Congratulations to the 2023 Edgar Award Winners!

Perfect for fans of Long Bright River and The Mars Room, embark on this exploration of a serial killer’s life through the women closest to him. With his impending execution, Ansel Packer’s greatest desire is to be celebrated and understood. Readers learn his story through a mosaic of women in his life — his mother, his sister, and a homicide detective. Suspense and empathy collide in this depiction of womanhood as exploring the narrative of the American serial killer, our cultural obsession with crime stories, and evaluating our justice system. 

New York Times bestselling author John Darnielle gives an enthralling novel about murder, truth, and the dangers of storytelling in Devil House. Telling the story of true crime writer Gage Chandler, this book blurs the line between fact and fiction, while giving Gage the chance to move into a home where a pair of notorious murders happened. An intoxicating tale full of twists and turns, this exploration of the push and pull between truth and storytelling in true crime will send shivers down your spine. We highly recommend you listen to John Darnielle in conversation about Devil House on Poured Over: The B&N Podcast!

Perfect for fans of Laura Lippman and Alyssa Cole, Like a Sister tells the story of a Black reality TV star found dead and the estranged half-sister who’s certain it wasn’t the overdose everyone claimed it to be. Certain to keep you on your toes, Kellye Garrett gives a traditional yet modern mystery that you won’t be able to put down. 

From the author of The Town comes this epic thriller following Nicky Passero, the unknown right-hand man of Tony Accardo, the fearless Chicago gang leader of The Outfit. Based on a true story about the longest-reigning mob capo in history, Gangland explores integrity, lost honor, and revenge in this action-packed novel about a revenge mission after a jewelry heist. 

Mario knows all too well that your love of family can make you do difficult and desperate things. In an attempt to save his marriage and pay off the debt he accrued due to his young daughter’s illness, he becomes a hitman. When a tragedy destroys his life, he agrees to one final job, a near-suicidal mission with one single guarantee: the man who left on the mission won’t return the same … that is, if he survives. Vivid and devastating, The Devil Takes You Home will linger with you long after you’ve finished it. 

A debut for the many fans of The Thursday Murder Club, readers must be prepared to run around and solve this fatal mystery with the unflappable Molly Gray. For every curveball thrown her way, maid Molly keeps the life rules of her dear departed grandmother at heart and uses them to help solve the untimely murder of a guest. The characters around the Regency Grand Hotel would push anyone to their limits, so her subsequent suspect list is endless. Imperturbable Molly will take you by the hand as you solve this fun, fast and endlessly sweet mystery together!

Eli Cranor knows writing. Eli Cranor knows football. Eli Cranor knows the south. This one-two-three knockout punch results in a tough and tender story. The novel is visceral, cerebral and emotional. A triple threat of literature like no other.

Jackal is certain to send chills down your spine and has been described as Get Out meets The Vanishing Half. Utterly unputdownable, it tells the story of a small, predominantly white town with a history of young, Black girls going missing. When Liz Rocher returns home and another child goes missing, she’s the one to notice the pattern, leaving her certain of one thing: she needs to find answers. Gripping and horrifying, Jackal is a debut you don’t want to miss.

We can’t stop thinking about Shutter, a most perfect blend of supernatural and mystery. A debut novel that takes us to the limits of imagination and cuts through to the heart of the human condition. Ramona Emerson writes about dedication to family, tradition and the past that always haunts us with such ease and grace, and we look forward to her next novel.

Between this book and Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake, we’re thinking the book is better than the movie even though there is no movie. If Sager nods to Hitchcock, this debut novel reads like a film noir movie with double lives, cat-and-mouse rhythm, conflict and tension in every chapter. The A/C needs to be cranked to 10 while reading this thriller.

If you’re looking for a novel full of heists, travel and exploration of Chinese American identity, then look no further than Portrait of a Thief. This thrilling tale follows Will, a Harvard student comfortably living in his carefully curated role, but when asked to pull together a team to heist five priceless paintings stolen from Beijing centuries prior, he finds himself the leader of the crew, with fifty million dollars and their futures on the line. It’s the perfect novel to escape into! Looking for more about this book? We were lucky enough to get to speak with Grace D. Li on our Poured Over: The B&N Podcast, and we have a guest post about her favorite escapist reads on B&N Reads.