
By Kieran Scott
If you love a voicey, atmospheric mystery with some comedy woven in, this list is for you. (Although there are two or three outliers when it comes to the comedy. You’ll know them when you see them.) Warning for those of you who think young adult fiction isn’t for you—you’ll find a few of them here. I’ve been a YA editor most of my life and I love bringing new full-fledged adults into the fold. (I mean, to the extent that any of us are full-fledged adults, let’s be real.)
Here are my recs, in no particular order. Actually, they’re in the order in which I yanked them off my bookshelf just now.
The Maid by Nina Prose – Rarely do you see such a completely formed, quirky, female protagonist at the center of a mystery novel. Nina Prose’s total dedication to Molly’s authentic voice is what makes me love this book so very much. Molly perfect in her imperfections and it’s her assumptions and preconceived notions that lead to her pitfalls throughout the book. Even the twist at the end is perfectly in-line with the characterization. This one is not to be missed.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano – I mean, if you don’t laugh on the first page and then on every other page throughout this bonkers, high-stakes, accidental-detective novel (and all its sequels), then I think you need funny bone checked. The buddy comedy that exists between Finlay and Vero is the stuff dreams are made of and each twist and turn is more jaw-dropping than the last. I honestly have no idea how this has not yet been made into a feature film.
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight – Man is this book atmospheric and creepy. Honestly, if you read enough fiction, you gotta wonder why anyone ever sends their kids to private school. Kimberly McCreight’s entry into the elite-of-New-York murder oeuvre is one of the very best. She leaves you guessing until the last chapter and always wondering just how reliable her protag is.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman – Oh my goodness, the characters! The personalities! The friendships! The flirting! It’s all genius. But the thing I love the most about this book (and series) is the fact that it treats its elderly cast as, oh, I don’t know, functioning human beings? No. HIGHLY functioning human beings. They have talents and pasts and dark secrets and skills! How is this so unexpected in fiction that I need to use this many exclamation points?!?!? Seriously, though, this series about four friends living in a retirement community in the English countryside who start solving crimes as a hobby is laugh-out-loud funny, can be a total tearjerker AND I’ve yet to figure out any of the twists four books in.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – You may have heard of Barnes’s The Inheritance Games, which has been a huge bestselling series and BookTok sensation, but I first fell in love with her when I read The Naturals series and could. Not. Put. It. Down. It’s about a girl named Cassie who has a natural ability to read people and is teamd up with a group of other kids with complimentary abilities in order to solve crimes. There’s also a romance, a crazy family back story and a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. I’ve read the final book in the series five times and it always, always makes me cry. JLB is a genuine genius (like actually) and it shows in her crafting of plot and character. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t read YA, read this. You’ll thank
me later.
This is Our Story by Ashley Elston – “Five boys went hunting. Four came back….” A lot of you have probably read Elston’s recent bestseller First Lie Wins, but she started out as a YA author and I was lucky enough to have someone recommend this book to me a few years back. It’s intense, people. You honestly never knew which teen you’re rooting for or whether one of all of them are lying. Maybe not the best thing to read if you HAVE a teenager, though, because you might never let them out of your house again.
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn – Four former assassins who were teamed up an ingenues are still best friends decades later after they’re long retired. While on a cruise together they find themselves hunted by the very entity they used to work for and chaos ensues. Well, controlled chaos. Because these ladies are professionals. Lots of non-stop action, high-tech gear, creative killing and sisterhood among assassins. What more do you need?
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty – This was my very first Liane Moriarty and therefore will always be my favorite. Also, it’s genius. No one dies, there’s no murder to solve . . . the mystery is figuring out what amnesia-suffering Alice has forgotten about her life. It’s so well-written and poignant and unnerving, it really makes you wonder . . . what would YOU think of your life now if you woke up and were just starting out in your twenties and then were plopped into it? Shivers.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil – I thought it would be kind of fun to end this list of NINE books with a book titled TEN. This take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a must-read. Even though you know where it’s going, you can’t stop turning the pages. It’s propulsive, suspenseful, mind-boggling and just plain fun. It’s no wonder this book has a cult following. I always recommend it to people who say their reading habit has stalled and they can’t find anything that keeps their attention. I dare you to try to put it down.
AUTHOR BIO
Kieran Scott has written more than fifty novels for children and teens, eight of which (under the pseudonym Kate Brian) have been New York Times bestsellers. She lives with her husband, two sons and one dog in New Jersey. She is also the author of Regrets Only and Wish You Were Gone. Follow her on Instagram @KieranScottAuthor. Her newest novel, PEOPLE WILL TALK (on sale July 30) combines Glass Onion with Big Little Lies as three women are implicated in a murder after a wedding goes horribly wrong.
Be the first to comment