The CrimeReads editors make their selections for the best debut novels of the month.
Makana Yamamoto, Hammajang Luck
(Harper Voyager)
Hawaiians in space, planning a heist—what’s not to love? In this queer anti-capitalist caper, former outlaw Edie is determined to abide by the law after 8 years in prison, but their loved ones are in need of more money than a regular job can provide—so Edie reluctantly agree to one last job, organized by Angel, their femme-fatale-will-they-or-won’t-they former partner in crime, and the source of much unresolved sexual tension with the novel’s handsome enby lead. Angel’s got a plan to rob the richest man in the galaxy, and she’s assembled a team that might just pull off the toughest heist in galactic history. –Molly Odintz, CrimeReads managing editor
Cynthia Weiner, A Gorgeous Excitement
(Crown Publishing Group)
This book will haunt me for a long time. Cynthia Weiner is intimately familiar with the 1980s NYC preppy scene: close enough to recall its details, and distant enough to critique it intelligently. In this riff on the story of the notorious Preppy Killer and his much-maligned victim, Cynthia Weiner condemns the callous attitudes and conspicuous consumption of an entire strata of society ready to believe the worst of an outsider while refusing to see the truth of one of their own. –MO
Trisha Tobias, Honeysuckle & Bone
(Zando)
This is the first release from Zando’’s new Sweet July imprint, run by the beloved Ayesha Curry, and Honeysuckle & Bone is a perfect pick for their launch—dark, romantic, and compelling. The set up is simple, but thrilling: a young woman has escaped turmoil at home by taking a job as a nanny for a wealthy and powerful Jamaican family. All she has to do is keep them from finding out she’s there under false pretenses, and under an assumed identity. And avoid romantic entanglements, which will be difficult given the many thirst traps introduced in the first few pages *fans self*. –MO
Jakob Kerr, Dead Money
(Bantam)
A Silicon Valley fixer features in Kerr’s new financial thriller, a fast-paced dissection of modern tech culture and a genuinely thrilling page-turner. –Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads Editor-in-Chief
Trisha Sakhlecha, The Inheritance
(Pamela Dorman)
At last, a psychological thriller that mentions the Highland Clearances! Trisha Sakhlecha’s propulsive debut reads a bit like Succession, if it was a locked room mystery set on a terrifyingly remote island. When a wealthy Indian family reunites to celebrate their patriarch’s retirement, the younger generation plans to spend their vacation squabbling over finances, but a shocking tragedy soon threatens to dismantle their empire entirely. –MO
