Kate Marshall

 First appearing in Robert Bryndza’s Nine Elms, former police detective Kate Marshall is taking on another case as a part-time private investigator with her research assistant Tristan in Shadow Sands. Bryndza gives readers another fast-paced, tension-filled adventure with Kate, but now we also learn more about Kate herself.  Shadow Sands takes place about two years after the events of Nine Elms so we see how Kate is dealing with the aftermath of those events, and how she has moved on. There are spoilers for Nine Elms within Shadow Sands, so reading these two in order is recommended. Additionally, so much what makes Kate who she is comes from the events of Nine Elms. Shadow Sands is scheduled to be published November 3, 2020.

Detective Inspector Eve Hunter

DI Eve Hunter was introduced to readers in the recent winner of the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year, Hold Your Tongue by Deborah Masson. Detective Inspector Eve Hunter is a leader in the Major Incident Team of the Aberdeen Police. She is a detective in a similar vein to DI Helen Grace from M.J. Arlidge’s series: incredibly tough and smart, but determined to carry her own baggage and never ask for help from those who genuinely would offer it. Hunter will be returning in Out For Blood, another dark, gritty, intense detective thriller where Hunter and her team will be tracking down a serial killer who is set on revenge. Police procedurals may not be for every reader, but if you enjoy them, are curious about them, or have not yet tried them, Masson does exquisite work with this genre, always keeping the reader at the edge of their seat. Out For Blood is scheduled for publication November 19, 2020.

Detective Natalie Lockhart

We were introduced to Detective Natalie Lockhart in Alice Blanchard’s Trace of Evil and we catch up with Lockhart and the other members of the Burning Lake, New York Police Department in The Wicked Hour. We pick up about 6 months after the events of Trace of Evil. There are major spoilers for Trace of Evil throughout The Wicked Hour, as so many of those events had long lasting effects on many of the characters. There is of course a fascinating new mystery to be solved in The Wicked Hour, but where Blanchard has done a phenomenal job is in treating these characters as very real people and letting them grieve, have PTSD, and work through fear and flashbacks. Much like in real life, after we experience trauma we are not just magically okay after a little bit of time has passed. I love how these characters have to work through, and deal with, what they have gone through, and they carry their scars with them. The Wicked Hour is scheduled to be published December 1, 2020.

Detective Shana Merchant

Tessa Wegert first brought us Detective Shana Merchant in Death in the Family, an exciting locked-room style mystery with a modern day Agatha Christie vibe. We learned a little about Merchant’s background while she was conducting her investigation, but there are still lots of missing pieces. We know she was a detective with the NYPD and had some type of interaction with a serial killer.  But within a year she was no longer in the city but was working in a very small police department in upstate New York. Detective Merchant is returning in The Dead Season where she will again have to face that same serial killer. As readers, we learn much more about Shana because she herself will have to dive back into her mysterious past. The cat and mouse game she is coerced into playing soon starts to involve even more innocent victims.  The Dead Season is scheduled for publication December 8, 2020.

Rachel Marin

Another heroine who is not actually a detective, Rachel Marin and her family experienced such horrific events, she had become something of a vigilante when she was introduced in Jason Pinter’s Hide Away. She ultimately becomes an actual consultant for the police department in her small Illinois town, where she has fled following an unspeakable crime that destroyed her family and peace of mind. As Hide Away ends, Rachel has just begun to believe there are at least a few people she can, perhaps, trust. When we see her again in A Stranger at The Door, she is still in a good place, building a stable life. Her skills are again called upon for assistance in investigating a mysterious death, but there is also a threatening figure from Rachel’s past who reappears. The secrets Rachel thought she had buried may be exposed, endangering her and her children all over again.  Pinter’s fast-paced storytelling shines in this always exciting series! A Stranger at the Door is scheduled for publication January 12, 2021.

If, like me, you enjoy getting into a series from the very beginning, when there are not multiple books to read just to catch up, any one of these crime fiction series’ could fit the bill. Some are grittier than others, some focus more on character while others focus more on the mystery itself, but most everyone can find something to get excited about with one of these fantastic crime-fighters! 

