The CrimeReads editors pick the month’s best new books out in paperback.
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S.A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland
(Flatiron)
“A roaring, full-throttle thriller, crackling with tension and charm.” –The New York Times Book Review
Lisa Gardner, Before She Disappeared
(Dutton)
“A masterpiece of post-modern noir….A riveting stunner of a tale where the rare appearance of the sun shines down on what is certain to be one of the best thrillers of 2021.”—Providence Journal
Shari Lapena, The End of Her
(Penguin Books)
“Shari Lapena’s latest thriller The End of Her will keep you guessing right up to the end . . . And so begins a nonstop page-turning that has become a hallmark of Lapena’s work. . . Be sure to carve out enough time, because once you pick it up, you will not want to put it down.” —USA Today
Lawrence Osborne, The Glass Kingdom
(HMH)
“The author’s exceptional descriptive skills fuel an overwhelming sense of menace: It is no mean feat to make the ending of a novel truly shocking…”—The New York Times
Lisa Jewell, Invisible Girl
(Atria)
“A dark, carefully plotted domestic thriller filled with complex, lonely, and (mostly!) sympathetic characters. It takes on toxic masculinity and incel culture in a way that adds to but never overwhelms the central mystery of the novel, and ends with a satisfying conclusion and then one final, disturbing twist.” —Buzzfeed
Araminta Hall, Imperfect Women
(MCD/FSG)
Creeps on you slowly, like a fog, until you find yourself enveloped in this tangled skein of relationships, eager to see how all this is going to play out, who is going to betray whom and in what way. —Sarah Lyall, The New York Times Book Review
Laurie R. King, Riviera Gold
(Ballantine)
The overall tone of Riviera Gold is nicely balanced between the warmth and gaiety of the Riviera and the darker hues of danger and suspense. The pacing, too, is excellent: slow and leisurely at the beginning, as befits summertime on the Riviera, but ratcheting up steadily before taking off in a literal race to the finish.—The Book Wyrm’s Hoard
Emily Beyda, The Body Double
(Anchor Books)
“Haunting… Beyda seeks to give you the dirty underbelly of the L.A. facade—the obsessive mindset it takes to render the illusion of an easy life with stylized friends at fashionable places, wine drunk from fishbowl-sized glasses as the sun sets into a pristine—from this angle—ocean… The insistence on visual perfection is paramount. It maintains the illusion that, for a privileged few at least, gold still glitters.” —Art Edwards, Los Angeles Review of Books
David Baldacci, Daylight
(Grand Central Publishing)
“Daylight gives you everything you would expect from a David Baldacci novel and more. The title alone speaks to the promise of answers that have eluded Atlee in the first two installments . . . [Baldacci] is incapable of producing a less than superb read.”—Bookreporter.com
Megan Miranda, The Girl From Widow Hills
(Simon & Schuster)
Another compulsive page-turner from an accomplished author.” —Booklist
B. A. Paris, The Dilemma
(St. Martin’s Griffin)
“Paris constructs an unusual and compelling premise and masterfully maintains suspense about what happened and when it will be revealed. A breathtaking story, nearly impossible to put down.—Booklist
Stan Parish, Love and Theft
(Anchor Books)
“Well-developed characters, relentless pacing, palpable levels of tension throughout, and a notable closing twist make this a winner. Parish is a thriller writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic
(Del Rey Books)
“It’s Lovecraft meets the Brontës in Latin America, and after a slow-burn start Mexican Gothic gets seriously weird.”—The Guardian
James Lee Burke, A Private Cathedral
(Simon & Schuster)
“Like all Burke’s novels, this one is lush and lyrical and poignant and pretty damn brutal. It’s a journey into Robicheaux’s heart of darkness and America’s.” —Minnesota Star Tribune
Louise Penny, All The Devils Are Here
(Minotaur)
“‘A Better Man, ‘ with its mix of meteorological suspense, psychological insight and criminal pursuit, is arguably the best book yet in an outstanding, original oeuvre.” —Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Roanhorse, Black Sun
(Gallery/Saga Press)
“The pages turn themselves. A beautifully crafted setting with complex character dynamics and layers of political intrigue? Perfection. Mark your calendars, this is the next big thing.”—Kirkus, starred review
Karen Dionne, The Wicked Sister
(Putnam)
“[A] neo-gothic psychological thriller that’s a true mind-bender…’The Wicked Sister’ brings to mind those classic Bette Davis quasi-horror flicks ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’ and ‘Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.’ Dionne has fashioned a superb character study of murder and madness that reads like Alfred Hitchcock at his best in book form.”—Providence Journal
Eve Chase, The Daughters of Foxcote Manor
(Putnam)
“The Daughters of Foxcote Manor is not really about a murder, or a creepy house, but about families—the ones we’re born into, the ones we make and especially the ones we flee.”—The New York Times
