Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Five mystery novels with unique settings

Jenny Elder Moke is the award-winning author of children’s and adult literature. She enjoys fast-paced adventures with plenty of mysteries, surprising turns, and laughs along the way. Her adult debut, She Doesn’t Have A Clue, is a murder-mystery rom-com mash-up for fans of Clue and Knives Out.

At CrimeReads she tagged
five selections that range from haunting thrillers to whip-smart homages to detective novels of a bygone era, [in which] setting plays a critical role in the execution of the story. The stories are worth reading not only to solve the murder, but to lose yourself in their immersive worlds.
One title on the list:
Night Film by Marisha Pessl

An expert blend of mystery, thriller, and horror, Night Film is a meticulous look at the lengths obsessive creatives will go to achieve their visions. When disgraced former journalist Scott McGrath reads about the death of a cult film director’s daughter, he immediately knows foul play was involved. After all, the director, Stanislaus Cordova, was the engineer of Scott’s professional downfall after Scott’s obsession with him went too far. The investigation into the daughter’s death is anything but by the book, as elements of the occult and stories of Cordova’s extreme directing methods begin surfacing. Pessl has written an absolute masterpiece, the culmination of which takes place at Cordova’s remote ranch/filming stage. What follows is a mind-bending chase through film sets, puzzle boxes, and even an abandoned pool that will make you question everything you know and trust. Fans of cult films and underground directors will appreciate Pessl’s detailed dedication to creating Cordova’s world.
Read about the other entries on the list.

Night Film is among Lauren Acampora's nine top novels of art and seduction, Kate Reed Petty's seven thrillers about filmmakers & subversive art, and Jeff Somers's ten creepy Halloween books and four huge books that will hurt your brain—but in a good way.

--Marshal Zeringue