Itβs the best time of year: spooky season!! The stretch of the year from Halloween through Christmas is always my favorite, and, coincidentally, I also think itβs the perfect time of year to dig into a great Scandinavian crime novel. While we may gravitate towards the chilling, snowy atmosphere of Scandinavian crime fiction during the winter months, the genre also has a lot to offer when it comes to sinister, supernatural-ish books that make for great Halloween reading! In todayβs blog post, I wanted to combine two of my favorite thingsβNordic Noir and Halloweenβinto one reading list perfect for spooky season. All the books featured in todayβs blog post have an element of supernatural-ish chills to them, whether hints of ghosts and hauntings or elements of the occult and more. If youβre a fan of dark, brooding, slow-burning crime fiction and are looking for a book that ups the chill factor for your Halloween reading list, these books will be right up your alley. Read on for my picks for Nordic thrillers perfect for your spooky season to-read pile!
Read More5 Nordic Thrillers to Read This Halloween
Crime Fiction Festival Preview: Iceland Noir 2021
I canβt 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, Iβll be heading to Reykjavik to attend my third Iceland Noir crime fiction festivalβand this year, Iβm 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!
Read MoreCBTB's Frequently Recommended Supernatural-ish Mysteries & Chillers
If you had told me when I started this blog that I would someday be writing a blog post recommending a few of my personal favorite crime books with some supernatural elements to them, I would have never believed you. I used to be staunchly opposed to crime books with any supernatural touches, but as time has gone on, and thanks to the work of very talented authors including Yrsa Sigurdardottir, C.J. Tudor, and many more, Iβve not only become open to books in this categoryβ¦ Iβve actually begun actively seeking them out. While I think it will always be important to me as a reader that the crime novels I read, even the supernatural-ish ones, have an earthly, logical solution to the mysteries at their core, Iβve come to discover just how much fun a thriller with a dash of the supernatural can be. Today, Iβm so excited to share a roundup of my frequently recommended supernatural-ish mysteries and thrillers! Some of these books have true supernatural elements to them, while in others, the supernatural is more of a suggestion or a question to be answered over the course of the story. No matter what, all of these books have an extra-creepy edge to them that will have you reading with all the lights on. To help you guide you through this list and narrow down which books might be of interest to you, Iβve divvied this list up into three categories: Ghosts & Haunted Houses, Folklore & The Occult, and Possessions & Inexplicable Events. The books in this list exemplify that delicious blend of earthly mystery and supernatural touches that Iβve come to love so much, and Iβm so excited to share this rundown of books in this category that I recommend most frequently with you today! Grab your coziest blanket, turn on all the lights, and dive in to my frequently-recommended supernatural-ish mysteries & thrillers.
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 MoreWintry Mysteries & Thrillers for Your End-Of-Year TBR
Winter is the perfect time to cozy up with a crime book. For me personally, my holiday break from work is always my time to dig into some slow-burning and immersive detective novelsβthereβs nothing more blissful to me than a quiet morning cozied up under a blanket, sipping some coffee, and reading a murder mystery while the snow falls outside. If that sounds like your idea of a perfect winter morning too, todayβs blog post is for you! In todayβs blog post, Iβve rounded up a whole bunch of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels with wintertime vibes for your end-of-2020 reading list! Whether youβre in the mood for chilling psychological suspense, Nordic Noir, or a good old fashioned detective story, thereβs a little something for everyone in this reading list. (Iβm even sharing one of the books I bought for myself this year at the end of the list, too!) So grab your coziest blanket, put on a pot of coffee, and dig in to find your perfect winter read.
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