Literary Leftover Book Review: UNSUB

A perfect crime/suspense/thriller novel. UNSUB follows Caitlin, a new detective as she tries to solve a case that drove her dad to health issues and an early retirement.

This is book #1 in the UNSUB Novel series. This book is for you if you like suspense, thriller, and crime focused plots told from a detective’s view point.

UNSUB by Meg Gardiner

Literary Leftovers are book reviews and recommendations that do not contain recipes, but are books that I highly recommend.

UNSUB

by Meg Gardiner

Book Review

Outline and Tone:

I love thrillers and mysteries. However, seems as though a thriller is often told by a character who experiences a crazy twist or is an unreliable narrator. This book has twists, but the author didn’t depend on a shocking twist to write an excellent book. Rather than the novel being told through the villain or an unreliable narrator, UNSUB is told from Caitlin Hendrix who is a young detective in the San Francisco police department. When the serial killer reemerges, after many years of silence, Caitlin begs to be added to the team of detectives. She is bound and determined to work the case because it is this case that caused her father, who was the lead detective years ago when the serial killer began, to lose his touch with reality. Caitlin’s dad has been ridden with illness, hallucinations, and unstable body following the unsuccessful search for the killer.

Caitlin is smart, strong, and has the determination of a bull dog. She dives head first into the investigation of the unsub but her boyfriend, her boss, and her dad all try to help her keep her head on straight and not fall victim herself to the unsub’s games.

The search for the unsub is a fantastic plot that connects the past victims, the killer’s nicknames (the Prophet and Mercury) and the killer’s obsession with hell.

This book is the first of the series. Even though this novel didn’t end on a cliffhanger, it does provide a small teaser about what is to come in the next novel.

Added Bonus:

If you liked Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ series The Naturals, then you will love UNSUB

The naturals is about a group of talented teams that are brought together by the FBI to train them how to use their skills for investigation. In doing so, they begin to unravel cold cases until the cases are no longer cold but solved. One of the best parts of that series is the unique set of main characters. Each character does in fact bring their own strengths to the team. Like UNSUB, The Naturals does not rely on dramatic twists to make the books interesting. Instead Ms. Barnes’ writing style and plot make the books memorable and hard to put down.

The biggest different between UNSUB and The Naturals is the level of graphic content. The Naturals is a YA book series and UNSUB is most definitely written for adults. If you are a cozy mystery fan, I would recommend that you first read The Naturals to see if you like this style before you read UNSUB.

The Best Quote:

“The verb slacked wasn’t used often enough these days, but that’s what those animals had done. Slaked by his rage, slacked his thirst. For a time.”

Point of View:

Unsub is told in 3rd person with limited knowledge.

The author: Meg Gardiner

Meg Gardiner has received several accolades for her writing. She has published 17 novels, all successful. She has been a #1 best selling author in the New York Times. UNSUB won the Barry Award for Best Thriller in 2018. The fourth book in the UNSUB series, Broken Heart, will be released June 18, 2025. She has continued to receive praise for her other novels. You can learn more about her and her novels on her website. She posts information about her book and writing advice on Instagram. She also keeps her fans updated on Facebook and on X.

What is not to like?:

I loved every part of it, even the shocking descriptions of crime scenes. If you are a bit more wary about the violence, start with The Naturals and then if you like that, jump into main character Caitlin Hendrix’s work with UNSUB>

The verdict:

I am so delighted that I found this series. Ms. Gardiner’s writing and storyline are top notch! I will be reading book #2 in this series very soon!

Book Statistics

UNSUB

by Meg Gardiner
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense
Series: Book #1 an UNSUB novel
Setting: San Francisco, CA
Pages: 432 pages
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback, Audio Book
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Published by: Dutton (January 2, 2018)
Information Sources: Amazon, Goodreads, and Author’s website

Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).