Genre: Mystery

The genre of mystery novels is a young form of literature that has developed since the early-19th century. The rise of literacy began in the years of the English Renaissance and, as people began to read over time, they became more individualistic in their thinking. As people became more individualistic in their thinking, they developed a respect for human reason and the ability to solve problems.

Perhaps a reason that mystery fiction was unheard of before the 1800s was due in part to the lack of true police forces. Before the Industrial Revolution, many of the towns would have constables and a night watchman at best. Naturally, the constable would be aware of every individual in the town, and crimes were either solved quickly or left unsolved entirely. As people began to crowd into cities, police forces became institutionalized, and the need for detectives was realized – thus the mystery novel arose.

Force of Nature

Force of Nature

Force of Nature by Jane Harper
Published by Flatiron Books on February 6, 2018
Series: ,
Pages: 336
Format: ebook
Genres: Mystery, Suspense
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

Five women go on a hike. Only four return. Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry, asks: How well do you really know the people you work with?
When five colleagues are forced to go on a corporate retreat in the wilderness, they reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking down the muddy path.
But one of the women doesn’t come out of the woods. And each of her companions tells a slightly different story about what happened.
Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing hiker. In an investigation that takes him deep into isolated forest, Falk discovers secrets lurking in the mountains, and a tangled web of personal and professional friendship, suspicion, and betrayal among the hikers. But did that lead to murder?
“Force of Nature bristles with wit; it crackles with suspense; it radiates atmosphere. An astonishing book from an astonishing writer.”—A.J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
Select praise for The Dry:"One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read. Every word is near perfect. Read it!"—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A breathless page-turner … Ms. Harper has made her own major mark.”—The New York Times

Blackout

Blackout

Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson
Published by Minotaur Books on August 28, 2018
Series: Dark Iceland #3
Pages: 272
Format: ebook
Genres: Mystery, Police Procedural, Scandinavian and Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

A huge bestseller in England, France, and Australia, the third book in the Dark Iceland series from a spectacular new crime writer."Easily the best yet. Beautifully written and elegantly paced with a plot that only gradually becomes visible, as if the reader had been staring into the freezing fog waiting for shapes to emerge."—The Guardian, UK (Readers' Books of the Year 2016)
"A chiller of a thriller whose style and pace are influenced by Jonasson’s admiration for Agatha Christie. It’s good enough to share shelf space with the works of Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Arnaldur Indridason, Iceland’s crime novel royalty."—The Washington PostOn the shores of a tranquil fjord in Northern Iceland, a man is brutally beaten to death on a bright summer's night. As the 24-hour light of the arctic summer is transformed into darkness by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption, a young reporter leaves Reykajvik to investigate on her own, unaware that an innocent person's life hangs in the balance. Ari Thor Arason and his colleagues on the tiny police force in Siglufjordur struggle with an increasingly perplexing case, while their own serious personal problems push them to the limit. What secrets does the dead man harbour, and what is the young reporter hiding? As silent, unspoken horrors from the past threaten them all, and the darkness deepens, it's a race against time to find the killer before someone else dies...
Dark, terrifying and complex, Blackout is an exceptional, atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland's finest crime writers.

The Hangman

The Hangman

The Hangman by Louise Penny
Published by Grass Roots Press on December 1, 2011
Series: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #6.5
Pages: 96
Format: ebook
Genres: Mystery, Suspense
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree.The dead man was a guest at the local Inn and Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible.Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.

The Darkest Evening

The Darkest Evening

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
Published by Minotaur Books on September 8, 2020
Series: Vera Stanhope #9
Pages: 336
Format: arc_pdf
Genres: Mystery, Suspense
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening."Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."—Louise Penny
"As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. . . . A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."—David Baldacci on The Long Call
On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.
Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.
As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book. It’s been a while since I have read an Ann Cleeve book and now I am wondering why I don’t read more of them. I am a fan of the Vera TV series starring Brenda Blethyn and it is Blethyn that has made DCI Vera Stanhope come alive for me on the pages of Ann Cleeve’s newest book in the series.

DCI Vera Stanhope