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Itโs time for some criminal adaptations to stream this July! While itโs quieter than it should be based on the massive wave of adaptations weโre currently riding, I did still find you two new series, an action-packed mystery film, and a backlist film adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Before I jump in, here are some things crime readers will want to have on their radar:
Murder 101 and Ride or Die are not adaptations. The first is a documentary film about a high school sociology class that took on a cold-case investigation, and the second is an international assassin film with a hell of a cast. Stream them on Amazon Prime July 13 and 15.
Also not an adaptation, but the creator of the show New Girl has taken a hard turn into crime writing with a new series on Hulu with Furious , which lands July 27. It follows an FBI agent after a female serial killer, with Emmy Rossum in the FBI lead role .
The second season of Batman: Caped Crusader streams on Amazon Prime beginning July 31.
Enola Holmes 3 (Netflix, July 1)
The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer
Based on Nancy Springerโs same-titled middle grade mystery series, the star of this Sherlock reimagining is his younger sister, Enola Holmes.
Following the first two films in the adaptations series on Netflix, Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 , the third entry in the franchise brings all the same action and wonderful cast, along with a wedding in Malta. Catch Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Himesh Patel, Helena Bonham Carter, and Louis Partridge on their newest mystery case and adventure.
Watch the trailer for Enola Holmes 3 .
Lucky (Apple TV+, July 15)
Lucky by Marissa Stapley
Lucky , a Reeseโs Book Club pick, follows a young woman whose life of crime is biting her in the ass when she canโt claim a winning lottery ticket without giving up her identity and going down for her crimes.
The Apple TV+ adaptation is written by Cassie Pappas ( Silo ) and novelist-turned-TV-creator/writer Jonathan Tropper ( This Is Where I Leave You ). The seven-episode series has an excellent cast that includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Watch the trailer for Lucky.
Victoria of Many Faces (Crunchyroll, July 7)
Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1 by Syuu, translated by Andria McKnight, with art by Nanna Fujimi
Seems fitting that a title with โmany facesโ would have many iterations. First, this was a light novel series by Syuu and Nanna Fujimi; it was later adapted into a manga series illustrated by Komo Ushino in 2022. Now itโs becoming an anime series!
Chloe is a spy who ends up betrayed by the organization she works for, so she quitsโin the novel, she stages her own deathโand opts for a simple life. Things donโt go as planned, thanks in part to a knight and a young girl. While Chloeโs organization is still looking for her, she discovers her spy skills still come in handy.
Watch the trailer for Victoria of Many Faces.
Backlist Watch
The Nickleboys (Amazon Prime)
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
With the final book in Colson Whiteheadโs excellent historical crime Harlem Trilogy releasing in July, I thought it was an excellent time to spotlight one of his other novels, which has an adapted film currently streaming on Amazon Prime . The novel won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The story follows a young Black boy falsely accused of a crime in the 1960s that gets him sent to a reform school. The school is based on a very real school in Floridaโs history where horrific abuses occurred, and almost 100 children died and were subsequently buried in unmarked graves.
Watch the trailer for The Nickel Boys .
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspectsโ previous newsletters on this she lf and see 2026 releases! Until next time , come talk books with me on Bluesky , Goodreads , Litsy , and Multitudes Contained.
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