April 18, 2020
There are so many delicious new crime novels it is hard to select a handful to recommend but these that follow are some of the best, from traditional to police procedural, from urban streets to small town America, and to far-flung locales for the house-bound armchair traveller.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, Center for Fiction Bookstore
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If It Bleeds
By Stephen King
Published by Scribner
In his recent interview on NPR King said, “I keep having people say, ‘Gee, it’s like we’re living in a Stephen King story. [Remember The Stand?] And my only response to that is, ‘I’m sorry.'” His new collection of four novellas are perfect for escaping into his reliably creepy world at a time when attention spans are often shorter but relief from the news cycle is essential.
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A Beautiful Crime
By Christopher Bollen
Published by HarperCollins
A storyline that brings to mind Highsmith’s Ripley—as Nick and Clay flee New York for the canals of Venice and get involved in a scam to sell fake antiques. Brilliant character study, exotic location (the only way to be in Venice for quite a while) and psychological suspense abound in this irresistibly twisty thriller.
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Long Bright River
By Liz Moore
Published by Riverhead
A knockout thriller that is inarguably Moore’s best so far combining just incredibly good writing with a galvanic crime novel—two sisters whose path diverged: a policewoman and a drug addict on the streets of Philadelphia, for fans of both good literary fiction, and the bestselling thrillers of Harlan Coben and Paula Hawkins.
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Valentine
By Elizabeth Wetmore
Published by HarperCollins
In 70s rural Texas, a violent crime is committed that reverberates through this small town, affecting both the women of the community and the men who work the oil fields and hand out the justice. This first time author has burst on the scene fully formed and we can’t wait to read her next one.
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88 Names
By Matt Ruff
Published by HarperCollins
A techno-thriller with a welcome dose of humor takes us on a cyber adventure into the world of virtual gaming, as Mr. Chu provides new identities of invincible characters to his dicey clientele, and his business soon spins dangerously out of control.
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Three Hours in Paris
By Cara Black
Published by Soho Press
You know this bestselling author from her crime novels starring ex-pat detective Aimee Leduc. Still exploring her beloved Paris, but this time in an historical spy thriller about the three hours Hitler spent there in 1940. A stand-alone mystery that again proves Black’s prowess with the form.
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The Paris Mysteries: Deluxe Editions
By Edgar Allan Poe
Published by Steerforth Press
Stay in Paris for this new special edition of Poe’s best-known mystery masterpieces, composed of three classic Poe whodunits, including the first ‘detective story’ ever written, from the mid 19th century–“The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”
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The Coronation and She Lover of Death
By Boris Akunin
Published by Grove/Atlantic
Travel to Russia for the always entertaining adventures of charismatic (stuttering included) gentleman investigator Erast Fandorin, who is back in two of Akunin’s recent installments: The new paperback of The Coronation (starring the Romanovs) and the new hardcover, She Lover of Death, featuring a young Siberian girl reinventing herself in Moscow but getting dangerously close to a cult of poets obsessed with death.
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