Top five missing-persons novels

Ellis Blake is the pseudonym of Ben Sanders, award-winning author of American Blood and other books in the Marshall Grade series. He lives in New Zealand.

His new novel is No Prisoners.

At CrimeReads the author tagged his top five "missing-persons novels that I’ve read in the past twenty years—thrillers and mysteries that in different ways were both a treat, and a lesson in how to write." One entry on the list:

I first discovered Adrian McKinty by way of his outstanding detective novels set during the 1980s in Northern Ireland (the fabulously titled POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON’T LOOK FRIENDLY being a particular highlight). McKinty’s 2019 novel THE CHAIN is a bravura sidestep into contemporary US territory. The premise is darkly ingenious. Rachel Klein receives a phone call from a stranger, who says she has Rachel’s thirteen-year-old daughter captive. The only way to get her back is to pay a ransom, and then kidnap another child.

Thus is Rachel’s induction into the terrifying, self-sustaining crime enterprise known as The Chain. It’s a terrific, exhilarating read, cleverly leveraging a universal parental fear, and it carries thematic heft, too: most obviously in the pseudo-remedy facing victims of The Chain who must pay the suffering forward in order to alleviate their own. McKinty said that the story is “a thriller where economy of storytelling is everything” and that in each successive draft he “cut scenes, beats and ideas until a page turning core remained.” That core is a thing of thriller-writing beauty.

Read about the other novels on the list at CrimeReads.

The Chain is among Haylen Beck's eight thrillers focused on the bonds of parent and child.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five titles that get at the truth of true crime

Claire Fuller is the author most recently of the novel Hunger and Thirst. Her previous novels include Our Endless Numbered Days, which won the Desmond Elliott Prize; Swimming Lessons; Bitter Orange; Unsettled Ground, which won the Costa Novel Award and was a finalist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction; and The Memory of Animals.

[The Page 69 Test: Our Endless Numbered Days]

At Oprah Daily the author tagged five novels "that weave in real crimes and real questions about literature’s most controversial genre." One title on the list:

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

At 640 pages, this whopper of a novel documents a fictional investigation into the death of 24-year-old Ashley Cordova through invented photographs, newspaper articles, typed incident reports, and more. It’s a clever and disconcerting way to blend fiction with what feels like reality, allowing the reader to act like a detective trawling through an archive of old documents.

The story itself centers around disgraced investigative journalist Scott McGrath, who sets out to discover what happened to Ashley and restore his reputation in the process—which has been decimated by Ashley’s famous film director father. Night Film is perfect if you like a hard-boiled, seedy-underworld style.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Night Film is among Lindsay Kent's five great novels that read like bad trips, fever dreams, or reality warps, Jenny Elder Moke's five mystery novels with unique settings, 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

Six of the most polarizing mystery and crime books ever written

Jeffrey Davies is a professional introvert and writer with imposter syndrome whose work spans the worlds of pop culture, books, music, feminism, and mental health. His work has appeared on HuffPost, CBC Arts, Collider, Slant Magazine, PopMatters, and other places.

At Book Riot Davis tagged six of the most polarizing mystery and crime books. One title on the list:

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

As an author, Cormac McCarthy was known for his graphic descriptions of violence, and as far as crime fiction goes, this one is pretty twisted. Set in the Appalachian hills, Child of God follows Lester Ballard, a man falsely accused of rape, as he is released from jail. Ballard is, however, a serial killer and necrophiliac, and the reader is invited into his mind to understand how it works, as townspeople’s perspectives on how he grew up offer insight into how he might’ve ended up this way.

Child of God was polarizing, to say the least, immediately upon its original publication in 1973. Readers found it deeply troubling, yet it has continued to be the subject of both literary and academic analysis, with scholars describing it as an early entry into the late-20th century obsession with serial killers and how they operate. The most notable controversy associated with Child of God, however, came in 2007 when a ninth-grader in Texas chose the book for an assigned book report. The student’s mother objected to the material to the point where the teacher was under investigation for providing harmful material to a minor. So, just how twisted is Child of God? Once again, maybe you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Child of God is among Kaytie Norman's seven top books about Appalachia, Laura Benedict's nine "unlikeable" protagonists in literature, and Glenn Skwerer's ten top real-life monsters in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five mysteries set at literary events, conferences, and retreats

Carol Goodman’s rich and prolific career includes novels such as The Widow’s House and The Night Visitor, winners of the 2018 and 2020 Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Goodman’s new novel is Our Marriage Is Murder.

