Iβm 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 youβre in the market for a new detective series to add to your fall reading list, Tessaβs novels featuring Senior Investigator Shana Merchant might just be your perfect fit. Iβm so excited to be able to give the Crime by the Book community the inside scoop on Tessaβs next Shana Merchant novel, DEAD WIND, coming to a bookstore near you April 5, 2022! In todayβs blog post, you can check out the atmospheric and intriguing cover for Tessaβs newest book, learn more about its plot, and read an exclusive excerpt from the bookβs prologue. (Plus, if youβre interested in checking out all of Tessaβs books, scroll all the way down on this blog post and youβll find links to them all!) Huge thanks to Tessa for letting me get involved in this cover revealβIβm so excited to be able to participate, and to share this sneak peek with the CBTB community!
Read MoreCBTBβs Recommended Locked Room Mysteries
Itβs one of crime fictionβs oldest tropes, and one of its most perennially-appealing, too: a group of individuals find themselves locked in a hotel (or on an island, or in a houseβ¦ you get the idea!), a murderer in their midst. Who among them is the killer? The locked room mystery is an unfailingly entertaining crime fiction subgenre. Clever plots, impossible solutions, red herrings a plentyβthere is so much to love about books that fall into this category, and theyβve been a longtime favorite for me ever since I began reading Agatha Christie novels back in the day! With the recent popularity of locked room-style mysteries including THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley and THE SANATORIUM by Sarah Pearse, Iβve been receiving more requests than ever for a blog post dedicated to my personal favorite locked room mystery recommendations. Well, the day is finally here! Iβm thrilled to share my list of Recommended Locked Room Mysteries with CBTB readers today. From Nordic mysteries to modern-day twists on the genre to classics and more, I hope that every reader will find a little something to catch their eye in todayβs blog post.
Read MoreCBTB's Best Crime Books of 2020
Another year is drawing to a close, and what a year itβs been. To call 2020 a challenge would be, frankly, the understatement of the year. Iβve always been thankful for the escape that a great crime book can bring, but I donβt think Iβve ever been quite as thankful for great books as I have been this year. 2020 brought with it outstanding new crime fiction from CBTB favorites and new-to-me authors alike; it saw some of my longtime favorite writers embarking on new directions in their writing careers; it introduced me to new series that I expect Iβll be following for years to come. From psychological thrillers to Nordic Noir to creepy, horror-inspired suspense and a little bit of everything in between, this year brought with it lots of new crime novels to love, and in todayβs blog post, Iβm sharing my picks for the very best of the best that this year had to offer. Iβm thrilled to share with you my picks for Best Crime Books of 2020, this year with a fun twist! Iβve given each book included in this list a superlative: everything from βBest Plot Twistβ to βBest βPopcorn Thrillerββ to βBest Nordic Noir Series Installmentβ and more. Happy reading!
Read MoreBook Review: DEATH IN THE FAMILY by Tessa Wegert
Show me a βlocked roomβ-style mystery, and Iβll show you a book I simply have to read. Luckily for me (and, I suspect, for many of you!), Tessa Wegert has crafted an utterly irresistible modern-day mystery that is deeply indebted to the great βlocked roomβ puzzles of the past. In DEATH IN THE FAMILY, a complex protagonist - a female police officer who has just moved out of the big city to escape a recent trauma - is called to a private island where a crime has occurred, and the favorite grandson of a wealthy matriarch has gone missing. Investigators descend on the island, and find themselves smack in the middle of a complex web of family secrets and hidden motivations. When a norβeaster descends, the investigators are trapped on the private island with their suspects--and a killer on the loose. DEATH IN THE FAMILY has all the best elements of Agatha Christie-inspired crime fiction: a clever puzzle, a cast of eccentric characters, and a moody atmosphere. But this is not just a Christie homage: itβs also a smart, decidedly modern crime novel that puts a womanβs inner fight with past trauma front and center. This immersive, engaging murder mystery will fill the Agatha Christie-sized hole in your heart, and in your TBR list.
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