Sunday, September 6, 2020

Five top crime novels that explore social issues

Alyssa Cole is an award-winning author of historical, contemporary, and sci-fi romance. Her Civil War-set espionage romance An Extraordinary Union was the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award’s Best Book of 2017 and the American Library Association’s RUSA Best Romance for 2018, and A Princess in Theory was one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2018.

Cole's new novel is When No One Is Watching.

At CrimeReads she tagged five "books that explore social issues, and the effects that ripple out from them in ways large and small," including:
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

Cha’s taut thriller follows two families, one Korean American, one Black American, and the two timelines that link them in the past and present—a bond forged through violence then and now. Inspired by the real life killing of Latasha Harlins by store owner Soon Ja Du, the story delves into the aftermath of trauma, death, and resentment for the families and communities affected by it, and how the pain of the past injustice still resonates today.
Read about the other entries on the list.

Your House Will Pay is among Sara Sligar's seven California crime novels with a nuanced take on race, class, gender & community and Karen Dietrich's eight top red herrings in contemporary crime fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue