The weather might be frightful, but it’s fine for reading in some cozy place, and we have some recommendations for you, some from debut authors and some from old hands. Whatever your reading preferences, there should be something of interest in our February list. Coming in March: fine mysteries by first-time novelists, including Frances Crawford (A Bad, Bad Place) and T Kira Madden (Whidbey) as well as the third and final Cal Hooper mystery by Tana French (The Keeper) among other reviews.
Jo Nesbø, Wolf Hour – “This is an unusual departure for Nesbø, though in some ways it’s a return to form, reminiscent of his early Harry Hole novels before they began to focus on flashy, deviant serial killers, more engaged with social issues and characters with complex motives.” Barbara Fister
Michelle L. Cullen, A Field Guide to Murder – “The action is paced at the speed Harry can get around with a walker and a cane, so there are no high-speed chases, but that doesn’t mean the plot doesn’t move along nicely. It may be a gentle stroll, but it keeps the pages turning quickly.” Meredith Frazier
Yosha Gunasekera, The Midnight Taxi – “Readers will enjoy riding along in this entertaining debut as they strive to solve a locked-room mystery that just happens to take place in a New York cab.” Barbara Fister
Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Final Problem – “This is a clever bit of metafictional storytelling that deliberately plays with classic mystery tropes, with the conversations between Basil and his sidekick referring to many Sherlock Holmes stories, all unfolding within an Agatha Christie scenario.” Barbara Fister
James Lee Burke, The Hadacol Boogie – “This may be the most beautifully written of all Burke’s books . . . Throw in a couple of hard guys with a chain saw, a handyman with one foot in our reality and the other in his own, the autistic son of one of the hard guys who may or may not know something he shouldn’t, and Joan of Arc, and you have another Tuesday in Iberia Parish.” Julie Campbell
Jennifer K. Breedlove, Murder Will Out – “Winning the Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Award, Murder Will Out features an interesting cast of characters, a complicated mystery, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns.” Meredith Frazier
Devon Mihesuah, Blood Relay – “This thriller by a Choctaw historian and award-winning writer is an assured and compelling story that uses threads about Indian relay racing, land claims, and the legacy of toxic exploitation of natural resources to weave a plot about missing and murdered indigenous women.” Barbara Fister
Naomi Hirahara, Crown City – “What is most fascinating about this novel is seeing a young man raised by a respected artisan in Meiji Restoration Japan travel to America, learning about its culture and seeking his place in it. His observations and comparisons are eye-opening for those of us who know little beyond the bare bones of the Japanese American experience.” Barbara Fister
Rebecca Philipson, How to Get Away With Murder – “. . . full of surprises, just as a murder mystery should be. And while you may suspect you know right from the beginning how things are going to go, Philipson masterfully twists every expectation.” Meredith Frazier
Patricia B. McConnell, Away to Me – “In many ways, the small mysteries of why the dogs in the story behave and how Maddie decodes the things they are trying to tell her is as absorbing as the murder investigation . . . you’re likely to enjoy the company of this intriguing narrator and the dogs in her life.” Barbara Fister
Nicci French, Tyler Green Will Never Be Free – “While these are not the kind of thrillers that depend on lots of action and short cliff-hanger chapters, they cleverly ramp up tension as the pages turn. In this case, we get to watch a dinner party go completely and extravagantly off the rails . . .” Barbara Fister