Books

Every year, former President Barack Obama shared his favorite reads of the year, which are always an interesting mix of fiction and nonfiction. He also mentioned that his lists of his favorite movies and music of the year will be out soon. This year’s selections include award-winning literary fiction, history books, a memoir, and more.

Do you watch the news? Does it intrigue you? Or do you avoid it? It’s a tough call. So we’re not sure whether starting our news roundup with a book set in the Middle East is daring or foolhardy. What we do know is that Paul Vidich wrote this before everything kicked off (again) in

It’s been an interesting year for crime fiction trends. We’ve had it all, whether it’s the closed circle mystery novels with hen parties set a remote islands or mountain tops, the return to the gothic crime mystery a la Daphne Du Maurier, or crime fiction with true crime podcasters as the main protagonists. We’ve also

It was Hernán Cortés who made the ludicrous claim that Moctezuma voluntarily surrendered sovereignty of the Aztec empire to the Spanish conquistadores. Cortés’ narrative is not easily believed, especially considering that he quotes Moctezuma as referencing the Christian Bible, but certainly there are those who believe that the Aztec people, either out of naiveté or

Like gritty noir? If so then indie crime author Martin Ott’s new thriller may be right up your alley. Buddy Rivet has ended several tours in Afghanistan, somewhat – no, a great deal – worse for wear. He just wants to get home to his girlfriend Dierdre in southern Louisiana. But before he’s officially mustered

As I’ve become interested in observing pagan holidays, or sabbats, such as Yule and Mabon, Raechel Henderson’s The Natural Home Wheel of the Year: Crafting, Cooking, Decorating & Magic for Every Sabbat feels right on time. “The sabbats give us a new station roughly every 45 days, at which we can pause and notice the

It was a truly impressive year for crime fiction and I got to review some special novels for Crime Fiction Lover – all that in spite of the glut of celebrity novels, some ghost written, which attracted a lot of attention but added little to the genre. This is the time to celebrate, though, and

Written before her death in 2019, and published with the help of her daughter, Katherine Min’s The Fetishist allows Min to pour out something of herself that we might otherwise have sadly missed. Darkly funny, strangely poignant and sometimes startlingly vicious, The Fetishist is a wonderful novel from an author we lost too soon, and

As 2023 draws to a close, it’s comforting to reflect on the fact that, unlike many other aspects of day-to-day life, the crime fiction published this year has been just as good as ever… or, in some cases, even better. From cosy mysteries featuring plucky amateur sleuths to dark and twisted tales of serial killers

A woman seeks refuge in the hot California desert, far away from the pressures of her sick husband and dying father. On a hike, she finds a large cactus with a hole big enough to walk through—which she does, taking her first steps on an adventure of reflection, grief and spirituality. Full of dark humor

Daphne King, trailblazing crime reporter and fledgling amateur sleuth, returns to tackle more Christmas chaos in Ada Moncrieff’s Murder at Maybridge Castle. It’s December 1936 and Charles Howton, black sheep of playwright Veronica Howton’s family, has invited Daphne and Veronica to spend a pre-Christmas weekend in Cumbria to witness the grand opening of his latest

Translated by Charlotte Barslund — If you’ve been enjoying Samuel Bjork’s Munch and Krüger novels, The Wolf will take you back in time to their first case. If you’ve yet to discover them, then this prequel to I’m Travelling Alone is where their story begins. Mia Krüger has been freshly recruited from the police academy

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

The press releases and preview copies have been arriving thick and fast here at Crime Fiction Lover. It looks like 2024 has plenty of excitement in store for readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers, and this week we bring you the first crop of books scheduled for release in the New Year. There are lots

David Wroblewski spent 10 years writing his first book, the remarkable instant classic The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Now, 16 years later, he’s delivering a follow-up: Familiaris, which will go on sale June 4th, and is available for preorder now. We’re thrilled to reveal the beautiful cover, as well as an exclusive excerpt, below, but

