The Best Mystery and Thriller Books of the Year, According to Everyone
The top news continues to be Best of Lists, but I also threw in a fun adaptation review and an interview with a blockbuster author.
Kirkus Best Of 2024
Here are 12 of Kirkus‘ starred reviews for mystery and thrillers of 2024, which offers a pretty wide range of subgenres and tropes for the genre.
¡Hola Papi! Reviews Conclave
I love John Paul Brammer—from his advice column to his memoir—so I was delighted to see that he wrote a review about Conclave (adapted from Robert Harris’ thriller), which, of course, is full of his humor and social commentary.
Amazon’s Best Books of 2024
Amazon has put out their Best of 2024 book list, with a focus on editors’ choices who actually give blurbs (more of this, please!) and 20 books have been chosen for mystery and thriller readers: Best Mysteries, Thrillers and Suspense Books of 2024. And, out of the 20 books, they awarded one of the top winners of the year (no surprise in pick; it’s been the hot literary mystery of the year!).
Goodreads Choice Awards 2024
As I’m writing this, the Goodreads Choice Awards have opened for first-round voting. I think by the time this hits your inbox, we will now be in the final round of voting. Unsurprisingly, I’ve spotted quite a few book club picks throughout the categories, and, at least in the first-round nominees, the Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller category has a GMA book club pick (Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera), Reese book club pick (Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown), and Reads With Jenna pick (All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker)
Michael Connelly on CBS Saturday Morning
If you’re a fan of hearing authors talk about their careers, here’s Michael Connelly talking about starting out as a journalist, how he came to write his Harry Bosch series, and how he had to sue Paramount in order to buy back the rights to his books.
TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
I think out of the 100, there are only 3 books for mystery and crime fans (at least, that I spotted): There Is No Ethan by Anna Akbari; The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza; and The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I like that this list offers plenty of books that probably escaped many people’s radars and can be used as a great TBR!
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2024 releases and mysteries from 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations! Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, and Litsy.
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