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Book News
“There are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe … the sun in the heavens and The Associated Press down here.”
— Mark Twain
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* * COMING EVENTS! * *
Coming October 4, 2022 1PM EDT
Write Deeper Characters
Creating Internal Conflict
Instructor: David Corbett — Writer’s Digest University
Each individual is driven by a profound inner yearning that defines her dream of life: the kind of person she wants to be, the way of life she hopes to live. What holds her back from fulfilling that dream? Forces of Resistance: weaknesses, wounds, limitations, flaws, as well as external opposition and obligations. This core inner conflict, the drive to pursue the promise of life and an equal and opposite drive to minimize the pain of life, informs the character’s sense of lack at the outset of your story, which informs her need to act.
What you’ll Learn:
- How to identify and explore moments of helplessness in the character’s past
- Why helplessness is so important to the development of subsequent behavior
- How to use those backstory incidents to develop the defining habits of behavior they create, i.e., the “pathological maneuvers” and “persistent virtues
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Coming October 6, 2022
Powerful Plotting
Instructor: Jordan Rosenfeld — Writer’s Digest University
Do you struggle to finish your story or get stuck in the middle? Do you ever feel like you can’t figure out what should happen next in your story, or how you’ll get your protagonist to the end goal? These kinds of plot problems and others can thwart your progress unnecessarily. Getting down the bones or architecture of plot is one of the most important parts of writing a compelling story. Whether you consider yourself a “pantser” or a “plotter” the more you understand what makes a plot compelling, the easier it is to build your own without sacrificing tension or pace.
What you’ll Learn:
- Multiple kinds of plot structures
- How to effectively pace plot points/revelations
- How to identify and raise the stakes of your plot
- How character development and plot go hand in hand
- How to plant plot relevance in every scene
- Balancing Backstory and Front story
- Building strong antagonists
Link:
Coming October 20 – 23, 2022
Novel Writing Conference
pasadena, california
Central Keynote Speaker: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Additional Speaker Lineup — CLICK HERE
The Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference offers a balanced program covering the fundamentals of craft—delving into specific genres and techniques—along with the business of being a writer, from traditional and self-publishing paths, promotion and marketing strategies, and managing a sustainable career.:
* * SEPTEMBER 2022 BOOK NEWS! * *
September 22, 2022
10 Cozy Detective Series
you need in your life
By SOFIE KELLY — CrimeReads
It’s Time to Make Room for Some New Amateur Sleuths!
Link
September 22, 2022
The Most Anticipated Crime Books
of fall 2022 (and beyond)
By MOLLY ODINTZ — CrimeReads
108 new and upcoming titles to keep you reading through the end of the year.
Link
September 21, 2022
The Ultimate Fall 2022 Books Preview
Doing the Math So You Don’t Have to Since 2017
By Emily Temple — Literary Hub
A new season begins, and sure as the changing of the leaves, the recommended reading lists follow. And why not? Soon it will be winter, and you’ll need all the books you can get.
Link
September 19, 2022
The Worst Character Names
in the history of literature
By Vivienne Woodward — Book Riot
When you think of the worst character names in the history of literature, there is one, undeniably, correct answer. There are a lot of bad, weird, and awkward names in the annals of literature and we will get to a couple of them.
Link
September 19, 2022
10 New Books Coming Out This Week
By CrimeReads
New offerings from the world of crime, mystery, and thrillers.
Link
September 16, 2022
Best Reviewed Books of the Week
By Book Marks — Lit Hub
Featuring New Titles from Ian McEwan, Robert Harris, Kate Beaton, Ling Ma, and more!
Link
September 15, 2022
Sci-Fi Books for Readers
who don’t like Sci-Fi
By Courtney Rodgers — Book Riot
Science fiction does not have to be all battle sequences and triangulating flight paths. The beauty of speculative fiction, which is the umbrella that sci-fi resides under, is that there is room for the fantastic, and for questioning the mundane.
Link
September 14, 2022
Martin Edwards’s The LIfe of Crime
book review
By Michael Dirda — The Washington Post
Start reading this history of the detective story — from Poe to P.D. James — and you’ll soon find it hard to follow my heartfelt advice: Slow down and space out the book’s 724 pages so that you can enjoy it for more than a few days.
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16 Embarrassing Writing Mistakes to Avoid
check ’em out before it’s too late!
By Writers Write
Jennifer Frost writes: ‘Writing mistakes are everywhere, especially online or when people neglect proofreading.
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The Real Book Spy’s
September Reading Guide
By Ryan Steck — The Real Book Spy
Full coverage of all your favorite thriller authors, and their characters, unlike anywhere else on the web!
September is here, and that means a whole bunch of new thrillers are set to hit bookstore shelves.
Link
Psychological Thrillers
September’s Best
By LISA LEVY — CrimeReads
New books from Meg Elison, Katherine St. John, Sarah Bonner, and more.
Lunatic fans! Teens run wild! Unlikely assassins! Twisted twins! And that old favorite, trouble in paradise! September is a festival for thriller fans, with many delights to sample.
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CLICK HERE!
CLICK HERE!
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September 13 — 22, 2022
New Releases Tuesday
the best books out this week
By Erica Ezeifedi — Book Riot
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for new books! Here are a few of the books out today you should add to your TBR.
Link
10 Quietly Effective Suspense Novels
By CrimeReads
“There are no ghouls jumping out from the shadows, no message written in blood.”
Link
19 Award-Winning Mystery Novels
+ one true crime
By Jamie Canaves — BookRiot
Regardless of how much weight you subscribe to awards — they are, after all, from humans subjectively picking their favorite — award lists can still be a great place to find your next read from.
Link
20 New Mystery and Thriller Novels
coming out this fall
By BuzzFeed
Make it a thriller night with this selection of thrillers and horror/crime anthologies, featuring Muslim, Latinx, Native, and Filipina authors!
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Top 10 Novels That Interrupt Time
By Ross Raisin — TheGuardian
Most novels present the passage of characters’ lives in a continuous line. A smaller number, however, disrupt the flow of the line – to interrupt, fracture or even reverse the order of time.
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17 New September Romance Books
By Silvana Reyes Lopez — Book Riot
My focus today is to highlight some of the new September romance books you can read during the month.
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10 New Books
coming out this week
By CrimeReads
A look at the week’s best new releases.
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12 Must-Read Horror Books
coming out this month
By Emily Martin — Book Riot
We’re entering the fall months, friends, and you know what that means? Peak horror fiction reading time. Sure, lots of us read horror all year round. But horror fans, our season is nearly upon us! As the leaves start to turn and the temperatures begin to cool, it’s time to openly embrace all things scary.
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The 2022 Hugo Awards
By Emily Temple — Lit Hub
The winners of the 2022 Hugo Awards—one of science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious awards, decided by the popular vote of WorldCon members—were presented on Sunday night at the 80th WorldCon in Chicago, in a ceremony hosted by Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz. Here are the winners.
Link
Ten of the Best Sleuths
in cozy mysteries
By Tika Viteri — Book Riot
In cozies, the mystery (most often a murder) happens off the page, the location is often remote or secluded, the plot usually revolves around some kind of small business like a yarn store, a bakery, or a bookstore; and — most importantly for this article — the sleuth protagonist is an amateur who is intuitive and resourceful and most often identifies as female. This last guideline makes sense given that the subgenre caters broadly to women, and also has mostly female authors.
Link
Compelling Antagonistic Characters
how to write them
By K.M. Weiland — Helping Writers Become Authors
The antagonist doesn’t have to be a person. It could be weather, circumstances, or the protagonist’s inner self. But, more often than not, the antagonist takes the form of a person. And crafting that person into a memorable and compelling character in his own right is vital to the success of your story.
