LJ Mystery Spotlight Cover Girl: Zoje Stage

We’re thrilled to see Zoje Stage gracing the cover of the April 15, 2018 issue of Library Journal!

The BABY TEETH author did an extensive Q&A with LJ (shout-out to Talia “the terror” Sherer‘s PLA book buzz to a crowd of 1,000 librarians, which made BABY TEETH the most requested giveaway ARC in our booth!), and it was included with seven other Macmillan mysteries in a genre spotlight:

Hector DeJean, associate publicity director of St. Martin’s Minotaur Books imprint, says, “Thrillers focusing on family, marriage, and other domestic relationships have proven wildly popular, and in forthcoming books by Jennifer Hillier and Sandie Jones these intimate connections of family and friendship—beyond married couples—turn deadly.” In JAR OF HEARTS (Jun.), Hillier delves into the story of a woman who survived a relationship with a dangerous boyfriend and kept secrets about her best friend’s murder, while Jones, in her debut, THE OTHER WOMAN (Aug.), focuses on a woman facing an increasingly manipulative mother-in-law.

Anxieties about motherhood and the parent-child relationship are driving other domestic thrillers. Coming in July from St. Martin’s is Zoje Stage’s chilling debut, BABY TEETH, in which silent and emotionally detached seven-year-old Hanna conspires to kill her mother. St. Martin’s executive editor Jennifer Weis devoured the book in one sitting. “I couldn’t look away as it exposed family truths, a child’s threat to her parents’ relationship, and a continuous feeling of impending doom with dire consequences. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN meets GONE GIRL meets THE OMEN—it hits all the right notes.”

World War II–era mysteries remain a hot category. Best-selling author Andrew Gross continues his detour into the past, with BUTTON MAN (Minotaur, Sept.), a story of brothers in New York’s garment business in the 1930s, one of whom becomes involved in the Mob.

Other periods like the Edwardian era and the American Revolution are becoming more prevalent as settings for historical mysteries. “Given the success of [the Broadway musical] Hamilton, I see early American historicals becoming more popular across genres, and the wild, lawless time is ripe for historical thrillers,” explains Tor/Forge executive editor Diana Gill, who eagerly anticipates the June release of THE DEVIL’S HALF MILE (Jun.) by Paddy Hirsch. “Set in 1799 New York, this historical fiction debut by an NPR journalist has all the atmosphere and action you want. It appeals to fans of historical page-turners like those of Caleb Carr along with the viewers of Ripper Street and Peaky Blinders.”

Compelling suspense is also coming out of Africa and Asia. From Japan comes Hideo Yokoyama’s SEVENTEEN (Farrar, Nov.), a tense investigative thriller set amid the aftermath of disaster, from the best-selling author of SIX FOUR.

The genre-bending in crime fiction can be found in other creative and interesting ways, as in Erin Lindsey’s October debut from Minotaur. MURDER ON MILLIONAIRES’ ROW reveals a secret branch of the Pinkertons that investigates supernatural phenomena in 1880s Manhattan.

Writers are also incorporating cutting-edge science into stories that appeal to fans of both thrillers and speculative fiction. For Tor/Forge’s Gill, S.L. Huang’s ZERO SUM GAME (Oct.) combines her two favorite genres—sf and fast-paced action thriller.