Jamie Canavés is the Tailored Book Recommendations coordinator and Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter writer–in case you’re wondering what you do with a Liberal Arts degree. She’s never met a beach she didn’t like, always says yes to dessert, loves ‘80s nostalgia, all forms of entertainment, and can hold a conversation using only gifs. You can definitely talk books with her on Litsy and Goodreads. Depending on social media’s stability maybe also Twitter and Bluesky.
In the land of mystery news that should be on your radar, I continue with best-of-lists and I have a bunch of adaptation news, including a new detective show to stream right now!
Marlon James’ Novels Are Masterpieces. His New HBO Series Achieves Something Similar.
Talk about an amazing thing flying under the radar! Author Marlon James (A Brief History of Seven Killings) created and wrote a new crime series for HBO: Get Millie Black. The lead character, Tamara Lawrance, is a Jamaican detective inspector based on his own mother! Here, Slate dives into the show, which you can watch the first episode of on HBO/Max with new ones dropping on Mondays in the US.
Hands Down My Favorite End-of-Year List (Fortify Your Bookshelves)
NPR’s Books We Love, which is selected by staff and critics, is something to behold and to make a snack and spend the day with! There are so many books (4,000 in total over the years!) and so many filters to explore. While I will say the 2024 mystery & thrillers tag is a mix of true genre mixed with “vibes of a mystery,” there is so much great stuff to discover, including books that were never on my radar but are now, like Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton.
Unusual Suspects Newsletter
Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers.
Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.
The Washington Post’s 10 Best Mysteries of 2024
I like lists that blend some books that you find on everyone’s best-of-list mixed with books that are new-to-me, which this list does. Plus, I love seeing December releases, which usually get left off end-of-year lists (I suspect because the lists are written before reviewers get to their December reading list.).
Adaptation News To Know!
- If you’re already looking forward to new adaptations coming in 2025, here‘s a trailer for Missing You, one of the first out of the gate that’s based on Harlan Coben’s same-titled 2014 novel!
- I either forgot or never realized that Colleen Hoover’s Verity is in the thriller/mystery genre: “The story is described as a ‘gothic, psychosexual thriller’ in the vein of Rebecca and Gone Girl.” The film adaptation will star Anne Hathaway as Verity Crawford, an author who gets injured and, in order to finish her thriller, her husband hires a ghostwriter which leads to secrets unearthed…
- Audible UK listeners have a real treat: a multi-cast adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles with Peter Dinklage as Hercule Poirot! Here’s the trailer!
- This sounds really fun: The Dinner Table Detective by Tokuya Higashikawa will get a TV anime adaptation!
- Watch the trailer for Dexter: Original Sin. Set in early 1990s Miami, it will premiere December 13th on Paramount+ for Showtime subscribers (They gotta complicate everything).
- Watch the trailer for Watson, a Sherlock inspired medical drama with a twist! It’s premiering on CBS and Paramount+ at the end of January.
English (US) · 