July’s crop of new thrillers are as brutal and scintillating as the summer heat. The following list feels a bit like an ur-list of what crime and mystery novels are—their building blocks, their structure, and above all, their consumption. These novels are variations on a theme, like all good genre fiction; dutiful to those who’ve come before, and paving new paths for those who will follow. In short, July’s new crime releases are a masterclass in, well, crime writing. Enjoy!Article continues after advertisement
All blurbs by me unless otherwise stated.
Catherine Cho, The Devoted
(Washington Square Press)
This dark romantic thriller takes us into the world of the Triads, centered around a single question: how far would you tempt fate for the promise of love? As Cho’s narrator, the daughter of a gangster, grows up in ignorance and privilege, she finds herself falling for her childhood friend, now a leader in the same underworld that once destroyed her father. Can she risk loss again, for a brief moment in the sun? Or does she condemn her lover the moment she succumbs to her feelings? A stirring tale that mixes high emotion with mafia realpolitik, this one should make for an excellent miniseries. –MO