At CrimeReads the author tagged five "mysteries set in the cut-throat world of literary gatherings." One title on the list:

Julia Bartz, The Writing Retreat

For a more intimate setting, The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz offers up every writer’s dream of getting to go away to a secluded estate to focus on the work, all while being fed, cosseted, and mentored by a famous writer. That’s what blocked writer Alex hopes for when she gets an invitation from her favorite writer Roza Vallo to her upstate (did I mention secluded?), possibly haunted mansion.

The only hitch is that her frenemy, Wren, is also invited. Oh, and instead of getting time to bond with the other writers and work on their craft, the writers are pitted against one another when Roza announces a competition to complete an entire manuscript that will be instantly published with support from the superstar author. Things go spectacularly and gothically wrong, but at least it’s all grist for the mill—as long as you don’t end up ground in it.

Read about the other entries on the list at CrimeReads.

--Marshal Zeringue

Three must-read books about colonialism

Edna Bonhomme is a critic, journalist, and historian of science. She is the author of A History of the World in Six Plagues (shortlisted for Best Science Book in Austria) and co-editor of After Sex. Her latest book is Tending To Our Wounds: A Diasporic Memoir. Bonhomme is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, from the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Camargo Foundation, the Max Planck Institute, the Robert Silvers Foundation, and more. Most recently, she was a 2026 finalist for the 2026 Nona Balakian Award from the National Book Critics Circle. Her essays have appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, London Review of Books, The Nation, The New Republic, Scientific American, and elsewhere. She has been based in Berlin since 2017.

At Book Riot Bonhomme tagged three books on colonialism that "are not only case studies of the psychological cost of colonialism but also testaments that the colonized are not passive victims." One title on the list:

Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal

In this vivid, committed, and empathetic historical analysis, Gopal illuminates how anti-colonial critique was born from critics’ direct or indirect witnessing of rebellions in the colonies, from the Caribbean to India. Gopal shows how intellectuals and elites from the British colonies used their language of freedom to advocate for their own self-determination. It is an essential read for those interested in the agency of the colonized and in how some tried to use the master’s tools against the empire.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Fifteen of the best books if you love "Black Mirror"

One title on Tertulia's list of fifteen books "for every Black Mirror fan to satisfy their techno-dystopian cravings:"

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

In a crumbling future America, young Cat forms an unexpected bond with Finn, an experimental android dedicated to his duties. As their friendship morphs into love and society becomes more accepting of robots, Finn must grapple with his place in the world and in Cat's life.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Mad Scientist's Daughter is among Ceridwen Christensen's twelve stories of truly science fictional romance, Sarah Weldon's eleven beautifully strange romance books, and Jeff Somers's ten highly unlikely SFF love stories.

My Book, The Movie: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke.

Also see Addison Rizer's six top thrillers for fans of Black Mirror.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten books to read after seeing "The Odyssey"

At People magazine Janey Wetzel and Lizz Schumer tagged ten Greek mythology retellings and other books to read after seeing The Odyssey. One title on the list:

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Hathaway’s character in the film, the devoted wife of the glorious Odysseus, Penelope silently waits for her husband to return from his epic journey. In this adaptation by the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Penelope wanders the underworld, spinning her own version of events — a chronicle filled with lust, greed and murder.

Read about the other books on the list.

The Penelopiad is among Irena Smith's nine books with short but rich interior journeys and Paula Munier's eight top works informed by The Odyssey.

Also see Tanaz Bhathena's nine feminist myth and fairytale retellings to read after watching Christopher Nolan’s big screen adaptation of The Odyssey, Paula Munier's eight top works informed by The Odyssey, and Andrew Welsh-Huggins's five novels drawing inspiration from the Odyssey.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five romantic mysteries with "Happily Ever After" endings

Cara Tanamachi is the USA Today bestselling author of the Emma-Award Winning, The Takeover, and the Diverse Writers and Readers International romance book literary award winner, The Second You’re Single. She also writes under the name Cara Lockwood, and has written 38 books and counting, including I Do (But I Don’t), which became an original Lifetime Movie. She wrote the novelization of The Dater’s Handbook, a Hallmark movie starring Meghan Markle. She lives near Chicago with her spouse and blended family. Her new book is a rom-com murder mystery called Kiss, Marry, Kill.

[Q&A with Cara Tanamachi]

At CrimeReads the author tagged five romantic mysteries with "Happily Ever After" endings. One entry on the list:

Kate Posey, Serial Killer Games

Do you want to be a fly on the wall as a possible serial killer falls for his true-crime obsessed co-worker? This whirlwind trainwreck of a romance is dark (how would you like to get severed Ken doll parts wrapped in little boxes as sweet tokens of affection?), all set against the backdrop of the Paper Pusher who likes to shoves executives off the tops of office high rises.

