As we head to the end of 2020, it is time to select our summer holiday reads to escape a horror of a year. If you are a Crime buff like me LitHub has done the hard yards for us, and after looking at 150 Best of 2020 Booklists, have collated the best-reviewed Crime and Mystery books for our end-of-year reading pleasure.
The Searcher by Tana French, 2020
Top of the lists is Tana French’s latest with 10 rave reviews, 6 positive reviews and 3 mixed. This is the first time the author has used an American as the main character. You can read an interview with her via CrimeReads. In this book, retired Chicago policeman, Cal Hooper, uncovers dark and sinister secrets in rural Ireland while searching for a missing teen delinquent. Be prepared for a slower more contemplative pace which ideally matches the country community.
Snow by John Banville, 2020
Snow attracted 13 rave reviews, 2 positive reviews, 3 mixed and 1 negative for this novel. Only pick this one up if you are prepared for darkness. At once a familiar country house murder mystery, in Banville’s version, the plot definitely thickens. Ireland is also a feature here, though the setting is 1957 when the Catholic Church ruled with an iron fist and our Detective Inspector is Protestant, an outsider to the town in every way.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, 2020
Osman has penned a brilliantly funny whodunit, complete with red herrings, unexpected twists, and a pair of hapless police officers who are always two steps behind their amateur counterparts. With 11 rave reviews, 2 positive reviews and 1 mixed, it should definitely be added to your list to lighten the mood.
Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby, 2020
Described as dark and gritty, this thrilling ride through the underbelly of small-town America is another must-read if you love an anti-hero against the odds. Bug Montage, former getaway driver, thought he had escaped the criminal life and instead finds himself pulled back to the dark side by race and poverty. This attracted 12 rave reviews and only 1 mixed, so get this on your 'to read' list for summer.
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deeba Anapparra, 2020
This very different mystery novel is set in the slums in India and narrated by a precocious nine-year-old who has learnt all his crime-solving skills from the TV. I totally understand why it has attracted 10 rave reviews and 3 positive reviews, and totally disagree with the 1 mixed review. This was an intriguing and beautifully written novel that explores poverty, child trafficking, and police corruption from a child’s view of the world.
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, 2020
From the author of The 7½ Deaths of Eleanor Hardcastle, this latest novel is described by Danielle Trussoni from The New York Times Book Review as ‘compulsively readable, slightly over the top and more interested in the mysteries of character and mise-en-scène than the rigors of plot’. There is horror involved, but it's not too scary. It received 10 rave reviews and 3 positive reviews to encourage you to add it to your summer reads list.
These Women by Ivy Pochoda, 2020
In an interview with the author, Pochoda discusses what fascinates her about serial killers. At once a compelling murder mystery, it explores how women are viewed in Western cultures and how this flows into the killer's narrative. Pochoda has attracted 8 rave reviews and 5 positive reviews for her fifth novel.
Broken by Don Winslow, 2020
I do know our attention spans have been challenged in this horror year, so Don Winslow’s latest collection of six intense novellas might be just the thing to break your reading block. With 8 rave reviews, 4 positive reviews and 2 mixed, this collection explores themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption, and is crime writing at its best. Winslow creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, all struggling in an America that has lost its way.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore, 2020
This is a story of sisters. Two sisters who have taken very different life paths. Mickey walks the police beat, while Kasey is lost on those same streets in the grip of addiction. One day Kasey goes missing, and a series of murders happen in the same district. Moore, compared to Chandler, takes us on a dark journey to the streets of Philadelphia, totally subverting reader expectation along the way. With 8 rave reviews, 2 positive reviews and only 1 mixed, this is one to keep you awake until you finish it.
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin, 2020
Finally, we have a mystery novel with a fetching, charismatic and somewhat volatile heroine, Claire. Claire was only 7 years old when her college-aged sister disappeared, and now as an adult is determined to find out what happened and discover just who her sister was. Do not expect the normal plot narrative as there are many turns down side streets in this novel. Even with such a different structure, it has attracted 7 rave reviews, 4 positive reviews and only 1 mixed. If you want something different over the summer, but still love an intriguing mystery, then this is the one for you.