Get Immersed in Great YA Mystery Series

May 7, 2018 |

On episode 17 of Hey YA, Eric Smith and I got to talking about the recent rise in thrillers within YA. It’s not a genre or subgenre, but rather a mood within a given book and can be found across a variety of genres. YA thrillers are also not new. Like many other book moods and genres, they’ve come and gone in waves. We’re riding a wave now, even in the post-Gone Girl years, and it’s a wave that, fortunately, has produced a lot of great reads.

But one thing that I’ve seen asked again and again from YA readers: where are the YA mysteries?

The answer is that they’re still here, they’re still strong, and they’re sometimes easy to overlook both because of the label “thriller” applied to many of them and because they’re not seeing the same kind of marketing push that flashier concept thrillers do.

So let’s take a moment to stop and appreciate the YA mystery and specifically, highlight the variety of YA mysteries out there written as a series. These are new and older titles, with a wide range of styles. Some might be considered “thrillers,” but many of them are far more about the who/what of the mystery than on the way the story makes the reader feel (this is one of the features that can differentiate a mystery from a suspense/thriller title).

Descriptions are for the first book in a series and they’re pulled from Goodreads. Note that I’ve stuck to one series per author, and some of these authors have more than one mystery series worth checking out. I’ve indicated those with a *. Also note that this is a list that lacks a significant representation of authors of color. We’ve seen more in recent years, which is hopefully an indication that this is a development that will continue.

Have other favorite YA mystery series? Drop ’em in the comments and let’s make a big collection of these titles in one place.

YA Mystery Series

Also Known As by Robin Benway

Which is more dangerous: being an international spy… or surviving high school?

Maggie Silver has never minded her unusual life. Cracking safes for the world’s premier spy organization and traveling the world with her insanely cool parents definitely beat high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. (If it’s three digits, why bother locking it at all?)

But when Maggie and her parents are sent to New York City for her first solo assignment, her world is transformed. Suddenly, she’s attending a private school with hundreds of “mean girl” wannabes, trying to avoid the temptation to hack the school’s elementary security system, and working to befriend the aggravatingly cute son of a potential national security threat… all while trying not to blow her cover.

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe

1Meet Jasmine, 2 forensic supersleuth, 3 aspiring Model Daughter, 4 and friend to animals. 5 One second she’s trying to enjoy her Vegas Vacation, 6 the next she’s tangled up in an outrageous adventure and has to outwit a crazed killer before he ends ten lives, one of them her own.

1 Hi! That’s me!
2 I. Wish.
3 Emphasis on aspiring. Current status: failing.
4 If friend means “unsuspecting victim” and animals means “one very bad kitty.”
5 And meet the cute guy at the Snack Hut. I have priorities.
6 Meep! But I guess it winds up okay since Kirkus Reviews says: “Inventive, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, with an enjoyably twisty ending.” They wouldn’t say that if everyone died, right? Right?

Body Bags by Christopher Golden*

When one of her professors ends up dead, college freshman Jenna Blake starts making discoveries even the police have not seen, discoveries that link the late teacher to a dead congressional aide and a terrifying disease.

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci*

Chris Creed grew up as the class freak—the bullies’ punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. And it tore the town apart. Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams’s search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame someone when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him.

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson

Fascinated by forensics, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney persuades her father, the county coroner in sleepy Silverton, CO, to take her on as his assistant. But she never expects her first case to involve the death of a friend! Rachel Geller, a beautiful young waitress, is found strangled in a field with a Christopher medal around her neck—clearly marking her as the fourth victim of a serial killer. Cameryn is determined to help find Rachel’s killer, and attending the autopsy gives her the first clue. But as she follows her instincts and gets closer to the killer, Cameryn suddenly finds herself on the verge of becoming his fifth victim!

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you’re the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there’s no one more qualified to investigate.

Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high. If Stoker and Holmes don’t unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they’ll become the next victims.

Dead Is The New Black by Marlene Perez

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the pyschic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case!

Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style.

Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad.

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.

But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.

Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber

Aphra Behn Connolly has the type of life most teenage girls envy. She lives on a remote tropical island and spends most of her time eavesdropping on the rich and famous. The problem is that her family’s resort allows few opportunities for her to make friends, much less to meet cute boys. So when a smoldering Seth Mulo arrives with his parents, she’s immediately drawn to him. Sure, he’s a little bit guarded, and sure his parents are rather cold, and okay he won’t say a word about his past, but their chemistry is undeniable. Then a famous rock star’s girlfriend turns up dead on the beach, strangled by her own bikini top, and alarm bells sound. Is it too great a coincidence that Seth’s family turned up just one day before a murder? As the plot thickens, Aphra finds that danger lurks behind even the most unexpected of faces. . . .

Down The Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets.

Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town’s production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own — before it’s too late!

The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

Iris Anderson is only 15, but she’s quickly mastering the art of deception in this YA novel for fans of Veronica Mars.

It’s the Fall of 1942 and Iris’s world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop’s cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There’s certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business.

A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan

Farrah “Digit” Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group’s number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping– all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in.

Girl Stolen by April Henry*

Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what’s happening, the car is being stolen.

Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne and once he finds out that not only does she have pneumonia, but that she’s blind, he really doesn’t know what to do. When his dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes–now there’s a reason to keep her.

How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare?

Heist Society by Ally Carter*

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s history–and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Inside The Shadow City by Kirsten Miller*

Life will never be the same for Ananka Fishbein after she ventures into an enormous sinkhole near her New York City apartment. A million rats, delinquent Girl Scouts out for revenge, and a secret city below the streets of Manhattan combine in this remarkable novel about a darker side of New York City you have only just begun to know about…

Jackaby by William Ritter

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion–and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary–including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police–with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane–deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison

Lulu Dark is the anti-Nancy—a chic, tough-talking city girl who never meant to get involved in a mystery.

But when her favorite purse is stolen during a Many Handsomes concert, Lulu knows she has to get it back. After all, it was one of a kind—and the lead singer’s phone number was stashed inside! Lulu dives deep into the fray along with her friends Daisy and Charlie, and discovers a twisted mystery involving a rock star, a rich socialite, a loony landlord, and a serious case of mistaken identity.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson*

Jack the Ripper is back, and he’s coming for Rory next….

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him – the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target…unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

The Naturals by Jennifer Barnes*

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

He revved the engine and I held tight with both hands as the bike lurched forward, We zoomed down streets, leaning into the curves, wind whipping over me. I pressed into his back until all I could smell was the leather tang of his jacket, and all I could taste was the sweet thrill of flying away.

Keeping secrets is second nature to Nearly Boswell. Living in a trailer park outside Washington, DC, with a mom who works as an exotic dancer, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Only her best friends know about her obsession with the personal ads, and Nearly hasn’t told anyone about the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone’s skin.

Then a serial killer goes on a murder spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper. Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn’t figure it out soon – she’ll be next.

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don’t.

Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she’s impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love…

History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut.

Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Suze is a mediator — a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won’t leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn’t seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it’s not that easy. There’s a ghost with revenge on her mind … and Suze happens to be in the way.

A Spy In The House by Y. S. Lee

Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past.

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

Trouble Is A Friend Of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

Of course I didn’t like Digby when I first met him. No one does.

The first time Philip Digby shows up on Zoe Webster’s doorstep, he’s rude and he treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to.

But before she knows it, Zoe’s allowed Digby—annoying, brilliant, and somehow…attractive? Digby—to drag her into a series of hilarious, dangerous, and only vaguely legal schemes all related to the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that might be connected to the tragic disappearance of his little sister eight years ago. When it comes to Digby, Zoe just can’t say no.

But is Digby a hero? Or is his manic quest an indication of a desperate attempt to repair his broken family and exorcize his own obsessive-compulsive tendencies? And does she really care anyway?

Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

Thriller Roundup

April 18, 2018 |

I’m still on a huge thriller kick, seeking a book to match the love I’ve had for The Girl on the Train since I first read it two years ago. Paula Hawkins’ novel is one of the few mega-popular titles that I loved just as much as everyone else. Nothing has really impressed me that much since, but most of my choices are solid and a fun way to occupy a few hours. Here’s a rundown of the some of the recent ones I’ve read and enjoyed.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

Anna is agoraphobic and fills her time with talking to people in her online support group, playing chess, watching old movies, drinking too much alcohol, and spying on her neighbors through the window. When she sees the woman across the street with a knife sticking out of her stomach, she tries to notify the police – but they don’t believe her. The woman’s husband presents a different woman as his wife, and their teenage son, whom Anna had met and formed a rapport with when he visited before, refuses to speak about much of anything. This is a psychological thriller very much in the vein of The Girl on the Train, featuring an unreliable narrator who witnesses a horrible crime but won’t be taken seriously by anyone involved. Finn takes his time developing Anna’s character, which can make the book seem slow at times. Before the event that caused Anna’s agoraphobia, she was a child psychologist with a husband and a young daughter. Now she and her husband are separated, and her daughter is with him, leaving Anna alone in the house. She helps other people in her online support group with their own agoraphobia, while simultaneously recognizing that she’s unable to help herself. The suspense builds slowly and deliberately, directing readers first at one suspect and then another, including Anna herself, and while many readers probably won’t be surprised by the ending, it’s executed well and quite satisfying.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Ani FaNelli experienced something horrible as a teenager at Bradley School, a prestigious boarding school near Philadelphia. As an adult, she’s tried to reinvent herself with a high-paying job, fancy clothes, and an impressive and handsome fiance. She’s made herself into a hard person, and it’s easy to dislike her, at least initially. She comes across as a bully, invested too much in her own appearance, the appearance of others, and of course, wealth. But there are flashes of someone kinder underneath, and this person is revealed slowly over the course of the book as we learn exactly what happened to Ani in high school. There’s a twist to the story about halfway through the book, and it’s this twist, violent and shocking, that the world within the story actually knows about, and the one that Ani is preparing to talk about publicly for a documentary. This is less of a thriller and more of a psychological study of a woman and how different traumas can affect a person. There’s no big reveal near the end, but it’s satisfying in other ways. Knoll reveals, bit by bit, what happened to Ani and how she’s been coping (and not coping), so by the end, we have the full picture. In that way, it has a bit of a mystery element to it, but readers shouldn’t go into this one expecting another Gone Girl. It’s disturbing, yes, but in a very different way.

The Child by Fiona Barton

I was a bit disappointed by the first Fiona Barton book I read, The Widow. It’s difficult to say why without spoiling the ending, but the experience did give me lower expectations for her second book. Luckily, this one is pretty solid. When the body of a baby is discovered in a backyard, buried many years ago, it brings the lives of three women together: a mother, her grown daughter, and the journalist investigating the case, each with her own secrets and motivations. The identity of the child, and its relationship with the mother and her daughter, is teased out over the course of the book. The story is told from three different perspectives, each woman’s voice and personality distinct from the others, all of them arresting. This is a mystery with solid answers to its main questions: who is the child, and what (or who) is responsible for its death? The path the story takes isn’t always predictable, but it does make sense – there are no twists simply for shock value. With good writing and a satisfying ending, I recommend The Child for anyone looking for an entirely female-driven mystery.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

February 28, 2018 |

Stevie Bell has been accepted into Ellingham Academy, a prestigious boarding school with no formal application – teenagers who want to attend simply write to the school, stating why they think they should be granted admission. Stevie is a true crime aficianado, and the powers-that-be at Ellingham think she belongs there. Stevie is eager to get away from her parents, who want her to focus more on dating and less on murder, but what she really wants is to solve the Ellingham cold case.