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Ten Books to Add to Your September Reading List
By Bethanne Patrick — Los Angeles Times
2022’s fall lists groan like sideboards at a medieval feast, weighed down with delicious titles of every species: Stephen King! Louise Penny! Ina Garten! Let’s not forget Michelle Obama (not out until November, so we’ll have to be patient). September’s stellar selections bring back two beloved protagonists, introduce a couple of unforgettable families and remind us that style has its place, even in a world that’s burning.
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Five New Thrillers to Kick Off Your Fall Reading
New books by Megan Goldin, Jonathan Ames, Laurie Loewenstein, William Kent Krueger and Tracey Lien
By Dan Fesperman — The Washington Post
For a fall getaway of the imagination, here are five novels offering a murder-and-mayhem tour across New York, Los Angeles, rural Oklahoma, the Northwoods of Minnesota and an enclave of Vietnamese emigrants near Sydney. As a bonus, there’s also time travel.
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When Is A Bestseller Not Necessarily A Best Seller?
By Carolyn Atkinson — BBC News
Authors and publishers all want to sell enough books to have a bestseller. But is a bestseller always actually a bestseller? Not necessarily if a publisher has paid to get on a shop’s bestselling shelves, or staff base the rankings on what they predict might be popular.
Books are big business, and 2021 was a boom year. With more people buying and reading books during the pandemic, sales reached a record £1.8bn.
Link
10 Noteworthy Books for September
It’s time for new books!
By Becky Meloan — The Washington Post
Finding something good to read this fall will be easy. Debut novelists arrive on the scene with humor and heart, and award-winning writers return with compelling stories. Even self-described “freelance writer” Stephen King has penned something that might keep you reading into the night.
Link
35 New Book Recommendations
By Buzz Feed News
From wild YA to steamy romance, and including new work by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Celeste Ng, and N.K. Jemisin — these fall books should be on your radar.
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Different Kinds of Editing
By Kristen Tate — The Creative Penn
What are the different types of editing? How can you find and work effectively with the best editor for your book? What are some editing tips to watch out for in your fiction or non-fiction manuscript?
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AUGUST 2022 BOOK NEWS!
Educational Innovations
By Kathy Eyster
Four engineers get into a car. The car won’t start.
The Mechanical Engineer says:
“It’s a broken starter.”
The Electrical Engineer says:
“Dead battery.”
The Chemical Engineers says:
“Impurities in the gasoline.”
The IT Engineer says:
“Hey guys, I have an idea. How about we all get out of the car and get back in again.”
The Best Books Out This Week
It’s time for new books!
By Erica Ezeifedi — Book Riot
Here are a few of the books you should add to your TBR. This is a very small percentage of the new releases this week, as well as a few others you may have missed from recent weeks.
Link
Three Fake Grammar Rules
what you think you learned in English class may actually be hurting your writing.
By Ellen Jovin — Writer’sDigest
Faithful adherence to grammar rules that are not actually rules has sucked the life out of many excellent sentences. Adults are often hobbled by outdated or just plain wrong notions of correct grammar they feel they must adhere to—for example, the idea that it is ungrammatical to end with a preposition, as I did right before my em dash in this sentence.
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Is Your Story Too Complicated?
here are 9 signs
By K.M. Weiland — Helping Writers Become Authors
How can we learn how to write stories that are complex—without skidding across that narrow dividing line into complicated? What’s the difference between “complex” and “complicated”? There are many different ways, we can complicate our stories. Here are nine that come to my mind.
Link
August 19, 2022
Best Reviewed Books of the Week
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
Featuring new titles by Beth Macy, Édouard Louis, Sidik Fofana, Nuar Alsadir, and More
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Writing Less Likeable Characters
in crime fiction
By S. C. Lalli — CrimeReads
“I love that main characters can behave badly in thrillers, or even be the perpetrator themselves.”
