For some reason, in the summer, I gravitate toward reading mysteries. I’m currently reading Jane Harper’s next book and, prior to that, read the latest by Megan Miranda and by Karin Slaughter. I’ve always loved suspense–it’s by far my favorite TV genre. Maybe it’s all the light in summer–it makes dark books seem less terrifying? I don’t know. But I do love a good mystery.
So, hit me, AAR readers. What great mysteries have you read lately?
Has anyone here not read the Mary Russell series yet? If so, stop now and go find yourself a copy of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and meet young Mary Russell, 15 years old and orphaned, and snarking at a much older Sherlock Holmes who has retired to Sussex and beekeeping. Pulling heavily from Doyle’s representation of…
I’d been in a bit of a reading slump when the upcoming thriller by the always good Clare Macintosh hit my iPad. Hostage is a page turner, the sort of book one happily ignores one’s loved ones to figure out HOW IT ALL ENDS. (It comes out in June and I can’t wait for everyone…
I’ve just listened to the first two Inspector Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham. This series was turned into the Midsomer Murders TV show, but the novels are far better. I read them nearly 30 years ago, before the TV series existed, but I was a teenager back then and I just read mysteries for the plots. Now I notice the qualities of the writing in everything I read, and I found Graham’s writing to be elegant, humorous and perceptive. The characters are rich and the puzzles well constructed. I’m eagerly awaiting the audiobooks of the other novels.
I recommend the Thursday Murder Club mystery series by Richard Osman. (Well, it’s not much of a series as there’s only 2 books out so far, with the third book coming out next month). You really need to read the books in order, starting with The Thursday Murder Club. Both books are well written and I really enjoyed them.
Since you like Jane Harper, I’ll suggest Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen, also a moody, haunted rural mystery (though this is Texas rather than Australia). Other’s I’ve really loved recently:
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosefield
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda Morris
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
The Cage by Bonnie Kistler
Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Oh and if you like Karin Slaughter, I’d suggest Lisa Gardner. Start with Alone.
I like The Ruin a lot. Interestingly, her latest book was so full of odd inaccuracies–she set it in Charlottesville VA–that I didn’t love it. But overall, I’ve really enjoyed her books. All these other authors are new to me other than Gardner. So thanks!
Yes, I read her newest as well and didn’t love it either. Inaccuracies for sure, but also just didn’t believe any of what was going on with the legal case- especially everything the heroine was doing. Didn’t hate it, but was kind of surprised given how deeply written her Irish mysteries are.
I couldn’t finish her mystery set in Charlottesville. It was incredibly unbelievable and the the inaccuracies were too jarring. It was nothing like her prior mysteries which I really enjoyed.
If you’ll take SF mysteries – Murderbot!!!!
If you haven’t read Alex Finlay I strongly recommend both The Night Shift and Every Last Fear. Fair warning, Every Last Fear ends on a sorta cliff hanger. [spoiler title=”cliffhanger”] The book finishes with the crime solved, and almost everything being settled but the agent in charge is going in with a strike team to arrest someone dangerous. There is a slight chance she might be killed.. [/spoiler]
If you haven’t read Catherine Ryan Howard I can not recommend her books Fifty Six Days and The Liar’s Girl enough. Both are absolutely excellent. Taylor Adam’s No Exit is also excellent.
I haven’t read any of these. Thanks!
This year I listened to all the Agatha Christie Miss Marple books on audio, and several Poirot books. It was a lot of fun, but after a while they felt pretty dated and had a fair bit of casual misogyny. It’s probably period appropriate, but still off putting after a while.
I’ve also been listening to a cozy mystery series called The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries by K.E. Kinsey. They are fun and funny and have a great narrator. The banter between Lady Hardcastle and Flo, the POV character and lady H’s assistant.
I did enjoy listening to The Thursday Murder Club that Dagmar mentioned. It has a great mystery, but the strength of the work is the insight into people. It’s well done. Still, I’m not sure I’ll rush out to listen to the next one. I probably will eventually when I can download the audiobook from the library, but I’m in no rush.
My absolute favorite mysteries this year have been the Madison Square Murders by C.S. Poe, and the Valor and Doyle series from Nicky James that Caz has reviewed here on AAR. They are perhaps more RS, but I did also shelve them as mysteries on GR.
I second the favorites of the Madison Square Murders and the Valor and Doyle series. I just reread the first Madison Square book, since the second comes out next month, and it was just as good on a reread.
I’ve read books and then listened to the audios of MSM and also TP, the first Valor and Doyle book. If possible that’s the way I like to “reread” books. 🙂 I can’t wait for Subway Slayings! I’ve read that C.S. Poe does an amazing amount of research, and it shows in her books. I recommend the Magic and Steam series by her if you haven’t read them. They are fantasy (steampunk), but solidly grounded in Victorian Era America.
I have the first Magic and Steam book on my e-reader, but I just haven’t gotten there yet (my Kindle list is, um, long). But I may have to bump it up with your recommendation!!
Just jumping in to say that yes, you really do need to bump that series up the pile! The Engineer is novella length, so a quick read – but I bet you’ll be hooked after!
