A New PI, a Fictional Serial Killer, Plus Mystery News & More!
Before I dive into your bi-weekly mystery goodness (new releases this week, news, and paperback releases!) I’ve got a streaming rec for you: I am immensely enjoying My Lady Jane (Prime). It’s a wonderful mix of historical with a modern lens, fantasy, dark humor, adventure, and there is a crime plot in the form of a political assassination!
Bookish Goods
Crime Scene Cookie Cutters by LootCaveCo
Cookie cutters for mystery fans! Gobble them up yourself, or host a little mystery party! ($14, each. $33 for the set)
New Releases
Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts
For fans of PIs and returning home!
Former cop turned PI Vandy Myrick is back in the New Jersey town she grew up in. Her retired cop father is in a care facility with dementia, and she’s trying to prove herself as a PI. She initially takes a case from a relative of the town’s mayor, Leo Hannah. He’s convinced someone is stalking his wife, and he wants Vandy to follow his wife to figure out who the stalker may be. It’s not a simple case, though, when murder and self-defense get added, and suddenly Vandy is being hired by conflicting parties to get to the bottom of what is really happening…
The audiobook is narrated by Bahni Turpin, who is exceptional and one of the first narrators I listened to and why I fell in love with audiobooks. If this is the start of a series, I am down to read the sequel.
(TW parent with dementia/ threat of sexual assault)
The Bang-Bang Sisters by Rio Youers
For fans of reading about vigilantes, rock bands, and fictional serial killers!
Brea, Jessie, and Flo contain multitudes: they are the members of the rock band Bang-Bang Sisters, and they use their tour to travel around the country, punishing people who have escaped justice! This is how they find themselves in Atlanta after a serial killer, except they just walked into a trap…
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
If you wait for the paperback format to release, here are two you can now pick up! And for other format readers, here’s a reminder to pick up these great books from last year.
Crook Manifesto (Ray Carney #2 ) by Colson Whitehead
This is a trilogy with a recent historical setting that follows the effects of crime, written by an exceptional writer (The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys) who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice.
Starting in the early ’70s in New York, Ray Carney and his family are back. Carney once again finds himself in the life of crime: his daughter wants Jackson 5 concert tickets and the only way to not disappoint her is to call an old police contact. But that only opens the door for a favor in return…
If you want to start at the beginning, in 1960s Harlem, pick up Harlem Shuffle.
A Disappearance in Fiji (Akal Singh #1) by Nilima Rao
Here’s the start of a historical mystery series that is set in 1914 Fiji and follows police sergeant Akal Singh — who is new in Fiji, having been relocated from Hong Kong as punishment. An indentured Indian woman has disappeared from a sugar plantation, and Singh is assigned to the investigation while also being told to just make it go away. Even though he’s assured the woman must have just run away, he can’t let it go and finds himself fully investigating, even if many don’t want him to.
It’s a great start to a new series, and fans of Sujata Massey, Abir Mukherjee, and Nev March will surely enjoy it — and vice versa.
News and Roundups
- Courtney Taylor Joins Maggie Q In Amazon’s Renée Ballard Series
- Renée Zellweger to Lead Series Adaptation of James Patterson, Mike Lupica Novel ’12 Months to Live’ in Development at Max
- The Perfect Couple trailer: “Amelia Sacks is about to marry into one of the wealthiest families on Nantucket. Her disapproving future mother-in-law, famous novelist Greer Garrison Winbury, has spared no expense in planning what promises to be the premiere wedding of the season — until a body turns up on the beach. As secrets come to light, the stage is set for a real-life investigation that feels plucked from the pages of one of Greer’s novels. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. Starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Dakota Fanning, and Meghann Fahy. Directed by Susanne Bier.”
- James McBride to Receive 2024 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
- ‘My Lady Jane’ Star Edward Bluemel Joins Netflix Agatha Christie Series ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’
- Meet the beyond-cool Japanese writer you’ve never heard of
- The Turkish Detective is the BBC’s latest must-see crime thriller
- Dia Nash On The Call She Had With Mom Niecy Nash Before Role In Lifetime’s ‘Sister Wife Murder’: ‘You Were Praying For This’
- 12 Book Club Picks For July 2024, From Reese’s Book Club to Roxane Gay’s
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’s previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2024 releases and mysteries from 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!
Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
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