Books

Written by Elly Griffiths — The best crime book series – for example, the likes of Bosch and Rebus – keep the readers coming back by always surprising us. Yes, we know the central characters well, but just leaving them plodding along the same old furrow is dull, predictable, and ultimately, a turn off. So

Sponsored by 2020 Newbery Honor recipient Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker with Macmillan Children’s. These deals were active as of this writing, but may expire soon, so get them while they’re hot! Today’s Featured Deals Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer for $1.99. Get it here, or just click on the cover image below. Black

Sponsored by Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard, now in paperback from Algonquin Books. These deals were active as of this writing, but may expire soon, so get them while they’re hot! Today’s Featured Deals Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz for $1.99. Get it here, or just click on the cover image below. Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella

On the Radar — Someone told us you love tricksy mysteries, and if that’s true you’ve come to the right place. On the Radar is our weekly news column and we’ve got five brain-tinglers for you this week, starting with one set in Ireland. There are psychological thrills, espionage, mobsters, criminal kids and more… A

Sponsored by Sponsored by Book Marks: A Reading Tracker. These deals were active as of this writing, but may expire soon, so get them while they’re hot! Today’s Featured Deals The Voice in My Head by Dana L. Davis for $1.99. Get it here, or just click on the cover image below. Winter Garden by Kristin

Written by Kate Vane — Journalists often make excellent lead characters as tenacious investigative reporters picking through the bones of crimes and societal corruption. Chris Brookmyre’s Jack Parlabane is a standout of the type, a truth-seeking maverick, who’ll let nothing stand in the way of justice through the printed story. In Still You Sleep, Kate

Some stories are meant to be explored beyond their pages. Whether this means they are adapted for stage or screen, I firmly believe that book adaptations can not only provide an entertaining experience for their readers (provided they are done well) but can also reach a wide audience of potential new bookworms. However, my favourite

Written by Dreda Say Mitchell — While many of Dreda Say Mitchell’s earlier novels have focused on London’s ganglands and young characters in that setting, her recent standalone novels have shifted to psychological thriller territory. But she’s not a writer who wants to create stories about young women who have disappeared and are victims. Instead,

Sponsored by The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski, with Fierce Reads. These deals were active as of this writing, but may expire soon, so get them while they’re hot! Today’s Featured Deals Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for for $2.99. Get it here, or just click on the cover image below. A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole for

Award-winning author Elly Griffiths’ series featuring Dr Ruth Galloway, set in North Norfolk, reaches its 12th novel this month with the release of The Lantern Men. (Watch for our review, soon.) The Galloway books have been a huge hit with readers worldwide, and the author has also written five novels in her Brighton Mysteries series.

Captain America was invented expressly to punch Nazis. As long as World War II continued, that worked out just fine. Americans were happy to buy Captain America month after month for the latest red-white-and-blue Nazi smackdown. But then, inevitably, the war ended. They could have artificially extended the war, M*A*S*H style, but Americans were sick of reading about

Written by Sarah Stovell — In a remote part of the Lake District stands a property that serves as a home to a trio of troubled young women. The latest residents are Hope, Annie and Lara, and all three girls have troubled pasts which have affected them deeply. It’s Christmas Eve as this story begins,

I don’t often write posts covering one book. Book Riot isn’t a review site: we’re interested in your reading life and adjacent subjects, not on putting value judgments on whatever it is sparks joy when it enters your eyeballs (provided whatever that is doesn’t hurt anyone else). Every so often, however, a very special book—an

Crime Fiction Lover recommending that you watch a programme from the Star Trek franchise is probably the last thing you’d expect, but what is life without surprises? As we write this article, Star Trek: Picard is only three episodes in, with new ones available to stream on Fridays via Amazon Prime, and from the very

Saga was my first comic. In the years since falling in love with this extraordinary story, I’ve been on the search for comics that move me as deeply as it has. I am sorry to report that comics like Saga are hard to come by. I have yet to find one that I love as absurdly

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to the New Orleans area to do some writing at Daniel José Older’s magical creative retreat, The Launch. Why go so far? I always write a lot when I’m in that part of the country. This time, for example, I took two chapters of a novel I’ve been

Spoiler alert! This post talks about some new major Hocus Pocus plot points! Read ahead at your own risk, if you have not yet read Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel. In general, I am wary of reboots, but I do enjoy one every now and then. So while there has been talk of a

Written by Mark Dawson — Set only a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, The Vault is a standalone spy thriller with all the standard, but essential elements of the sub-genre – MI6, double agents and covert operations with plenty of action included. After months of planning and burrowing a

February sees a crop of love-themed books make their way across the pond, but if that’s not what you’re into, fear not! There is some hard-hitting fiction and memoir, too. Seduction: A History From the Enlightenment to the Present, by Clement Knox (Pegasus Books, February 4) It’s February, so maybe you’re in the mood for

On the Radar — Memory loss is not something we’re prone to here on Crime Fiction Lover – we never forget a great read! – but it’s central to our lead book in this week’s new books column. As well as Andrew Ewart’s Forget Me, don’t forget to check out Still You Sleep by our

The day is finally here…my son, who is 3.5 years old, is finally a Star Wars fan. And not just a forced fan—he actually comes home from preschool and wants to watch it of his own volition. I watch the movies often, have put out children’s Star Wars books for him since he was a

Written by Matt Wesolowski —In a recent interview with Crime Fiction Lover, crime author Matt Wesolowski told us that his debut, Six Stories, was began as an experiment. However, the formula he created has been catnip for crime fiction lovers looking for books that offer something original. The format remains the same here in Beast,

After following the Avengers as they scrambled through time and space on screen and across pages in pursuit of the infinity stones, it’s time to dig a little deeper. What better way to dig deeper into the Marvel Universe than to take our quiz so you can find out which infinity stone are you. (Answer:

Written by Yigal Zur, translated by Sara Kitai — This thriller, recently translated into English, begins in Tel Aviv, with former Israeli security operative Dotan Naor presented with a new case. He and his business partner have made something of a specialty of locating Israelis abroad who have found themselves in tricky situations. In this

If you like graphic novels, you probably have by now read Persepolis by Marjane Satapri. If you haven’t, you really should, especially if you are interested in what’s happening in the Persian region today. Persepolis is a modern classic that has defined what I would call the modern graphic novel renascence. Widely read, both outside and

Written by Alison Belsham — It’s just over a year since Alison Belsham introduced us to a decidedly different Brighton-based duo in her debut novel The Tattoo Thief. Buttoned-up, play it by the book young Detective Inspector Francis Sullivan was new to the job and keen to impress his bosses, while hippy dippy tattoo artist

“Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.” —Oprah Winfrey Oprah revitalized the idea of a book club back on September 17th, 1996. The first book chosen for this new venture was

It’s that time again! Time to see which comics Kickstarters seem like they may be leading to something special. This is, as always, a quick survey of the projects that caught my attention; there are no doubt thousands of others worthy of your consideration and precious dollars. Crescent City Monsters, Issues 1-3 (Campaign ends 2/5) Newton

Folklore is filled with myths and books about wolves. Most of them were meant to be cautionary tales, where the big bad wolf will get those who are lazy and unaware. Young men must be diligent and young ladies must stay in the safety of their homes. These were probably for good reason. These tales

When Matt Wesolowski wrote his first novel, Six Stories, he had no idea the impact it would have. He’d written the novel as an experiment, and to his surprise it was picked up by Orenda Books and published in 2016. Since then his main character, true crime podcaster Scott King, has appeared in Hydra and