|
|
Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense August 2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Billy Summers
by Stephen King
Also available as an EBook and EAudiobook
What it's about: Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?
Reviewers say: "The ever prolific King moves from his trademark horror into the realm of the hard-boiled noir thriller ... Murder most foul and mayhem most entertaining. Another worthy page-turner from a protean master." —Kirkus, starred
|
|
|
|
Survive the Night
by Riley Sager
Also available as an EBook and EAudiobook
What it's about: When her best friend is the third victim of a serial killer targeting college students, Charlie, deciding to leave campus, accepts a ride home from Josh Baxter and, realizing his true identity too late, must win a twisted game of cat and mouse by surviving the night.
The setting: It's November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana's in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer
Named a must-read summer book by: The Washington Post, USA Today, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, CNN, New York Post, Good Housekeeping, E!, PopSugar, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and BookRiot.
|
|
|
|
Girl, 11
by Amy Suiter Clarke
What it's about: A true-crime podcaster tackles an unsolved serial-killer case from her years as a social worker only to trigger a series of events involving eerily similar murders.
Reviewers say: [Girl, 11 preserves] a real sense of suspense and mystery while respecting the real people behind the genre it's a part of. This was a remarkably strong debut, one which entertained and kept me in suspense in equal measure. Amy Suiter Clarke is an author to be excited about. —Mystery & Suspense
For fans of: Riley Sager, Karin Slaughter
|
|
|
|
Let Her Lie
by Bryan Reardon
What it's about: Facing the likely end of his career after a public misstep, a rising documentary filmmaker boldly decides to pursue the story of a serial killer who was captured before ending the life of a mysterious final victim
Reviewers say: “A complex psychological thriller... Fans of Gillian Flynn will jump at this one.” —Booklist
|
|
|
|
The Perfect Guests
by Emma Rous
What it is: The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel--about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a dangerous game.
Reviewers say: “The Perfect Guests is an engaging, unsettling tale of suspense, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley”―BookReporter
|
|
|
|
Central Park
by Guillaume Musso
What it is: Alice, a fierce and respected Parisian cop, wakes up on a Central Park bench with no memory of the night before, handcuffed to a complete stranger--a musician named Gabriel. Disoriented, dazed, and with someone else's blood on her shirt, Alice works furiously to reconnect the dots.
Why you might like it: From France's #1 bestselling author, Central Park is a taut and suspenseful thriller that will keep readers riveted until its final shocking twist.
|
|
| Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Also available as an EBook and EAudiobookWhat it's about: Two homophobic ex-con fathers, one white and one Black, team up after their gay sons are murdered on their wedding anniversary, leaving their three-year-old daughter an orphan. But before the dads can wreak vengeance, they need to find out who's responsible.
Read it for: the gritty, well-wrought characters; the propulsive pacing; the evocative Virginia setting; and the probing look at prejudice.
Read this next: David Joy's When These Mountains Burn, which takes place in western North Carolina, or Attica Locke's Highway 59 series, set in Texas. |
|
|
|
For Your Own Good by Samantha DowningWhat it's about: Belmont Academy’s Teacher of the Year, Teddy Crutcher is frustrated by his colleagues and endlessly meddlesome parents who begin digging a bit too deeply into his affairs after the death of an Academy parent and his seemingly missing wife. Adaptation alert: A soon to be limited TV series on HBO Max |
|
|
|
The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv ConstantineWhat it's about: Hiding the fact that she has no memory of her past from her fiancé, Addison, a survivor of a tragic accident, cannot shake the notion that she may have done something very, very bad. |
|
|
|
Such a Quiet Place by Megan MirandaWhat it's about: When the woman implicated in the murder of a couple in their formerly idyllic and close-knit neighborhood returns to Hollow’s Edge, suspicion spreads like a virus and it soon becomes apparent to Harper Nash that not everyone told the truth about the night of the murder.
|
|
| The Crossing Places by Elly GriffithsWhat it's about: DCI Harry Nelson calls on forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway to examine a child's bones, thinking they could belong to a girl who went missing ten years earlier. The two grow close while working together, but threats and danger abound -- and another girl disappears.
Series alert: This is the award-winning novel that introduced Ruth, who, as of this year's The Night Hawks, has starred in 13 mysteries.
Why Ann Cleeves fans might like it: Like Vera Stanhope, Ruth is smart and dedicated to her job, but she also has an outspoken personality that rubs some people the wrong way. |
|
| The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson; translated by Victoria CribbIntroducing: Hulda Hermannsdottir, a dogged 64-year-old Detective Inspector with the Reykjavik Police who's being forced into retirement.
What happens: With two weeks left on the job, Hulda is begrudgingly allowed to select a cold case to investigate. She picks the murder of a Russian asylum seeker -- and not everyone's happy about it.
Why Ann Cleeves fans might like it: This debut in the Hidden Iceland series is good for those who like mysteries with seasoned female police detectives, like Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope. |
|
| Out of Bounds by Val McDermidWhat happens: Teens crash a stolen car, killing all but one of them, who's left in a coma. A routine DNA test of the survivor reveals a familial link to an old murder -- but DCI Karen Pirie hits a roadblock after learning the boy is adopted. Meanwhile, she also gets involved with a suspicious suicide and Syrian refugees.
Why Ann Cleeves fans might like it: Like Cleeves' Shetland Island novels, this 4th Karen Pirie book is gritty, suspenseful, and set in Scotland, and like Vera Stanhope, Karen presents a deceptive Columbo-esque picture to the world. |
|
| Firewatching by Russ ThomasIntroducing: Adam Tyler, a tenacious 29-year-old South Yorkshire Detective Sergeant based in Sheffield who investigates cold cases alone.
What happens: When a six-years-missing man is found dead, Adam works on the high-profile case with ambitious constable Amina Rabbani and DI Jim Doggett, who's known for his offensive "banter." Their main suspect? The victim’s son...who's also Adam’s recent one-night stand.
Why Ann Cleeves fans might like it: Like Cleeves' new Two Rivers novels, this series starter features clever plotting, smart dialogue, and a gay cop as the main character. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|