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I know we’re still a little over a week away from the official start of September, but—because next month is so stacked with so many great, must-read new mysteries and thrillers—I wanted to get the Reading Guide and all of my reviews out right away so that you can plan your book-buying budgets accordingly!
Like months past, we have two versions of the September Reading Guide to offer you—this one, our basic free guide, which lists every mystery and thriller coming out this month, and a premium Reading Guide, complete with book reviews (including books I loved, liked, and the ones I couldn’t even finish) for everything about to hit bookstores, additional giveaways, and more.
Also, we’ve received a lot of feedback from TRBS and Substack readers about the Reading Guides, and it seems that the most requested feature is to know which titles are my personal favorites each month. So, I’m going to start listing my Top 5 books, which, for September, are:
1.) The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
2.) All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan
3.) The Persian by David McCloskey
4.) Apostle’s Cove by William Kent Krueger
See more about those books and everything else hitting bookstores this September, below.
Happy Reading!
Billion-Dollar Ransom by James Patterson & Duane Swierczynski
Release Date: September 2
Little, Brown and Company
From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson, six kidnappers pursue a whopping ten-figure payout in this thrilling novel featuring “breakneck pacing and loop-the-loop plotting” (Publishers Weekly).
Five members of a billionaire’s family. In different locations. All kidnapped at the same moment.
Two children taken from a private-school bus. A film producer and a movie star grabbed at a hideaway resort. A beautiful wife whisked off the streets of Beverly Hills.
A patriarch wants his family back. The cash, gold, jewels, are crypto are all ready.
There’s only one problem: a brilliant, very stubborn FBI agent. Special Agent Nicky Gordon doesn’t want to pay the kidnappers.
Not a dime.
Release Date: September 2
Bookouture
Death imitates art in the brand-new crime thriller starring homicide cop Eve Dallas from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author J.D. Robb.
Manhattan is filled with galleries and deep-pocketed collectors who can make an artist’s career with a wave of a hand. But one man toils in obscurity, his brilliance unrecognized while lesser talents bask in the glory he believes should be his. Come tomorrow, he vows, the city will be buzzing about his work.
Indeed, before dawn, Lt. Eve Dallas is speeding toward the home of the two gallery owners whose doorway has been turned into a horrifying crime scene overnight. A lifeless young woman has been elaborately costumed and precisely posed to resemble the model of a long-ago Dutch master, and Dallas plunges into her investigation.
The Couple’s Secret by Lisa Regan
Release Date: September 2
Bookouture
The couple in the photo smile at the camera, arms wrapped around each other, faces alight with happiness. They were two people getting a second chance at love, trying to blend their young families and start a new life together. Until their smiles became frozen for the camera forever as their lives were cut tragically short by a horrifying act of violence…
Seven years ago, Tobias Lachlan and his fiancée Cora Stevens went out for a romantic dinner together. They left the restaurant smiling and holding hands, Cora sent a text message to say they were on the way home… but they were never seen again, leaving their family and friends with broken hearts and unanswered questions.
Detective Josie Quinn is shocked when she’s called to investigate the discovery of their bodies in a submerged car in the river just outside Denton. The medical report soon shows that Tobias and Cora were brutally murdered, sending shockwaves through the community and reopening the case that police thought had long gone cold.
With no obvious clues, and no sightings of the couple after they left the restaurant that night, Josie draws a blank. Tobias and Cora’s children, now grown, can’t imagine who might have wanted their parents dead. The discovery of a tiny old-fashioned key in the remnants of Cora’s purse could unlock the mystery, but no one knows what the key might open, and Josie can’t figure out what it meant to Cora. But secrets don’t stay buried forever, and if Josie knows one thing to be true, it’s this: someone always knows something. As she digs deeper, Josie finds evidence that this perfect couple might have been keeping secrets. Secrets from their children, and secrets from each other.
But then another body is found—another member of the family, tragically silenced forever. Josie’s investigation has stirred up more than just the river bed, and she knows that the killer is now even more desperate to keep their secrets hidden. Who is trying to rip this family apart, and can Josie find out before it’s too late?
An absolutely nail-biting and utterly gripping crime thriller from Amazon, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Lisa Regan. Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine will not be able to stop turning the pages!
Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity by M.P. Woodward
Release Date: September 2
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Jack Ryan Jr battles terrorists in the disputed mountains of Kashmir to save a comrade in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
A string of savage murders in the United States seems unrelated until the FBI makes a shocking discovery: a decade ago, all of the murder victims were involved in a raid to eliminate the Umayyad Revolutionary Council, a vicious terror group that—were it not for John Clark and the Campus—would have perpetrated the most devastating attack against critical American infrastructure in history. Now it appears they’re back, with a next-generation leader hell-bent on revenge.
Mary Pat Foley, Director of National Intelligence, greenlights an op for the Campus to cut the head off the snake. Clark taps ex-Delta commando Bartosz “Midas” Jankowski to lead a kill team deep into the mountains to snuff out the charismatic terror leader. But when the hunters become the hunted, it’s up to Jack Rayan Jr. to avert disaster amid a deadly power game of nations vying for control of the disputed region.
On a rapid covert ingress from neighboring India, he’ll traverse the Himalayan wilderness with a rifle on his back and a tough Mujahadin fighter by his side. Jack knows time is growing short—he must save his team and lead them into position to be the first to hit terminal velocity.
