{"id":311877,"date":"2026-05-12T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/311877\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:00:12","slug":"best-summer-mystery-reads-of-2026-6-page-turning-reads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/311877\/","title":{"rendered":"Best summer mystery reads of 2026: 6 page-turning reads"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"summer-preview-dropcap-t-2.jpg\" <\/p>\n

This summer\u2019s bumper crop of crime fiction does not disappoint. Authors Ron Currie and David Heska Wanbli Weiden both return to their singular protagonists with narratives that deepen their legends by immersing readers in overlooked communities. Amy Bloom, best known for her literary fiction, steeps her mystery in the academic world she happens to hail from. Danielle Postel-Vinay and Gary Phillips pay homage to literary legends with stories that sizzle with personality and authenticity. And then there\u2019s literary chameleon Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who slips into a dark and steamy tale steeped in the tropes of James M. Cain, recent Mexican history and telenovelas. Consider this season\u2019s mystery must-reads a literary feast for all.<\/p>\n

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org<\/a>, whose fees support independent bookstores.<\/p>\n

\""Murder <\/p>\n

Murder Most Delicious <\/a>
By Danielle Postel-Vinay
Harper Perennial
(May 26)<\/p>\n

Olivia Beech, America\u2019s youngest female sommelier, tragically lost her sense of taste during COVID, but relied on her sharp sense of smell until she was fired for her deception. Hoping for a second chance in Paris with renowned chef Jacques de Bizet, her nose warns her something is wrong with a Burgundy he uncorks during her interview \u2014 just before he drinks the wine and drops dead. Hustled from the scene by a neighboring florist, she meets the vigilant but eccentric Neighborhood Watch group at the home of reclusive former detective Augusta Dupin. Will Beech join forces with them to solve the crime while sparking a romance with a handsome local cop? Mais oui! Written by Postel-Vinay \u2014 the pen name of L.A. Times Book Prize winner <\/a>Danielle Trussoni \u2014 this cozy read blends a clever plot with the author\u2019s evocative descriptions of Parisian food, wine and community reminiscent of Julia Child\u2019s \u201cMy Life in France.\u201d<\/a> C\u2019est magnifique!<\/p>\n

\""Blunt <\/p>\n

Blunt Instrument<\/a>
By Amy Bloom
The Mysterious Press
(June 2)<\/p>\n

Fusty and fractious Professor Bullfinch is bludgeoned with a bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne in his office at Cromwell University, throwing the faculty into a tizzy and spurring Elizabeth Cutty, the university\u2019s president, into covering the university\u2019s backside. Enter Dell Chandler, a failed English professor turned bootstrapping private detective, hired by Dr. Cutty to investigate. While the faculty has the requisite cranks, schemers and rising stars who sparred with the victim, it\u2019s wisecracking Dell whom readers will want to follow as she interrogates the squirrelly suspects and her own murky past. Bloom\u2019s first foray into crime fiction nails the genre\u2019s conventions while her bona fides as a recently retired professor of English and psychotherapist in mid-state Connecticut make this book resonate as spot-on, hilarious truth.<\/p>\n

\""We <\/p>\n

We Will See You Bleed<\/a>
By Ron Currie
G.P. Putnam\u2019s Sons
(July 7)<\/p>\n

Set in 1984, this prequel to last year\u2019s \u201cThe Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne\u201d<\/a> centers on 29-year-old Babs, her adopted sister Rita Doyon and a trio of lifelong girlfriends who take control of Waterville, Maine when paper mill workers are abandoned by their union, leaving the small town\u2019s economy teetering on the brink of disaster, its men defeated and aimless. \u201cAs it had been, so it still was,\u201d the narrator observes, \u201cwhen it came time to stand up and be men, those who got to their feet were the women.\u201d Together, Currie\u2019s killer crime novels cement the legend of Babs Dionne, an icon worthy of standing alongside Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano as the Queenpin of Crime.<\/p>\n

\""The <\/p>\n

The Haul: A Heist Novel <\/a>
By Gary Phillips
Soho Press
July 7<\/p>\n

Returning with the first O\u2019Connor novel in some dozen years, L.A.\u2019s own Phillips reinvigorates the heist novel while paying homage to Donald Westlake\u2019s iconic Parker series. Here, O\u2019Connor (no first names, please!) emerges from semi-retirement and a quiet suburban life of pickleball and household chores for one last score \u2014 ripping off $21 million in cash from Palmer Van Noy, billionaire tech bro and NBA owner who\u2019s stashed his survivalist loot in a secret bunker built beneath his team\u2019s ultramodern new arena. But planning a heist of this technological complexity ain\u2019t easy, especially when the introduction to the score comes from a woman with ties to O\u2019Connor\u2019s South L.A. childhood, dredging up memories of his first brush with crime while in the foster care system. Buckle up for loads of action and a wild ride through SoCal history and haunts. <\/p>\n

\""Wisdom <\/p>\n

Wisdom Corner<\/a>
By David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Ecco
(July 7)<\/p>\n

\u201cWinter Counts,\u201d<\/a> Weiden\u2019s 2020 debut, soared because of its action-packed exploration of crime on South Dakota\u2019s Rosebud Indian Reservation, generational trauma caused by legal and political injustices facing the Lakota people and enforcer Virgil Wounded Horse\u2019s reconnecting with his cultural heritage. That mix is in evidence again as Virgil tries to walk a nonviolent path. Complicating his journey: a Denver gang attempting to take over the bootlegging patch of a high school friend; his girlfriend, Marie Short Bear, running for tribal council against a ruthless opponent; and the murder of a beloved elder working to reclaim land once the site of a notorious Indian boarding school. Dynamic, thoughtful and moving, it\u2019s another standout in an important series.<\/p>\n

\""The <\/p>\n

The Intrigue<\/a>
By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Del Rey
(July 14)<\/p>\n

In her 12th genre-defying novel, Moreno-Garcia delivers a pulpy noir\u2013telenovela mashup that would make James M. Cain jealous. Fleeing a botched con and the threat of wartime violence, 29-year-old Ulises Linares escapes 1943 Mexico City for the small town of Puerco Ahogado in Veracruz. There he meets with his chosen mark: Perla Hildegarda Incl\u00e1n Arnao, a middle-aged spinster from a fallen family of coffee barons whose reserved nature doesn\u2019t jibe with her passionate letters. When Perla rejects Ulises\u2019 practiced advances, he enlists the aid of her put-upon niece, who longs to escape both her demanding aunt and the decaying mansion that entraps her. As Moreno-Garcia reveals the claustrophobic customs and mores of a town whose name means \u201cdrowned pig,\u201d disaster feels inevitable.<\/p>\n

A regular contributor to The Times, Woods is a member of the National Book Critics Circle<\/a> and the editor of several anthologies and four novels in the \u201cCharlotte Justice\u201d mystery series<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This summer\u2019s bumper crop of crime fiction does not disappoint. Authors Ron Currie and David Heska Wanbli Weiden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[130717,130721,130715,130718,130723,130726,130722,130716,130725,5679,2303,48,52,51,130720,130724,47,50,49,1331,130719],"class_list":["post-311877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-amy-bloom","tag-babs-dionne","tag-crime-fiction","tag-cromwell-university","tag-danielle-postel-vinay","tag-david-heska-wanbli-weiden","tag-english-professor","tag-heist-novel","tag-homage","tag-july","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-legend","tag-lifelong-girlfriend","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-murder","tag-small-town"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}