Wealthy tycoon and lover of games and riddles Albert Ellingham founded the school in the 1930s as a place where, according to him, “learning is a game.” But soon after it opened, his best intentions backfired in the most horrifying way: his wife and young daughter were kidnapped by someone who left a riddle as a calling card, signing it “Truly Devious.” They were never found and the crime was never solved, though someone was convicted of it (that someone died soon after). Stevie knows this is one of the greatest challenges she could undertake, and she makes it the focus of her senior project.

But things are about to get very real and a lot less cold at Ellingham. One of the students dies under mysterious circumstances, and the incident has overtones of Truly Devious. Stevie doesn’t know who to trust as she faces solving a cold case along with a very hot one. Is it an accident, as the school administrators claim? Or is one of her classmates guilty of a horrible crime? And is it connected to the original Ellingham kidnappings – has Truly Devious returned?

This is such a cool setup. I love mysteries set in two different time periods, where two different crimes could be connected – or maybe not. It adds layers to the mystery and makes it that much more intriguing. Of course, when you have two mysteries within a single book, there’s a lot riding on how they both turn out. Ideally, both solutions are equally ingenious. Ideally, the reader gets two solutions. Less ideally but still acceptable, the reader gets at least one really good solution and then learns that life sometimes doesn’t give you all the answers and is satisfied with forever not knowing the other solution.

Unfortunately for readers of Truly Devious, there are no solutions given here. Neither mystery is solved. Sure, we get one big revelation concerning each near the end, but an actual whodunnit? Nope. The book ends with To Be Continued (and probably a lot of groans of frustration).

By reading through the Goodreads reviews, I can tell you that this doesn’t bother everyone. Readers seem to be split half and half. And despite this glaring flaw of no resolution to a mystery (which is a requirement for the genre, much like a happily ever after in romance), this is a mostly well-written book with an intriguing plot and interesting characters. There’s going to be a sequel, of course, so readers who need solutions to the mysteries they read can wait for that and then read both books together as if they were one very long book (assuming, that is, we get answers in Book 2).

The book is a bit slow to get going; the modern-day death doesn’t happen until about halfway through. Not all of the cast of characters felt distinct, even by the end. The exceptions are the the amateur sleuth (Stevie), the love interest, the prime suspect, and the murdered teen, whose personalities come through clearly on the page. There’s also a bit of politics thrown in in the form of a fictional congressman who shares commonalities with many powerful Republicans today, which I think teens will appreciate – it brings a currency to the story that counterbalances the historical crime. I’m hoping that this facet of the story is explored more fully in the next book, including how and if it connects to either murder.

Ultimately, though, I was Truly Disappointed by this book. Maureen Johnson, I wanted to like it – but why’d you have to leave me in the lurch like this?

Copy provided by the publisher.

Thriller Roundup

October 11, 2017 |

I’ve been on a huge adult thriller kick lately, likely stemming from my love of The Girl on the Train, which I read last year. Nothing I’ve read since (including Paula Hawkins’ follow-up) has quite lived up to that experience, but there have been a lot of entertaining books nonetheless. Here are a few recent ones.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Anne and Marco are attending a party at their next door neighbors’ house, and they’ve left their six month old baby daughter at home because the neighbors have requested no children. Marco says it will be fine – they’ll have the baby monitor on them, and they’ll take turns going to check on her every half hour. Except when Anne goes to check on her just after midnight, she’s disappeared. What ensues is a twisty page-turner where everyone has secrets – Anne and Marco, Anne’s parents, their next door neighbors, and others – and the truth behind who took the baby is just the tip of the iceberg. This isn’t the most sophisticated thriller out there – you’ll probably guess at least a few of the twists before they happen, but don’t worry, there are more to follow – but it’s supremely entertaining. I look forward to seeing what Lapena writes next.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware is really, really good at writing thrilling mysteries. Of the authors I’ve read in my pursuit to match The Girl on the Train, she comes closest. In a Dark, Dark Wood is her first book, and it’s a total winner. Nora has decided to accept Clare’s invitation to attend her hen night (think bachelorette party for Brits), despite the fact that she hasn’t seen Clare in ten years and they parted badly. The party is in a remote cabin in the woods with no cell service (of course), and right away, strange things start happening, the first being that Nora discovers Clare is marrying Nora’s high school boyfriend, James. Ware has created a cast of interesting, dynamic characters, some of which you’ll like and some of which you won’t, and her plotting is top-notch, plus the atmosphere can’t be beat. It’s pure joy to see the way everything comes together – you won’t be able to quit turning the pages. This is a true marriage of mystery and thriller, just the way I like it.

