A look at the month’s best reviewed crime novels, mysteries, and thrillers.
Eli Cranor, Don’t Know Tough
(Soho)
“Eli Cranor’s top-shelf debut, Don’t Know Tough is unmistakably noir in the Southern tradition, a cauldron of terrible choices and even more terrible outcomes … There is a raw ferocity to Cranor’s prose, perfectly in keeping with the novel’s examination of curdling masculinity. Don’t Know Tough is, so far, one of the best debuts of 2022.”
–Sarah Weinman (New York Times)
María Gainza (transl. Thomas Bunstead), Portrait of an Unknown Lady
(Catapult)
This is a truly exquisite novel … It is moving, clever and written with a wry precision … The quest for Renée is ever more elusive and beyond reach. Was she a genius or a hack? … But the book is playing a far more intricate game. It seemed plausible to give nods to writers such as Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, given the interest in the aesthetic, the fictitious and the transgressive.”
–Stuart Kelly (The Scotsman)
Stewart O’Nan, Ocean State
(Grove Press)
“Whatever the genre he’s playing with, O’Nan is an enticing writer, a master of the illuminatingly mundane moments … O’Nan is subverting the thriller, borrowing its momentum to propel this bracing, chilling novel. Whereas thrillers tend to use murders as a prurient jumping-off point, the entryway to the reader’s pleasure — that chance to play Columbo or Kinsey Millhone in our heads — O’Nan takes his time, humanizing this story to make the hole where the victim was suitably substantial.”
–Mary Pols (The New York Times Book Review)
Lee Kravetz, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.
(Harper)
“… an evocative novel sure to enchant lovers of historical fiction as well as fans of Sylvia Plath … Journalist and psychotherapist Kravetz…skillfully weaves the narrative threads into a depiction of the complicated life of a literary genius: perfectly balancing intrigue and poetry, he uses the women as windows into the life of Sylvia Plath … Kravetz’s debut novel…is both lyrical and plot-driven, a difficult balance for any author to strike. Intriguing even for those who have not read The Bell Jar, it is perhaps even more gripping for longtime Plath loyalists.”
–Jessica Howard (Shelf Awareness)
Tara Isabella Burton, The World Cannot Give
(Simon and Schuster)
“While there were a few reasons that I started the book, the reason that I stayed was Burton. Combining writerly skill with narrative depth isn’t something that everyone can do—there are plenty of stylists I admire who can’t tell a story, and plenty of gifted storytellers whose prose is plain—but Burton makes it all seem easy. We glide through the story, moments of intimacy and excitement treated with equal respect. It is truthful, delicate work. I didn’t know what I was getting when I picked up The World Cannot Give. As it turns out, what I got was my biggest literary surprise of the year thus far.”
–Allen Adams (Maine Ledger)
Alex Segura, Secret Identity
(Flatiron)
“Segura effectively balances the realities of Carmen’s personal and professional challenges with the joy of creativity and friendship in a novel that manages to be thought-provoking and fun. The last ace in this deck is the consistent pacing and intensity of the plot; it’s full of twists but free of red herrings. Secret Identity is a satisfying choice for lovers of comics, twentieth century historical fiction and mysteries that make you think.”
–Carole V. Bell (NPR)
Peter Swanson, Nine Lives
(William Morrow)
“Peter Swanson is one of my go-to authors, and he keeps getting better with each new book he writes. His latest effort, Nine Lives, is no exception … Terrific … Chilling … I will not spoil any of the mastery that Peter Swanson spins together here, but he does come up with a backstory that connects everything in such a way that your head will be spinning. At the same time, you will appreciate his generous nod to classic mystery tales when the denouement is revealed.”
–Ray Palen (Book Reporter)
Peng Shepherd, The Cartographers
(William Morrow)
“The gripping story plotted out in The Cartographers is the latest product of Peng Shepherd’s creative imagination, providing readers with many tantalizing twists and surprises along the way as she explores the intersection between science and art, mathematics and magic … Shepherd’s latest novel is sometimes dark, describing mystical happenings that science cannot explain.”
–Anita Snow (Associated Press)
Gigi Pandian, Under Lock and Skeleton Key
(Minotaur)
“… the enchanting first book in Gigi Pandian’s Secret Staircase mystery series, flawlessly balances magic, misdirection and murder … Hidden Creek is a truly delightful setting for a cozy mystery series. Not only does Fiddler’s Folly abound with hidden rooms and intricate locks, but the property also includes the dreamy treehouse where Tempest’s grandparents live. And then there’s the Locked Room Library, a mystery lover’s dream destination that readers will fervently wish truly existed … The mystery is engaging and full of misdirection (sometimes literally, in the form of sleight-of-hand tricks), and undergirding it all is Tempest’s anxiety around her family curse. But despite the high stakes, Under Lock & Skeleton Key is bursting with heart and hope.”
–Jamie Orsini (Bookpage)
