Bethanne Patrick

Anthony Horowitz's new Inspector Hawthorne mystery is a sometimes too-complex but ultimately fun tale set in and around London's literary scene, with plenty of axes to grind and nibs to sharpen.

John Boyne's new novel is about a literary schemer, striver and climber so dastardly and downright cruel that it seems impossible to enjoy reading about him — and yet, you definitely will.

Tana French's new standalone novel packs a lot of character and background information into the first few chapters, but the atmosphere and dialogue will keep you turning pages as the mystery unfolds.

George Pelecanos' The Man Who Came Uptown may appear like another detective thriller novel, but a richer philosophy on prison literacy lies beneath its plot.

Akashic Books' Noir series visits Baghdad for its latest installment, and the talented writers collected here manage to wrest compelling noir from a place that's plenty dark already.

Megan Abbott's new novel follows two women with a troubled past who meet again, working in the lab of a powerful scientist. It's a slow-burning story whose final explosion is a true surprise.

Jim Crace's superb new novel is a trickster — it seems to be a bittersweet tale of late-life love, but then it becomes a meditation on gentrification and the toll poverty can take on human beings.

The latest installment of the Hogarth Shakespeare series sees crime novelist Nesbo taking on the Scottish Play in an adaptation that comes alive the farther he strays from Shakespeare's original.

Christine Mangan's new novel, set in Morocco in the 1950s, centers on the sinister tension between two ex-friends — but the dusty, detailed Moroccan scenery sometimes gets in the way of the story.

Nina Sadowsky's day job is high-level Hollywood producer, and it shows in the cinematic drive of her new thriller. But the book's nonstop action leaves little time for details of place and character.