Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense
January 2023
Mystery
Fox Creek
by William Kent Krueger

The premise: PI Cork O'Connor gets hired by a man who's not who he says he is. It's all related to Cork's wife, who accompanies a stranger to visit to her one-hundred-year-old uncle, Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux, before all three go missing. This is the nineteenth installment in the Cork O'Connor series.

Reviewers say:  "A must for fans of beautifully written crime fiction." (Library Journal) & "Krueger skillfully blends an evocative look at nature’s beauty and peril with Native American lore." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book.
The Last Party
by Clare Mackintosh

The premise: When homegrown celebrity Rhys Lloyd is murdered after opening the doors to his new luxury resort on New Year's Eve, Ffion Morgan, called in to investigate, fears her deep ties to this once tranquil village in North Wales will reveal dark truths about her neighbors, friends, family, and even herself.
 
Reviewers say: "A gripping portrait of two fractured people merges with believable plot twists, and the author perfectly captures the ennui of a small town where gossip can destroy lives." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book.
The Family Chao
by Lan Samantha Chang

The premise: In small-town Wisconsin, locals have eaten at the Chao family's restaurant for decades, but there's trouble at home for patriarch Leo after his wife finally leaves him to become a Buddhist nun.
 Leo's three very different grown sons gather at the restaurant for a Christmas party. When Leo is murdered, his children fall under suspicion of the town and police, even as they reckon with the legacy of their father's outsized appetites.
 
Reviewers say: "In this timely, trenchant, and thoroughly entertaining book, an immigrant family’s dreams are paid for in blood. For Chang, this marks a triumphant return." (Publishers Weekly)

In our collection: This is available as an eAudiobook.
Thrillers
Triple Cross
by James Patterson

The premise: On the trail of a serial killer who targets entire families, leaving behind no physical evidence, Detectives Alex Cross and Sampson team up with the world's best-selling true crime author, who sees patterns everyone else misses, until the Family Man flips the script, hunting down Cross and his family. 
 
Reviewers say: "...the plot has a twisted red herring big enough to serve a crowd...Standard Patterson fare that will appeal to avid Alex Cross fans." (GoodReads)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book, an Audiobook, an eBook, and an eAudiobook.
Blackwater Falls
by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The premise: Investigating the murder of a sixteen-year-old Syrian refugee who was found crucified to the door of a mosque, Detective Inaya Rahman thinks the case is linked to two missing Somali girls. To sort it all out, she must deal with sexism, anti-Islam sentiment, and police corruption.

Reviewers say: "
Khan brilliantly depicts the complexities of her characters and the tensions of a multicultural American community struggling with bias, fear, and corruption. At once suspenseful, moving, and thought-provoking, this is not to be missed." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book.
Alias Emma
by Ava Glass

The premise: Brand-new secret agent Emma Makepeace is tasked with having only twelve hours to bring the son of Russian dissidents into protective custody while avoiding the assassins looking for him in one of the world's most-surveilled cities.
 
Reviewers say: "Intense, cinematic action propels this terrific old-fashioned thriller neatly brought up to date. Glass is off to an impressive start." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book.
 
Suspense
Find Him
by Jake Hinkson

The premise: A stubborn teenager and her estranged uncle descend into the Arkansas underworld to track down her missing fiance in a new literary noir.
 
Reviewers say: "Bigotry and religious intolerance are counterpointed by compassion and reconciliation. This sensitive novel, a parable for today’s harsh social conflicts, is not to be missed." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book.
The Retreat
by Sarah Pearse

The premise: On an island off the English coast, once a playground for a serial killer and rumored to be cursed, Detective Elin Warner finds history repeating itself after a young woman is found dead and someone else drowns in a diving incident. This is the second book in the Elin Warner series, following The Sanatorium.
 
Reviewers say: "Pearse infuses The Retreat, the second book in the Detective Sergeant Elin Warner series, with death, action, investigation, and suspense in an atmospheric mystery in her latest book." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book and an eAudiobook.
Desert Star
by Michael Connelly

The premise: After quitting the force in disgust, Renee Ballard is persuaded to return to rebuild the cold case unit in the elite robbery-homicide division.
 
Reviewers say:  "This entry...ranks up there with Connelly’s best." (Publishers Weekly)
 
In our collection: This is available as an Adult Fiction book and an eAudiobook.
Contact your librarian for more great reads!
Handley Regional Library System
100 W Piccadilly St
Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 662-9041

https://www.handleyregional.org/
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