Autostraddle’s list of 65 of the best queer books of 2023 includes categories for Comics/Graphic Novels and Memoirs, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Literary/Contemporary Fiction, Memoir/Biography, Mystery/Thriller, Nonfiction, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary/Historical/Romance, and Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Casey, who wrote the list, notes that there are even a few instant

Translated by David Warriner — An infamous manor house on a small Swedish island. A wealthy family with secrets. A string of unexplained deaths. In the first of a new series, French crime author Johana Gustawsson, who has Nordic roots, combines elements of the traditional gothic thriller with dark Scandinavian crime fiction. The result is

The third official trailer for Dune: Part Two has been released, and it opens with Chani comforting Paul after he has one of his recurring nightmares. Since the first movie, the two characters have grown much closer. They share several heartfelt moments and even a kiss in the vast Arrakis desert as the trailer dives

Glasgow author Callum McSorley’s award-winning debut novel brings us Scottish crime fiction with a new flavour. The book might be titled Squeaky Clean, but this is a story that’s rancid and filthy, in which every bodily fluid you can imagine is amply spilled, and if there’s squeaking it’s coming from the bedsprings of a woman

Haunted by the death of her sister, Finola Shanahan has resolved that she’s not worthy of a family of her own and commits to spending her days caring for immigrants in the slums. Unwilling to consider marriage, Finola has perfected the ability to sabotage the relationships her parents arrange for her. At wit’s end, her

We’ve gotten Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023 as well as Oxford’s, and now we have Dictionary.com’s pick! Perhaps unsurprisingly for a dictionary at home on the internet, it has more of a focus on technology than the other dictionaries’ picks. Dictionary.com’s 2023 Word of the Year is “hallucinate.” While “hallucinate” has multiple meanings,

Step into a world where tinsel and crime intertwine as the festive season takes a mysterious and sometimes murderous turn in Who Killed Father Christmas? and Other Seasonal Mysteries. The fifth Christmassy collection from Martin Edwards and the British Library, it includes 15 short crime stories set during the holidays and written by some of

‘Tis the season to cosy up with a thrilling mystery, and what better way to celebrate the holidays than by delving into the macabre and magical world of Christmas-themed crime fiction? As the year draws to a close and the festive spirit fills the air, we’re here to unwrap the perfect gift for mystery enthusiasts:

A drum roll please. Or maybe some moody midnight saxophone would be more fitting, given our genre. Whatever the tune, whatever the syncopation, the moment has come to unveil the winners of the 2023 Crime Fiction Lover Awards. Go ahead and scroll down to feast your eyes on the winners, or hang with us at

The publishing world is a fickle one, so you don’t usually see many big name authors releasing books in December. Those aiming for the Christmas market hyped their books in October and November. But, you know what, with or without them the show must go on and a slow week for them is a fast

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

Two years ago, David McCloskey hit it big with his debut espionage novel, Damascus Station. Hordes of readers, intelligence professionals, and critics alike praised its realism and lively, timely plot. Now, he has a new book out, and it’s even better. “The new John Le Carré,” is what he’s being called by more than one

Tom Straw—the writer behind the bestselling real-life versions of TV character Richard Castle’s mystery novels—is kicking off a thrilling new espionage series with The Accidental Joe. Rockstar chef Sebastian Pike’s cooking travel show is the perfect cover for a covert CIA mission, even if Sebastian himself is less than thrilled with the idea. At least

Switching it up a bit from the usual best-of fare, Book Marks assembled a list of 10 of the best fiction books that were reviewed in 2023. The list includes books that were reviewed by over 150 publications — from the London Review of Books to The New York Times. For starters, below are five

Lee Goldberg’s latest novel is something of a head-scratcher. Just what category does it fit into? It’s a modern-day police procedural, it’s a Western, it’s historical crime fiction, it’s… like nothing you’ve ever read before! Welcome to Calico – your reading experience is never likely to be the same again. Former LAPD detective Beth McDade