The Girl with Ice in Her Veins by Karin Smirnoff
Release Date: September 2
Knopf
“Fresh, fearless. . . . One of the great crime series of our time could not be in safer, more capable hands.” —Chris Whitaker
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Lisbeth Salander returns in this chilling new installment of the multi-million-copy bestselling Millennium series.
Sweden’s far north is growing colder; even in springtime, the town of Gasskas is buried under a relentless snow. As temperatures drop, tensions rise between a global corporation shamelessly exploiting the area’s natural resources and wary locals who have scores to settle. A bomb blasts apart a crucial bridge. Soon after, a young journalist is found murdered.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth is at home in Stockholm, looking to fill the void her last lover left behind. When she discovers that fellow hacker Plague has been kidnapped and taken up north, and finds her niece, Svala, on her doorstep, she has no choice but to return to Gasskas—with Mikael Blomkvist at her side. Blomkvist takes the helm at Gasskas’s newspaper, and Lisbeth tries to locate Plague. But then Svala goes missing, and Lisbeth’s worst fears come to haunt her. . .
Lured back to a lawless town full of predators disguised as saviors and foes disguised as friends, forced to face down their own troubling pasts and those of their loved ones, Salander and Blomkvist must untangle a history of violence before it’s too late. The Girl with Ice in Her Veins is a twisty, vertiginous, hard-hitting thriller that breathes new life into Stieg Larsson’s epic series and unforgettable characters.
Apostle’s Cove by William Kent Krueger
Release Date: September 2
Atria Books
The New York Times bestselling Cork O’Connor Mystery series—a “master class in suspense and atmospheric storytelling” (The Real Book Spy)—continues with Cork O’Connor revisiting a case from his past and confronting mysterious deaths in the present.
A few nights before Halloween, as Cork O’Connor gloomily ruminates on his upcoming birthday, he receives a call from his son, Stephen, who is working for a nonprofit dedicated to securing freedom for unjustly incarcerated inmates. Stephen tells his father that decades ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for a brutal murder that Stephen is certain he did not commit.
Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth.
At the same time, Cork’s seven-year-old grandson has his own theory about the investigation: the Windigo, that mythic cannibal ogre, has come to Tamarack County…and it won’t leave until it has sated its hunger for human blood.
A Rather Peculiar Poisoning by Chrystal Schleyer
Release Date: September 2
Park Row
A celebration at a turn-of-the-century manor takes a deadly twist, and everyone becomes a suspect.
Twin brothers Easton and Weston are both in love with their childhood best friend Eloise. But headstrong Eloise prefers the younger brother, Wes, which is why she is heartbroken when, unexpectedly, Wes proposes to an heiress, and Eloise finds herself engaged to Easton—the twin she cannot stand. Then, during a week of celebration, Wes is poisoned. Murmurs of nightshade slip through the manor, and everyone seems to have a motive.
Was it Della Drewitt—the heiress reluctant to marry Wes? Or did Easton decide killing his brother was the only way to secure Eloise’s affections? Or was it the housemaid Violet, Wes’s previous lover?
As guests turn into suspects, attempts to kill Wes become more relentless than the storms churning the estate—who wants him dead, and why?
Murder on a Scottish Island by Lydia Travers
Release Date: September 8th
Bookouture
A dead body and a missing sapphire pendant? Lady Poppy Proudfoot is on the case!
Scotland, 1924: When Lady Poppy Proudfoot is invited to her friend’s hotel on the Isle of Skye, she is looking forward to a holiday. But all thoughts of relaxing vanish when she discovers the body of a strangled woman in a church.
The police believe the widow’s death was a robbery gone wrong, as a pendant was stolen from the scene. But Poppy is sure it’s murder. Ignoring the police’s warnings to keep her nose out, she enlists her friend Inspector MacKenzie, and her loyal Labrador, Major, to unpick the case.
Poppy suspects one of the hotel’s guests knows more about the murder than they are willing to admit. Could it be Miss Buccleugh, the avid button collector? Or the travelling guru, who conveniently disappeared just after the murder? Or was it Mr Henderson, so desperate for money he was driven to murder?
When Poppy sees the victim’s sapphire pendant on the neck of another guest, she is convinced the killer is targeting widows in the hotel, and luring them in with jewellery. But to prove her theory, she will have to offer herself up as bait. It’s risky, but her only way of catching the killer… Can Poppy con a con-man, and make it out alive? Or will she be the next wealthy widow on the killer’s list?
An addictive and gripping whodunnit, this historical cozy crime novel is perfect for fans of the mysteries of Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey, Helena Dixon and Catherine Coles.
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
Release Date: September 9th
Doubleday
The world’s most celebrated thriller writer returns with his most stunning novel yet—a propulsive, twisty, thought-provoking masterpiece that will entertain readers as only Dan Brown can do.
Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson
Release Date: September 9th
Minotaur Books
The next thrilling golden-age-style mystery from #1 Icelandic bestseller Ragnar Jónasson, author of Death at the Sanatorium and Reykjavík.
One winter evening, bestselling crime author Elín S. Jónsdóttir goes missing.
There are no clues to her disappearance and it is up to young detective Helgi to crack the case before its leaked to the press.