Depending on how gritty you like your mysteries, and if you haven’t already read his stuff, Gregory Ashe is an all-time favourite. His Lamb and the Lion is a good place to start as there are only 3 books (so far).
I’m not a huge fan of steampunk for some reason, which is why I’ve been reluctant. But I really like her writing, and she’s definitely gotten even better over time.
I have a couple Gregory Ashe books on my Kindle, but there are just so many books he writes. He’s on my list though, maybe when I’m on a long trip.
I remember not being sure about Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series because I’m not a fan of shifter stories. I took the plunge and am so glad I did because it’s fantastic – only one book didn’t quite reach DIK level for me (and that was a B+!); it’s another mystery/romamce series I recommend very highly if you haven’t already read it.
Greg is incredibly prolific but also incredibly good. Which books do you have?
I highly recommend the Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine. In the first book (Stillhouse Lake), a car accidentally plows into Gina Royal’s garage, where her husband has a work shop, revealing that her husband is a serial killer. She never knew but many don’t believe that. She changes her name to Gwen Proctor, does a lot of toughening up and moves herself and her 2 teenage kids to Stillhouse Lake…but then a body turns up in the lake. Rachel Caine wrote 5 books in the series but died in 2020 of cancer. She was ill for a while so crafted a pretty good ending to book 5 but book 6 was just released this month, co-authored with another writer. I haven’t read it yet but am excited about it. It’s a really gripping and scary series.
If you like historical mysteries, I loved the Lizzie Hardwicke series by Georgina Clarke. There are only 2 books in the series but I don’t know if there will ever be more as the 2nd one came out in 2019. They take place in mid-1700s London. The first book is Death and the Harlot. Lizzie is a prostitute who works at a brothel and one day one of her customers is found murdered and Lizzie was the last one to see him alive. She has to do some detecting on her own to prove her innocence and works with the constable on the case (as much as he lets her). The 2nd book is The Corpse Played Dead and takes place backstage at Drury Lane theater. Both really good books!
I loved the Lizzie Hardwick books by Clarke as well. I really appreciated how she didn’t sugar-coat the time period or Lizzie herself. Your mention of the author made me do one of my periodic checks to see if Clarke has a new book coming and lo! She does.
It’s not a Lizzie Hardwick 🙁 but it is a historical set in the 1920s about a woman thief and another woman whose lives become intertwined. Sounds intriguing for sure. Book is: THE DAZZLE OF THE LIGHT.
I did the same thing when I wrote my post and saw information about the new book. I am sad it is not a Lizzie Hardwicke book but I will definitely be checking out The Dazzle of the Light. Nice to hear from another Lizzy Hardwicke fan!
Mystery/thrillers I’ve enjoyed recently:
November Road or The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
When These Mountains Burn by David Joy (NC author)
The Killing Hills and Shifty’s Boys by Chris Offutt
Two Girls Down and The Janes by Louisa Luna
I tried to read Offutt and found it too depressing for me. He’s a stellar writer though.
I just finished reading Karen Rose’s newest Quarter to Midnight. I liked it and it kept me fully engaged in the story.
I have really enjoyed Ovidia Yu’s Crown Colony mysteries set in Singapore before and during WWII.
Su Lin is an amateur sleuth that gets involved in a variety of mysteries during the last years of British rule and during the Japanese occupation. Su Lin is smart and observant and is a wonderful character. I don’t know much about this time period or setting, but Yu gives enough information to appreciate the political atmosphere without a huge history dump.
Definitely a great series to check out if you are looking for something out of the ordinary.
They sound compelling. I’ll add the first to my TBR. Thanks.
If you’re up for some historical mysteries –
The Sebastian St Cyr Mysteries by C S Harris – I think I may have seen these mentioned here before, but it’s really excellent, just should definitely be read in order. The first one is What Angel’s Fear.
The Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn
Th Wrexford and Sloane series by Andrea Penrose
The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Narendra
For some contemporary mystery/thrillers –
City of Windows by Robert Pobi
The FBI K-9 series by Sara Driscoll
The Quinn and Costa (small series) by Allison Brennan.
Hope something on this list catches your eye.
I look forward every year to the latest Veronica Speedwell mystery – so good!
I do not love historical mysteries and I’m not sure why. I do keep meaning to try the Harris novels. You’ve inspired me!
The audio versions are excellent as well – the narrator is Davina Porter, who also narrates the Outlander books.
The C.S. Harris novels are great — there’s one plot twist a few books in that I didn’t like (it felt very deus ex machina, but the author has said she meant for it to happen all along), but the results of that twist have led to better relationships and more robust storytelling. She actually started out writing romance novels (under the name Candice Proctor), which I also really liked.
I did not know that. I see the Proctor novels in Steals and Deals sometimes. No clue she was also Harris. Thanks!
My book club has been enjoying the Ruth Galloway series by Ellie Griffith. Ruth is a forensic archeologist who teaches at a small university in Norfolk. When some bones are found, she is asked by the police to determine if they are old or recent. That is how it starts. There are 14 books so far. The development of all the characters is excellent. I highly recommend,.