Hello mystery fans! I am here to tell you that the ratings number on Goodreads and/or a book’s popularity is not indicative of the quality of the book. Especially this year, when we are inundated in so much terrible news, information, and have now spent two years in an ongoing apocalypse pandemic. So many great books just don’t get the marketing money, or selection by a celebrity book club, or a chance to break through all the noise. So with that in mind, I wanted to highlight books that have not had many readers this year and absolutely should have many readers. To give myself a guideline, I stuck to books under 1,000 ratings which is why Ophie’s Ghost by Justina Ireland and Last Call by Elon Green aren’t on the list. But those books should have much larger reader numbers than they do. (trigger warnings are notes or can be found in provided review links) Need even more mystery reads? Find more mystery/thriller content here. Katrina, at least that’s her name right now, is in the Witness Protection Program with her parents. Being a blink away from turning into a teenager, life already has its own challenges of growing up. But in Katrina’s case she literally has to figure out who she is and what to do when her mom is taken into custody and her dad disappears. There’s a safe house she needs to get to, and a new friend willing to help, but who is the man at the safe house and can she trust him? Or her new friend? And what did her dad do to land them in the Witness Protection Program? This is a fun ride if you’re looking for a middle grade mystery that centers on identity, with some action scenes. (TW mentions past overdose, addiction)
