Welcome to another round of news for mystery fans! As usual, there’s plenty of adaptation news. There’s also a new memoir, an actress-written thriller, and Sherlock keeps getting reimagined in new and interesting ways!
Scooby-Doo Fans, Where Are You?
The Scooby gang is returning for a modern reimagining aimed at new audiences that, whether or not it’s a successful hit with newer generations, will most likely have GenX seated and watching. Here are all the details on Netflix’s upcoming eight-episode live action series!
Caroline Darian, Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter, has a memoir
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At the end of 2024, Dominique Pelicot’s mass rape trial in France made headlines around the world for its horrific and terrifying crimes against his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot. After Gisèle Pelicot was told about the assaults she’d unknowingly endured, her children were then informed of the crimes and Dominique Pelicot’s arrest. Her daughter, Caroline Darian recounts her life from that moment and the following 13 months in her new memoir, I Will Never Call Him Dad Again. “It offers a compelling perspective on what sexual abuse does to a family, its far-reaching repercussions within it, and how victims cope and can fight back. It is a story of resilience, lucidity and courage, told with force and aptly served by the brisk translation of Stephen Brown.”
The fastest deal ever?
It was just reported that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson—who had creative control of the James Bond franchise since the ’60s—had sold their rights to Amazon MGM. Now, in what feels like the blink of an eye, there’s news of who the new producers of the franchise are: Amy Pascal and David Heyman. Amy Pascal has a long list of producing credits, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Little Women (2019), and, most recently, the adaptation Long Bright River. David Heyman most recently has credit for Barbie and the adaptation of Apples Never Fall. Amazon MGM is clearly looking to start making money on their massive investment, so I suspect they’ll keep moving quickly (at least as quickly as one can in the world of film/TV producing).
A TV series based on puzzle books!
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There will be a Prime Video series based on the puzzle book series Murdle by G.T. Karber: “a quirky, voice-driven series in the vein of Knives Out and The Gentlemen about two rival members of a London-based detective club, who are forced to work together despite their very different approaches to solving murders.”
Krysten Ritter wrote another crime book
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Years after her first thriller novel, Bonfire, Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) is back with another thriller. Retreat is based on a thought she had while vacationing in Mexico when a man asked her and her friend if they’d seen his partner, who had seemingly gone missing while on a bike ride. “Psychological thrillers are total candy to me, and I will devour a good one. I write in this genre because it’s what my taste is as a consumer. I live for a popcorn thriller that you can’t put down.”
4 best mystery books to read right now
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Paula L. Woods at LA Times shares the four books on his spring TBR he enjoyed the most and includes mini interviews with each mystery/thriller book’s author.
Watson will return
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CBS’s new, reimagined Sherlock—which stars Watson as a doctor at a facility solving medical mysteries after years of traveling on adventures with Sherlock and witnessing his death—has gotten the green light for a second season! If you’re looking for some reimagined Sherlock in book form, check out A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas and Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse.
Speaking of Sherlock being reimagined!
“It’s a complete fun take on Watson,” Mehta tells Variety. “Sherlock Holmes is dead, and Watson is trying to sell his book about him everywhere, desperate. He’s not doing too well, and he comes to Calcutta.” Deepa Mehta has reimagined Sherlock for an upcoming film, Sher, in which there’s a new connection in India.
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2025 releases, and mysteries from 2024 and 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations! Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Substack.
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This week, we’re highlighting a post that celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby! Revisit F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic (and emblem of assigned reading) and get a crash course on the book’s history, including challenges encountered by its readers and adapters. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
January 16, 2025, marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The New York Public Library celebrated with a party, following a special performance of the Broadway musical adaptation of the novel. Simon and Schuster recently released a new audiobook with an introduction by Jesmyn Ward.
The novel’s theme of reinventing oneself is timeless. The ideas of living a lie by reinventing yourself and wealth making people callous are equally resonant today. How did this novel become so influential, especially on other American novels, and a fixture on high school syllabi? Was it always a bestseller? What aspects of Gatsby hold up, and which ones have aged terribly?
Fitzgerald’s original title for The Great Gatsby was Trimalchio in West Egg. I think the publisher was right to change it. Trimalchio is a character from the ancient Roman work The Satyricon. Combined with the fictional West Egg neighborhood, this reference is cryptic. Gatsby is now an icon in his own right. He doesn’t need a classical allusion for us to notice the theme of excessive wealth.
In a 2014 NPR interview, Maureen Corrigan, the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, explained how Gatsby became popular. Initial reception was mixed, ranging from the headline “Fitzgerald’s Latest a Dud,” to Modernist poets like T. S. Eliot saying they loved it. When Fitzgerald died in 1940, Gatsby was unpopular (but not out of print). A few years later, it was republished for US service members in World War II, and 123,000 copies were given to members of the military through the Armed Services Editions.
After World War II, Gatsby was no longer an obscure book with mixed reviews. It was considered a classic and became a staple of countless high school syllabi. Constance Grady wrote that Gatsby was ideal for many 20th and early 21st-century English teachers’ emphasis on New Criticism. It’s a great choice for close readings of short passages and analyzing symbolism. However, historical context is also crucial and should never be downplayed, especially in terms of bias.
The Great Gatsby possibly condemns white supremacist theories but uses racist language elsewhere. Tom Buchanan reads white supremacist books and goes on racist rants. Daisy mocks him for this. It’s easy to read this as condemning Tom’s overall bigotry. However, Fitzgerald also expressed racist and antisemitic views in real life.
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