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Motif in Fiction
By Amanda Petterson — Writers Write
If you’ve ever wondered what a motif is and how to use one in your novel, read this post. We define it and give you examples of motifs in stories. A motif in fiction is a recurring object, sound, phrase, action, or idea in a story.
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Emotional Scenes
how to write them
By K.M. Weiland — Helping Writers Become Authors
Learning how to write emotional scenes is one of the single most important feats any writer must rise to.
Scenes in which characters feel these powerful emotions should usually inspire the same feelings from readers. When done well, these powerhouse scenes become the cornerstones of the entire story. They are the moments audiences are likely to remember long after they may have forgotten beautiful prose or the specifics of the plot.
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This Month’s Best Psychological Thrillers
By Lisa Levy — CrimeReads
August’s new releases include books from Amanda Jayatissa, Alice Feeney, and more.
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5 Skills to Master
before you launch your book
By Maggie Smith — Writer’s Digest
The publishing game has changed so much over the years, and more is expected of authors now after the final draft is submitted. Even though it may seem like the success of your book launch is beyond your control, here are five ways to help yourself succeed in both the short and the long-term.
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Worst Tropes in Mysteries and Thrillers
By Tika Viteri — BookRiot
A plot is something like “locked room,” a “whodunit,” etc. A trope is a figure of speech or literary device, like an unreliable narrator or a key character having an alibi.
Link
August 8, 2022
10 New Books Coming Out This Week
New offerings from the world of crime, mystery, and thrillers
By CRIMEREADS
Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks.
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Best New Crime Novels of the Month
By CRIMEREADS
Featuring new books from Winnie M. Li, Gabino Iglesias, Meg Gardiner, and more.
Link
16 August Mystery, Thriller, True Crime Books to Read
By Jamie Canaves — BookRiot
Whether you are braving the heat and mosquitoes outside (flip-flops make excellent fly swatters, just saying) or staying inside and observing nature from the windows, you’re going to need a book in your hand. And I’ve got a great roundup of August releases for mystery, thriller, and true crime readers as we all (in the U.S.) begin to say goodbye to summer.
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5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week
By Dan Sheehan — Literary Hub
Our vault of virtuoso reviews this week includes James Wolcott on Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner’s Heat 2, Leah Greenblatt on Tess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch, Rebecca Onion on Rick Emerson’s Unmask Alice, Rob Doyle on Emmanuel Carrère’s Yoga, and Namwali Serpell on Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man.
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What Should You Read Next?
The best reviewed books of the week
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
Whether you are braving the heat and mosquitoes outside (flip-flops make excellent fly swatters, just saying) or staying inside and observing nature from the windows, you’re going to need a book in your hand. And I’ve got a great roundup of August releases for mystery, thriller, and true crime readers as we all (in the U.S.) begin to say goodbye to summer.
Link
10 New SF and Fantasy Books
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
There’s no better way to beat this brutal heat than to retreat to the nearest air-conditioned place, be it your home or public transportation, with one of this month’s many promising SF and Fantasy reads.
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Top 10 Books About Cybercrime
By Dan Malakin — The Guardian
A generation ago cybercrime was as esoteric a subject to write about as quantum mechanics or fluctuations in the derivatives market. Now it’s a central feature of many novels.
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Call the Poison Lady
when your mystery needs a good murder
By Zac Bissonnette — The Daily Beast
For three decades Luci Zahray has been giving extremely deadly and much sought after advice to mystery novelists about the best way to poison fictional victims.
Link
August 2, 2022
New Releases Tuesday
the best books out this week
By Erica Ezeifedi — BookRiot
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for new books! Here are a few of the books out today you should add to your TBR. This is a very small percentage of the new releases this week, as well as a few others you may have missed from recent weeks.
Link:
Setting in Story Telling
12 crucial things to remember
By Amanda Patterson — Writers Write
We have put together a list of 12 crucial things for you to remember about setting in storytelling.