What other books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

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The following recently released debut thrillers range from traditional detective stories to dark, gritty, serial killer chases to domestic suspense novels to gothic-style tales with magical elements, and almost everything in between. Some have been written as the start to a new series and some are standalones, but all of them are highly rated and highly recommended.

DEATH IN THE FAMILY by Tessa Wegert
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An impressive combination of a traditional Agatha Christie-style locked-room mystery, with a young, gifted detective who is suffering from PTSD who is still learning who to trust in her new job and environment. Tessa Weggert introduces us to Senior Investigator Shana Merchant as she works to solve a mysterious disappearance on a small private island. We learn a lot about Merchant through her work on this case, but there is plenty more of her backstory to be unfolded. Weggert has written such a dynamic character that we can’t wait to see her in her next adventure!

THE GOOD DETECTIVE by John McMahon
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

P.T. Marsh really IS a good detective, but his life has been tragic in the last year.  Struggling with his private life has left him not always making the best decisions, and sometimes those decisions have far-reaching consequences. Thinking he is helping a stripper get out of an abusive relationship, Marsh starts a chain of events that lead back to his job, his father-in-law, and multiple murders in the area. Likeable detectives aren’t always easy to find, but Marsh comes across as genuine, but not perfect, real, but not too-good-to-be-true, and someone who truly wants to make a difference.  

BLOOD ORANGE by Harriet Tyce
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A domestic thriller that will often leave the reader feeling like a voyeur, but also unable to look away. Alison is a young, successful lawyer with an attentive husband, a precocious daughter, and seems to have it all. But she is also having an affair with one of her colleagues, and drinking too much, and she’s starting to feel things unravel. When she takes on a new client – who willingly admits to stabbing her own husband – Alison thinks this might be the opportunity to straighten out the various threads of her life that have gotten out of control. Power, jealousy, betrayal, love, and hate are all added to the mix and this disturbing tale will keep you on the edge of your seat.

HOLD YOUR TONGUE by Deborah Masson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Fans of M.J. Arlidge’s books about DCI Helen Grace should definitely be paying attention to Deborah Masson.  Similar in tone, Hold Your Tongue gives us an entirely new detective squad to get acquainted with. This dark and gritty serial killer hunt, with all its twists and turns, may not be for everybody, but for those of us that live for these twisted tales, it is a MUST! Masson also has a sequel currently scheduled to come out later this year!

MAN OF THE YEAR by Caroline Louise Walker
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Walker gives us a novel of domestic suspense set in a world where there just might not be a “good guy” to cheer for. Dr. Robert Hart has been named Citizen of the Year in his elite seaside town. His beautiful (second) wife and his son are there to celebrate with him. His son’s college roommate is also there, and the troubled young man changes the balance of power in the home. As the balance of power shifts, so does everything else in Dr. Hart’s life. Readers will hold their breath as they watch (mostly unlikable) people try to undo the damage they themselves have done.

NO BAD DEED by Heather Chavez
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Heather Chavez hits the ground running with this fast-paced, menacing story. We meet veterinarian and mother of two, Cassie Larkin on her way home from work where she witnesses a crime. She calls 911, but against the advice of the operator, she gets out of the car. From that point forward she throws her happy, suburban life into absolute paranoia and chaos! Unfortunately, the paranoia is contagious, and Chavez will definitely have you looking over your shoulder. The book, however, is fantastic, with unique characters and nerve-wracking tension!

YOU LET ME IN by Camilla Bruce
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A bit more gothic-horror than true thriller, this book quickly becomes very hard to categorise. Fans of Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls, or Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children Series will find some similarities here. The entire book is written as a manuscript for Cassandra Tipp’s niece and nephew with instructions they are to follow upon her death or disappearance in order to obtain their inheritance. Occasionally written in second person, the reader feels very much a part of the story, as if they are being spoken to directly.

WOMAN ON THE EDGE by Samantha M. Bailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Told from two alternating points-of-view, Woman on the Edge is the story of Morgan Kincaid who, while waiting for the subway on her regular trip home from work has a woman thrust her baby into Morgan’s arms, and then jump in front of the oncoming train! (That’s not a spoiler – it is on the back cover and happens in the first 3 pages.) But faster than the blink of an eye, Morgan’s life, which was already going through some very trying times, is turned upside down by this seemingly random act. 

 Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

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