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

Grace thinks she’s found the perfect man for her. Jack is handsome, kind, charming, and adores her teenage sister, who has Down syndrome and will need to live with them once she turns 18 and is no longer able to stay at her special school. Once they marry, though, everything changes (as you knew it would). Jack isn’t at all who he pretended to be, and he has plans for Grace and her sister that will make your skin crawl. At times, Jack is so completely evil that it’s difficult to suspend disbelief while reading, but this also makes the ending doubly satisfying. Paris tells her story in two parts – before, when Jack is wooing Grace and they are first married, and after, when the new dynamic is completely established and Grace is a total prisoner in her own home, trying anything she can think of to save her and her sister. It’s a difficult read at times, but it’s also impossible to put down, and you can be comforted by the fact that in stories such as these, the villain always gets his comeuppance. While the other two books I review in this post are mysteries as well as thrillers, there’s no real mystery aspect to this one.

Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith

September 13, 2017 |

I used to read tons of adult mysteries, from the time I was a tween all the way up through grad school in my early twenties. Both of my parents were really into them, so we listened to lots of (mostly) kid-friendly titles on long car trips. Elizabeth Peters, Alexander McCall Smith, and Janet Evanovich were a few favorites. As an adult, I loved reading Elizabeth George, Alan Bradley, and Deanna Raybourn.

And then my deep dive into the world of YA happened, and my focus shifted to mainly YA SFF. I’d always read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but I didn’t touch another genre for quite some time. It’s only recently that I’ve drifted back into adult mysteries, and I have J.K. Rowling to thank for it.

Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she’s written a series of three mysteries (so far) featuring private detective Cormoran Strike (a very Harry Potter-ish name). And they are really, really good. Rowling’s plotting of the Harry Potter series has always been one of its main joys for me, so it makes total sense that she’d rock writing mysteries. The plots of the Strike books are complex, sometimes convoluted, with red herrings galore, but always, always a solution that makes complete sense and ties up all the myriad clues.

And of course, a good mystery series features a dynamic, interesting lead detective. In the Strike series, we get two: private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott, who was initially assigned to him as a secretary through a temp agency. She quickly proves herself to have a knack for detective work, and the two make a great team. Their relationship has its ups and downs – Cormoran doesn’t always value her as he should, and Robin is often unsure of herself and her new role, leading to miscommunications – but it’s one of the joys of reading the books. Cormoran himself has a fascinating backstory (son of a famous rockstar and a groupie, lost his leg in Afghanistan) that Rowling/Galbraith teases out through the three novels currently published. Robin, too, has a backstory, arguably equally tragic, but the focus with her is usually on her current troubles (an awful fiance who wants her to give up detective work).

I listened to these on audiobook, and the narrator, Robert Glenister, is fantastic, one of the best in the business. He partly voices each character, and the pace of his narration is terrific – no need to speed him up like so many other audiobook narrators. He is the voice of Cormoran Strike for me, and he even does the women pretty well – they’re not breathy or weirdly high-pitched like male narrators often do for female characters.

The three currently published books have been adapted for a BBC television series, which has already begun airing in the UK. HBO has picked it up for distribution, but there’s not yet a release date stateside. The fourth novel in the series, Lethal White, should be out sometime in 2018 (Rowling hasn’t finished writing it yet). If you’re in the mood for a really well-done contemporary mystery series, this is a great pick.