Two decades later, the corpse turns up, and she’s forced to return to her hometown in Arkansas to reckon with her past and what’s left of her family. Rather than going to jail, she carries on with her life, moves away, starts over-because the police never actually found the body. –MOįord’s 2017 novel, Cottonmouths, remains a standout in the suspense category, and she’s back this year with a powerful story of a young woman who confesses to the murder of her stepfather. A perfect companion tale to Fiona Mosley’s well-received story of sex workers in modern-day Soho, Hot Stew. Shrines of Gaiety explores the peaks and nadirs of life in the demimonde-neighborhood of Soho, where the upper crust rubs shoulders with the down and out and the criminally successful. What could be better than a new Kate Atkinson novel? How about a new Kate Atkinson novel set in the past?!? Atkinson heads to the Roaring 20s for her upcoming literary novel with elements of crime. As is the case every time I put this list together, I’m astounded by the wondrous titles coming out in such a dark time in the world, but perhaps that’s because we need good books now, more than ever. I’ve also included more of a sneak preview of next year’s titles than usual for a fall reading list, but that’s because I and my fellow CrimeReads editors just couldn’t wait to talk about them.

For more cozy fireside reading, there’s also plenty of fair play mysteries and historical fiction to round out the end of your year, with a few nonfiction titles sprinkled in. It may not be cooling down yet, but it’s gothic season, baby! And dark academia season, and social horror season, and folk horror season, and winter thriller season, and contemplative psychological suspense season-those are just a few of the trends I’m seeing in the books coming out over fall and winter.

Future Fake Husband by Kate Hawthorne