Chris Quarembo's Readers' Club - November 2025
- Chris Quarembo
- Oct 31
- 3 min read
Vol 5 Issue 11
I’m always looking for crime novels with distinctive characters, who readers want to spend time with through multiple novels. Fans of crime fiction, like you, have likely read award-winning series by authors, such as Michael Connelly, Karen Slaughter and Louise Penny. In this issue, I’m recommending two bestselling crime novelists,Tess Gerritson and Allison Brennan, who have written series with unique, clever and strong characters that are fun to spend time with. In addition, I'm also recommending a stand-alone novel by Robert Dugoni, who writes crime fiction as well as literary novels.
My Recommendations This Month
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritson
The Spy Coast is first of three novels featuring former spy Maggie Bird and her ex-CIA friends, who use their spare time to investigate crime in their quiet community of Purity, Maine.
Undeterred by warnings from the local police chief, Maggie and her friends, who call themselves the Martini Club, look into the disappearance of a teenager when Maggie’s neighbor becomes a prime suspect.
When authorities find the remains of a dead body in a nearby pond, murdered years before, Jo Thibodeau, the police chief, reluctantly accepts the group’s help. Together they find their way to the connection between the disappearance and the murder.
Gerritson has written more than thirty novels, including the series featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, which inspired the television series "Rizzoli & Isles.” Gerritson, who has a medical degree, began writing fiction while on maternity leave. She lives in Maine.
You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan
Private Investigator Margo Angelhart, whose fledgling practice struggles to stay afloat, is hired by the wife of a wealthy businessman, who suspects her husband having an affair. Soon, however, Margo realizes her client is lying. Adding to her difficulties, Margo learns that her estranged family’s PI firm is investigating corporate espionage that is linked to her case.
Eventually, Margo must put aside her anger with her mother and siblings and work with them to unravel the complex threads that bind these crimes together.
You’ll Never Find Me is the first of two novels featuring Angelhart Investigations.
Brennan, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, has written more than forty thrillers. Originally from California, she now lives with her husband in Arizona.
A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni
Set in Depression era Seattle, a young reporter hungry for a front page story, receives a tip about a killing at a notorious social club managed by mobsters. William “Shoe” Shumaker’s exclusive coverage of former boxer Frankie Ray’s murder sets off a media frenzy. His newspaper’s sales skyrocket thanks to the city’s unsatiable appetite for glimpses into the criminal underworld.
Despite receiving a raise for his work, Shoe begins to doubt he's getting the complete picture of the crime from his source. His suspicions are well-founded. He starts digging deeper into the cozy relationships among the police, the city’s elite, and the mobsters running the gambling, prostitution and illegal booze joints in the city. He quickly learns his career choice brings untold dangers.
Robert Dugoni is a bestselling author of more than ten million books worldwide. In addition to crime fiction, Dugone also writes legal thrillers, espionage novels and literary fiction, including The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.
You Feedback Welcomed
Please email me with your feedback whenever you read any of my recommendations. I’ll share your thoughts with our other subscribers. And watch for my next newsletter in December.
“Reading brings us unknown friends” – Honore de Balzac
About Chris
Chris Quarembo is an award-winning former newspaper reporter. Her debut novel Killer Deals, won an Independent Publisher Award for Excellence in 2024. Her anthology, The Case Files of Philadelphia PI Andrea Fabiano and her e-book short stories are available on Amazon. She is a member of Sisters in Crime.
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