In this post we cover what setting is, 7 details to include in your settings, and 5 ways to use setting to advance a plot.
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Why Story Structure Matters
and what happens when it’s not there
By Michael Hauge
Link
101 Best Websites for Writers 2022
By Writers’s Digest Staff
These websites will help inspire, educate, and connect you to other writers as you start or continue on your writing journey.
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JULY 2022 BOOK NEWS!
Just posted! Check it out!
new & noteworthy — the brain
Link
World’s Best Library in 2022
the missoula public library
Our very own Missoula Public Library was named Public Library of the Year by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)!
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2022 Booker Prize Longlist
By Corinne Segal — Literary Hub
The Booker Prize longlist is here—and it shows more of a range than ever, featuring its youngest and oldest-ever authors along with debut novels and the shortest book to be nominated for the prize.
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Top National Bestsellers
By Seattle Times Stafff
Link
The Best International Crime Fiction
out this june and july
By Molly Odintz — CrimeReads
A double dose of fiction in translation for the dog days of summer.
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The Best Romance Books
you’ve never heard of
By Alison Doherty — Book Riot
Romance is one of the most popular genres of books. And since the pandemic began, romance novels are only growing in popularity. Whether it’s the escapism, the sexy scenes, or the comfort of knowing you will get a happily ever after at the end of the book, one thing is certain. Readers are gravitating towards romance novels right now in a very big way.
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10 Thrillers to Read
on your summer vacation
By Lauren Daley — The Boston Globe
Chill out with these hair-raising mysteries, all published this year.
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5 Best Psychological Thrillers Coming Out This July
By CrimeReads
Featuring new books from Ruth Ware, Jennifer Hillier, and more.
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24 Overlooked Crime Thrillers
By Ken W. Hanley — BuzzFeed
You may have missed these overlooked gems of the crime genre…
Yet for every classic crime flick, there are a handful of thrillers that don’t quite hit their target at the box office or with audiences. Luckily, time heals all wounds, and it’s about time these 24 underrated crime thrillers get the attention they deserve.
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8 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Jump-Start Your July
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
Fill your long summer nights with new releases from Becky Chambers, T. Kingfisher, and more.
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7 Unconventional Women
at the center of great novels
By Louise Hare — CrimeReads
These protagonists aren’t afraid to let life get a little messy.
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Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2022, Part Two
By Literary Hub
230 Books to Read Before 2023
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Inspector Morse Books in Order
By PBS Masterpiece
The cerebral TV detective Endeavour Morse first materialized in the bestselling crime novels by Colin Dexter. Morse was a fascinating new sort of cop, a sensitive soul in love with opera and poetry, not stereotypically weary and hard drinking
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The Best Reviewed Crime Books of June 2022
By CrimeReads
Featuring new novels from Kristin Chen, Katie Gutierrez, Riley Sager, and more.
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JUNE 2022 BOOK NEWS!
The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
Featuring New Titles by Hilary Mantel, Ed Yong, Riley Sager, and More
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22 More Great New Books
to read in 2022
By Liberty Hardy — Book Riot
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the TBR water, here’s a preview of 22 more great new books to read in 2022! Your reading list will thank you.
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8 Ways to Avoid Cardboard Characters
By K.M. Weiland — Helping Writers Become Authors
“The plot was contrived, and the characters were cardboard.” Ouch. That’s about as bad as it can get when it comes to negative story reviews. It’s also perhaps one of the most common complaints audiences have about stories.
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10 Contemporary Authors
writing under more than one name
By Sarah S. Davis — Book Riot
Some of these pen names are pretty close to the real name while other are not, and I can only imagine the brainstorming that went behind some of the radically different ones. The truth is, authors use pen names all time, and for good reason.
