McKenna Jordan, Store Owner at Murder By The Book since 2003
Having read crime fiction almost exclusively for the last fifteen years at MBTB, this “staff stack” was incredibly challenging to narrow down. I decided to go with an approach of which books represent both my reading taste as well as my history - to this point - with the bookstore. Every one of this holds a special place in my heart and has a story to go along with it.
I have a real respect for the genre and its icons, and I love unique characters. That’s basically all I can find as a thread of similarity throughout my reading taste. I’m happy to read across the genre as long as it’s well-written, and there’s nothing that beats a fresh new voice that grabs you from the first line.
McKenna's 2019 Top 10:
1. The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
2. The Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld
3. The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair
4. Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard
5. City of Windows by Robert Pobi
6. Stick Together by Sophie Henaff
7. The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone
8. Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
9. A Beautiful Corpse by Christi Daugherty
10. Death in Provence by Serena Kent
Check out McKenna's Recommendation Playlist on the MBTB YouTube Channel.
Officer Anne Capestan's team of misfits will have to work together to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder . . . and in the process uncover a trail of corruption that leads to the top of the Paris police force.
"Marvelous . . . An absorbing, sometimes laugh-out-loud mystery." --New York Journal of Book
$27.00ISBN: 9780316479257Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Little, Brown and Company - October 13th, 2020"He’s gone…"
When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news.
$28.00ISBN: 9781538733639Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Grand Central Publishing - June 30th, 2020Sex, betrayal, and intrigue: A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly in this pulse-pounding beach read "chock full of delicious characters who flaunt their sins . . . like the latest Birkin bag" (Adriana Trigiani).
Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth.
$26.99ISBN: 9781250241702Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Minotaur Books - February 2nd, 2021"Getting the job done" for one single mom takes on a whole new meaning in Finlay Donovan is Killing It.
One of "The Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2021" —Parade
One of "The Most Anticipated Debuts of 2021" —Bustle
One of "The Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021" —Goodreads
One of "The Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2021" —Crimereads
$27.99ISBN: 9781250256430Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Minotaur Books - June 23rd, 2020"With its evocative Dublin setting, lyrical prose, tough but sympathetic heroine, and a killer twist in the plot, Sarah Stewart Taylor's The Mountains Wild should top everyone's must-read lists this year!" — New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie
$27.00ISBN: 9780593187838Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: G.P. Putnam's Sons - January 19th, 2021In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.
$15.00ISBN: 9780143037965Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Penguin Books - September 26th, 2006Two mathematicians must join forces to stop a serial killer in this spellbinding international bestseller