Angela Misri and Sam Wiebe join the mystery panel to recommend some suspenseful summer reads
Angela Misri and Sam Wiebe are hardcore mystery fans. They also write their own adventure and detective books. They joined The Next Chapter's mystery panel to share some must-read titles just in time for summer.
Misri, based in Toronto, is the author of the Portia Adams Adventure series, including The Detective and the Spy, and Vancouver-based Wiebe wrote the Wakeland detective series, featuring Sunset and Jericho.
They joined Antonio Michael Downing to share six mystery novels they recommend for season.
Contemplation of a Crime by Susan Juby
In Contemplation of a Crime, a butler at a wellness retreat organized by her employer's son finds herself amongst a diverse group of attendees from different political backgrounds. They've come together for a five-day program aimed at overcoming their ideological and personal differences. But when something deadly happens, Helen must step into the role of investigator and figure out who is guilty.
Susan Juby is a bestselling author from Vancouver Island whose book Mindful of Murder was nominated for the Leacock Medal for Humour. Some of Juby's other titles include Getting the Girl, Another Kind of Cowboy, A Meditation on Murder, The Woefield Poultry Collective and the Alice MacLeod series. Her novel Republic of Dirt won the Leacock Medal in 2016.
Angela Misri says: "This book is told from different points of views. So you see just from their eyes, which is a really interesting storytelling format and I think Susan Juby does it really well.
"When you think about trying to find a common space between people who don't understand each other, seeing things literally from someone else's point of view on the page allows you to sit within their shoes."
Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right by Walter Mosley
Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right is the third book about Joe King Oliver, a black ex-NYPD detective who was falsely imprisoned. Now, he's been released and works as a PI. But his father has been on the run from a murder charge for the past 30 years.
King has to find his long-lost father, prove he's innocent and knit his family back together.
Walter Mosley is an American novelist. He is the bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins series and winner of multiple awards including a Grammy, an O. Henry Award, PEN America's Lifetime Achievement Award and three NAACP Image Awards.
Sam Wiebe says: "It's just brilliant. I wouldn't say it's his best novel, but it's him in good form.
"Mosley is a master of the PI form, so it's a character moving through different social strata, interacting with people from different backgrounds. But what sets his work apart is a real philosophical element. He's interested in cops and criminality, morality, redemption and for lack of a better term, alternative modes of punishment.
"Trying to think about how society should work — and how people can heal after really bad things have happened."
Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin
In Detective Aunty, when recently widowed Kausar Khan hears that her daughter has been accused of murdering the landlord of her clothing boutique, nothing can hold her back to help figure out who is the true culprit. But even Kausar is unprepared for the secrets, lies and betrayals that she'll uncover along the way.
Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher, parenting columnist and author based in Ontario. Her previous works include the novels Ayesha At Last, Hana Khan Carries On, Much Ado About Nada and Three Holidays and a Wedding.
Angela Misri says: "Kauser Khan, who is the detective, is an older detective. She's in her 50s. She's widowed. She's a brown lady — she is every brown lady I ever grew up with.
"In Detective Aunty, there is a community of wonderful ladies and granddaughters and best friends all chasing down a murderer. It's a lovely, lovely community story and I really enjoyed it."
Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
In Fair Play, a group of friends gather at an Airbnb on New Year's Eve for Benjamin's jazz-themed murder mystery birthday party — only to have a real murder take place overnight when the birthday boy turns up dead. With the help of a private detective, his sister Abigail tries to solve the case and grieve the loss of her sibling.
Louise Hagerty is an Irish author whose work has been featured in the Stinging Fly, and the Dublin Review. She was the first winner of the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize.
Sam Wiebe says: "This book is a beautiful tribute to the golden age, Hercule Poirot type of classic detective story. But at the same time, there are these chapters about this woman mourning her brother and you're never quite sure which one is real, how the two intersect. But it's just a beautiful meta-textual book."
The Silent Film Star Murders by Melodie Campbell
Set in the late 1920s, The Silent Film Star Murders, follows merry widow Lady Lucy Revelstoke as she embarks on a transatlantic journey on the Victoriana. Guests on the ship include rival movie stars Renata Harwood and Stella Burke. When a young woman goes missing and a crew member ends up dead, Lucy and her maid Elf set out to solve the mystery.
Melodie Campbell is a writer from Burlington Ont. She is the author of 18 novels, 60 short stories and has more than one hundred credits in comedy. She has won ten awards, including the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence and The Derringer. Her works include The Merry Widow Murders mystery series and The Goddaughter mob caper series.
Angela Misri says: "This is 1928, when movie stars were a different genre of human completely. And you've got your murders, you've got your missing people, you've got sex and all kinds of things happening on that ship along with chasing down a missing snake — which is an important part of the story, in my opinion. Just a great little vignette into 1928."
Dirty Little War by Dietrich Kalteis
Set at the start of the prohibition, Dirty Little War tells the story of Huckabee Waller, who flees to Chicago from his hometown of New Orleans after being inadvertently involved in the death of a gangster. While he hoped to turn his life around in the new city, he finds himself drawn only deeper into boozy crime and corruption.
Dietrich Kalteis is the author of 12 novels, including Under an Outlaw Moon which won the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Crime Novel. He lives in Vancouver.
Sam Wiebe says: "While not being from there or that time period myself, I feel like it's reasonably realistic and you know, Huck is the kind of character that feels like he just came in off a boxcar from somewhere. It's very hard boiled and stripped down, but there are moments that are really funny too. And all of the interactions with Capone feel pretty realistic.
"I've been a fan of Dietrich since his first novel, Ride the Lightning. His move into historical crime fiction feels natural; he's bringing something very interesting to that genre."
This segment has been edited for length and clarity.
