Breaking into the crime game isn’t easy, but every month, a few brave and talented souls make a go of the mystery racket. For readers, there are few experiences so thrilling as finding a new author whose career is just beginning and whose work promises years of enjoyment to come. But it’s sometimes hard to find those debuts. That’s where we come in. We’re scouring the shelves in search of auspicious debuts. This month’s round-up features new books from March, April, and May. CrimeReads editors have chosen debut novels that have them thrilled and excited for more.
Hariett Alida Lye, The Honey Farm
Lye’s debut is a lush psychological suspense, an intricately woven tale that balances vivid descriptions of the natural world with some complex character work. Told from the perspective of two young artists in residence at a beleaguered farm (alternating between perspectives), The Honey Farm adds layer upon layer of unsettling revelation, mounting tension as the farm’s problems mount. Biblical verses are sewn in throughout the story, and combined with the vivid details of farm life, there’s an ancient feeling to the novel, one that gives it almost a parable-like feeling. Something is wrong on the Honey Farm, and the more we learn about what that might be, the more disturbed we become. A strong debut from a writer with a great deal of promise.—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads senior editor
Rebecca Fleet, The House Swap
I had a conversation with a mystery writer recently about how, in mystery fiction, home functions as a safe space for male characters, a place for danger to end; for female characters, home is a space for danger to begin. Rebecca Fleet’s The House Swap is one of the most playful interpretations of “home is where the danger is” that I’ve ever seen – a couple accepts an offer to swap houses with a stranger for a week, looking forward to a break from their own lives. Of course, even on vacation, they can’t escape their problems, and the intimidating blankness of their new abode certainly doesn’t help matters. Based on a series of jarring encounters, they begin to suspect that the stranger who asked them to swap houses has something more sinister in mind than just a nice change of scene. Read this if you loved Holly Brown’s Air BnB mystery, This Is Not Over.—Molly Odintz, CrimeReads associate editor
Christine Mangan, Tangerine
Tangerine is the season’s breakout debut, quickly rising up the bestseller charts and earning plaudits for its author, Mangan, an expert in Gothic literature and a skilled stylist winning comparisons to Highsmith and other luminaries of suspense. In Tangerine, two women, former college roommates in Vermont, are reunited in midcentury Tangiers. Their past and their feelings toward one another are less than clear, and as the story develops, a sense of dread seems to loom over many of their interactions, as well as the uncanny surroundings. Tangerine’s literary bona fides are undeniable: the writing is far more assured than any debut has a right to be. Mangan has certainly claimed a place among the most promising young novelists at work.—DM
Aimee Molloy, The Perfect Mother
This debut has all of the makings of a summer blockbuster: empathetic characters, a terrible crime, and an investigation full of unexpected turns. The May Mothers, a group of new moms in a leafy Brooklyn neighborhood, meet regularly in Prospect Park to share the joys and frustrations of caring for an infant. Each is also struggling to keep the rest of her life going despite, or alongside, new motherhood: we watch them try to maintain their careers and marriages as they grapple with the major life change of having a baby. When the group decides they need a night off and go to a local bar for drinks, a baby is kidnapped, which sends the whole group—and especially the single mother whose child is taken, a former actress named Winnie—into a tailspin of speculation and the horrors of a police investigation.—Lisa Levy, CrimeReads contributing editor
Christina Lynch, The Italian Party
One of spring’s most enjoyable reads, Lynch combines the intrigue of Cold War espionage with the propulsion of a disappeared boy mystery, all set against Tuscany in the mid-century boom period, adding a dash of glamor and fun to the mix: the clothes are stylish, the cars big and flashy, the cafes many and accommodating. A young diplomat and his new bride settle into a Tuscan town, only to find themselves caught up in a swirl of spy games and disappearances. Neither one is a sophisticate, but they’re thrown into a sophisticated plot. Lynch handles it all beautifully, driving the story forward with a strong sense of tension but always generous enough with a charming detail or amusing observation. (The Italian Party is not strictly a debut, but the first novel the author has published under her own name.)—DM
Alan Parks, Bloody January
Parks’ debut is filled with the sights and sounds of Edinburgh in the 70s. Bloody January begins with a cheerfully dissolute policeman half-heartedly attempting to prevent the murder of a waitress, and is filled with all the fascinating details of changing Scottish life you could hope to read about, from paisley to prison reform.This book would make an excellent companion to The French Connection, mainly because while reading it, I had an image of a Scottish Gene Hackman in my head the whole time.—MO
Olivia Kiernan, Too Close to Breathe
Kiernan’s debut begins with a ostensible suicide, immediately ruled a suspicious death by the medical examiner on the case. Grounding her debut in Ireland’s contemporary issues, including mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and women’s rights, Kiernan captures a nation in flux. One can only hope that this is the first of many to feature Kiernan’s strong heroine, especially given the international appetite for procedurals set in Dublin.—MO
August Thomas, Liar’s Candle
Diplomacy thrillers fall right into my wheelhouse. It’s especially fun when a debut thriller comes your way, with all the promise of this and more novels to come. In Liar’s Candle, an intern at the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey, is the sole survivor of a bombing. Forces with her own government and her host country’s both consider her a loose end, and so the chase begins, with a good bit of high-octane fugitive work across the Turkish countryside. There’s a North by Northwest feeling to the action—exciting, but more than a little disorienting—and the Mediterranean-transcontinental locales are more than enough to keep me turning the pages. I’m excited to see what Thomas will write next, and with any luck she’ll stick to diplomatic circles, which don’t in my opinion get enough credit in the world of military and spy-dominated thrillers.—DM
David Ricciardi, Warning Light
Ricciardi’s debut is sure to entice international military thriller readers. Set in Iran, Warning Light combines a keen sense for outdoor adventure with good technical knowledge and a strong instinct for suspense. A CIA analyst ends up on a flight downed in an earthquake-ravaged Iran, and in order to keep a mission alive (and to evade those who want him captured), he goes it alone across the rugged mountains of Iran. These solo hikes are where Ricciardi really shines: he has an evident passion for backcountry landscapes, and puts it to good use in a rich, charged setting.—DM
