#Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead: a Mystery

[cameratosee]

​Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

[riladigi]

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ book review #7 ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

title: Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

author: Sara Gran

fin: 14/12/2024

rating: ★★★⯪☆

tags: mystery, detective novel, environmentalism, intersectionality

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

centered around the aftermath of hurricane katrina in new orleans, claire dewitt is tasked with the mystery about a missing lawyer and uncovers a plethora of ugly truths. although, detective novels are not entirely my cup of tea, i quite enjoyed reading this one as it not only covers a simple mystery, but also includes themes like institutionalized racism, gentrification, climate change, and structural inequalities.

sara gran has an interesting narrative style, which was enticing in the beginning of the novel, but quickly became repetitive. often dewitt would start the chapter with a small introduction to a mystery or a person, such as her childhood friend, and end it with "but she was never seen again"/"claire would never talk to her again"/"xy would never speak again", which quickly turns boring and lazy.

claire was also a quite memorable character. she's mostly characterized by her strong will to discover the truth no matter how unpleasant it is, but also by her annoying and presumptuous behavior. especially, the scene where she delved into one of her monologues about disguises and how rookie detectives think simply a wig or a haircut will do the trick, only to then go in disguise as a biracial woman (and do blackface) and be immediately recognized by everyone.

all in all, an enjoyable book with important environmental justice themes.

[thebestbookrecommendations]

Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway - Sara Gran

When Paul Casablancas, Claire DeWitt’s musician ex-boyfriend, is found dead in his Mission District home, the police are convinced it’s a simple robbery. But Claire knows nothing is ever simple. With the help of her new assistant, Claude, Claire follows the clues, finding hints to Paul’s fate in her other cases—especially that of a missing girl in the gritty 1980s East Village and a modern-day miniature horse theft in Marin. As visions of the past reveal the secrets of the present, Claire begins to understand the words of the enigmatic French detective Jacques Silette: “The detective won’t know what he is capable of until he encounters a mystery that pierces his own heart.” And love, in all its forms, is the greatest mystery of all—at least to the world’s greatest PI.

Read if You Like:

Mysteries

Crime Stories

Thrillers

Detective Stories

Strong Female Characters/Lead

Ongoing Series

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

Steig Larsson (Millenium Trilogy)

Stephen King (Mr. Mercedes Trilogy)

4/5

Previous Book in the Series:

Next Book in the Series:

[cheshirelibrary]

These Mystery Series Will Keep You Guessing

[via Bustle]

Did you grow up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes? Then you’re going to want to check out these captivating mystery series, all of which will pull you in from book one. These novels draw readers in with an initial whodunnit, but keep them coming back for the rich character development and compelling storytelling.

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead (Claire DeWitt Mysteries #1) by Sara Gran

A Deadly Inside Scoop (Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries #1) by Abby Collette

The Invisible Library (Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman

A Study In Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas

Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1)by Jacqueline Winspear

Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries #1) by Kerry Greenwood

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Perveen Mistry #1) by Sujata Massey

Murder on Black Swan Lane (Wrexford & Sloane Mysteries #1) by Andrea Penrose

...

Click through to see more titles.

[medialaze]

The Best Crime Novels of the Last Decade

As 2019 has officially come to a close, it’s time to take a look at the best in crime fiction and mystery. So, without further ado, here are the best crime and mystery novels of the last decade.

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, by Sara Gran (2011)

DeWitt is the self-proclaimed world’s greatest detective who honed her craft on the streets of New Orleans, and a murder investigation brings her back to that city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. This is a genuinely compelling mystery that will really draw readers into the dark world of DeWitt.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (2012)

This mega-hit captured the essence of female rag as millions of women used Flynn’s fearsome takedown of the patriarchy to unleash their inner discontent. Gone Girl ushered in a decade of female-authored and feminist-driven crime fiction and helped to re-popularize the psychological thriller.

The Thief, by Fuminori Nakamura (2012)

This moody noir follows a petty thief as he walks the streets of a cold and unfriendly city. He then makes the mistake of opening his heart to a young woman and her son, only to be given a harsh reminder that human connections can be nigh-impossible to maintain in his walk of life.

Night Prayers, by Santiago Gamboa (2012)

In Night Prayers, Gamboa presents the reader with his usual narrator-proxy, Santiago Gamboa, cultural attache. He’s stationed in New Delhi, but his work takes him to Bangkok, where he launches into the investigation of a young man’s imprisonment on drug trafficking charges, and then to his sister’s disappearance under mysterious, sinister circumstances.

For more great mystery reads, check out www.medialaze.com.

[impossiblestarfishanchor]

Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead - Sara Gran

Genre: Mystery Thriller & Suspense

I discovered this at https://crimereads.com/the-10-best-crime-novels-of-the-last-decade/  Is there a mystery here? Absolutely. Is there a detective? Claire Dewitt claims to be the world’s greatest detective. At least in her own mind. And her mind is exceedingly complicated. But if you’re looking for a crime novel, that is not the main track of this story. A crime does indeed occur and Claire unravels the mystery, but the story is as much about the mysteries of life as it is about this particular crime.

