Watch Out for These Unlikely Detectives in Your 2022 Reads
In an age with Youtube and Reddit, we’re no strangers to watching internet sleuths investigating mysterious cold cases like Michelle Mcnamara’s I’ll Be Gone In the Dark and Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. As someone who’s a loyal fan of Nancy Drew, I’ve always reached for mysteries where I can work alongside an unlikely detective on the case. While I admire Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, contemporary fiction has expanded and complicated the idea of a literary detective to include these amateur sleuths. Whether accidentally stumbling into a murder or searching for disappeared siblings, these inexperienced and unqualified characters become invested in searching for answers despite not asking for the case and expose a truth about themselves. So who are the newest heroines entangled in the biggest cases of the new year?
Here are five upcoming novels featuring unlikely detectives that you should search bookstores to add to your 2022 reading list.
The Maid by Nita Prose (01/04/2022)
If you are also patiently waiting for season two of The Flight Attendant, this debut novel is definitely for you. At twenty-five, Molly Gray is a socially awkward maid who’se navigating the loss of her grandmother and throws herself into the comfort of her job working as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. When she discovers the infamous guest Charles Black murdered in his hotel bed, her life turns upside down as she entangled in a web of lies and now seen as the prime suspect. Her only way to clear her name and return to her orderly life is to solve what happened to Mr. Black before it’s too late. I’m anxiously waiting to learn more about Molly Gray’s life and how she’ll piece together the clues next year! Read more and pre-order your copy of The Maid here.
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (01/11/2022)
Are you a fan of southern settings and Emma Stone? Then you have to add this novel to your TBR pile. Set in Baton Rouge, A Flicker in the Dark has everything: missing teenagers, an unforgettable main character, a family subplot, and Emma Stone set to produce the story into an HBO Max series. Twenty years after Chloe's dad's arrest for the disappearance of six teenage girls, she owns her private psychology practice and prepares for her wedding when a string of teenage girls disappear from the town again. While this is classified as a deep south lyrical thriller, my gut tells me that you’ll invest in Chloe’s determination to find out if she’s paranoid or is she about to reveal a killer in the shadows. Pre-order your copy of Stacy Willingham’s debut novel here, or sign up for a Book of the Month Club membership to get early access to their December pick before the new year.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (02/22/2022)
Lucy Foley is back, and if you were part of the The Guest List craze in 2020, then you’ll want to seek out her upcoming fifth novel, The Paris Apartment. The main character, Jess, enters as jobless and luckless when she finally convinces her half-brother Ben to let her move into his Paris apartment. Although Jess believes maybe everything will appear brighter in Paris, she arrives to find a beautiful apartment without Ben. This is a classic man-gone-missing story with a dazzling whodunnit cast of neighbors that echoes the likes of a classic Cristie story. I can’t wait to see Jess’ sleuth skills unfold in this locked mystery as she determines who to trust in order to search for what happened to her brother. Look to order your copy here.
I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown (04/26/2022)
One of the great subplots of unlikely detective novels is the unmasked complexity of familial relationships, and this book is no exception. I’ll Be You centers around identical twins Sam and Elli who once were childhood TV-stars who have grown up to live in roles that are nothing alike. Ellie retires to be the model suburban housewife, while Sam struggles to cope from the effects of addiction and a failed acting career. Although Sam hasn’t spoken to Ellie in years, when her father calls to explain that Ellie’s life is in turmoil and that she stopped answering her calls after checking into a spa in Ojai. This novel carries all of the twists, secrets, and clues that only Sam can piece together to solve the mystery of Ellie’s life that Sam once knew. This book reminds me of Sara Shepards’ twin sister mystery novel The Lying Game, and I’m already invested in Sam’s search for her sister without seeing the first page. Find how to pre-order your copy here.
Last Call at the Nightingale by Katherine Schellman (06/07/2022)
Katherine Schellman highlights the dazzling details of golden age detective stories with the Jazz era and speakeasies… and a flapper on the case? It’s New York and 1924 when Vivian Kelly lives with her sister and works by day sewing away at a dress shop. At night, she retreats to dance at The Nightingale, a dance hall filled with illegal liquor sales and careless entertainment. Here, Vivian feels she’s found a safe haven from the burdens of her poor life above ground until she discovers a body behind the club. As she’s caught in the raid and appears to know more about the murder than she lets on, Vivian has to hunt through the secrets of wealthy lives in New York to unmask the killer before the next unfortunate soul to be disposed of might be her own. The glamour and wit of this unlikely heroine coupled with the fact that this will be the second mystery series by Schellman alludes to an unforgettable read you must reach for next year. Find out where to pre-order your copy here, and read more about Schellman’s first series starring amateur sleuth Lily Adler here.
