Not That Kind of Place by Michael Melgaard
For fans of: Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Published in 2023, Not That Kind of Place by Michael Melgaard pushes against mystery genre tropes, examining our cultural obsession with true crime and providing strong social commentary on misogyny and racism. “The greatness of this book snuck up on me,” says Sloane Bernard, a lawyer and voracious reader who shares book recommendations on Instagram as @sloane_reads. “Its pages provided so much more than a whodunit. They exposed the radical disparity in society’s approach and attention to violence—the latitude provided to some, while others face assumptions and bias. A mystery that examines the underbelly of a community, [Not That Kind of Place by] Melgaard shows that every place is ‘that kind of place’ if people were assigned equal value.”
2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox
For fans of: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson and Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
Master of mystery novels James Patterson partnered with Australian writer Candice Fox to create 2 Sisters Detective Agency, the fast-paced story of a woman who returns home after her father’s death to discover the detective agency she never knew he’d opened and the half-sister she never knew she had. The book, which was published in the fall of 2021, starts racing right out of the gate, taking the detective duo from a tense investigation to a surprising crescendo. Patterson’s signature short chapters keep this tale moving, and Fox’s vivid characters will have you hoping this turns into a series. Readers who like to listen to stories—say, during long commutes—will be pleased to know there’s an audiobook version too.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
For fans of: Sandstorm by James Rollins and Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Good mystery books should have you furiously flipping pages, and Dan Brown has certainly mastered this. “The Da Vinci Code cemented Dan Brown as the king of the page-turner,” says Fritz. “From the darkest corners of the Louvre to Westminster Abbey, this fast-paced mystery is like an escape room come to life.”
Mesmerizing from the get-go, The Da Vinci Code begins with a curator who’s been murdered inside the Louvre. Near the body, a mysterious cipher is found. Enter Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who follows the clues with the hopes of uncovering a secret thousands of years in the making. More than 80 million copies of the book have been sold since it was published in 2003, and it was adapted for film in 2006 and as a young adult novel in 2016.
Additional reporting by Chloë Nannestad.
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Sources:
- Alexandra Plante, librarian specializing in reference and instruction and influencer behind the @thealiplante Instagram account; interview May 2024
- Kerri Wallace, librarian with the Hoboken Public Library; interview May 2024
- Zibby Owens, host of the Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast, bestselling author of Blank and owner of the independent bookstore Zibby’s Bookshop and publishing house Zibby Books; interview May 2024
- Sloane Bernard, book influencer behind the @sloane_reads Instagram account; interview May 2024
