Crime Collector’s Book-of-the-Month Club

This club is for the mystery fan who doesn’t like to be pigeon-holed into one particular sub-genre.  We’ll be drawing from a variety of different styles – thrillers, psychological crime novels, hardboiled/noir fiction, police procedurals and more – to provide you with a well-rounded reading experience throughout the year.

2023

Jan: Reyes, Ana. The House in the Pines (Penguin, $27.00).

An instant New York Times bestseller!

“This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller…It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed….

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

2022

Jan.:  Koontz, Dean. Quicksilver

Feb: Kistler, Bonnie. The Cage

March: Meltzer, Brad. The Lightning Rod

April: Sandford, John. The Investigator

May: Bohjalian, Chris. The Lioness

June: Pavone, Chris. Two Nights in Lisbon

July: Clark, Julie. The Lies I Tell and Byrne, James. The Gatekeeper

Aug  Iglesias, Gabriel. The Devil Takes You Home

Sept: Raybourn, Deanna. Killers of a Certain Age

Oct: Gentill, Sulari. The Woman in the Library

Nov: O’Connor, Carlene. No Strangers Here

December: Hartov, Stephen. The Last of the Seven (Hanover Square, $26.99).

2021

Jan.:  Tracy, PJ. Deep into the Dark

Feb: Berenson, Alex. The Power Couple

March: Staples, Will. Animals

April:  McClain, Paula. When the Stars Go Dark

May:  Korelitz, Jean Hanff. The Plot

June: Adams, Taylor. Hairpin Bridge

July: Reichs, Kathy. The Bone Code

Aug.: Santlofer, Jonathan. The Last Mona Lisa

Sept. Redmond, Michelle. The Wonder Test

Oct.: Carson, ScottWhere They Wait

Nov: Hall, Rachel Howzell. These Toxic Things

2020

Jan.: Dundas, Chad. The Blaze

Feb. Gardiner, Meg. Dark Corners of the Night

March: Swanson, Peter. Eight Perfect Murders

April:  Black, Cara. Three Hours in Paris

May: Turow, Scott. The Last Trial

June: Young, Heather. The Distant Dead

July: Cosby, SA. Blacktop Wasteland

August: Weiden, David Heska Wanbli. Winter Counts (Ecco $34.99)

Sept: Parish, StanLove and Theft

October: Unger, Lisa. Confessions on the 7:45 6

Nov: Fleishman, Jeffrey. Last Dance

Dec.:  Perry, Thomas. Eddie’s Boy