At the start of every month, CrimeReads staff members look over all the great crime novels, thrillers, and mysteries coming out in the weeks ahead and make recommendations based on what they’re reading and what they can’t wait to read. Check back over the course of the month for more suggestions for feeding your crime habit.
Laura Lippman, The Lady in the Lake (William Morrow)
Lippman’s latest takes us back to Baltimore to explore the world of journalism in the 1960s, and the lives of two women—Maddie Schwartz, a 37-year-old Jewish woman who, after leaving her husband and son, doggedly pursues a career as a reporter; and Cleo Sherwood, a black waitress whose body was recently found in a city fountain, and about whom little is known. As the overconfident and naive Maddie obsessively investigates the murder, she encounters characters at the margins of society, from a bartender to the first black policewoman. Lippman tells a story both personal and political, painting a vivid picture of a city, its newsroom, and the privilege and tragedy that characterized the time. (Camille LeBlanc, CrimeReads editorial fellow)
Adrian McKinty, The Chain (Mulholland)
From one of contemporary noir’s most beloved practitioners, The Chain is a propulsive thriller with the kind of instantly compelling premise that makes a reader sit up straight and get ready to turn the pages. To get their own kidnapped children released, parents are being forced to kidnap other people’s children, extending the criminal “chain.” This is poised to be one of the most talked about novels of the summer, and will absolutely have you eyeing your friends and neighbors a little more suspiciously than when you began. (Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads managing editor)
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door (Dutton)
Jules Larsen has had some tough breaks. Her boyfriend broke up with her. She lost her job, which she hated but needed–New York City was so expensive. The combination of the breakup and the disappearance of her income means that she’s also homeless, crashing on her best friend’s couch but determined to turn things around. The job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholemew would transform her: three highly paid months of living in a beautiful building would solve her pesky homelessness problem and provide her with enough of an income so she could focus on what she might really want to do. Yet things are not as they seem at the prestigious Bartholemew, with its eccentric permanent residents and closely monitored sitters. After Ingrid, another apartment sitter, confesses her fears to Jules, Jules begins to see the building and its residence in a more sinister light. And after Ingrid disappears, Jules fears for her life, correctly surmising that only finding out the truth about the Bartholemew will save her. (Lisa Levy, CrimeReads contributing editor)
Kalisha Buckhanon, Speaking of Summer (Counterpoint)
In this strong, atmospheric debut from Kalisha Bukhanon, protagonist Autumn is searching for her missing sister, Summer, while living in a guilt-ridden relationship with her sister’s ex-boyfriend and contemplating the many missing and murdered women of Harlem. This is social justice noir meets psycho-noir, with an end twist you’ll never see coming. (Molly Odintz, CrimeReads associate editor)
Daniel Silva, The New Girl (Harper)
Daniel Silva, creator of the Gabriel Allon series, needs no introduction, and frankly his readers need no reminder that July means the release of the latest Allon thriller. Silva is, quite simply, the best spy novelist of his generation; for heady, geopolitically intricate, emotionally nuanced stories combined with genuinely gripping action, you just can’t beat Silva and Allon. In the new novel, a mysterious young woman at a Swiss boarding school is kidnapped from under the nose of her large security team, and Allon is called in to help avert yet another international crisis. (DM)
Chandler Baker, The Whisper Network (Flatiron)
If it weren’t so intelligent and thoughtful, the Whisper Network would be a perverse book, taking advantage of the #MeToo era in the service of telling a story about the mating habits of corporate lawyers. But Whisper serves as both evidence of our current sexual climate and as one of the few non-domestic suspense books to feature women and their relationships. Sloane, Ardie, and Grace are all corporate lawyers and close friends. The action of the book kicks off when the CEO kicks the bucket, leaving Ames, their boss, the natural successor. Yet Ames has done his share of dirty deeds, some of which the women know about and some they just suspect. When he starts paying too much attention to a pretty associate, the women decide they have to take action–yet in doing so, each is putting something precious at risk. (LL)
Alison Gaylin, Never Look Back (William Morrow)
New Alison Gaylin is a good reason to set everything aside and give yourself wholly to what promises to be a psychologically riveting and suspenseful read. Always plumbing the dark depths of social media, Gaylin turns her gaze to the podcasting phenomenon in Never Look Back, introducing a new kind of detective, a young producer investigating the series of killings from the 1970s that destroyed his family—only to learn that one of the murderers is still alive. It’s a fascinating, fresh, and intoxicating thriller about motherhood, truth, and the mysteries that shroud those closest to us. (CL)
David Gordon, The Hard Stuff (Mysterious Press)
Gordon is fashioning himself an impressive crime world niche somewhere between Donald Westlake and Elmore Leonard, with his raucous, rollicking stories of New York City crime. His latest is another heist novel, but this time the heads of the city’s various mob outfits are teaming up as an unlikely gang to pull off the big score. Come for the intricate, surprising crime scenarios; stay for the banter. (DM)
Amanda Lee Koe, Delayed Rays of a Star (Nan A. Talese)
This one isn’t technically crime fiction, but given that it features many of the leading ladies of film noir, it gets to side-step onto our summer reading list. Amanda Lee Koe takes a photograph of Leni Riefenstahl, Marlene Dietrich, and Anna May Wong as a jumping off point to tell a lush and complex historical novel that interweaves the three women’s stories as they find themselves buffeted by the strong forces of 20th century politics, struggling with gender norms, and unsure of their responsibilities as public figures. Obvious from the start is the fact that some characters will distinguish themselves, while others will become villainous beyond the concept of their own imaginations to process. (MO)
Daniel Nieh, Beijing Payback (Ecco)
Daniel Nieh is a true Renaissance Man: when he’s not writing fiction, he works as a translator and model, and brings all his skills to the table in this ultra-stylish debut thriller that’s equal parts Hong Kong action movie and fish-out-of-water cross-cultural noir. When a college basketball player’s father is murdered soon after his mother’s death from cancer, and he discovers his father’s prosperity was derived from, shall we say, illicit means, he finds himself embroiled in a plot to take down an international criminal operation—and on the journey of his life. (MO)
Caz Frears, Stone Cold Heart (HC)
Frears continues to delight with her DC Cat Kinsella series. The crime this time is the murder of a young, pretty Australian woman. At first, the police suspect the owner of a local cafe, in large part because of his wife’s insinuations. As the investigation deepens, however, Kinsella learns that there are more than two sides to every marriage. Meanwhile, Kinsella is still reckoning with her father’s crime from many years ago, and his current unsavory associates, while she is attempting a budding romance of her own. (LL)
Layne Fargo, Temper (Gallery/Scout Press)
Temper is the kind of debut people are going to remember: intense, well-crafted, and emotionally blistering. Joanna Cuyler and Malcolm Mercer live and work together, running a small theater company in Chicago. They are sometime lovers, but more often Malcolm is scheming to seduce his latest leading lady–which is exactly what happens when Kira Rascher lands the plum role opposite Mercer in a dark drama called Temper. Mercer is known for pushing his actors to their limits, and Rascher is determined to shine in this intense and unforgiving role. Yet there are secrets among the three principals which change everything when they come to light. (LL)
Ian Hamilton, The Goddess of Yantai (House of Anasi)
Why don’t you all just start reading Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee series already? It has everything you want: slick, complicated, and sometimes dangerous crimes. It’s a fascinating look at one of the most important economies in the world, China, and how it underpins its sophisticated handling of the myriad power structures and political systems there. In Ava Lee, it has a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant who can, well, kick some serious ass. And in Goddess, it has a fascinating account of the Chinese film industry, an entity which both relies on and rebels against the government. (LL)