As Helgi interviews the people closest to her—a publisher, an accountant, a retired judge—he realizes that Elín’s life wasn’t what it seemed. In fact, her past is even stranger than the fiction she wrote.
As the case of the missing crime writer becomes more mysterious by the hour, Helgi must uncover the secrets of the writer’s very unexpected life.
The Iron Storm by Clive Cussler
Release Date: September 9th
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Detective Isaac Bell faces the horrors of the Great War while battling a mysterious anarchist group intent on bringing brutality to the shores of America in the next thrilling adventure in this #1 New York Times bestselling series from Clive Cussler.
Van Dorn agent Isaac Bell knows that when the President of the United States asks you to undertake a special mission, the only appropriate answer is, “Right away, sir.”
As an official observer, Bell is supposed to avoid action, but that’s like asking a fish to shun water. After battling in the trenches, he finds himself flying beside a group of Allied aviators, unwilling to let them fight alone, even when they are faced with capture. Bell and his compatriots are imprisoned in a medieval castle—one that’s withstood the test of time and countless assaults by conventional weapons in its history. Escape lies tantalizingly close…but only with the help of the latest in battlefield technology.
Sunday or the Highway by Cindy Fazzi
Release Date: September 9th
Thomas & Mercer
From the author of Danger No Problem comes the thrilling second installment of Domingo the Bounty Hunter, where playing matchmaker for an heiress proves a lot more deadly than Cupid’s arrow.
As a bounty hunter specializing in immigrants who do their status dirty, Domingo has had his fair share of dicey jobs. From traffickers peddling drugs, guns, and people to murderers and other fugitives, Domingo loves nothing more than putting the bad guys away. But his life’s not exactly fun and games.
A seemingly easy case involving a lovestruck young heiress turns out to be anything but. Tessa Woodridge, a fast-food chain CEO, hires Domingo to find the undocumented parents of Julian Alondra, the love of her life. When Tessa was eight, fourteen-year-old Julian saved her life. She always believed they were destined to be together.
It should be a cakewalk compared to Domingo’s other cases. But he soon discovers it’s not all heart eyes and sweet nothings between these two. In his line of work, you learn to prepare for everything you never saw coming—and Domingo can see it from a mile away.
The Grave Artist by Jeffery Deaver & Isabella Maldonado
Release Date: September 9th
Thomas & Mercer
Perfect couples are his perfect victims. Now he’s hunting those hunting him in a riveting thriller by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado.
A wedding reception is coming to a close in the Hollywood Hills when the blissful day is shattered by the death of one of the newlyweds. Though the incident appears to be an accident, Homeland Security Investigations agent Carmen Sanchez and her partner, security expert Jake Heron, discover that the tragedy is the third in a series of similar deaths and conclude something far more sinister is at play.
The two uncover chilling evidence pointing to a serial killer who has taken evil to the next level. Dubbed the Honeymoon Killer, this man isn’t interested in his victims but in creating his own macabre masterpiece from their graves—focused on the survivors and reveling in their grief. And now his dark obsession has turned to Carmen and Jake…
The Honeymoon Killer has decided they are the perfect next target. Take one out and delight as the other crumbles. Time is running out as a deadly game between predator and prey begins.
Release Date: September 9th
William Morrow
“Lou Berney’s Crooks stands with some of the finest crime novels ever written.” — Don Winslow, #1 Internationally bestselling author
“A panoramic, cross-generational look at a unique family pursuing their individual visions of the American dream.” — Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author
From award-winning author Lou Berney comes an electrifying new novel that follows a uniquely American crime family on an unforgettable journey across four decades.
You’ve never met a family like the Mercurios.
They say the American dream is going farther in life than your parents ever did. But how does that work if your parents are criminals?
For Buddy, a low-level mob wise guy, and Lillian, a charming pickpocket, the criminal underworld is the only life they’ve ever known. When they’re forced to flee the glittering Babylon of Las Vegas, they end up opening a club in Oklahoma City—a town that quickly feels like a gold mine of fresh marks and easy new money. Along for the ride are their five children, all of them raised into the family business of crime—until the day comes when they each have a chance to make their own way in the world, even if they can never completely escape the family’s long, dark shadow.
Jeremy, the family’s Golden Boy, will throw himself into the glittering excesses of a drug-fueled Hollywood in the roaring 1980s.
Tallulah, the daredevil, will find herself in the deadly Wild West of post-communist Moscow.
Ray, the dope, the dumb muscle since he was a kid, wants nothing more than to put down his gun, but following orders is all he’s ever known.
Alice, the genius who renounced her life of crime long ago, now sees her white-shoe law firm being blackmailed and must tap into old skills to save both the company and her own life.
And Piggy, a civilian always on the outside looking in on his crime family, desperate to be part of the gang.
Crooks is an epic novel about a truly unforgettable family–forty years of peril as each Mercurio has to grapple, in their own way, with the family’s powerful criminal legacy.
Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle
Release Date: September 9th
Sourcebooks Landmark
Three courses. Seven guests. One card.
It’s a deadly evening they’ll never forget.
Seven strangers meet for an anonymously hosted dinner party. As the evening winds down, seven cards appear, one in front of each of the guests. On the card is a number – the age at which they will die. Thinking it an elaborate prank, the guests disperse into the night, hoping to forget the morbid evening forever.
Two weeks later, one of them is dead at exactly the age the card predicted.
It must be a coincidence. But as more guests die, each one dead at the same age as their card, it soon becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. Now, it’s up to the quickly dwindling group to figure out who (or what) was behind that fateful dinner party, before their numbers catch up with them.
Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the question: how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?
Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills
Release Date: September 9th
Tyndale Fiction
A rescue team searches for a missing young girl and suspects all is not as it seems in this high-stakes romantic suspense novel from the author of Lethal Standoff and Facing the Enemy.
When wilderness survival expert Therese Palmer receives a frantic phone call from former colleague Professor Rurik Ivanov, she is shocked by the news that his young daughter, Alina, is missing—and that Rurik wants Therese’s help finding her. She’s sure Rurik hasn’t given her the whole story . . . especially since he refuses to report the kidnapping to the police. Yet with a child’s life hanging in the balance, Therese can’t turn down this mission. She knows the clock is ticking and she can’t do this alone.
Therese reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, whom she met seven months ago during one of her training courses in wilderness survival skills. Blane’s specialized training and background with the Crisis Negotiation Unit make him uniquely prepared for this search-and-rescue mission. He agrees to help Therese and to accept Rurik’s terms to keep Alina’s disappearance quiet, and as the two begin working together, Therese is determined the spark growing between them won’t distract from their mission to save Alina.
Traversing deep into the desert of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Alina’s last known location, Therese and Blane struggle to separate truth from lies within the mix of intel they’re receiving. As they close in on answers that suggest the involvement of Russian organized crime and a high-profile international assassination attempt, they must fight to rescue Alina before she becomes an innocent casualty of a much bigger plot—no matter the risk to their own lives.
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Release Date: September 9th
Minotaur Books
“Engrossing—with a twist that left me reeling!”
—Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid
Is a debut author’s blockbuster bestseller about to ruin her life? A glamorous book tour becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase in this new and captivating thriller by “master of suspense” (Publishers Weekly) and USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan.
Debut sensation Tessa Calloway is on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, All This Could Be Yours. In a different city every night, Tessa receives standing ovations from adoring fans while her husband Henry and their two children cheer her on from their brand-new dream house.
But there’s a chilling problem with Tessa’s triumphant book tour—she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who’s obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.
Tessa fears the fallout from an impossible decision she once made—what felt like a genuine deal with the devil—appears to be coming due. And she’s realizing that every high-stakes bargain comes with a high-stakes price. If Tessa can’t untangle who’s threatening to expose her darkest secrets, she’ll lose her career, her family—and possibly her life.
Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh
Release Date: September 16th
Sourcebooks Landmark
New York Times bestselling author Clare Mackintosh is back with another unputdownable installment in the DC Morgan series.
You want what they have, but what price would you pay?
The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.
Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why?
As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . .
A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay
Release Date: September 16th
Mulholland Books
In this darkly funny and brilliantly original mystery from Adam Kay, former doctor and BAFTA-winning author of This is Going to Hurt, a chaotic young doctor might be the only one who can catch a killer targeting hospital officials—if his investigation doesn’t cost him his career first.
When his toxic medical director dies of a heart attack, fellow doctor Eitan Rose smells foul play. Nobody else does, though, including some quite crucial players like the police and the medical examiner. So when another senior doctor dies, Eitan vows to uncover the truth himself.
But having recently returned to work after time off for his mental health, Eitan’s personal file is far from spotless. Despite his budding relationship with Cole, a handsome hospital porter, and reluctant comradery with his office mate, Margaret-with-the-cats, Eitan is quickly in over his head. And as his investigation spirals into pandemonium, his colleagues begin to question his judgement. Could a killer really be roaming the halls? Or is Eitan making a catastrophic mistake?
For lovers of Listen for the Lie and My Sister, the Serial Killer, this clever and deathly funny debut is filled with acerbic wit, lovable characters, and plenty of twists—alongside texts, transcripts, medical reports, and all the evidence you’ll need to help solve this particularly nasty case.
Release Date: September 16th
Mulholland Books
In this thrilling mystery from “master of craft and narrative” Walter Mosley (National Book Foundation), Detective Easy Rawlins has settled into the happy rhythm of his new life when a dark siren from his past returns and threatens to destroy the peace he’s fought for.
The name Easy Rawlins stirs excitement in the hearts of readers and fear in the hearts of his foes. His success has bought him a thriving detective agency, with its first female detective; a remote home, shared with children and pets and lovers, high atop the hills overlooking gritty Los Angeles; and more trouble, more problems, and more threat to those whom he loves. In other words, he’s still beset on all sides.
A number of below-the-law powerbrokers plead with Easy to locate a mysterious, dangerous woman—Lutisha James, though she’s gone by another name that Easy will immediately recognize. 1970s Los Angeles is a transient city of delicate, violent balances, and Lutisha has disturbed that. She also has a secret that will upend Easy’s own life, painfully closer to home.
Don’t Say a Word by Allison Brennan
Release Date: September 16th
MIRA
In the second book of the thrilling new Angelhart Investigations series from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, the Angelharts must figure out whether a teen’s death is a tragic accident…or a murder.
The police ruled Elijah Martinez’s death an accidental drug overdose, but the teen’s grieving mother isn’t convinced. With the case officially closed, Angelhart Investigations is the only one who can help her find the truth. Margo Angelhart’s sure this will be an easy solve—she’ll talk to Elijah’s friends and employer, retrace his steps, and figure out what happened in his final hours.
Except none of his friends believe he did drugs, and the teacher who’s been vocal about the police mishandling the case turns up dead. Every thread Margo pulls leads back to a dangerous drug ring that once ran through the school.
When Margo’s brother Jack, a former cop, can’t get straight answers out of the police, they don’t know if it’s because of an active case…or a cover-up. Margo’s only sure of one thing—she has to find out what really happened to Elijah before more teens become pawns in a twisted scheme.
Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood
Release Date: September 16th
MIRA
The new cozy crime novel from the bestselling author of The Marlow Murder Club, soon to be a major TV series on PBS Masterpiece
Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night, so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had rented The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, to host an exclusive party for the society, but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And when Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him, it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.
Oliver was, by all accounts, a rather complicated fellow, with a reputation for bullying children during nativity play rehearsals, and he wasn’t short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, and Becks are convinced they’ll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, and this case is not so clear-cut after all. The gang will need to keep their wits about them to solve this case… otherwise a killer will walk free.
The Night Collector by Victor Methos
Release Date: September 16th
Thomas & Mercer
Edgar nominee Victor Methos delivers the next high-stakes case for Detective Lazarus Holloway and Piper Danes, where a kidnapping at a Vegas chapel unveils a sinister plot that hits close to home.
The abduction of two teenagers from their Vegas wedding isn’t a case Detective Lazarus Holloway wants to take—it’s one he has to take. His only clue is a bracelet, etched with a Mayan symbol of death and vengeance—two things the detective is familiar with.
With no other leads, Lazarus enlists the help of guardian ad litem Piper Danes. They’ve got a complicated history, but Piper shares his compulsion to save children in need, no matter the personal cost. Unfortunately, that cost gets higher with every new revelation.
As they tread further into the dangerous network surrounding the case, secrets from Lazarus’s past follow close behind. He soon finds himself entangled with the players in this game of life, death, and disappearances. And if he can’t figure out how he fits in, there may be no getting out…
The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia
Release Date: September 16th
Atlantic Crime
“There are few authors who can twist the ordinary into such frightening and compelling scenarios, and Mindy Mejia tops that list.” —William Kent Krueger
The latest thriller in the USA Today bestselling Iowa Mysteries series starring Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick, an unlikely pair of private investigators who specialize in finding people who don’t want to be found.
How do you find a woman who doesn’t exist?
As a former police officer and a psychic detective, Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick may not be the most conventional business partners. But together, they have years of investigative experience, and opening Celina Investigations feels like a natural decision.
When a man walks into their office searching for his missing girlfriend without a past or even a name, Max and Jonah realize their newest client may present their hardest challenge yet. Their first task: find out why he refuses to go to the police.
Meanwhile, a woman drives across the country with all her belongings packed into a car, desperate to escape a dark past. The question posed to the fleeing woman is the same one that keeps Max and Jonah awake at night: can you ever really change your life?
From an 80’s-inspired bakery to a horrifying house at the edge of the woods, Max and Jonah unearth the missing woman’s shocking past, and in the process, put themselves directly in the path of the terror she was trying to outrun.
Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau
Release Date: September 16th
Minotaur Books
A sharp, captivating historical mystery about two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York, for fans of Lavender House and A Most Agreeable Murder
There can be a blurry line between what is ethical and what is legal.
Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B&H Foods after her father passed. It’s not easy being a business woman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes.
So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father’s former assistant, dead in the office with a half-finished note confessing to nebulous misdeeds at B&H, she seeks out help from a very discreet, private investigator to figure out what’s going on. Her company, and her good name, are at stake if scandal breaks…and she could lose everything, including her freedom.
Loretta “Rett” Mancini has run her father’s investigation operation since he started becoming increasingly forgetful. When Margot offers her the chance to look into the potential scandal with B&H, she jumps at it.
But the more the two dig in, the more it becomes clear that Margot’s company may be too far lost…and someone is willing to kill them both to keep things quiet.
Charming and witty, Cathy Pegau’s A Murderous Business is perfect for fans of Lev Ac Rosen, Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer, and the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray.
The Perfect Murder by Amanda McKinney
Release Date: September 16th
Storm Publishing
Every bestselling thriller needs the perfect murder. Savi Portman just wrote one—and now it’s coming true.
Savi Portman’s debut cozy mystery has made her a #1 bestseller and publishing’s newest star. When life gets tough, writing is her escape.
Until someone commits a murder straight from her work-in-progress thriller.
Surveillance cameras place Savi near the scene that night. Witnesses say they saw her. The evidence is mounting—but she swears she was home asleep.
Savi has written the perfect crime. Now she has to prove she didn’t commit it.
Once you start reading, there’s no turning back. A keep-you-up-all-night page-turner for fans of Alice Feeney, Freida McFadden, and Listen for the Lie.
Release Date: September 23
Naval Institute Press
America’s Navy is stretched to the breaking point. China’s combat fleet grows. And both countries compete for access to advanced semiconductor chips produced only in Taiwan. Can Will Cole succeed in the impossible in time?
Rear Adm. Will Cole, outgoing operations officer (N3) of the Pacific Fleet, knows this is a recipe for disaster. But after decades at sea, he is ready to pass the torch to the next generation of “fighting Coles”: his eldest, Henry, a Navy lieutenant who flies F-18s; his middle son Jaime, a merchant marine officer; and his daughter Lu back home. When the new Cold War turns hot, however, Cole must abandon his plans. Proven right when the missiles start flying, Cole’s reward is an order to do the impossible: destroy the Chinese fleet and retake Taiwan—before it’s too late.
Release Date: September 23
HarperCollins
William Warwick and Ross Hogan will return, for one last time, in a gripping and unputdownable finale. Available to pre-order now!
London, 2012. The eyes of the world are on Britain as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games.
But the glare of the spotlight makes London a target for some of the most dangerous people on earth. And the moment the bid is won, an international conspiracy is set in motion to unleash a devastating attack that will leave the world in chaos.
One man stands between triumph and disaster: Commander William Warwick, heading up Scotland Yard’s elite team. But as he pursues the shadowy organisation, he sets off a deadly game of cat and mouse which will take him from the bustling streets of London to the hidden corridors of power. Can Warwick stop the assassin before the greatest show on earth becomes a catastrophe …
Release Date: September 23
Crooked Lane Books
Sid Halley is brought in to investigate a stalking turned murder case in this thrilling addition to the Dick Francis novels, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben.
Imogen Duffy is an up-and-coming Irish jump jockey making her mark in steeplechase racing. But not all is well in Imogen’s life. Jealous of her success, Imogen’s controlling boyfriend Liam is stalking her and when she tries to break it off with him, he turns violent. Fleeing to England, Imogen hopes to leave Liam behind. But Liam vehemently refuses to let her go–until he’s found dead, stabbed with a knife bearing Imogen’s fingerprints.
Imogen’s father, convinced of her innocence, seeks out Sid Halley to ask for his help uncovering the truth and Sid reluctantly agrees to investigate. The case becomes all too personal soon after, when Sid realizes he is being stalked and threatened – is it the killer? With his life and reputation on the line, Sid races to solve the case before someone else ends up dead.
This pulse–pounding addition to the beloved series will enthrall readers, turning pages at a gallop to discover what the truth is–and who to trust.
Killer Wedding by Joan O’Leary
Release Date: September 23
William Morrow
“Fans of The White Lotus and Knives Out will gobble up this whip-smart whodunit… Good luck solving this especially twisty mystery before the big reveal—you’ll need it.”—Marie Claire
“The Riptons are American royalty—wealthy, powerful, and bound by secrets. When they gather at a grand Irish castle for the society wedding of the year, as the ceremony unfolds something far more sinister lurks beneath the glamour. From the ambitious heirs and spurned lovers to the enigmatic staff and mysterious uninvited guest, everyone harbors secrets—and some are deadly. A gripping whodunit in the vein of Agatha Christie, A Killer Wedding will keep you guessing until the final, shocking twist.” —Liv Constantine, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
Wildly witty and wickedly fun, AKiller Wedding is an escapist mystery that proves you’ll never forget your wedding day…especially if it starts with a murder.
Christine can’t believe her luck. The iconic Gloria Beaufort, founder of the billion-dollar beauty empire Glo, has personally chosen her to cover her grandson’s wedding for Bespoke, the cult fashion magazine that every A-list bride dreams of being featured in. A career-making scoop and a free trip to a castle turned five-star hotel on the Emerald Isle? It feels too good to be true…
Because it is.
Gloria is found dead on the very first morning of the celebratory weekend, and her entire family wants to keep her death a secret and for the wedding to march on. When Gloria’s heirs issue a chilling warning to Christine to keep things quiet, she can’t help but wonder if one of them is guilty. There’s the son who’s hiding a damaging lawsuit; the resentful daughter-in-law; the grandson who’s had a few too many run-ins with the law; his ambitious wife who’s hiding more than one secret; and Gloria’s favorite grandchild, the picture-perfect groom. As Christine navigates a world where glamour masks grimy secrets and everyone she meets is a suspect, she realizes that among this glitzy elite, nothing is as it seems.
Set against the dazzling backdrop of ultimate luxury and an endless reveal of surprises, A Killer Wedding is a fast-paced, humorous mystery the pulls back the curtain on toxic family dynamics hidden beneath the surface of billionaire-level wealth.
The Sisterhood by Tasha Alexander
Release Date: September 23
Minotaur Books
Lady Emily investigates the murder of a glamorous debutante in the next irresistible mystery of Tasha Alexander’s New York Times bestselling series.
London, 1907: When the Season’s most accomplished and elegant debutante, Victoria Goldsborough, collapses and dies at her engagement ball, the great and good of London Society prepare to mourn the tragic loss of an upstanding young woman. But all is not what it seems, and after a toxic beverage is revealed to be the cause of death, the king himself instructs Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves to unearth the truth.
Who would want to harm one of the most popular women of the year? Is it her fiancé with whom she had an unusually brief courtship; a rival for his affections bitter at being cast aside; her best friend who is almost certainly hiding a secret from Colin and Emily; a disappointed suitor with a hidden gambling habit; or a notorious jewel thief who has taken a priceless tiara from the Goldsborough home? When a second debutante succumbs to poison, the race is on to find a ruthless killer.
Emily and Colin’s investigation leads to a centuries old tomb in the center of London with a mysterious link to another death dating back to Roman times and the violent reign of Boudica, ancient Britain’s fearsome warrior queen. As the stakes rise and the clock ticks down, Emily must find the killer before they strike again.
A Slowly Dying Cause by Elizabeth George
Release Date: September 23
Viking
A hightly anticipated series reboot Lynley releasing this fall from BritBox
Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley are back in the next Lynley novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George.
Michael Lobb has just been found dead on the floor of his family’s tin & pewter workshop. It’s suspicious enough that his body was found by a representative of Cornwall EcoMining, a company keen on acquiring his family’s land, and it’s made even worse when he’s revealed to have been the majority owner of the business and the sole obstacle preventing a deal from being made. But it doesn’t take long for Inspector Beatrice Hannaford to unearth the layers of estrangement that surrounded Michael in his final days, pointing suspicions elsewhere. In comes Kayla, a young woman half Michael’s age, who has just been made his widow.
Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers are brought in to help solve the crime and search for justice in a community where lust, greed, and family traditions collide with devastating consequences.
A Bitter Wind by James R. Benn
Release Date: September 23
Soho Crime
To solve a murder at an English airbase, US Army Captain Billy Boyle must immerse himself in the fascinating and secretive world of WWII radio espionage.
Christmas Day 1944: After his last mission put him in the tailspin of the Battle of the Bulge, Captain Billy Boyle travels to southeast England to visit his girlfriend, Diana Seaton, for a brief holiday respite. Diana is engaged in classified work at RAF Hawkinge, including Operation Corona, which recruits German-speaking Women’s Auxiliary Air Force members—many of them Jewish refugees from the Kindertransport rescue—to countermand German orders and direct night fighters away from Allied bombers.
It’s fascinating and critical espionage work, but it’s laced with peril, as Billy finds out. On a scenic Christmas walk along the White Cliffs of Dover, Billy and Diana stumble upon the dead body of a US Air Force officer. In the dead man’s pocket are papers with highly confidential information about radio interception operations. Information worth killing over.
As Billy digs into the secret world of codebreakers and radio jammers stationed at Hawkinge, another body turns up. Now Billy must find out what connects these two men—and who was so hell-bent on silencing them. Enlisting the help of his long-time associates, Billy undertakes another thrilling investigation that brings him to war-torn Yugoslavia, where he must rescue an escaped POW who may be the only person who knows the truth.
The Persian by David McCloskey
Release Date: September 30th
W. W. Norton & Company
From former CIA analyst and best-selling author David McCloskey, a novel that takes readers deep into the shadow war between Iran and Israel.
Kamran Esfahani, a dentist living out a dreary existence in Stockholm, agrees to spy for the Mossad after he’s recruited by Arik Glitzman, the chief of a clandestine unit tasked with running targeted assassinations and sabotage inside Iran. At Glitzman’s direction, Kam returns to his native Tehran and opens a dental practice there, using it as a cover for the Israeli intelligence agency. Kam proves to be a skillful asset, quietly earning money helping Glitzman smuggle weapons, run surveillance, and conduct kidnappings. But when Kam tries to recruit an Iranian widow seeking to avenge the death of her husband at the hands of the Mossad, the operation goes terribly wrong, landing him in prison under the watchful eye of a sadistic officer whom he knows only as the “General.”
And now, after enduring three years of torture in captivity, Kamran Esfahani sits in an interrogation room across from the General, preparing to write his final confession.
Kam knows it is too late to save himself. But he has managed to keep one secret—only one—and he just might be able to save that. In this haunting thriller, careening between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Stockholm, David McCloskey delivers an intricate story of vengeance, deceit, and the power of love and forgiveness in a world of lies.
About the Author: David McCloskey is the author of the novels Damascus Station, Moscow X, and The Seventh Floor, and is cohost of the podcast The Rest Is Classified. A former CIA analyst, he worked at Langley and in field stations across the Middle East.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
Release Date: September 30th
Pamela Dorman Books
The unmissable new mystery in the Thursday Murder Club series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman
Who’s got time to think about murder when there’s a wedding to plan?
It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal.
But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable—something worth killing for.
Joyce’s daughter, Joanna, jumps into the fray to help the gang as they seek answers: Has someone kidnapped Nick? And what’s this uncrackable code they keep hearing about? Plunged back into action once more, can the four friends solve the puzzle and a murder in time?
Picket Line (The Lost Novella) by Elmore Leonard
Release Date: September 30th
Mariner Books
“This is the best of a magnificent writer’s magnificent books.”—Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried
The first major release in nearly a decade from the late, best-selling Elmore Leonard—”the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever!” (New York Times Book Review): Picket Line is the never-before-published, prescient story of a budding agricultural strike in Texas, the racial tension brewing in the fields, and what happens when brutality from “the man” goes unchecked.
“If a man comes out of the field and goes on the picket line, even for one day, he’ll never be the same…”
Chino and Paco Rojas seem well-mannered, at least for Chicanos, to the white cops that pull them over for littering on the long drive from California to Trinity, Texas. So well-mannered, in fact, that Captain Frank McKellan lets them off with a warning and recommends them a job at Stanzik Farms, the largest independent melon grower in the area.
