CBTB’s July Must-Read Crime Fiction
Summer is here, and it’s bringing with it all kinds of amazing new crime fiction releases. From binge-worthy psychological thrillers to the return of CBTB-favorite crime writers to sleep-with-the-lights-on creepy suspense stories and much more, July 2020 has a little something for everyone. In today’s blog post, I’m highlighting the new releases I personally recommend this month, and the July publications that are still on my TBR list! Dive on in for the best of the best of this month’s new crime fiction, and grab yourself a new read (or two!) to add to your summer reading list.
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For Spine-Tingling Chills: THE SHADOWS by Alex North
My Quick Thoughts:
A man returns to his hometown—and to the terrifying memories of his childhood—in this spine-tingling story of psychological suspense. Pseudonymous author Alex North, author of 2019’s The Whisper Man, returns this year with a standout work of psychological thrills and horror-inspired chills. THE SHADOWS is part coming-of-age tale, part spine-tingling story of past horrors and their present-day fallout. Readers of C.J. Tudor and Stephen King will love this gritty, creepy novel from an author whose dark imagination never fails to capture my attention… and keep me reading way past my bedtime. Pick this one up for a summer read guaranteed to give you goosebumps.
What It’s About:
You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn't just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...
For Glitz & Glamour—And Sweet Revenge: THE GOLDEN CAGE by Camilla Lackberg
My Quick Thoughts:
Summer’s juiciest revenge thriller is here. THE GOLDEN CAGE is the newest novel from the author known as “Europe’s Queen of Crime,” Camilla Lackberg—but this book is Lackberg like we’ve never seen her before. Inspired by the heroines of 80’s romance novels, THE GOLDEN CAGE imagines what happens when a woman with a dark, violent past is pushed to the point of no return by an unfaithful and domineering husband. This is a story of juicy, dramatic revenge—a page-turning psychological thriller with a dash of Swedish chic and characters worthy of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Readers who crave reality TV-worthy drama blended with the twists and sharp plotting of a great thriller will love THE GOLDEN CAGE.
What It’s About:
An exhilarating new novel from a global superstar--a sexy, over-the-top psychological thriller that tells the story of the scorned wife of a billionaire and her delicious plot to get her revenge and bring him to his knees.
Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past. When Jack needs help launching a new company, Faye leaves school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night. With the business soaring, Faye and Jack have a baby, and Faye finds herself at home, caring for their daughter, wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world. And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly, undermining her intelligence and forgetting all she sacrificed for his success. When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished façade of their life cracks wide open. Faye is alone, emotionally shattered, and financially devastated--but hell hath no fury like a woman with a violent past bent on vengeance. Jack is about to get exactly what he deserves--and so much more. In this splashy, electrifying story of sex, betrayal, and secrets, a woman's revenge is a brutal but beautiful thing.
For Unreliable Narrators & Plot Twists: HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney
Releasing 7/28/20
My Quick Thoughts:
Alice Feeney is one of my go-to authors for gripping, twisty psychological thrillers, and her new release HIS & HERS belongs on the TBR list of any suspense aficionado. Full disclosure: at the time of writing this blog post, I’m about halfway through this book, but so far it’s living up to every expectation—and I’ll be sure to provide my full thoughts as soon as I finish! HIS & HERS is narrated alternately by two equally suspicious protagonists: a BBC news correspondent named Anna, and a policeman named Jack. Anna and Jack’s paths intersect when the body of a woman is found in the small town where Jack lives. Both characters have major secrets to hide, and readers will be kept constantly wrongfooted by Feeney’s propulsive and clever plotting.
What It’s About:
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.
Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
His & Hers is a twisty, smart, psychological thriller. A gripping tale of suspense, told by expertly-drawn narrators that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
For the Locked Room Mystery Aficionado: THEY ALL FALL DOWN by Rachel Howzell Hall
Mass Market Paperback Edition Releasing 7/28/20
My Quick Thoughts:
I read THEY ALL FALL DOWN on a whim on a vacation last year, and was instantly swept up in Rachel Howzell Hall’s razor-sharp and witty writing. In THEY ALL FALL DOWN, the author delivers a contemporary take on the classic “locked room mystery” structure. Brimming with untrustworthy characters and set against a stunning island backdrop, THEY ALL FALL DOWN delivers page-turning entertainment value and the clever plotting locked room mystery fans have come to expect from this staple of the crime fiction genre, now with a very welcome modern twist. This book delivers a classic crime fiction structure re-imagined for the modern reader.
What It’s About:
For fans of thrilling contemporary suspense, Rachel Howzell Hall’s brilliant stand-alone novel brings seven sinners to a private island for a reckoning that will leave you breathless.
It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.
Delighted by a surprise invitation, Miriam Macy sails off to a luxurious private island off the coast of Mexico with six other strangers. Surrounded by miles of open water in the gloriously green Sea of Cortez, Miriam is soon shocked to discover that she and the rest of her companions have been brought to the remote island under false pretenses―and all seven strangers harbor a secret.
Danger lurks in the lush forest and in the halls and bedrooms of the lonely mansion. Sporadic cell-phone coverage and miles of ocean keeps the group trapped in paradise. And strange accidents stir suspicions, as one by one . . .
They all fall down
Plus: July Releases Still on My TBR
THE SAFE PLACE by Anna Downes
Releasing 7/14/20
Why I’m Excited to Read It:
THE SAFE PLACE looks tailor-made for a summer read. With travel cancelled this summer, I’m all about finding reads that can transport me around the world from the comfort (and safety) of home, and THE SAFE PLACE fits the bill perfectly. A wanderlust-worthy setting? Check. A plot with modern Gothic vibes? Check. A stunning, summer-y book cover? Check. THE SAFE PLACE looks like an ideal read for a summer escape, and I can’t wait to dive in.
What It’s About:
Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downes's debut, The Safe Place, is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.
Welcome to paradise...will you ever be able to leave?
Emily is a mess.
Emily Proudman just lost her acting agent, her job, and her apartment in one miserable day.
Emily is desperate.
Scott Denny, a successful and charismatic CEO, has a problem that neither his business acumen nor vast wealth can fix. Until he meets Emily.
Emily is perfect.
Scott offers Emily a summer job as a housekeeper on his remote, beautiful French estate. Enchanted by his lovely wife Nina, and his eccentric young daughter, Aurelia, Emily falls headlong into this oasis of wine-soaked days by the pool. But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn't play along, the consequences could be deadly.
BLACKTOP WASTELAND by S.A. Cosby
Releasing 7/14/20
Why I’m Excited:
BLACKTOP WASTELAND is an adrenaline-fueled thriller that’s received absolutely astonishing early praise. Lee Child calls it “sensationally good,” while Walter Mosley raves that the book is “an intoxicating thrill of a ride” and Dennis Lehane calls it “an urgent, timely, pitch-perfect jolt of American noir.” With praise like that, who wouldn’t want to check this thriller out?! BLACKTOP WASTELAND promises to deliver grit, page-turning action, and a thriller plot worthy of the big screen, and I can’t wait to dive in and get carried away.
What It’s About:
A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.
Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.
HE STARTED IT by Samantha Downing
Releasing 7/21/20
Why I’m Excited:
I’m a huge Samantha Downing fan—I loved her debut novel My Lovely Wife, and have been eagerly anticipating the publication of HE STARTED IT for… almost a year now! Downing’s writing is sharp, irreverent, and hugely entertaining, and HE STARTED IT sounds like another inventive and utterly unique story from this hugely talented author. I have high hopes for this one!
What It’s About:
From the twisted mind behind mega hit My Lovely Wife comes the story of a family—not unlike your own—just with a few more violent tendencies thrown in....
Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven't all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we'll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.
But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.
It's even harder when you're all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory, a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won't stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there's a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.
But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.
Are any of these books on your July TBR? Read any of these books yet? I’d love to hear from you! As always, happy reading! 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.