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10 Conspiracy Thriller Movies for the Truly Paranoid
By Lucas Ropek — GIZMODO
I’m a big fan of thrillers and I particularly love a good conspiracy thriller. This genre is a mostly forgotten art because, in my opinion, few movies today are able to capture the truly unhinged paranoia of prior decades.
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10 Best Mysteries with a Twist
By Elisa Shoenberger — BookRiot
Is there anything more delicious than a big twist in a book? In the best mysteries with a twist, the narrator leads you down one path, but then you realize at the end that they’ve actually taken you off the main path in the forest. While it can happen in many different types of writing, in mysteries, it can mean that the person you thought was an innocent bystander is actually the murderer. Or maybe the victim was actually alive all the time! Or maybe everything you understand about the narrative has been completely wrong.
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Missed Targets
seven attempted assassination thrillers
By William Martin — CrimeReads
Nothing concentrates a story like the threat of an assassination.
If you’re a reader, you know from a glance at the flap copy that something big is going to happen in the book you’ve just picked up, something that will keep you turning pages right up until the moment when the assassin aims his weapon.
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The Real Book Spy’s
june 2022 reading guide
By The Real Book Spy
Welcome to June, thriller fans!
While most of the country is finally starting to heat up, so too is the thriller genre . . . and it’s going to be one heck of a summer!
This month, there are a ton of really great books set to hit store shelves, and as always, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorites
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Book ClubBooks to Read This Summer
By Emily Martin — Book Riot
Through all of the terrible and wonderful things we’ve been through over the past few years, there’s one thing that remains constant: book clubs. Book clubs continue to be a wonderful way to meet people or to meet up with your friends and discuss something we all love.
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The Ultimate Summer 2022 Reading LIst
By Emily Temple — Literary Hub
If you’re new here, here’s how it works:
- I read all of the Most Anticipated and Best Summer Reading lists that flood the internet this time of year (or at least as many as I can find).
- I count how many times each book is included.
- I collate them for you in this handy list.
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International Thrillers
to binge-watch this weekend
By Dwyer Murphy — CrimeReads
Do you want to see British people solving mysteries in the south of France or the hills of Italy?
It’s time for a summer weekend of international thriller binge watching, which means get ready for some picturesque location shoots where the characters get to wear interesting sun hats while solving mysteries. That’s what summer shows are all about.
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The Month’s Best Debut Crime Novels
By CrimeReads
Featuring first novels from Katie Gutierrez, Samantha Allen, Adam White, and more.
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7 Ways to Use AI Writing Tools
to generate content ideas
By Marcelo Beilin — Search Engine Journal
AI writing tools are changing the publishing world and can help you speed up your content creation process. Learn about your tool options.
Creating relevant, engaging, original content for your audience on a regular schedule is a necessary aspect of any content marketing strategy.
The more content you create, the more keywords your website is going to rank for in search results, and the more visitors, leads, and prospects you’re going to reach.
The problem is, it’s really hard work to produce fresh new content over and over again.
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First Person Narrators
7 great crime novels
By Scott Blackburn — CrimeReads
the intimacy, the excitement, and the potential for deceit that only a good first person narrator can conjure up
As a reader, I’ve always been drawn to first person fiction. I love that it allows such a deep dive into a character’s mind while limiting my access to information, which I find crucial in building suspense. Mostly, I love that first person narration is conversational.
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Our 15 Favorite Summery Novels
By Emily Temple — Literary Hub
Every summer comes with a brand new slate of summer reading lists, but some summer novels are eternal. They’re the books that make you instantly smell salt, or feel the sun on your skin—or simply manage to evoke the precise magic of the season in one way or another. If you’re looking for a tried-and-true Summer Book—out of step though it may be with the publishing calendar—to take with you on your real or virtual travels, look no further. These are just a few of the Lit Hub staff’s go-to summer novels, perfect to dive into this season and for seasons to come.
