Chris Quarembo's Readers' Club - July 2025
- Chris Quarembo
- Jun 30
- 4 min read
Vol 5 Issue 7
I’ve been immersed in crime and mystery fiction since reading Sherlock Homes stories when I was in elementary school. My love for the genre remains strong today. And, this newsletter exists because I enjoy sharing my take on the books I read with other readers, like you, my newsletter subscribers.
This month I’m recommending books by standout writers, who have created novels that deserve to jump to the top of your TBR list. These three authors are among my favorite crime writers working today.
My Recommendations This Month
Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky
I must begin with Sara Paretsky latest work. She is a legend in her own time, honored with the most prestigious awards for crime writers. She is one of only four living writers to receive both the British Crime Writers’ Cartier Diamond Dagger and a Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America.
For decades she has been turning out top-rated crime novels featuring Chicago PI V.I (Vic for Victoria) Warshowski, a strong, intelligent and courageous woman. Pay Dirt, the 22nd in the series was published in 2025.
In Pay Dirt, V.I. travels to Lawrence, Kansas for a weekend of college basketball, joining her goddaughter Bernie and Bernie’s college friends. The next day, Sabrina, one of the friends, goes missing and Bernie asks V.I. to search for the young woman.
In Kansas, V.I lacks the contacts and local knowledge she uses to her advantage in Chicago. At the same time, she is doubting her skills following a violent end to a recent case. But she agrees to look for the missing student.
V.I. finds Sabrina, the daughter of a powerful corporate executive, overdosed and near death in an abandoned house. An outsider, V.I. becomes a suspect rather than being credited with saving the student's life.
Her troubles escalate when she discovers a dead body in the same house a few days later. She is shot at, assaulted multiple time, and realizes she is being targeted by local drug dealers as well as the opponents in a local land battle, dating back to the 1860s.
V.I. Warshowski knows how to handle herself in a fight and defies the odds. But Paretsky never makes it easy or simple for V.I. to solve a case. And along the way provides action, suspense and an intense plot that grips readers until its conclusion.
El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott
The setting for the latest from bestselling author Megan Abbott is the Detroit suburb of Grosse Point. Once the haven for wealthy auto executives and their families, the neighborhood and its residents are faced with readjusting to life after the financial collapse of the industry.
The novel centers on the three Bishop sisters, Pam, Harper and Debra who lack the skills to obtain jobs that pay a living wage, let alone replace the lavish lifestyle they grew up in.
Pam is battling her ex in court after he looted their children’s trust fund, leaving his college- bound son without tuition. Pam is approached by a neighbor inviting her to join a womens’ group promising fast and easy cash. That is once Pam pays a $5,000 “gift” to join. Pam’s early success leads her to bring her other sisters, Debra, the eldest, and Harper into the group.
Harper, who works at a low-wage job giving horse-riding lessons, gets the money to join from Pam. But quickly realizes that in order to reap the big bucks, members need to continually recruit new members. Ultimately, need turns to greed and inevitable conflicts emerge, leading to murder.
Abbott conveys the atmosphere, culture and values of people unprepared to let go of the rich lifestyle they expected as their right but now no longer had the money to back up.
She is an Edgar award-winning author and has received an International Thriller Writers Award for best novel.
The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey
The second in a series set in 1920’s India, features Perveen Mistry, the sole female solicitor in Bombay during the British Raj.
With the sudden deaths of both the maharaja of Satapur and his eldest son, the princely state falls under the rule of the British Raj until the youngest son comes of age.
However, a dispute has arisen between the mother and grandmother regarding the education of the future maharaja. The royal women, in mourning, are not permitted to receive men. Therefore, the local British agent, a man, is barred from seeing them. As a result, Perveen is hired to mediate the dispute, giving her an distinct advantage over men in these circumstances.
Preveen is determined to find a recommendation for the young prince’s education that will end the dispute. At the same time, she discovers that the deaths of the maharaja and the elder prince may not have been accidental.
Massey’s novel paints a realistic picture of India during British rule while also creating a top-notch mystery hard to put down. Preveen Mistry is smart and resourrceful, and willing to challenge the status of women in India. She is an appealing character to spend time with. Luckily, there are five books in the series so far.
Massey has received major literary awards, including the Agatha, Macavity, Lefty and Mary Higgins Clark prizes.
You Feedback Welcomed
Please email me when you read any of my recommendation and tell what you thought of the novel. I’ll share your thoughts with our other subscribers. And watch for my next newsletter in August.
“Reading brings us unknown friends” – Honore de Balzac
About Chris
Chris Quarembo’s debut novel Killer Deals, featuring PI Andrea Fabiano, won an Independent Publisher Award for Excellence in 2024. Her anthology of Andrea Fabiano short stories was published in 2025. Her other short stories in the crime and mystery genre are available as eBooks on Amazon. Chris is an award-winning former newspaper reporter. She is a member of Sisters in Crime. Her website is chrisquarembo.com.
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