A book within a book that blends contemporary mystery with gothic suspense and maybe a ghost story – this is a perfect October read.
Katie
When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot, their mother hires a bounty hunter to help find them. Shut out by an overworked police department, Alex Vega enlists a disgraced former detective to help her. Perfect for mystery fans looking for a new gritty antihero to root for.
Rebecca
In a near-future Sherlock Holmes-inspired series, Dr. Janet Watson is dealing with her injuries from the ongoing civil war and also keeping tabs on Sara Holmes' secret agent maneuverings.
Sarah
A noir detective story meets Harry Potter in this murder mystery at a magical high school in California. (AKA the vacation read that will have you staying up all night, bringing back memories of reading the new HP you snagged at the midnight release party.)
Marika
Jane Harper has a gift for invoking an incredibly strong sense of place. The brutal Australian outback is more than a backdrop to an intricately plotted and emotionally satisfying mystery that kept me guessing. The Lost Man is a tense, atmospheric page turner with well drawn, flawed, and relatable characters.
Katie
Mischa Abramavicius is the perfect student, so why have all of her college applications (even her safety school!) ended in rejections? Is it a sign that she’s thrown all her eggs in the wrong academic basket? Or is she the victim of a cruel conspiracy? Maybe it’s a bit of both. Kaplan’s follow-up to Grendel’s Guide to Love and War (go read that too, it’s great) is the perfect back-to-school read, expertly blending the whip-smart dialogue of Gilmore Girls with some classic, hard-boiled detective work.
Caleb
The dynamic duo we need! (Four more years?!) This hilarious caper finds Joe Biden feeling left out while his best friend Barack Obama vacations around the world with high-profile friends. But soon they're brought together while investigating the murder of an Amtrak train conductor. This book is perfectly corny and satirical. Thank you Andrew Shaffer!
Heather
When his childhood best friend dies in an apparent murder-suicide, Aaron Falk goes back to the hometown he's been avoiding for years because of the murder of a girl that the town suspected him for--and one for which his best friend lied as his alibi. Tense and atmospheric, I immediately reached for the sequel.
April
The first of a new series from Macrae - Quaint setting ✔️
Endearing characters ✔️
Murder mystery but not too grisly ✔️
Scones, whisky, lovely bookshop, cheeky dog ✔️✔️✔️✔️
What’s not to like?
Susannah
This probable masterpiece in the flavorful oeuvre of the great Joe R, joins LITTLE BIG MAN, TRUE GRIT and Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy in being unique and entertaining literature set in the Old West but above and outside the Western genre.
Gary
