The Best New Crime Fiction of March 2020
Lucky for us crime readers, we have another great month of publishing putting out mysteries and thrillers to keep us up past our bedtime! We have a popular thriller writer’s new book, a delightful novelization of a comic that’s perfect for Nancy Drew fans, a cozy mystery with a ghost, and an amateur sleuth who hides her detecting work from her husband! Time to go sit outside in the arriving spring weather with a nice stack of mystery reads.
Harlan Coben fans can always count on a page-turning mystery with twists, so it's time to cheer—and stretch those page-turning fingers—because he has a new release for you! A girl, Naomi Pine, has gone missing, but no one seems concerned, because everyone says she’s just playing a game. Except for criminal attorney Hester Crimstein, who is made aware that Pine was being bullied in school, so she calls on a once-feral boy, who is now an ex-military security expert, to find her. But before he does, a finger shows up...
Great news for fans of the Goldie Vance graphic novel series: Author Lilliam Rivera has started an original middle-grade series based on the comic! Goldie Vance works at the beach resort where her father is a manager, and while she isn’t technically the in-house hotel detective, she sure acts like she is. With a best friend working as a concierge, a performing mermaid mom, and plenty of mysteries to solve (her mom is accused of stealing a diamond-encrusted cap!), Goldie Vance is always a fun and awesome character with a great story to get lost in.
This is such a great and funny cozy mystery series starring an American classical musician who moved to the Irish countryside and teaches music to students. And she also solves crimes, because it's a cozy mystery. Buuuuuut she has a ghost friend. Yes, literal ghost friend and their banter where she argues with him in public and tries not to look like she has an imaginary friend is hilarious. This time around, there’s an “influencer” bridezilla who shows up looking for the perfect social media wedding pictures, but we go from wedding to funeral because this is a crime book, people! Talk about a nightmare destination wedding.
A socialite wife finds the idea that a local nursing home resident died of natural causes suspicious, but the police finds her trying to solve a crime ridiculous, so of course, she’s left with only one option: become a secret amateur detective! And by secret, I mean she goes on to solve crimes with only her cook and a reluctant nun knowing what she’s really up to. Even her husband is kept in the dark. I am so here for the entire setup of this novel!
If you prefer to read standalone thrillers and wait for the paperback release, it's a great day for you! A secluded New England inn is owned and operated by former Boston police detective Bill Robinson—who you just know loves the seclusion and being left the heck alone. But being that this is a crime novel, he surely won't be allowed any kind of peace: The criminals move into this small town, and Robinson, along with the residents of the inn, have to decide whether to fight together (teamwork!) or die alone (boo!). I personally love secluded places and grouchy ex-cops, so I’m all in for this one too.
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Jamie Canavés is a Book Riot contributing editor and Tailored Book Recommendations coordinator who always has a book in one hand. She writes the Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter, never says no to chocolate or ‘80s nostalgia, and spends way too much time asking her goat-dog “What’s in your mouth?!” Tweets: @Oh_Dinky.