While she is in California, Claire gets a call from a new client in New Orleans who wants her to find his uncle, Vic Willing, a prosecutor. The story is set a year or two after Katrina when the city was devastated by flood waters, and the city of New Orleans is one of the main characters in the book. There is none of the buzz and pulse and bright lights of touristy New Orleans. Houses are falling over. Buildings are abandoned. Garbage and death are everywhere, and it is a war zone populated by gangs and drive-by shootings. And Claire has little respect for the police or the criminal justice system. “New Orleans’ labyrinthine legal system, based on the Napoleonic Code, didn’t help matters. Put it all together and New Orleans had both the highest murder rate and one of the lowest conviction rates in the country.”

She is haunted by memories of her mentor, Constance Darling, who introduced her to Jacques Silette. “Jacques Silette was a genius. So I thought.” Gran does such a good job developing this fictional character that I had to do a Google search to determine if Silette or his book Détection was actually real. One of the numerous threads in the story is learning to see the world and its accompanying clues as Silette saw them. Détection magically permeates many parts of Gran’s story - levels removed from reality by Gran to Dewitt to Constance Darling to Silette. The dominant characters in the story are Silette and New Orleans.

This is not a cozy, quick read, comfy chair crime story. And it’s definitely worth reading.

[surejaya]

Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #2)

Download : Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #2) More Book at: Zaqist Book

Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #2) by Sara Gran

When Paul Casablancas, Claire DeWitt's musician ex-boyfriend, is found dead in his home in San Francisco's Mission District, the police are convinced it's a simple robbery. But, as Claire knows, nothing is ever simple. With the help of her new assistant Claude, Claire follows the clues, finding possible leads to Paul's fate in other cases - a long-ago missing girl and a modern-day miniature horse theft in Marin. As visions of the past reveal the secrets of the present, Claire begins to understand the words of the enigmatic French detective Jacques Silette: 'The detective won't know what he is capable of until he encounters a mystery that pierces his own heart.'Just as City of the Dead was acclaimed for its unique heroine and powerful atmosphere - 'mesmeric . . . unlike any other crime novel you'll read this year' (Guardian) and 'the most unusual, intelligent thriller I've read for years (Sophie Hannah) - Claire DeWitt and The Bohemian Highway is an extraordinarily powerful and moving mystery novel from a rare talent.

Download : Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #2) More Book at: Zaqist Book

[thebestbookrecommendations]

Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1)

In the predawn hours, in a distressed American city, hundreds of unemployed men and women line up for the opening of a job fair. They are tired and cold and desperate. Emerging from the fog, invisible until it is too late, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. Months later, an ex-cop named bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from "the perk," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, fearing another even more diabolical attack and hell-bent on preventing it. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of eccentric and mismatched allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Read if You Like:

Horror

Thrillers

Mysteries

Crime Novels

Detective stories

Suspenseful Stories

Long(ish) Reads

Character Driven Novels

Strong Female Characters

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Thomas Harris (Hannibal Lecter Trilogy)

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

Stephen King (The Outsider, If It Bleeds)

Simone St. James (The Book of Cold Cases)

4.5/5

Next Book in Series:

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy #1) - Steig Larsson

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Read if You Like:

Mystery

Thriller

Crime

Suspense

Contemporary Fiction

Detective Stories

Strong Female Characters

Recommended if you Enjoy:

Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

Stephen King (Full Dark, No Stars: Big Driver)

4/5

[cheshirelibrary]

Love the New Season of Veronica Mars? Here are 9 Books You’ll Love, Too

[via Bustle]

“Veronica Mars” first premiered back in 2004, starring Kristen Bell as the titular teen detective. It was canceled after just three seasons, but love for the mystery drama was so strong that a movie was made in 2014, thanks to a fan-funded Kickstarter campaign. And now, 15 years after the show first premiered —  Hulu is releasing an eight-episode fourth season.

The 9 books below all share similar themes to the show: young female sleuths, super secretive small towns with tragic backstories, and enough eerie goings-on. Dip into these before, after, or during your marathon-watch for more Veronica Mars vibes:

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro 

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson 

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

...

Click through to see more titles.

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest - Steig Larsson

(Millennium #3)

Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

Read if You Like:

Mysteries

Thrillers

Crime

Suspense

Contemporary Fiction

Series

Swedish Culture

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)

Stephen King (Bill Hodges Trilogy)

4/5

Previous Book in Series:

First Book in Series:

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Infinite Blacktop - Sara Gran

(Claire DeWitt Mysteries #3)

Claire DeWitt, the world’s best private detective, wakes up one dark night in an ambulance in Oakland: someone has just tried to murder her. But she’s not dead. Not yet. More sure of herself than of the police, Claire follows the clues on a 52-hour odyssey through shimmering Las Vegas and the shabby surrounding desert to find out who wants her dead. But in order to save herself, Claire will have to revisit her own complicated past as she navigates the present: a past of childhood obsessions, rival detectives, lost friends, and mysteries mostly—but not always—solved. Three intertwining stories illuminate three eras of Claire’s life: her early years as an ambitious girl detective in Brooklyn (before it was gentrified), which ended when her best friend and partner in crime-solving disappeared; a case of an unexplained death in the art world of late-1990s Los Angeles, when, devastated by the demise of her mentor in New Orleans, Claire was forced to start again; and her current quest to save her own life from a determined assassin. As the connections between the stories come into focus, the truth becomes clear. But Claire, battered and bruised, will never quit her search for the answer to the biggest mystery of all: how can anyone survive in a world so clearly designed to break our hearts?

Read if You Like:

Mysteries

Books about Crime

Private Detectives

Thrillers

Contemporary Fiction

Strong Female Lead/Protagonist

Series/Ongoing Series

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Steig Larsson (Millennium Trilogy)

Stephen King (Mr. Mercedes Trilogy)

4/5

First Book in Series:

Previous Book in Series:

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson

(Millennium #2)

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

Read if You Like:

Mysteries

Thrillers

Suspense

Crime

Detectives

Contemporary Fiction

Swedish Culture

Journalism

Strong Female Character

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)

Stephen King (Mr. Mercedes)

4/5

First Book in the Series:

Next Book in the Series:

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.

Read if You Like:

Mysteries

Historical Fiction

Thrillers

Fantasy

Crime

Detective Stories

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Stuart Turton (The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle)

Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None)

Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt Mysteries)

3/5

[thebestbookrecommendations]

Nine Series to Check Out (if you haven’t already)

Claire DeWitt Mysteries by Sara Gran

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway

The Infinite Blacktop

…and more to come.

For Those Looking For: A series involving a strong female PI who combines logic and mysticism to solve mysteries. Each book tells a stand alone story, but there is an overarching mystery discussed throughout each of them.

Rating: 4/5

Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant

Feed

Deadline

Blackout

For Those Looking For: A series about two adopted sibling bloggers who are covering the first presidential election post-zombie apocalypse. Great for those who enjoy wry humor and sarcasm.

Rating: 3.5-4/5

The Witcher Series by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish

The Sword of Destiny

Season of Storms

Blood of Elves

Time of Contempt

Baptism of Fire

The Tower of the Swallow

The Lady of the Lake

For Those Looking For: Something long with straight high-fantasy, world building, and adventure.

Rating: 3-4/5

Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch:

Pines

Wayward

The Last Town

For Those Looking For: Something relatively short, dealing with a mysterious town with a very dark secret.

Rating: 4/5

The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl who Played with Fire

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

For Those Looking For: A dark, violent mystery series that becomes much more.

Rating: 4/5

Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes

Finder’s Keepers

End of Watch

For Those Looking For: A traditional detective series with a twist driven by complex and realistic characters.

Rating: 4.5/5

Bonus Tie-Ins:

Holly Gibney is also featured in the novel The Outsider, and the novella If It Bleeds in the collection by the same name.

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

The Gunslinger

The Drawing of the Three

The Waste Lands

Wizard and Glass

Wolves of the Calla

Song of Susannah

The Dark Tower

The Wind Through the Keyhole**

For Those Looking For: A (very) long high fantasy with western elements; it has lots of Easter eggs for those who are well read in King, but are also perfectly understandable to those who are new to the author. Extremely character driven. The first book is a little rough, but the story picks up very quickly in the second one.

**Takes place between books four and five, but I recommend reading it last, after the main series has had a little time to settle in your mind.

Rating: 3.5-5/5

Hannibal Lecter Trilogy by Thomas Harris

The Red Dragon

Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal

For Those Looking For: A set of dark, thriller mysteries, that will shock you, but also keep you turning pages late into the night.

Rating: 3-4/5

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

For Those Looking For: Classic, high fantasy with a long, sprawling three novel adventure.

Bonus Tie-Ins:

Check out the prequel The Hobbit, or There and Back Again.

Rating: 3.5-4/5

[thebestbookrecommendations]

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead - Sara Gran (1/?)

This knock-out start to a bracingly original new series features Claire DeWitt, the world’s greatest PI—at least, that's what she calls herself. A one-time teen detective in Brooklyn, she is a follower of the esoteric French detective Jacques Silette, whose mysterious handbook Détection inspired Claire’s unusual practices. Claire also has deep roots in New Orleans, where she was mentored by Silette’s student the brilliant Constance Darling—until Darling was murdered. When a respected DA goes missing she returns to the hurricane-ravaged city to find out why.

Read if You Like:

Mystery

Suspense

Thriller

Detective Stories

Strong Female Leads

New Orleans

Private Investigators

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Steig Larsson (Millenium Trilogy)

Stephen King (Mr. Mercedes Trilogy)

Karen M. McManus (One of Us Is Lying)

4/5

Next Book in Series: