While series mysteries are some of the most popular items on a library shelf, there are still many standalone novels that come out every month. Series books may be big best sellers for many authors, but standalones also break through and become bestsellers. There are famous authors known for their series, but most of them also write a standalone on occasion. Sometimes it seems that we only remember series books because of movies such as all the Sherlock Holmes movies, Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie), Rex Stout’s Nero Wolf, and so on. However, lots of new suspense thriller movies start out as standalone novels such as “The Girl on a Train” by Paula Hawkins and “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. So here are a few more standalone novels for September and some may be destined for future greatness.

                                                     

Reading right now:

Rachel Howzell Hall’s “These Toxic Things” follows Mickie Lambert’s attempt to honor a dead client by putting together a “digital scrapbook” for the deceased. Unfortunately for Mickie, someone else has a vested interest in the information and starts threatening Mickie and telling him that he needs to leave the information alone. The threats just peak Mickie’s interest and his curiosity makes him cross paths with a killer.

On hold right now:

Christopher Swann’s “A Fire in the Night” follows Nick Anthony’s attempt to help his niece after her parents are killed in a fire. The fire was set purposely and the killers were supposed to take out the whole family. When they find out they missed the niece, they follow her to Nick’s and he finds himself defending both their lives.

“Friends Like These” by Kimberly McCreight is about a group of college friends who will do anything for each other including staging an intervention in the Catskills. Unfortunately, the secrets held by some members of the group will take them places that they never expected to go.

Iris Johansen’s latest is “High Stakes” which is a standalone that follows a professional gambler’s life until his past catches up with him when he tries to get Lara Balkon out of the hands of a Russian mafia boss. Gambler Logan Tanner is offered information that he needs in payment for the extraction. Getting her out of Russian proves not to be nearly as hard as getting her out of the hands of a killer who is waiting for them in Las Vegas.

Other Mysterious Things:

If you love old movies, you might just want to explore some of the book origins of some of our most well-known and beloved movies and TV shows. I always look up a movie and see if it was based on a book I missed. Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None” (aka “Ten Little Indians”) was a standalone novel.  There are many mysteries that came out years ago that are still worth reading and exploring. One of Dashiell Hammett’s standalone novels that you might consider is “The Glass Key.” A more recent but fascinating standalone mystery is Catherine Steadman’s “Something in the Water.” If you missed Blake Crouch’s mystery books you might want to try “Snowbound.” As usual, lots to read and explore. Have fun.