What has been happening in the news for mystery fans? Of course, there aer lots of adaptations—we’ve got two award nominees this time–and one of my favorite reads of the year so far!
One of 2026’s Best Crime Novels
T Kira Madden, who wrote the memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, has entered the fictional crime book arena with Whidbey. It’s excellent—part murder mystery, part crime novel examining the far-reaching effects of sexual assault. You can hear Madden chat with Traci Thomas on The Stacks podcast.
An original character stands out in Young Sherlock
Over on Joy Sauce, Daniel Anderson spoke with Zine Tseng about her new character—”a Chinese princess who is both scholar and fighter”— on Amazon Prime’s Young Sherlock. Definitely check out the chat, Zine Tseng’s Shou’an is the best character in ‘Young Sherlock’, which goes from her work on the 3 Body Problem adaptation to working on dialect and fight scenes on Young Sherlock (it is a Guy Ritchie adaptation after all).
Super fun series to adapt!
All access members continue below for more of the latest mystery, thriller, and true crime book news.
Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series is super fun and funny, and perfect for adapting. Donovan is an author who is always late on deadlines, with an annoying ex-husband, two young children, and a babysitter (Vero) who ends up getting into all sorts of trouble with Donovan, who can’t stay away from getting tangled up in crimes. Tina Fey is one of the producers on the project, which will be a series on Peacock. My very important note is that they better cast Vero well!
Lambda Literary Award Finalists!
Seventy-six judges went through over 1,000 books to award outstanding LGBTQ+ voices in literature for the 38th year. There are 26 categories, from Bisexual Fiction to Transgender Poetry, and of course, there’s an LGBTQ+ Mystery category! Check out all the finalists (I’ve read a ton of great books throughout this list) and find out the winners Friday, June 12th at Sony Hall, NY (tickets available).
Maya Hawke to star in The God Of The Woods adaptation
A couple of years back, Liz Moore’s literary mystery, The God of the Woods, was a hit, so naturally, we are getting an adaptation. And we have lead casting news: Maya Hawke will be playing Judy Luptack, who in the book is a state trooper investigating the disappearance of 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar from the summer camp owned by her family.
And the nominees for the Bafta Television Awards are…
It was a fun surprise to see nominations for crime shows that have either been adapted (Down Cemetery Road from Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron) or written by a novelist (Get Millie Black by Marlon James). You can check out the full list of Bafta Television Awards nominees here ahead of the winners being announced in May. And if you want to watch Down Cemetery Road, it’s on Apple TV+, while Get Millie Black is on HBO Max.
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf, and see 2026 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
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