THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE by Carissa Orlando Berkley; 9/5/23 CBTB Rating: 4.5/5 The Verdict: a playful & fresh haunted house story 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 ..read more

Hi friends! It’s been quite a while since I wrote an actual blog post here, but I can think of no better first blog post back than the announcement I’ve got in store for you today. As you’ll know if you’ve been keeping up with all things Crime by the Book over on Instagram, a few months ago I left New York and moved back to Houston, Texas. There were many factors that influenced my decision to come back to Houston—and I’d be lying if I said one of them wasn’t the amazing independent bookstore Murder by the Book that’s based right here in town. MBTB was my local indie when I was in college h ..read more

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham Minotaur; 1/10/23 CBTB Rating: 4.5/5 The Verdict: a hypnotic, immersive mystery Stacy Willingham returns today with her sophomore thriller ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS, a lyrical, immersive mystery that delves into one mother’s waking nightmare—and the dangerous secrets she will uncover as she seeks the truth about the two tragedies that have defined her life. I devoured ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS over my holiday break this year, and found this to be one of those rare books that genuinely is impossible to put down. Moving between past and present, ALL TH ..read more

CBTB’S TOP 10 CRIME BOOKS OF 2022 I can hardly believe we’ve come to the end of 2022—and what a year it’s been! I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but 2022 has truly been another outstanding year for crime fiction readers. As I reflected on my year in books while writing this blog post, it felt nearly impossible to narrow down my picks. I genuinely think we might be in the golden age of crime writing; the books crime writers had in store for us this year were nothing short of superb. From the return of fan-favorite authors to thrilling new voices being published for the first time, the ..read more

ICELAND NOIR 2022 FESTIVAL JOURNAL I can’t believe that this year’s Iceland Noir has already come and gone. If you’ve been around Crime by the Book for a little bit, you already know how much I absolutely love Iceland Noir: a crime fiction festival that takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland in November. This year was my fourth time attending the Iceland Noir, and it was my favorite festival experience yet (looking back on my festival journal from last year, I really do say that every single year—but it’s true, this festival just keeps getting better and better!!). Iceland Noir brings together crim ..read more

THE FAMILY GAME by Catherine Steadman Ballantine; 10/18/22 CBTB Rating: 4/5 The Verdict: highly entertaining psychological suspense Sometimes you just need to read a really fun psychological thriller—and that’s the boat I found myself in last week. After devoting my entire October to-read list to supernatural thrillers for spooky season, I was ready to get back to my psychological suspense roots this month—and ideally, I wanted something that was a little bit more lighthearted and “popcorn-y” for a change of pace. Luckily for me, I had the perfect book for the job waiting on my to-read pile ..read more

CBTB’s Most-Anticipated November 2022 Crime Fiction I honestly can’t believe it’s already November—but I’m not complaining! I (obviously) believe that thrillers and mystery novels can (and should!) be read year-round, but there’s something undeniably perfect about cozying up with a great crime novel as the weather gets colder. This month has an amazing lineup of new crime novels in store for us, and today I’m rounding up my picks for most-anticipated new crime, mystery, and suspense novels publishing in November 2022! This month sees the return of a couple of my longtime favorite authors ..read more

Ranking Freida McFadden Thrillers  If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember me going down the rabbit hole last month and binge-reading a whole bunch of psychological suspense novels by an author named Freida McFadden. I dove into Freida’s buzzy suspense novel THE HOUSEMAID earlier this summer on a whim—and quickly found myself hooked on the author’s deliciously binge-worthy popcorn thrillers. My August 2022 reading list ended up being dominated by Freida McFadden books, and I realized it’s about time I documented my journey with her work so far! I’ve still got a long way to g ..read more

RECOMMENDED READING: HALLOWEEN 2022 PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE, GHOST STORIES, “CHILLERS,” & MORE FOR YOUR SPOOKY SEASON TBR! It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Halloween season is upon us! I firmly believe that you can read thrillers any time of year, but there’s something undeniably perfect about digging into a dark, creepy crime novel in the lead-up to Halloween. Honestly, every year I have a little bit of a hard time coming up with a list of Halloween reading recommendations, not because I don’t have enough books to recommend—quite the opposite! Just about every single book I’ve ..read more

Ranking Freida McFadden Thrillers  If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember me going down the rabbit hole last month and binge-reading a whole bunch of psychological suspense novels by an author named Freida McFadden. I dove into Freida’s buzzy suspense novel THE HOUSEMAID earlier this summer on a whim—and quickly found myself hooked on the author’s deliciously binge-worthy popcorn thrillers. My August 2022 reading list ended up being dominated by Freida McFadden books, and I realized it’s about time I documented my journey with her work so far! I’ve still got a long way to g ..read more