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Thrillers and Suspense December 2018
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| The Winters by Lisa GabrieleWhat it is: an homage to Daphne du Maurier's iconic gothic thriller Rebecca, set in the Hamptons and updated for the digital age.
Featuring: Senator Max Winter, a widower whose teenage daughter Dani is determined to make her new stepmother miserable; the unnamed narrator, whose dream come true is about to turn into a nightmare.
Read it for: the author's careful balance between tribute and update; the atmospheric, Hitchcockian tension; the heroine's welcome sense of female empowerment. |
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| Leave No Trace by Mindy MejiaStarring: speech therapist Maya Stark, who works at an isolated mental health facility near Minnesota's Boundary Waters; and Lucas Blackthorn, who went missing at age 9 and has resurfaced ten years later, refusing to speak to anyone about his past.
What happens: Maya and Lucas form a bond that gets him to finally open up a bit, but soon it becomes clear that Lucas' (presumed dead) father is still out there somewhere and that Lucas will do anything to get back to him.
Read it for: the compassionate handling of mental illness and the author's impressive use of the wilderness setting to create a strong sense of foreboding. |
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The bomb maker
by Thomas Perry
What it's about: A lethally clever designer of explosives tests the skills and collective strength of the highly skilled LAPD Bomb Squad.
Author note: By the award-winning author of the Jane Whitefield series.
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The take
by Christopher Reich
What it's about: Preferring work that allows him to stay under the radar, freelance industrial spy Simon Riske reluctantly takes a high-profile job from the CIA involving a gangster's theft of millions from a visiting Saudi prince and a stolen letter containing highly sensitive information.
Author note: By the New York Times best-selling author of Rules of Deception.
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The Quantum Spy: A Thriller
by David Ignatius
What it is: A Spy Thriller. The U.S. and China are in a race to build the first super-powerful quantum computer -- and while the Americans are a step ahead, a mole somewhere in the CIA guarantees that the Chinese will catch up.
Why you might like it: Complex technology manages to be fun in this twisting, fast-moving thriller by bestselling author David Ignatius.
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The chalk man : a novel
by C. J. Tudor
What it's about: Three decades after his circle of friends is traumatized by the discovery of a murder victim while passing secret messages through a chalk-figure code of their invention, Eddie finds himself targeted by an unknown adversary who is using their former communication methods to torment and kill his friends.
Author note: A first novel.
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| The Fixer by Joseph FinderWhat it is: a fast-paced, intricately plotted financial thriller about how a simple home renovation ends up undermining the foundation of one man's already crumbling life and memories.
Starring: Rick Hoffman, who returns to his childhood home after losing his job as a journalist, the apartment he can no longer afford, and the girlfriend who prized them both more than she did Rick.
What goes wrong: Rick's efforts to spruce up the place lead him to a large stash of money hidden in the walls, and when he decides to move the money, he ends up uncovering a tale of political corruption that many people would rather stayed buried. |
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| The Bullet by Mary Louise KellyThe premise: Caroline Cashion is getting an MRI when the machine makes an astonishing discovery -- a bullet buried deep in the base of her skull, despite the fact that there's no scar on her neck and she has no memory of being shot.
The problem: Besides the mystery bullet? After Caroline learns that her biological parents were killed in the attack that put the mystery bullet in her neck, she also learns that the perpetrator is still at large and the bullet is the last piece of evidence that could catch him.
Author alert: Mary Louise Kelly is an NPR correspondent best known for hosting All Things Considered, and for her previous novel Unnamed Sources. |
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| Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip MargolinWhat it's about: Matthew Penny is a recently widowed lawyer in 1850s Oregon who has agreed to take the case of Worthy Brown, a freed slave who's suing for the release of his 15 year old daughter Roxanne from bondage.
What goes wrong: Worthy is arrested for a murder, and soon enough both cases intersect with the conflicting interests of the wealthy and powerful of the bustling frontier town of Portland.
Author alert: Phillip Margolin is also known for his contemporary thrillers, such as the Amanda Jaffe novels and the standalone Woman With a Gun. |
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| Girl in the Dark by Marion PauwWhat it is: a compelling Dutch legal thriller, published in the U.S. for the first time; the story of a man in prison for a murder he didn't commit, and his sister's efforts to clear his name.
Featuring: Attorney and single mother Iris, who discovers the half-brother her mother has spent years hiding from her because of his disabilities; and Ray, Iris's brother, whose heartbreaking flashbacks tell the real story of the murder.
What happens: Iris begins to dig into the murder only to find that there are many other possible suspects, and decides to put her skills as a lawyer to use to exonerate her brother. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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