Goodreads Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers January 2023

I am currently reading The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb for our February Mystery Book Club and listening to The Cloisters by Kay Hays. I am liking The Violin Conspiracy and will give  a "full report" on it after the MBC meets. I am not that far into The Cloisters yet. Waiting for that "jumpy" feeling I am expecting from this book. Will let you know when I finish it.

I am always looking ahead for upcoming mysteries for the MBC now that I took the torch from our "leader" of at least 10 years. So I decided I would start watching Goodreads for their lists of upcoming books for each month.

Let's see what has or is coming out this month, January 2023. Since there are 15 books on Goodreads list I will first share the ones by authors I am familiar with or look like a book I would enjoy. Then I will list the remaining titles. 

Exiles by Jane Harper (Aaron Falk #3) 1/31/23

This will be the last Aaron Falk book.

About: "At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.

A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.

Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.

Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.

An outstanding novel, a brilliant mystery and a heart-pounding read from the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man and The Survivors."

I have read two other books in addition to The Dry by Jane Harper and really liked them: The Lost Man and Survivors.

All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 1/10/23

About: "One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally.

Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.

Isabelle's entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle's past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust... including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads. "

I haven't read other books by this author but sounds like a fast paced thriller.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins 1/3/23

About:  "As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends."

The travel to Italy and 1974 intrigue me. I may or may not connect with 1974. :)

Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce 1/20/23

About: "When a severed hand washes ashore in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach, Florida, the lives of two women—a lonely writer obsessed with the unsolved murder of her mother’s best friend and a panicked wife whose husband has disappeared with their children—collide as the world shutters in the pandemic lockdown of 2020.

A young woman’s life seems perfect until her family goes missing. A writer lives alone with her dog and collects arcane murder statistics. What each of them stands to lose as they sneak around the do-not-enter tape blocking Reef Road beach is exposed by the steady tightening of the cincture encircling them.

In a nod to the true crime that inspired it, Deborah Goodrich Royce’s Reef Road probes unhealed generational scars in a wrenching and original work of fiction. It is both stunning and sexy and, like a bystander surprised by a curtain left open, you won’t be able to look away."

I am wondering what true crime event inspired this now. I lived in Palm Beach County for several years. Tales of the "rich and famous."

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone 1/3/23

About: "A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth.

Robert Reid moved his family to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in the 1990s, driven by hope, craving safety and community, and hiding a terrible secret. But despite his best efforts to fit in, Robert is always seen as an outsider. And as the legendary and violent Hebridean storms rage around him, he begins to unravel, believing his fate on the remote island of Kilmeray cannot be escaped.

For her entire life, Maggie MacKay has sensed something was wrong with her. When Maggie was five years old, she announced that a man on Kilmeray—a place she’d never visited—had been murdered. Her unfounded claim drew media attention and turned the locals against each other, creating rifts that never mended.

Nearly twenty years later, Maggie is determined to find out what really happened, and what the islanders are hiding. But when she begins to receive ominous threats, Maggie is forced to consider how much she is willing to risk to discover the horrifying truth.

If the title sounds familiar, there is a book called The Blackhouse by Peter May. It is book one of the Lewis Trilogy. We read that several years ago and it was very good. That is why this book caught my attention. I do love gothic mysteries set in Scotland!

Here are other books coming out in January. Any favorite authors there?

Just the Nicest Couple: Mary Kubica 

What Lies in the Woods: Kate Alice Marshall 

 

Age of Vice: Deepti Kappoor

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone: Benjamin Stevenson

The Blue Bar: Damyanti Biswas (Blue Mumbai #1)

The Drift: C.J. Tudor

Locust Lane: Stephen Amidon

City Under One Roof: Iris Yamashita

The Things We Do To Our Friends: Heather Darwent

Liar, Dreamer, Thief: Maria 

Looks at the details of the books here:

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2440-2023-s-most-anticipated-mysteries-thrillers