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Thrillers and Suspense February 2020
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| The Tenant by Katrine EngbergStarring: retired professor and aspiring crime novelist Esther de Laurenti, who ends up on the list of suspects when one of her tenants is found dead -- which sounds a lot like the plot of Esther's novel.
Read it for: the quirky cast of characters, like the mismatched pair of detectives investigating Esther; the complex twists and turns that the plot takes as it unfolds at a rapid clip.
For fans of: Ruth Ware, Erin Kelly, and other authors of character-driven thrillers. |
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Secret Service by Tom BradbyWhat it is: a headline-inspired thriller that follows a senior MI6 agent’s race to unmask a Russian mole in the U.K. government while proving the innocence of her team in a young woman’s murder. What it's about: While heading up the Russia Desk of the Secret Intelligent Service, one of Kate's undercover operations has revealed some alarming evidence. Evidence that a senior UK politician is a high level Russian informer. Determined to find out who it is, Kate must risk everything to get to the truth. Accolades: "There are resonant echoes of le Carré here--in the way the betrayals reach from marriage beds to the seats of governments--but there is also a distinctly contemporary feeling in the idea that truth, even when it's discoverable, may no longer matter."--Booklist (starred review)
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| How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond FleischmannWhat it's about: This historical thriller follows 1940's housewife Elizabeth Pfautz, who is lured into an intricate web of secrets after a stranger tells her he knows what happened to her twin sister Jacqueline, who disappeared when they were children.
Read it for: the stark and well-rendered Alaska setting, the isolation of which only underlines the lack of choices Elizabeth finds herself forced to confront. |
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| The Better Liar by Tanen JonesWhat it is: a fast-paced and compelling psychological thriller of fraud and family dysfunction, told from multiple (unreliable) perspectives.
The setup: Leslie hasn't seen her estranged sister Robin in a decade, but she needs to find Robin in order to claim her much-needed share of an inheritance. Luckily, she's tracked Robin down. Unluckily, Robin appears to have died of an overdose.
The doppelganger: On her way out of town, a grief-stricken Leslie meets a waitress named Mary who looks enough like Robin that she just might be able to get the job done... |
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Drowning With Others by Linda KeirThe premise: They have the perfect marriage. Did one of them kill to get it? What it's about: Prep school sweethearts Ian and Andi Copeland, after the remains of a body of a man who disappeared 20 years earlier are found, must confront the truth about themselves and about a marriage built on a murderous lie when their daughter, for her journalism class, investigates the death. Reviewers say: “This captivating page-turner will have readers wondering till the end what motivates people to do what they do.” —Library Journal
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| Watch Me Disappear by Janelle BrownWhat it is: the moody and intricately plotted story of Billie Flanagan, a Berkeley wife and mother who is much more than she seems -- something her family finds out after she vanishes on a solo hike.
What happens: As the first anniversary of her disappearance approaches, Billie's husband Jonathan is still deep in mourning. Then one day their daughter Olive begins to see "visions," which convince her she can communicate telepathically with her mother.
Reviewers say: "brilliantly layered" and "tender and biting" (Booklist). |
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Strangers at the Gate by Catriona McPhersonThe problem: Who do you turn to when everyone's a stranger and you've stopped believing your own eyes? What happens: Moving into her boss’s gatehouse in the wake of a law partnership, a deacon’s wife is alarmed by otherworldly noises on the property before her boss is brutally murdered. Reviewers say: "All is not idyllic in Simmerton, a locale simmering with intrigue: with an unexpected spot of murder, a bevy of curious characters, and endless days of dreich, damp weather, McPherson delivers a maze of a thriller that will keep you guessing, turning pages, and staying up well past your bedtime." - The Seattle Review of Books
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| Providence by Caroline KepnesThe premise: New Hampshire teen Jon is something of a loner, although he does have a friend named Chloe, whom he is beginning to realize he has feelings for.
The problem: Jon is kidnapped, only to turn up four years later with only an H.P. Lovecraft book and no memories of where he's been. When the people around him start to die suddenly, Jon has to keep Chloe far away from him while he figures out what's going on -- and do it before the police label him a murderer. |
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| The Shimmer by Carsten StroudStarring: mob-connected serial killer Selena D'Arcy, who travels through time while on the run; Florida Highway Patrolman Jack Redding, who manages to follow her only to find himself faced with the temptation of altering his painful past.
For fans of: the Harry Bosch mystery series; Stephen King's 11/22/63.
Reviewers say: it's "a riveting, edge-of-your-seat read" (Library Journal). |
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| Mangrove Lightning by Randy Wayne WhiteWhat happens: Marine biologist Marion "Doc" Ford and his hippie sidekick Tomlinson head deep into the Everglades to help a local fishing guide who is convinced his family is cursed for something that happened there during Prohibition.
Series alert: Mangrove Lightning is part of the long-running series of thrillers starring the Doc, whose previous career with the NSA and natural curiosity make it tough to stay away when things get weird -- and in Florida, things always get weird.
Why you might like it: the endearing cast of quirky characters, and the equally colorful setting that is almost a character itself. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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