The CrimeReads editors make their picks for the best debut novels in crime, mystery, and thrillers.
Sara van Os, Decomposition Book
(Hanover Square)
What a gorgeous and disgusting novel! In Decomposition Book, Savannah is taking a semester off after an incident that left her emotionally bereft and without friends, hiding at her parents’ lake house in upstate New York, when she stumbles upon a corpse in a secret clearing. And not just any corpse—from the notebook in the dead woman’s bag, she appears to be Savannah’s soul mate. Her new friend has been missing for months after a camping trip gone awry, and Savannah just wants to finish reading the notebook before she notifies the authorities. It’s just so hard to say goodbye to the one person who listens, even if that person is a rotting corpse….Emotional, beautiful, and horrifying, this book is for all the body farm girlies, worm girlfriends, and anyone whose ever let their former bestie live rent-free in their head. –Molly Odintz
Vincent Yu, Seek Immediate Shelter
(Flatiron)
Another multi-POV drama, Seek Immediate Shelter takes us into the heart of a close-knit Asian-American suburb, where an emergency alert sparks a wide variety of reactions, upending each character’s expectations of their own behavior. Yu has crafted a thoughtful, fast-paced thriller that also works a deep character study and a crystalline portrait of a community in flux. –MO
Leslie Baird, Salome
(Putnam)
Leslie Baird’s debut is a sultry summer thriller sure to thrill and seduce, even as it destroys (what I’m saying is, it lives up to the title). Salome’s dissaffected expat is dreading a visit to her roommate-turned-influencer, whose attention-grabbing antics and constant filming are sure to ruin her beloved Paris. A chance encounter on the plan ride to France leads to a stay in countryside with a new friend, one whose strange family grows increasingly sinister as the oppressive heat and isolated setting slowly turn stifling. Give this one to your niece before she heads off on gap year, or prepare to pull a Liam Neeson. I kid, I kid…but this book is still downright disturbing. –MO
Mary Berman, Until Death
(Mulholland Books)
The wedding industry is, obviously, the perfect venue for horror, and this tongue-in-cheek take on the nightmare of planning a memorable union makes the most of this natural affinity. I won’t spoil the novel’s many delicious surprises, but rest assured, this one makes for incredibly satisfying reading.–MO
Bindu Bansinath, Men Like Ours
(Bloomsbury)
Men Like Ours is a wonderful debut, a witty narrative following an amateur murder investigation in a South Asian enclave in New Jersey. On Willow Road, a group of women band together to solve the murder of a friend, and wade into a world of generational feuds, friendly backstabbings, and, possibly, an even deeper sense of community. Possibly. –Olivia Rutigliano, CrimeReads editor
