Reviews

Readers are not prepared for Fiend. Alma Katsu is about to send shockwaves through the horror-loving community with this intelligent and streamlined novel that requires deep contemplation even as it scares the ever-loving daylights out of you. The Faustian bargain is...

Fans have always been able to count on Hank Phillippi Ryan to provide them with a gripping and unforgettable reading experience. Her storied career has been highlighted by a plethora of varied styles—from the more traditional, cozy-ish Charlotte McNally series to the...

A few times each publishing season, a book generates enough buzz to enter a community’s zeitgeist—that moment when it seems like everyone you know is talking about the same book. It’s rare when that happens for a self-published debut, but Adrian Andover seems to have...

After Geneva, Richard Armitage’s second novel, The Cut, shows that his literary output will be as varied as his acting choices. By expertly manipulating the dual timeline narrative, Armitage documents the long-standing effects of poor decision making. Back in 1994, in...

Over the course of her career, Winnie M Li has shown that she is never going to shy away from a challenge. By consistently weaving elements from her own life—good, bad, and ugly—into her fictional narratives, Li produces works that ring with genuine authenticity,...

Publishers may choose not to market Cleyvis Natera’s The Grand Paloma Resort as crime fiction, but it will without a doubt please fans of that genre. It contains all the elements that make crime fiction so addictive—death, suspense, red herrings, investigation(s)—all...

With The Frozen People, Elly Griffiths takes a detour from her more traditional mystery offerings to write what can be best described as a speculative historical crime novel. It’s a testament to Griffiths storytelling prowess that the resulting cross-genre work will...

The first “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel—The Cave of Time—was published in 1979, setting in motion an almost two-decade publishing journey. Young readers at the time discovered a new way to experience the act of reading, by becoming part of the story. At critical...

The Forbidden Iceland series (The Creak on the Stairs, Girls Who Lie, Night Shadows, etc.) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir features one of the most complex and addictive narrative arcs readers are likely to find—not just in Icelandic crime fiction, but in crime fiction in...

This is your annual reminder that Carol Goodman, along with being both an exceptional writer and first-class citizen of humanity, is one of those career authors who has mastered a difficult skill—the art of continually giving fans exactly what they want (the same)...

Over the course of more than a decade, LynDee Walker has established herself as a superstar in the crime fiction arena the old-fashioned way—with dedication, tenacity, and grace. What is most amazing is the depth and breadth of her literary output—everything from her...

Hell seems to be having a moment—at least on the literary landscape. Everywhere readers look on the shelves these days are narratives that present damnation in new and fascinating ways. Take for example, Demons & Ramen from A. M. Loweecey. Crime Fiction readers...

After much success in the Young Adult arena, Renée Ahdieh is set to make her mark on the Adult Fiction market with the unforgettable Park Avenue. Early buzz is making comparisons to Crazy Rich Asians, Succession, and even Dickins’s Bleak House—all of which are...

Tori Eldridge infuses her writing with spirit and specificity, finding a personal connection to every story, whether it’s through the unparalleled morality of a character like Lily Wong (the heroine of her popular Ninja series), or the epic and ancestral scope of a...

Linwood Barclay has been writing exceptional crime fiction for just about two decades at this point. Readers know to trust his name. Those books—often tales of the “every man” who gets caught up in extreme circumstances—feature strong plotting and relatable...

Summerhouse is a queer noir gem written by Yiğit Karaahmet in Turkish and translated to English by Nicholas Glastonbury. It is the perfect summer read—ready to be packed into your suitcase for the next visit to any sandy beach destination. Summerhouse is set on...

With The Girl in Cell A—his first standalone crime novel and his first book set in the United States—Vaseem Khan leaves a mark on psychological suspense that even veterans of the subgenre can only dream of. By carefully controlling the narrative, and in particular,...

Freida McFadden continues her string of incredibly addictive, fast-paced thrillers with the release of The Tenant. McFadden is so skilled at taking tried and true tropes—in this case, the roommate from hell—and turning them into delightfully twisted tales that feel...

For a nation with very little violent crime of its own, Iceland continues to produce some of crime fiction’s rising superstars. New to the genre—although hardly an unknown entity—Eliza Reid is dropping her debut novel in early May. For those who don’t follow Icelandic...