This book has it all: sizzling chemistry, a real whodunit, and dark humor that had me laughing out loud. It’s like if The Hating Game and Silence of the Lambs had a baby. Trust me when I tell you, this book grabs you and doesn’t let go.

Read about the other titles on the list at CrimeReads.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five marvelous SFF books with older characters

At Book Riot Liberty Hardy tagged five great SFF novels centering older characters. One entry on the list:

The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

When fifty-year-old samurai Isako’s client suddenly retires, that means it’s time for Isako to hang up her swords, too. Normally, a samurai walks into the frozen abyss, with their family being provided for after their death. But then Isako is offered one last job that she can’t pass on, because it involves her worst apprentice and secrets of corporate espionage that could forever alter humanity.

Read about the other titles on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six thriller titles for "Reacher" fans

Dhruv Sharma is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division.

He tagged six "standalone crime thriller novels and book series from the genre [that] are as good as Jack Reacher, if not better." One entry on the list:

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

The Orphan X book series focuses on a former black-ops assassin, Evan Smoak, who uses his military experience and lethal skills to protect desperate people. Similar to Jack Reacher, Smoak operates as a highly capable lone operator who steps into dangerous situations where conventional law enforcement can’t effectively intervene.

However, what makes his endeavors even more immersive is the realism with which Hurwitz captures his high-tech prep and tactical logic in each mission. Interestingly, a TV adaptation of the Orphan X book series is also currently in the works. If executed well, the upcoming show could be as good as Prime Video's Reacher.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Orphan X series is among Brittany Bunzey's top ten cat-and-mouse thrillers.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nine feminist myth and fairytale retellings

Tanaz Bhathena is an award-winning Zoroastrian author of contemporary and fantasy fiction. Her young adult books include Hunted by the Sky, which won the White Pine Award and the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize, and The Beauty of the Moment, which won the Nautilus Gold Award for Young Adult Fiction. Her acclaimed debut, A Girl Like That, was named a Best Book of the Year by numerous outlets including The Globe and Mail, Seventeen, and The Times of India. Her debut adult fantasy, Witch Daughter, will be published in fall 2026 by Grand Central.

At Lit Hub Bhathena tagged nine feminist myth and fairytale retellings to read after watching Christopher Nolan’s big screen adaptation of The Odyssey. One title on the list:

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions

When it comes to retellings of Indian mythology, nothing for me has quite compared to this novel by Divakaruni. Set during the time of the great epic, the Mahabharata, the book focuses on Panchali (or Draupadi), a princess who marries five brothers, each embodying one of the five qualities she was looking for in a husband. Panchali is not without her flaws and rejects a worthy suitor simply because of the caste he was born into. That Divakaruni is able to make her protagonist sympathetic and showcase all her shades of gray talks to her remarkable skill as a writer.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Palace of Illusions is among Zen Cho's six SFF books about gods and pantheons.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven books that books center the intimacy of our platonic bonds

Rebecca Chace is the author of five books: Talking to the Wolf (novel), Leaving Rock Harbor (novel), Capture the Flag (novel), Chautauqua Summer (memoir), and June Sparrow and the Million Dollar Penny (children's book). Her third play, Obit, will premiere in September 2026 at Theater for the New City (NYC). A regular contributor to The New York Times, her nonfiction essays have appeared in The Yale Review, New England Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. Her fellowships include Civitella Ranieri, MacDowell, Yaddo, Dora Maar House, American Academy of Rome (Visiting Artist), among others. She is a Faculty Associate at Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking.

At Electric Lit Chace tagged seven books that "explore the complicated, private heartbreak of losing a friend." One title on the list:

Ponti by Sharlene Teo

This novel is haunted by a glamorous mother who became a B-movie horror film star. What a great premise! The story is told from three points of view: the mother, her insecure, adolescent daughter, Szu—a social outcast at her school in Singapore—and Circe, the classmate who appears to be a fellow outcast despite her wealth and beauty. Szu’s distant, cruel mother and her Auntie now scrape by as mediums (though their psychic gifts are questionable, according to Szu). Circe becomes Szu’s “best friend” for better and worse. The novel has a gothic horror sensibility that echoes the campy film that made Szu’s mother famous, but the teenage friendship, with its complex cocktail of loyalty and betrayal, is utterly real.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue