of all the blood in her body.
Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Copenhagen investigator Jeppe Kørner, recovering from a painful divorce and in the throes of a new relationship, takes on the case. His partner, Anette Werner, now on maternity leave after an unexpected pregnancy, is restless at home with a demanding newborn and an equally demanding husband. While Jeppe pounds the streets looking for answers, Anette decides to do a little freelance sleuthing. But operating on her own exposes her to dangers she can’t even begin to fathom.
As the investigation ventures into dark corners, it uncovers the ambition and greed that festers beneath the surface of caregiving institutions—all the more shocking for their depravity—and what Jeppe and Anette discover will turn their blood as cold as ice…
Best “Popcorn Read”:
SHIVER by Allie Reynolds
Why I Loved It:
The locked room mystery gets a juicy, entertaining twist in Allie Reynolds’ French Alps-set SHIVER. This wintry suspense novel takes a staple of the genre—a mystery following a group of friends who find themselves drawn to an isolated location under false pretenses, only to discover a killer is in their midst—and gives it a fresh, deliciously readable spin. Drawing on Reynolds’ background as a professional snowboarder, SHIVER takes readers into this highly competitive world. In the book’s past timeline, readers get to know protagonist Milla as she prepares for a snowboarding competition in the French Alps and befriends other snowboarders in the process. In the present day, readers follow Milla and that same friend group, as it becomes clear that a terrible secret from the group’s past is about to be brought back into the light. A “popcorn read” is my term for a book that’s binge-worthy, brimming with entertainment value, and not quite as dark or heavy as some of the other books I feature here on CBTB, and that’s exactly the kind of read that SHIVER is. If you crossed a locked room mystery with a “popcorn read,” SHIVER is the result—and I loved every minute of it.
About the Book:
In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.
When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she's expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she's never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition.
Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. The resort is deserted. The cable cars that delivered them to the mountaintop have stopped working. Their cell phones--missing. And inside the hotel, detailed instructions await them: an icebreaker game, designed to draw out their secrets. A game meant to remind them of Saskia, the enigmatic sixth member of their group, who vanished the morning of the competition years before and has long been presumed dead.
Stranded in the resort, Milla's not sure what's worse: the increasingly sinister things happening around her or the looming snowstorm that's making escape even more impossible. All she knows is that there's no one on the mountain she can trust. Because someone has gathered them there to find out the truth about Saskia...someone who will stop at nothing to get answers. And if Milla's not careful, she could be the next to disappear...
Best Short Story Collection:
THE JEALOUSY MAN by Jo Nesbø
Why I Loved It:
I’m not typically a huge short story reader, but when my favorite crime writer Jo Nesbø publishes his first-ever short story collection, you know that’s something I have to read. THE JEALOUSY MAN gives readers a collection of crime short stories that cover all manner of crimes and criminal activity: everything from more traditional detective stories to emotionally-impactful suspense to a dystopian tale or two! One of my personal favorite qualities of Nesbø’s writing is his ability to dig into the psyches of his characters and lay bare for readers their darkest impulses, motivations, and desires, and his gift for doing exactly that is evident in this short story collection, too. My favorite stories from this collection are London and The Jealousy Man—these two stories, while very different from one another, immediately drew me into their unique worlds and have stayed with me long after I turned their final pages. I’m endlessly in awe of Jo Nesbø’s writing talents, and THE JEALOUSY MAN is a worthy addition to any Nesbø fan’s collection.
About the Book:
A veritable crime lover’s delight from a true master of mystery and suspense. Experience the #1 New York Times best-selling author as never before in this dark and thrilling short story collection that takes us on a journey of twisted minds and vengeful hearts.
Jo Nesbø is known the world over as a consummate mystery/thriller writer. Famed for his deft characterization, hair-raising suspense and shocking twists, Nesbø’s dexterity with the dark corners of the human heart is on full display in these inventive and enthralling stories.
A detective with a nose for jealousy is on the trail of a man suspected of murdering his twin; a bereaved father must decide whether vengeance has a place in the new world order after a pandemic brings about the collapse of society; a garbage man fresh off a bender tries to piece together what happened the night before; a hired assassin matches wits against his greatest adversary in a dangerous game for survival; and an instantly electric connection between passengers on a flight to London may spell romance, or something more sinister.
With Nesbø's characteristic gift for outstanding atmosphere and gut-wrenching revelations, The Jealousy Man confirms that he is at the peak of his abilities.
Narrowing down this “Best Books” list was exceptionally difficult. I was determined to keep the list at 10 books—I figured I had to set a limit for myself or this list would be endless!! Naturally, however, as I’m putting the finishing touches on this blog post, I’m wishing I weren’t so tied to that number. So you’ll have to forgive me if I put in a plug for the below crime books as well, which were also standouts in my 2021 reading and which are well worth checking out:
THE BURNING GIRLS by C.J. Tudor
THE GIRL WHO DIED by Ragnar Jonasson
THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides
IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead
And that’s a wrap on my Best Crime Books of 2021 list!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for following along with Crime by the Book this year. I am truly so grateful for all of your support, and I look forward to a new year filled with great crime reads ahead of us. Happy Holidays, and thank you again! 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.