Most Anticipated Crime Books of Early 2018
Release Dates: January 2018 - April 2018
2018 is poised to be a fantastic year for crime fiction, and I want to help you build the perfect crime reading list for it! Throughout 2018, I'll be sharing season-specific lists of my “Most-Anticipated Crime Books”; you can expect 4 lists like this from me in 2018. Today’s list focuses on early 2018 releases—aka books releasing between January 2018 and April 2018! From Nordic Noir to psychological suspense and a whole lot more, this spring will have crime readers covered—and my list will help you find the best of the best in new crime fiction. This list is organized arbitrarily—although I will say, my most-anticipated read of the season (and the year) might just be listed at the top.
One important note: I have already had the chance to read (and love!) a number of the books on this list. I will include links to any coverage of these titles below! If a book listed below doesn't have a review linked to it, it means I haven't read it yet - but it's on my TBR!
Without further ado, let’s dive into my list of Most-Anticipated Crime Books of Early 2018!
MACBETH by Jo Nesbø
Hogarth; April 10, 2018
Read My “Buzzworthy 2018 Books” Post
Why I’m Excited About MACBETH:
This one is a no-brainer. Hands down my most-anticipated read of 2018, MACBETH is a dream pairing for me: my favorite author writing a retelling of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. Nesbø’s MACBETH is a modern-day crime novel with the ageless beating heart of its Shakespearean namesake: it captures the moral complexity, menace, and despair of the original, with a grim, gritty twist that is trademark Nesbø.
Plot Details:
Set in the 1970s in a run-down, rainy industrial town, Jo Nesbo's Macbeth centers around a police force struggling to shed an incessant drug problem. Duncan, chief of police, is idealistic and visionary, a dream to the townspeople but a nightmare for criminals. The drug trade is ruled by two drug lords, one of whom—a master of manipulation named Hecate—has connections with the highest in power, and plans to use them to get his way.
Hecate’s plot hinges on steadily, insidiously manipulating Inspector Macbeth: the head of SWAT and a man already susceptible to violent and paranoid tendencies. What follows is an unputdownable story of love and guilt, political ambition, and greed for more, exploring the darkest corners of human nature, and the aspirations of the criminal mind.
THE SANDMAN by Lars Kepler
Knopf; March 6, 2018
Read My “Buzzworthy 2018 Books” Post
Why I’m Excited About THE SANDMAN:
Lars Kepler (the pen name for a crime writing duo) has delivered a thriller that is simply crime writing perfection. THE SANDMAN is a cut above; it's one of those rare books that balances meticulous plotting, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and an almost mythic serial killer to pitch-perfect effect. Cinematic, action-packed, and bone-chilling, THE SANDMAN is poised to deliver a standout 2018 read - and is already a strong contender for one of my favorite books of the year.
Plot Details:
Late one night, outside Stockholm, Mikael Kohler-Frost is found wandering. Thirteen years earlier, he went missing along with his younger sister. They were long thought to have been victims of Sweden's most notorious serial killer, Jurek Walter, now serving a life sentence in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Now Mikael tells the police that his sister is still alive and being held by someone he knows only as the Sandman. Years ago, Detective Inspector Joona Linna made an excruciating personal sacrifice to ensure Jurek's capture. He is keenly aware of what this killer is capable of, and now he is certain that Jurek has an accomplice. He knows that any chance of rescuing Mikael's sister depends on getting Jurek to talk, and that the only agent capable of this is Inspector Saga Bauer, a twenty-seven-year-old prodigy. She will have to go under deep cover in the psychiatric ward where Jurek is imprisoned, and she will have to find a way to get to the psychopath before it's too late--and before he gets inside her head.
LET ME LIE by Clare Mackintosh
Berkley; March 13, 2018
Why I’m Excited About LET ME LIE:
Clare Mackintosh has been a staple of CBTB ever since I started this blog, and I cannot wait to see what she delivers next. Clare’s previous two novels, I LET YOU GO and I SEE YOU, highlighted totally unique elements of her suspense-writing talent, and I’m so looking forward to seeing what new facets of her talent come to light in her newest thriller.
Plot Details:
Two years ago, Tom and Caroline Johnson committed suicide, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their adult daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents' deaths, unable to comprehend why they chose to end their lives. Now with a young baby herself, she feels her mother's presence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as Anna digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her. She soon learns that nothing is as it seemed.
THE CHALK MAN by C.J. Tudor
Crown; January 9, 2018
Read My “Buzzworthy 2018 Books” Post
Why I’m Excited About THE CHALK MAN:
C.J. Tudor’s debut thriller will no doubt be one of the great standout debuts of the year. Part dark coming of age story, part psychological thriller, this outstanding debut will be a must-read for fans of Stephen King, Ruth Ware, and Liz Nugent—a bit of an eclectic blend, perhaps, but an appropriate illustration of the many facets that will make this debut so widely-appealing.
Plot Details:
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.
In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.
SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
Flatiron; March 13, 2018
Read My “Buzzworthy 2018 Books” Post
Why I’m Excited About SOMETIMES I LIE:
Another stellar debut, Feeney’s SOMETIMES I LIE is just plain fun to read. Twisty, shocking, and completely addictive, this is the kind of psychological thriller that will keep you glued to the pages and loving every minute of it. This book is destined to join the ranks of Behind Closed Doors and Gone Girl.
Plot Details:
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.
Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?
TANGERINE by Christine Mangan
Ecco; March 27, 2018
Read My Review
Why I’m Excited About TANGERINE:
Fans of Patricia Highsmith and Gillian Flynn will find a new favorite read in TANGERINE. Vividly imagined and intelligently plotted, Mangan’s debut is unnerving, escapist, and smart, drawing readers into a web of manipulations and lies. This is a stellar and sophisticated psychological suspense read.
Plot Details:
The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the accident at Bennington, the two friends—once inseparable roommates—haven’t spoken in over a year. But there Lucy was, trying to make things right and return to their old rhythms. Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy—always fearless and independent—helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.
But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice—she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice’s husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.
THE ELIZAS by Sara Shepard
Atria; April 17, 2018
Why I’m Excited About THE ELIZAS:
Shepard is the author of Pretty Little Liars, aka the books that inspired my favorite TV show—aka this is a no-brainer, I need to read this book. THE ELIZAS also delivers a suspense story about authors, which I always love! (Examples of this kind of read: LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan and LIE TO ME by J.T. Ellison.)
Plot Details:
When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness.
Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional, isn’t it?
The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel, until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.
THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER by Sara Blaedel
Grand Central; February 6, 2018
Read My “Book Preview”
Why I’m Excited About THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER:
This release marks a whole new direction for Blaedel, who is best known for her Nordic detective novels featuring Louise Rick. THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER is a lighter suspense story of long-held family secrets; this will be a great choice for those who want to read a story featuring Blaedel’s knack for endearing characters without the overt darkness of the Louise Rick books.
Plot Details:
Already widowed by the age of forty, Ilka Nichols Jensen, a school portrait photographer, leads a modest, regimented, and uneventful life in Copenhagen. Until unexpected news rocks her quiet existence: Her father--who walked out suddenly and inexplicably on the family more than three decades ago--has died. And he's left her something in his will: his funeral home. In Racine, Wisconsin.
Clinging to this last shred of communication from the father she hasn't heard from since childhood, Ilka makes an uncharacteristically rash decision and jumps on a plane to Wisconsin. Desperate for a connection to the parent she never really knew, she plans to visit the funeral home and go through her father's things--hoping for some insight into his new life in America--before preparing the business for a quick sale.
But when she stumbles on an unsolved murder, and a killer who seems to still be very much alive, the undertaker's daughter realizes she might be in over her head . . .
THE LEGACY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Minotaur; February 13, 2018
Read My Review
Why I’m Excited About THE LEGACY:
Iceland’s Queen of Crime brings her newest series to the US this spring with THE LEGACY - and it’s an absolute knockout. This is a superb blend of police procedural with Yrsa’s trademark dark imagination; it will thrill fans of her Nordic Noir peers while delivering one of the strongest crime series launches of the year.
Plot Details:
The only person who might have the answers to a baffling murder case is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking.
Newly-promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja for her expertise with traumatized young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe.
It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues, but can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?
APART IN THE DARK: Novellas by Ania Ahlborn
Gallery Books; 1/16/18
Why I’m Excited About APART IN THE DARK:
Ania Ahlborn is a modern master of the horror genre, and this novella collection marks the first time these two stories of hers are available in print. I’ve loved every book of Ania’s I’ve read, and I’m always itching to be scared and entertained by more of her work!
Plot Details:
THE PRETTY ONES
New York, 1977. The sweltering height of the Summer of Sam. The entire city is gripped with fear, but all Nell Sullivan worries about is whether or not she’ll ever make a friend. The self-proclaimed “Plain Jane” does her best to fit in with the girls at work, but Nell’s brother, Barrett, assures her that she’ll never be like them. When Nell manages to finally garner some much-yearned-for attention, the unthinkable happens to her newfound friend. The office pool blames Son of Sam, but Nell knows the awful truth…because doing the devil’s work is easy when there’s already a serial killer on the loose.
I CALL UPON THEE
Maggie Olsen had a pretty ordinary childhood—swimming and sleepovers, movie nights and dad jokes. And then there were the other things…the darker things…the shadow that followed her home from the cemetery and settled into the corners of her home, refusing to let her grow up in peace. Now, after three years away from the place she's convinced she inadvertently haunted, and after yet another family tragedy strikes, Maggie is forced to return to the sweltering heat of a Savannah summer to come to terms with her past. All along, she's been telling herself, it was just in your head, and she nearly convinces herself that she'd imagined it all. But the moment Maggie steps into the foyer of her family home, she knows. The darkness is still here. And it's been waiting for Maggie's return….
PLUS: MOST ANTICIPATED EARLY 2018 PAPERBACK RELEASES
A number of CBTB favorites are releasing in paperback this spring, too! (And some of them have stunning redesigned covers!) Below you’ll find a list of these releases, including links to coverage of these books on CBTB. The books below are organized by publication date.
- THE THIRST by Jo Nesbo
- On sale 1/30/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- UNRAVELING OLIVER by Liz Nugent
- On sale 2/6/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- THE UNDESIRED by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
- On sale 2/16/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware
- On sale 3/6/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- THE CHILD by Fiona Barton
- On sale 3/6/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- HER EVERY FEAR by Peter Swanson
- On sale 3/6/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- NEVER LET YOU GO by Chevy Stevens
- On sale 3/13/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
- ARE YOU SLEEPING by Kathleen Barber
- On sale 3/20/18 // Read CBTB’s Review
And that's a wrap on my Most Anticipated Reads of Early 2018! Are any of these books on your TBR? I'd love to hear from you! xx A
Home ownership feel like a distant dream? Zillow listings have you convinced you’ll be renting for the rest of your life? The woman at the heart of Carissa Orlando’s debut The September House feels your pain—and she’s prepared to put up with a lot if it means she and her husband can finally have a place to call their own. In this case, that might just mean living in a house that’s haunted. Playful and irreverent, spine-tingling and spooky, The September House puts a fresh spin on the classic haunted house story, delivering an immersive tale about the secrets lurking within one building’s walls, and within the lives of its inhabitants.