Mystery & Suspense from the 2014 Summer Newsletter

One night, two teenage girls in the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn venture onto the river on an inflatable raft, but the next morning, only one is found, unconscious, with no memory of what happened. As the mystery unfolds, Pochoda focuses on how the disappearance affects the neighborhood and its various residents, elevating what could have been a simple whodunit into a deep, complex, and literary mystery that lingered in my mind for days after finishing it.    

There is a group of mystery readers out there who fervently believe that Irish crime fiction will soon be as hot as Scandinavian crime fiction. Count me among them. I am obsessed with Adrian McKinty’s smart, atmospheric, and darkly witty mysteries, particularly his Sean Duffy trilogy, which takes place in Belfast during the Irish Troubles. In the Morning I’ll Be Gone is the concluding volume of that trilogy, and it features a locked-room mystery. I can’t wait. 

This is a fascinating British police procedural that sheds light on many aspects of the system that were unfamiliar to this American. The suspenseful plot feels somewhere between a Sara Paretsky novel and an episode of Luther, with a little bit of Kathy Reichs thrown in. Her protagonist, Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith, is very compelling, the villainy is unsettlingly realistic, and the plot is page-turning. Plus, there’s a bit of sexy fun thrown in.    

The master of espionage returns with a thrilling tale of dirty tricks in the war on terror. In 2008, a counterterrorist operation aimed at the capture of a jihadist arms buyer takes place on the British crown colony of Gibraltar. It’s a joint operation involving a British foreign office minister, an American CIA operative, and a private defense contractor. It goes off without a hitch. Or does it? “Le Carré further establishes himself as a master of a new, shockingly realistic kind of noir in which right-thinking individuals who challenge the institutional order of things always lose.” —Booklist, starred review

When a Hasidic Jewish woman is found murdered in Brooklyn, young journalist Rebekah finds herself drawn into the case and the secretive community, the same community Rebekah’s absentee mother belonged to. As Rebekah races to catch a killer, she finds herself discovering truths about her mother and herself. Invisible City is a strong debut novel with an unpredictable mystery and a realistically flawed, sympathetic heroine, and I can’t wait to see what Dahl does next.

Even if you haven’t read this book, you’ve still probably heard about it. Gone Girl is one of those much-hyped books that really lives up to the buzz. What I loved most was how often I thought I knew what was coming, and how completely wrong I turned out to be. If you’re going anywhere this summer, take Gone Girl with you—it will get you through the worst airport delays and the longest road trips imaginable.

Not one but two Camilla Läckberg releases this summer? (The Hidden Child is brand new in hardcover and The Stranger is now in paperback.) My nerves can’t take it. Her creepy Scandinavian crime writing is incredibly suspenseful and atmospheric and her knack for portraying everyday evil is quite disturbing. I recommend reading these with the lights on.

Not one but two Camilla Läckberg releases this summer? (The Hidden Child is brand new in hardcover and The Stranger is now in paperback.) My nerves can’t take it. Her creepy Scandinavian crime writing is incredibly suspenseful and atmospheric and her knack for portraying everyday evil is quite disturbing. I recommend reading these with the lights on.