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10 Best Mystery Characters
seven attempted assassination thrillers
By Hannah Yang — ProWritingAid
Mystery is one of the more plot-driven genres. Readers love mysteries because of the plot twists, red herrings, and shocking reveals.
But mystery books can be character-driven, too. In fact, some characters are so memorable that they’ve become a part of our cultural canon.
Here are our top-ten favorite characters in mystery stories.
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The Lives of Criminals
By Adam White — CrimeReads
These classics live at the intersection of literary fiction and crime.
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72 of the Most Popular New Books
on goodreads right now
By Book Riot
Goodreads has revealed the most popular and best reviewed new books of the year so far. To compile the midyear list, the Goodreads’ editorial team analyzed the TBRs of more than 140 million members. The rankings were determined not only by which books were added to wish lists the most, but also by which books received a rating of 3.5 stars or more.
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15 Best-Selling Book Series of All Time
By Michele Debczak — Mental Floss
Many of the most memorable settings, characters, and stories in literature aren’t contained to a single novel. Titles that make up one part of a larger series are a common sight on bestseller lists. From epic fantasy sagas to picture books, these are the collections that garnered the most sales since their respective debuts.
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Mysteries and Thrillers Releasing This Summer
By shireenewrites — BussFeeds
These diverse thrillers, mysteries, and true crime novels are so good you’ll stay up all night reading them!
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19 Art and Design Books
to read this summer
By AD Pro Editors
To help provide you with some inspiration over the summer months, we have sorted through the art and design books released this spring. What follows is a small survey of some of the most exciting ones we found.
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10 Noteworthy Books for June
By Becky Meloan — The Washington Post
June is the perfect time to look for titles that capture the joy of the summer reading season. Standouts include playful satire, stories of weddings and romance, a dash of mystery and fantasy, and a look at America’s summer pastime, baseball.
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Crime Novels with a Strong Sense of Place and Inimitable Atmosphere
some contemporary classics that simply couldn’t have been set anywhere else
By Matt Goldman — CrimeReads
Here’s a list of some of the books I admire for their sense of place. I wish I could include them all.
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20 Paperbacks to Kickoff Your Summer Reading
By Nancy Yee — Literary Hub
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15 of the Best Mystery Thrillers
By Michelle Regalado — Book Riot
In the mood for a little suspense? There’s nothing like the best mystery thrillers to keep you captivated for hours and put your amateur detective skills to work. These gripping picks will not only get your heart pumping, but they also make for excellent reads at any time of the year.
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9 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Jazz Up Your June
Featuring New Books by Katherine Addison, Melissa Albert, Alix E. Harrow, and More
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
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May 2022 Book News
7 Books You’ll Want on Your Summer Thriller Reading List
By Paula L. Woods — The Los Angeles Times
Summer’s here — a time for mystery readers to chuck their cozy armchairs for sun umbrellas and venture beyond their living rooms, pandemic permitting. No matter how far you’re physically roaming, the summer’s crop of mysteries, recent and forthcoming, seem custom-made to take you places. All our most anticipated chillers explore territories beyond the everyday, crossing boundaries both geographic and psychological in search of the next hot thrill.
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The Best Reviewed Crime Books: May 2022
By CrimeReads
Featuring new books from Chris Bohjalian, Elizabeth Day, Mick Herron, and more.
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13 Best Beach Reads
Hit the beach and escape with these top reads.
By Shannon Garlin — Today
Are you looking for your next summer read? With the summer months nearly here, palm trees and warm rays are constantly on our minds, including finding our next addictive book. There’s nothing more we want to do than unplug and immerse in a novel that we just can’t put down.
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The Most Unforgettable Female Leads in Crime Fiction
“Whether good, bad, or downright despicable, here are eleven of them you should be getting to know…”
By Hannah Mary McKinnon — CrimeReads
There’s been lot of talk about unlikeable characters, in particular female ones, who seem to be given a much harder time than their male counterparts (I know this because I’ve written a fair few). Women protagonists can be strong but not bitchy. Harsh but they must still display a softer side. And for goodness’ sake, beware of making them know-it-alls. For a long time, it appeared the consensus was unlikeable female characters still needed to be, well, likeable.
