Mysteries & Twisteries
Hello, I’m Kerry, and I love a mystery novel. Importantly, I do not in any way love ACTUAL mysteries that affect me, like the meaning of life or why that new part of my back hurts or the mystery of where these kittens have hidden one of my favorite earrings that I left out for like ONE MINUTE WHERE DID IT GO JUNIPER?
This mystery devotion is both a nature and nurture issue, because many generations of my family have unapologetically read mystery novels and it has passed unapologetically to me. 23andMe would probably find that I’m 3% mystery novel. At this point I’m probably a licensed detective in several rural counties.
Fully a fifth of the books I read last year were mysteries of some kind, which is to say, I read ‘em all. Which means, I read the spectrum and the gamut, I read all kinds. I luxuriate in straightforward detective procedurals even though I know it’s cop propaganda, and I love a fun/funny mystery with a white hot passion, but I have a special place in my reading heart (which has shelves and is categorized by the Dewey Decimal) for Twisteries (TM), AKA mysteries with a twist.
I’m not talking about “oh, I didn’t guess that was the murderer” twists, which I never bother to try to figure out. I’m talking about Twists, either in plot point or in entire premise, where you say “okay, WHAT? I was not expecting THAT.” Creativity! Shaking up the paradigm! Flying in the face of derivative AI outlines!
So this week, let’s talk about some great mysteries and twisteries, some of which are new to me and therefore us, and some of which I last mentioned in week 3 when only my friends and family were reading this and maybe not even them. If you haven’t read them, they’re new to you!
Mysteries
Mother Daughter Murder Night has had a lot of buzz, and you know what? For what it is, I liked it!
Power summary: High-powered LA businesswoman Lana finds herself living with her daughter and granddaughter in a quiet coastal town. When her granddaughter finds a dead body on the coast, the three of them band together to solve the crime.
Good because: Who doesn’t like an “unlikely sleuth,” and this has three of them. With its premise and title, one might erroneously expect a funny tale, mais non! This has the right amount of encroaching danger, appealing character development, and whodunit-ness.
It has come to my attention that many of you have not read the Inspector Lynley mysteries by Elizabeth George, and I’m just not sure where our communication has faltered. The good news for you is that there are 21 of these and they’re each like 900 pages and you won’t MIND.
Power summary: London detectives! Scotland Yard! Fancy fellows! Scruffy female detectives who are underestimated! Recurring characters! New plotlines!
Good because: Um, did you read the above? But okay - I’m not sure how Ohio-born Elizabeth George has written what I think are well-realized London-based books but they’re excellent. Not too literary but also not mindless. They’re thoughtful, adult (THEME wise not spice wise you animals), have characters with long arcs, and have no fear about getting rid of some of your favorite characters so you stay on your toes.
I’ve grappled with talking about the Cormoran Strike novels because I think we can all agree that JK Rowling has comfortably settled into her evil transphobe millionaire era (when Elon is telling you to pump the brakes, you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere around Albuquerque, lady.)
Power summary: A surly private detective and his assistant-turned-partner solve crimes ranging from murder mysteries to cults, while also “will they won’t they”ing, but not in a dumb way.
Good because: This series is pretty well crafted - ambitious and robust, with believable characters and complicated but digestible plots. So do with that information what your conscience will. Forewarning - they can be pretty gory.
The series has seven books so far and some are markedly better than others - I blitzed through The Running Grave, the most recent title, but of course you know I love a cult book. I get them from the library if that helps?
Twisteries
The Gathering is the perfect example of Twistery - the plot was a new kind of mystery plot to me but also with all the beats of a procedural.
Power summary: When a teen is murdered in a rural Alaskan town, the townspeople blame the local “vampyr” colony. Vampyr expert Detective Barbara Atkins is brought in to determine if this is Colony killing, while tensions and danger ratchets up between the two groups.
Good because: I really appreciated how the existence of vampyrs was just a given, like any other kind of “out” group; it resulted in unusual developments without too much sci-fi world-building. There was a lot of “stranded in a blizzard” claustrophobia and a skillful balance of mystery and horror. It read very cinematically.
Okay, we need to talk about Everyone Here is Lying.
Power summary: When a young girl goes missing, everyone in the neighborhood is a suspect. Everyone has a secret and no one can be trusted to tell the full story.
Good because: Well … no spoilers, but the plot development to me felt kind of stupid, even though I didn’t hate the final twist. I don’t know. Everyone and their Bookstagram mother loved this and I did read it in one night. It’s acceptable. It’s a twistery! Do what you want.
Two Nights in Lisbon is one of those books that stuck with me; it’s so intricately plotted that I kind of want to read it again to see what I missed.
Power summary: Newlywed Ariel Price wakes up in Lisbon and her husband is missing from their hotel room. She becomes increasingly panicked as questions continue to reveal how little she knows her husband, and how high his disappearance goes.
Good because: TWISTERY.
Let me know your favorite twistery and why (if you can!)
Red Herrings and Other Side Information
All links go to Bookshop.org, a better way to buy books. CONFESSION I bought a book on Amazon this week because it needed to get there quickly. I’m not proud. Don’t be like me. Plan ahead and buy better.
Have you noticed the vague redesign of this newsletter, in which serif fonts have been reintroduced, because I am an ADULT? Actually don’t get attached, it’s still a work in progress.
Don’t forget about the archive, which has 150 weeks of books for your reading enjoyment!
If you’re reading this, happy anniversary! You know who you are and I like you a lot.