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Thrillers and Suspense April 2017
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| Dead Letters: A Novel by Caite Dolan-LeachPsychological Suspense. Irresponsible Zelda Antipova has apparently died in a barn fire, but her twin sister Ava doesn't really believe it -- especially not after she starts receiving cryptic messages from Zelda and discovering the clues her sister seems to have purposefully left behind. Their relationship a complicated one, Ava (who has her own issues) embarks on a scavenger-hunt-like quest to figure out what actually happened, hampered by her alcoholic, dementia-addled mother, her estranged father, and her hyper-critical grandmother. If you like twisted, manipulative games full of red herrings, you'll devour Dead Letters. |
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All the Missing Girls: A Novel
by Megan Miranda
Suspense Fiction. All the Missing Girls could be a fairly standard story of the prodigal daughter who returns home to care for her dementia-addled father, if it weren't for a few things. One, Nic Farrell hasn't been back to Cooley Ridge, NC, since her best friend disappeared right after their high school graduation. Two, Annaleise, the woman who provided Nic with an alibi for the still-unsolved disappearance goes missing herself not long after Nic returns. Three, things haven't really cooled off between Nic (who's engaged) and her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be Annaleise's current flame. But mainly it's that the story is told in reverse chronological order, forcing readers to rethink everything as new details unfold. If you missed this one in the sea of books with "girl" in the title, here's your second chance.
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Assassin's Silence: A David Slaton Novel
by Ward Larsen
Thriller. David Slaton was once a Mossad assassin, but he's buried his past so firmly that his wife and several governments believe him to be dead. Which is why the fact that an assault team nearly kills him comes as such a shock -- how did they even find him? Not willing to wait around to give them a second chance, Slaton goes on the offensive, leaving behind bodies that capture the attention of a CIA agent. Fans of author Ward Larsen's other series will also note the appearance of airline crash investigator Jammer Davis, but newcomers are encouraged to try this "perfect action-adventure thriller" (Booklist),even if it is the 3rd of the David Slaton novels.
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| The Loving Husband by Christobel KentPsychological Suspense. Nathan and Fran Hall have left crowded, dirty London to create a new life for their children on a farm in Nathan's hometown. But when Fran finds Nathan dead -- and is unable to answer any questions the local police have for her -- she struggles with both the isolation and the slowly earned knowledge that her marriage to Nathan wasn't what she thought it was. With a powerfully rendered, bleak environment that highlights the gaps in Fran's understanding of what actually happened, The Loving Husband is a "truly, chilling read" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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The last mile
by David Baldacci
After spending the last 20 years in prison for killing his parents, Melvin Mars suddenly learns that he will be released. Another man has unexpectedly confessed to the crime. But it's unclear who the real murderer is - was the man's confession false. Meanwhile, Amos Decker is settling in to his new job at the FBI. He becomes interested in the Melvin Mars case after reading about it online. He's struck by the similarities to his own case.A sequel to Memory Man continues the story of Amos Decker, a football player-turned-detective with an eidetic memory. By the best-selling author of The Forgotten. (suspense). Simultaneous.
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| Sharp Objects: A Novel by Gillian FlynnPsychological Suspense. Dysfunctional family relationships, long-buried secrets, and manipulative women lie at the heart of this compelling novel. After eight years away, reporter Camille Preaker has returned to her hometown to investigate the recent murders of two young girls. Haunted by memories of her long-dead sister, she must also deal with a Lolita-like half-sister and their mother, who may have caused Camille's childhood illnesses. As Camille investigates, she uncovers horrible family secrets and relives the childhood that led her to self-mutilation. Though you likely know author Gillian Flynn from the bestselling Gone Girl, this debut won both the Steel Dagger and the New Blood Dagger awards in 2007. The HBO television series based on this book (with Amy Adams in the lead role) is filming now and will premiere in 2018. |
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Her Every Fear: A Novel
by Peter Swanson
Psychological Suspense. With a stalker ex-boyfriend in the none-too-distant past, London artist Kate Priddy agrees to a six-month apartment swap with a Boston-based cousin she's never met. Already anxious, her fears escalate when she discovers her new apartment building was the site of a recent homicide. Distrusting her cousin's professions of innocence as well as the attentions of a handsome new acquaintance, Kate begins to second-guess everything, including her own doubts. There's a "delicious monster-under-the-bed creepiness" (Booklist) in this second novel from the author of The Kind Worth Killing.
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| The Dinner: A Novel by Herman KochPsychological Suspense. Over the course of an evening at a fashionable Amsterdam restaurant, two couples move from small talk during the appetizer to weightier issues as the meal continues. Brought together by their sons -- who have done something awful -- we learn more about what ties the families together, and what seems to be a skewering of upper-class values turns into something far darker. It will be interesting to see how the literary prose, taut suspense, dark humor, and unlikeable, unreliable narrators translate to screen next month. (Interestingly, author Herman Koch refused to attend the post-premiere reception.) |
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| Live by Night by Dennis LehaneHistorical Crime Fiction. During the heady days of Prohibition, Boston cop's son Joe Coughlin defies his strict upbringing and chooses instead to "live by night": from trading in narcotics and bootleg booze in Boston to life as a respected Mafioso in Florida and Cuba, he loves and lives dangerously. Live by Night, which is the 2nd in a loosely planned trilogy that began with The Given Day and is followed by World Gone By, was released as a feature film this past November. With only a 35% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, you might be better off with the utterly compelling novel instead, which won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel in 2013. |
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| Red Sparrow: A Novel by Jason MatthewsSpy Fiction. Former ballerina Dominika Egorova serves Vladimir Putin's regime by seducing, then spying on, enemies of the state. CIA officer Nate Nash has been reassigned to Helsinki after nearly blowing the cover of a highly valuable Russian mole, and this is where Dominika latches on, determined to learn the mole's identity. But Dominika is more than a pretty lady -- she's smart, and her synesthesia allows her to tell when someone is lying. As they try to outwit and out-spy each other, readers are treated to vivid, authentic details of spycraft; author Jason Matthews worked for the CIA for more than 30 years, and there are shades of John le Carré in his writing. This one you'll have to wait a while before seeing -- Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Lawrence are set to star, but it won't be in theaters until November. |
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