Books

As the United States goes, Baltimore is an old city. Established in 1729 by the Maryland constitution, it is now the 30th most populous city in the U.S. with a population just under 3 million. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was once the second largest port of entry for immigrants and the city is home to some

Written by AJ Sidransky —World War II and the excesses of the Nazi regime have provided endless inspiration for crime and thriller writers. While I’ve read my share of books set in that era, I rarely find one with a fresh and appealing story line that equals AJ Sidransky’s in this new political thriller.  

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On the Radar — It’s pretty exciting when an author like Don Winslow drops you a line. We received a letter from the author last week telling us about how he’s doing the literary equivalent of changing his event. Known for his marathon crime stories set down on the US-Mexico border, he has decided to

I remember the day well: an outstanding 7th grade English teacher read “We Real Cool,” one of the best poems by Gwendolyn Brooks. Mrs. Levin read the poem “We Real Cool” in a soft monotone, in a dull thud of a voice that hit the listener hard: all the better to see the men portrayed

Written by Chris Nickson — The publication of The Molten City comes as Chris Nickson is celebrating 10 years of writing historical crime fiction set in Leeds. His output covers every decade from the 1890s to the 1950s and he has written a number of series. In this book he returns to Detective Superintendent Tom

Ramon de Ocampo is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He has narrated over a hundred audiobooks, has been honored with numerous Earphones awards from Audiofile Magazine, and won an Audie in 2018 for his work on the full cast recording of Restart by Gordan Korman. He is well known as the voice of the

Written by Douglas Skelton — Can it be a whole year since we first met reporter Rebecca Connolly in Thunder Bay in the wilds of Scotland? It certainly is, and we’re well overdue a catch up! After her adventures on the island of Stoirm, we find Rebecca back at her desk at the Highland Chronicle,

The cities of today are pumping with innovation, business, and the swift steps of their visitors and inhabitants. There is a sort of magic in modern cities, but nothing of this world can compare to the magical cities in YA books. Visit eight magical cities through some of the most fascinating and unique tales of

Oakland is a city that has reinvented itself in the last decade or so, which I would never have known but for the lucky fact that both my sister-in-law and my BFF live there (around the corner from each other, as it happens). By virtue of that coincidence, I’ve spent a fair bit of time

The minute I heard about schools closing due to COVID-19 and self-isolation, all I could think was, “How in Hades will I know what to teach my kids?!?” While the advice and memes and homeschooling plans started to flood my social media, one of my teacher-friends reminded me to keep it simple: Start with what

Written by Simone Buchholz, translated by Rachel Ward — German crime author Simone Buchholz has won numerous awards for her noir thrillers. Her most recent book, an energetic police procedural, is newly translated into English and won the German Crime Fiction Prize in 2019. Like Buchholz’s previous two novels, Mexico Street features public prosecutor Chastity

The girl next door. The cool girl. The popular girl. The nerdy girl. Most of us have seen a version of these tropes in our favorite romcoms and even the occasional thriller. I mean, who hasn’t taken a guilty pleasure at reading (and watching) Amy Dunn’s infamous “cool girl monologue” from Gone Girl? But the

Written by Kathy Reichs — We’re at book 19 featuring forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance ‘Tempe’ Brennan, and as A Conspiracy of Bones opens, our heroine is at home in North Carolina recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm. It’s the first sign that this novel is a little different from all the rest. Tempe’s brain isn’t

Despite the fact that I have lived in several cities that hold yearly book festivals, I have not attended many. On the bright side, I have really enjoyed the few I have made it to. They have also usually involved a serendipitous discovery or two, including discovering more Somali writers. The Texas Book Festival The

Coronavirus or not, the members of the Crime Fiction Lover team are used to reading and writing in isolation. So an unexpected email from Denmark came as a welcome surprise. Sparpedia.dk has named our site as one of the Top 20 Novel and Books Blogs of 2020 and we’re thrilled and delighted! “I can feel

More than 50 years have passed since humans first stepped foot on the moon. It is a thing that most all of us are aware of, but it is not an event that gets us as excited as we were that day, crowded around our television sets. Until the Chinese landed a lunar rover on

On the Radar — We’re living in troubled times, and as we all struggle to come to terms with what’s happening in the here-and-now it’s mighty tempting to hark back to the past. But were the good old days really all they’re cracked up to be? Judging by this week’s crop of new releases, the

Working from home while also having small children or teens at home can be challenging. This is uncharted territory for many of us, navigating this new way of being home during the COVID-19 crisis. Many parents want to set reasonable limits on screen time when kids are home (I would also urge you to be

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Chris Nickson is celebrating 10 years of crime writing about Leeds with the publication of his 22nd novel, The Molten City, on 31 March. He has written a number of historical crime series set in different periods, and this one sees the return of Nickson’s Edwardian detective DS Tom Harper. Here, the author shares with

Macmillan Publishers announced today that in the interest of setting aside differences, they will return to the library ebook pricing model that was in place October 31, 2019. They will also be temporarily lowering prices on select ebooks “to help expand libraries’ collections in these difficult times.” The message came down from Macmillan’s CEO, John

Written by Eva Björg Aegisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb — When you’ve developed your taste for Scandinavian crime fiction with the Swedish and Danish authors, it’s time to move on to the Norwegians and Finns. Then you’re properly hooked, and it’s Iceland you turn to for the premium, high-proof stuff. The landscape. The furious seas.

Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner have just launched #SaveWithStories, a new project that offers a virtual space to see your favorite celebrities reading children’s books aloud, in partnership with Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. The project aims to provide some moments of fun and education for children and parents, as well as funds

Written by Marion Brunet, translated by Katherine Gregor — Some teenage summers are just too awkward and painful to revisit. In this psychological thriller, which won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, French crime fiction author Marion Brunet expertly describes a summer of that exact type, except that, unlike most summers, it ends with a

Today’s edition of Daily Deals is sponsored by Book Riot’s round-up of our favorite books of the year so far! Today’s Featured Deals In case you missed yesterday’s most popular deals Previous Daily Deals Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey for $2.99 Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman for $1.99 The Betel Nut Tree Mystery by

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On the Radar — Harlan Coben can usually be counted upon for a novel with a unique concept, and his latest heads up our On the Radar Column because it looks like a doozy. It features a deep woods man who becomes key in the search for a missing child. From New Jersey, we’ll then

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