Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Eleven mystery novels that explore the power of rumors & gossip

Lauren Oliver is an author, screenwriter, and media entrepreneur. Her works include multiple New York Times bestselling novels for teens, including Before I Fall (which spent seventeen weeks on the list and was adapted into a feature film released by Open Road), the Delirium trilogy (a two-million-copy-selling dystopian series translated into thirty-five languages), and Panic, which she later adapted into the streaming TV show on Amazon Prime of the same name, for which she wrote every episode and served as Executive Producer.

Oliver's new novel is What Happened to Lucy Vale.

At CrimeReads the author tagged eleven novels in where "the truth is hidden not under a rock but concealed in the rumors passed between neighbors." One title on the list:
Louise Penny, A Fatal Grace (Inspector Gamache series)

This book, like many others by Penny, is set in the small, seemingly idyllic village of Three Pines. Gossip is an ever-present force, shaping perceptions and fueling speculation when a murder occurs. Inspector Gamache often has to sift through the village’s interconnected web of rumors and long-held opinions to find the truth.
Read about another entry on the list.

A Fatal Grace is among Amy Pershing's ten best murder mysteries that take place during Christmas Peter Swanson's top ten Christmas crime stories.

My Book, The Movie: A Fatal Grace.

--Marshal Zeringue