Reviews

Cops and lawyers are a mainstay of crime fiction, so when readers discover that Dervla McTeirnan’s new novella, The Sisters – released exclusively as an Audible Original – revolves around siblings in these professions, it is not a shock. Since this is an Ireland-set...

There is a particular joy in watching a writer one admires journey from their initial successes into a new career phase. In the case of Tara Laskowski, her track record with short story publication in literary journals, genre-focused magazines, and a few small-press...

Lisa Unger never writes the same book twice. At this point, hopefully readers know that they can always come to a book by this talented author knowing they will be led by skilled hands and that the journey will be a rewarding one. Yet, this has never been truer than...

It was clear with the publication of Bluebird, Bluebird in 2017 that Attica Locke’s Highway 59 mystery series was going to be something special. This was further confirmed when this overdue author won the Best Novel Edgar Award for that gem of a book the following...

Violent crime in Iceland is an extremely rare thing, so you can imagine the challenge this poses for crime fiction writers wanting to use the country as a setting for their work. Fortunately, plenty of talented Icelanders have managed to navigate this difficulty in...

The last few years have seen a call to action on the diversity front within the crime fiction community. Since change such as this must start at the top in order to be successful, the announcement that Polis Books – a highly respected independent book publisher –...

Crime fiction has a long tradition of embracing the outsider, largely because those excluded – by their very nature of being able to observe free of oversight – are often in a prime position to recognize troubling behavior and potential issues without exposure. With...

Little Comfort, the debut novel from Edwin Hill received much critical acclaim, heralding a new talent on the crime fiction scene. With the release of the follow, The Missing Ones, Hill confirms that this was no fluke and readers should prepare for a long run of...

The Whisper Man by Alex North is an example of a novel that completely blurs genre lines. It is equal parts family drama, serial-killer mystery, and supernatural horror. In a rare feat of undeniable skill, Alex North is able to execute all of these layers flawlessly,...

James Patterson is sometimes viewed as a controversial figure in the book world, but there is no denying that he knows a good story when he sees one and he has always been a champion for diversity in the literary landscape. So, it is no surprising that his young adult...

Up to this point, most of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s novels have centered on journalists whether they are newspaper writers, television reporters, or true crime documenters. With The Murder List, her second stand-alone novel of suspense, Ryan takes a step away from that...

It is certainly challenging to find a way into a crime plot that has not been attempted before, but in The Hidden Things, Jamie Mason has managed to do just that. Teenager Carly Liddell is attacked as she enters her home one afternoon and her ability to fend off the...

When one knows that a book is the last in a series, some expectations are bound to exist. Longtime fans of the series will be looking for some closure, some sense that their time investment served some “higher” purpose. With Miami Midnight, the final Pete Fernandez...

There is a long held notion that science fiction is a predicator of the future, but what happens when the near-future world described is much closer than anyone would like to think? In Rob Hart’s The Warehouse, that future is now (sort of.) This novel feels almost...

If written by a less astute writer, The Wolf Wants In – a story permeated by the opioid crisis and rise in crime in rural locations – would have been a depressing slough difficult to get through, but under Laura McHugh’s guiding pen, it becomes essential reading and a...

In Never Have I Ever, Joshilyn Jackson turns the iconic party game into a method for harassment. While the whole neighborhood will eventually end up in turmoil, it is Amy Whey who might just have the most to lose. It all starts when the neighborhood’s newest resident,...

Despite being titled The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone, Felicity McLean’s debut novel is much more concerned with those left behind. In particular, Tikka Malloy – through whose lens all the action is filtered – and her older sister, Laura. The Malloy sisters were childhood...

The Swallows, Lisa Lutz’s latest novel, is one of the most provocative, astute, and indelible books to come along in ages. While it is unlike anything she has written before, The Swallows continues Lutz’s tradition of crafting extremely complex characters, throwing...

Melissa De La Cruz’s The Birthday Girl is a perfect summer read – fast-paced and easy-to-read with short chapters and plenty of unexpected revelations. Readers who have experienced any of the vast number of books in the De La Cruz oeuvre know to expect a pop-culture...

If Alfred Hitchcock guest-edited Martha Stewart Living, the result might look something like Hallie Ephron’s latest novel, Careful What You Wish For. This domestic suspense novel focuses on a professional organizer who finds herself completely tangled up in the...