But Chino and Paco didn’t drive all this way for work. Instead, Chino is looking for a mysterious man, Vincent Mora, whose new Valley Agricultural Workers Association is causing a scene striking against the farm owners.
Stanzik’s fields and Mora’s union bring together a cast of unlikely characters: Connie Chavez, a former picker and blossoming revolutionary who leads with a bullhorn and a fearless mouth; Bud Davis, a white Xavier University student working for spending money; Harold Ritchie, a local marine-turned-cop; Luis Tamez, a striker whose grandson served with Harold in Vietnam; and many more, including the pragmatic Chino, who finds himself pulled irrevocably into the cause. Some are neighbors, others just passing through. Some know each other well, or at least thought they did…before the picket line.
This never-before-published gem from master storyteller Elmore Leonard describes the early days of an unprecedented farmers’ movement; the complex cast of Chicanos, Anglos, and migrants that impact the union; and the careful balance of passion, patience, and pure, stupid guts that it takes to hold the line.
NOTE: This previously unpublished 1970 novella from suspense master Leonard (Djibouti), who died in 2013, offers a diverting window into a key period of his career. Written before Leonard’s breakthrough, when he was a hired-gun author of westerns, the novella developed out of a film treatment inspired by Cesar Chavez’s 1965 Delano grape strike, which eventually became the 1974 film Mr. Majestyk.
The Girl from Devil’s Lake by J. A. Jance
Release Date: September 30th
William Morrow
Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady solves her biggest case yet, from a body in the desert to crimes spanning decades and countries, in the thrilling latest installment in the New York Times bestselling suspense series.
Sheriff Joanna Brady is looking forward to the holidays with her busy family, and to celebrating her daughter Jenny’s graduation from the police academy. But the family is interrupted when a body is discovered beneath a flooded bridge in the Arizona desert, and Joanna is called onto the case. A young boy was murdered, and the details of the crime scene tell Joanna two things: This was not the killer’s first murder. And it’s only a matter of time before he kills again.
As Joanna digs deeper into the case, she begins to understand this murder is just one piece of a much, much bigger puzzle. She uncovers unlikely connections between cases of mysterious deaths and missing persons, having long since gone cold, that extend far beyond the confines of her small town and include the discovery of a body near Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. To get justice for the victims and to save the town of Bisbee from a predator, Joanna must chase down every dangerous lead.
Meanwhile, as a dogged journalist is circling the case and privileged information is leaked, Joanna can’t be sure who to trust. Could a prolific killer be hiding in plain sight? And how far will that person go to keep his many crimes hidden?
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
Release Date: September 30th
Berkley
“This delicious murder mystery is a must-read for any library lover!”—New York Times bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt
Murder disrupts four quirky librarians’ lives when they try to hide among books to keep their secrets.
Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge….
In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.
Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won’t be enough anymore.
When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together….
The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves
Release Date: September 30th
Minotaur Books
The Killing Stones marks the eagerly awaited return of Ann Cleeves’ beloved detective Jimmy Perez from the Shetland series, and a gripping new investigation with a stunning new setting.
“This novel is more than worth every minute you spend with it.”—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author
It’s been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner Willow Reeve and their growing family. One stormy winter night, his oldest and closest friend, Archie Stout, goes missing. Ever the detective, Perez catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife and children.
But when he arrives he finds a shocking scene: Archie’s body, on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the clear murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premediated murder.
But Perez is so close to the case that he struggles to maintain an objective distance from the potential suspects. He finds it difficult to question Archie’s wife, whom he’s known for years. Rumors swirl about the dead man’s relationship with a young woman new to the island, an artist. With each new lead, the case becomes more twisted and Perez wonders if he will ever find out what happened in his friend’s final days.
Release Date: September 30th
Atria/Emily Bestler Books
“[A] callback to what makes Rapp such a special character, and a white-knuckle reminder of why this series remains the gold standard of the political thriller genre.” —The Real Book Spy
Don Bentley completes the trilogy begun with American Assassin by taking Mitch Rapp back to his fledgling assassin days, picking up where Kill Shot ended, on a mission to save the woman he loves amid a CIA showdown with the Russian intelligence services in a new thriller from the author of Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
The Central Intelligence Agency is in crisis.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congress is questioning the organization’s necessity. Interim CIA director Thomas Stansfield must fight for his agency’s survival while explaining why the previous candidate for his job was found murdered in a French hotel—surrounded by booze, cash, and dead men. Worst yet, a brilliantly run sting operation in Moscow has resulted in the arrest of America’s most prized Russian asset and the expulsion of his CIA handler.
With the CIA’s Moscow Station now paralyzed by the catastrophic intelligence failure, Stansfield seeks help from Mitch Rapp, a newly minted assassin in the secretive Orion program. But Rapp has problems of his own: when his Swiss girlfriend Greta’s grandfather receives a box containing the head of a former Cold War comrade along with a note promising that Greta’s head will be next, Rapp finds himself on the frontlines in a war between the American and Russian intelligence services. To protect the woman he loves and save the CIA from destruction, Rapp must be willing to risk everything
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, GONE DARK, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. For even more content and book news, subscribe to The Real Book Spy Substack!
What about Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets?