Compelling and suspenseful, with a wonderful hook, This Dark Place is the very strong debut of American crime novelist Claire Kittridge and independent publisher, Delicate Prey. Fans of Angela Marsons and Robert Bryndza need to put this author on their must read lists, stat!
As a lover of both UK crime fiction and New York City (a visit to the UK is on my bucket list), imagine my delight to learn of the inspired premise of This Dark Place: in short, the wealthy and connected father of a New Yorker who had been studying in London, hires a tough, female, New York homicide detective to travel to London, and to work with the London Metropolitan Police to investigate his daughter's death. What follows is a confidently-written, "chilling British thriller with an American twist".
Read morePut this Jar of Hearts in your beach bag with the sunscreen, or slip it into your carry-on; this tightly-plotted, yet multifaceted, book of character-driven, psychological suspense is a recommended, buzz-worthy addition to your summer - or anytime - TBR! Perfect for a long flight or train ride, once started, you will not want to stop reading! In the midst of all of the red herrings, the twisty, page-turning goodness, as well as a blossoming, romantic attraction between characters, Jar of Hearts addresses how sex can be weaponized for self-validation, manipulation, and dominance, and explores what exactly constitutes a "healthy" sexual, and loving relationship.
Read moreBuilding to a breath-holding, heart-pounding, race-against-time climax, Dying Truth is installment eight of the Detective Inspector Kim Stone crime thriller series, written by Angela Marsons. Dying Truth opens with an action-packed prologue that foreshadows its denouement. The remainder of the novel counts down toward its life-or-death-hanging-in-the-balance-finish!
Read moreJust in time for those “lazy, hazy days” ahead comes new-to-Mystery-in-Minutes author Charlie Donlea’s Don’t Believe It, a crime novel set partly on a Caribbean island, making it a terrific choice for pool-side, beach-side, summer reading! Fans of bestselling author Lisa Gardner are sure to enjoy Charlie Donlea's thought-provoking and entertaining latest offering!
Read moreHaunting and thought-provoking, with an underlying sense of inescapable menace, Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall is a psychological drama that keeps the reader enthralled and turning the pages right up until its unsettling finish.
Our Kind of Cruelty is, at its heart, the tale of one character's obsessive fixation with another.
Or is it?
Read moreConfident and razor-sharp in its authenticity, Resurrection Bay is an extremely impressive debut that has won numerous awards. Talented Australian author Emma Viskic has crafted a pacy procedural that demands for readers to take notice. What sets this contemporary private eye novel uniquely apart is the portrayal of its central character, who, at around the age of five, and while only in primary school, lost his hearing after a bout of meningitis. Caleb Zelic, the chief investigator of the book, is deaf. Imagine, if you will, only being able to guess if someone is coming up behind you in the dark by sensing a change in the air, or by feeling vibrations in the floor. Imagine not knowing whether or not your adrenaline-fueled breathing is loud enough to reveal your hiding place. These are just two of the scenarios that create pulse-pounding tension within the novel.
Read moreAn assured, stunner of a debut, Tangerine by Christine Mangan is an eloquent, slow-burning, historical novel of nuanced, psychological suspense. Tangerine is set predominantly in Tangier, during the lead up to Morocco's 1956 independence from France. With its Patricia Highsmith vibe, and its "Casablanca-esque" cover, this literary drama of intrigue is evocative of the medinas, the souks, the casbahs, the fragrant spice markets, and the heat of 1950s North Africa.
Read moreWell-written, intricately plotted, and thoroughly absorbing, The Broken Girls by Canadian author Simone St. James provides readers with "the best of both worlds": a gothic, historical ghost story set at a "haunted" boarding school for girls in Vermont, and a contemporary mystery featuring a journalist with a connection to that same school, who begins her own investigation into the long-abandoned school's change of ownership and proposed renovation, only to discover more than she bargained for about Idlewild Hall's shadowy past.
Read moreA breath-holding, heart-stopping thriller, The Sandman is the fourth in the internationally acclaimed Joona Linna series, written by new-to-Mystery in Minutes husband and wife duo "Lars Kepler". With a mysterious and complex plot, iconic and compelling characters, and content that should appeal equally to men and to women, this highly immersive novel can be read as a standalone.
Read moreIs The Woman in the Window a highly entertaining and atmospheric psychological suspense debut? Absolutely! But it can also be thought-provoking. Kudos to A. J. Finn for "opening a window" on mental health, the importance of support and treatment, and the possibility, often, of healing.
Read moreVoted Best Crime Novel of the Year by the Icelandic Crime Authors' Association, The Legacy is the first installment in the Children's House series, written by "Iceland's Queen of Crime", Yrsa Sigurdardottir. The Legacy is an intelligent, slow-burning, character-focused police procedural that methodically reveals layer upon layer of ingenious plotting involving cryptic, coded messages, dark family secrets, and some of the most creatively horrific methods of dispatching victims this reviewer has ever read.
Read moreBestselling author Lisa Gardner has written an engaging police procedural with a plot, characters, and a finale almost operatic in their poignancy. Look For Me resonates within the current cultural shift toward empowerment of survivors, and the reckoning of those that abuse their positions of power.
Read moreBuilding to a gripping, race-against-time crescendo, Into the Black Nowhere is an immersive, meaty thriller for readers to sink their entertainment teeth into.
Read moreTwisty and expertly plotted, The Chalk Man is a terrific, character-driven, psychological suspense debut recommended to be at the top of your 2018 reading list.
Read moreWe will return in the beginning of 2018 with our review of British author C.J. Tudors's debut, The Chalk Man, which releases in the U.S. on January 9th. Mystery in Minutes wishes all of our readers and subscribers pleasurable reading, and peaceful and joyous holidays!
Read more for an excerpt of our most recently reviewed book, Magpie Murders, by London author Anthony Horowitz.......
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