Crime

Last One Out by Jane Harper is a quiet, atmospheric mystery set in a half-abandoned mining town where Ro Crowley returns on the fifth anniversary of her son's disappearance. Harper's landscape writing and restrained grief carry the book through a slightly baggy middle, delivering a sad, satisfying read that sits just behind her best work.

In Mad Mabel, Sally Hepworth hands the microphone to Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one, six feet tall, and once the youngest murderer in Australian history. When a nosy seven-year-old and a true-crime podcast drag her secrets into the open, the past she has buried for sixty-six years finally wants its turn to speak.

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke puts six midlist authors on a Scottish island, hands them a dead man's unfinished manuscript, and a two-million-dollar prize. This review breaks down what the debut mystery gets brilliantly right and where it stumbles — spoiler-free.

Killing Me Softly by Sandie Jones is a compulsively dark domestic thriller about a golden couple whose love story unravels into obsession, cover-ups, and a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Is it worth the read? Find out here.

Discover The Winter Verdict by Dan Buzzetta, a legal thriller where small-town lawyer Tom Berte confronts a shadowy conspiracy threatening millions. A must-read for fans of Grisham and Connelly.