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What Should You Read Next?
May 20, 2022 — the Best Reviewed Books of the Week
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
Featuring new titles by Jhumpa Lahiri, Emma Straub, Benjamin Myers, Maggie Shipstead, and more.
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May’s Best Psychological Thrillers
new books from Elizabeth Day, Dervla McTiernan, May Cobb, and more.
By Lisa Levy — CrimeReads
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May 2022 Edition of The Big Thrill
The Magazine of the International Thriller Writers
In his first interview with The Big Thrill, bestselling author Don Winslow talks to Dawn Ius about his latest crime thriller—and his big announcement
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The Antagonist in Story Structure
parts 1 and 2
By K.M. Weiland — Helping Writers Become Authors
Especially in a tightly plotted story, the antagonist is every bit as important a driver of the story structure as is the protagonist.
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10 Noteworthy Books for May
By Becky Meloan — The Washington Post
New books this month are out of this world, almost literally, with a fun memoir from a former air hostess and a couple of knockout fantasy and horror titles.
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10 Books You Should Be Reading This May
From thought-provoking nonfiction to visceral fiction
By Tobias Carroll — Inside Hook
If there’s a running theme in this month’s rundown of notable books, it’s the idea of people moving outside of their comfort zone. Here, you’ll find books written by people best known for their work in the film industry; you’ll also find a foray into nonfiction from an author better known for their detailed fictional trips into the future. Whether you’re looking for ruminations on aging or a thrilling trip into a human mind, our recommendations this month have you covered.
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The Best Mystery, Thriller, and True Crime books Out in May
By Jamie Canaves — Book Riot
Spring has sprung, and what better pairing to the beauty of nature than the ugly side of humans and crime?
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The Best New Crime Fiction of May 2022
By CrimeReads
Featuring new books from Adrian McKinty, Isabel Cañas, Elizabeth Day, James Lee Burke, and more.
The CrimeReads editors select their favorite new fiction this month.
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April 2022 Book News
Why I Finally Decided to Write a Main Character Who Shares My Ethnicity
By Alma Katsu — CrimeReads
Something happened on my way to writing my next novel, The Fervor (Putnam): it became personal.
The Fervor marks the first time I’ve written a main character with the same ethnicity as mine, Asian American. I had no idea what a different experience this would be.
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We Are Fictional Characters of Our Own Creation
By Nick Chater — Neuropsych
Data suggests that the stories we tell ourselves about our motives, beliefs, and values are not merely unreliable but entirely fictitious.
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New Historical Fiction Books
you’ll want to pick up this spring
By Kirby Beaton — BuzzFeed
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10 New April Novels
The month’s best in crime, mystery, and thrillers.
By CrimeReads
Each month the CrimeReads editors make their selections for the best upcoming fiction in crime, mystery, and thrillers.
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April’s Best
psychological thrillers
By CrimeReads
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10 Crime Novels with Isolated Settings
characters in impossible-to-escape scenarios
By Nell Pattison — CrimeReads
Most crime writers love to torture their characters and put them in impossible situations—it’s what we do best, and that’s why isolated settings work so well. Whether it’s a group of strangers on an island, or friends who find themselves cut off from society due to extreme weather, staging a murder in a situation where those left behind are unable to escape or to contact the outside world for help adds an extra layer of threat and increases the tension.
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New Nonfiction for Spring 2022
By Rebecca Hussey — BookRiot
There are so many great new releases in nonfiction coming out in the next few months! I’ve rounded up some of the most exciting nonfiction to be published this spring, but the list could easily be much longer.
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37 New April Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
By Cheryl Eddy — GIZMODO
All the titles you need to know while putting together your reading list for the month.
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