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Thrillers and Suspense April 2021
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| If I Disappear by Eliza Jane BrazierWhat it is: an intensifying, creepy debut thriller about fandom, obsession, and small-town secrets.
Starring: recent divorcee Sera Fleece, whose appreciation of a true crime podcast grows increasingly compulsive; Rachel Ward, the podcast's host whose sudden disappearance drives Sera to make things personal.
Media Buzz: A TV adaptation of If I Disappear is in the works, with the novel's author set to write the screenplay. |
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| Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy KatzmanWhat it's about: One place at Stanford. Three qualified applicants from the same prep school. And three mothers determined to see their daughter win admission.
Meet the mean girls: stay-at-home mom Kelly, a Stanford alum; tech CEO Alicia, whose donations might make up for her daughter's lackluster grades; and single mom Maren, whose daughter is valedictorian.
Reviewers say: Girls with Bright Futures is a "bracingly vicious portrait of entitlement" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Khalil by Yasmina KhadraWhat it is: the character-driven and thought-provoking story of would-be suicide bomber Khalil, who begins to reevaluate his life and his choices after his explosive vest fails to detonate during a planned attack.
Read it for: Khalil's reflections on his difficult childhood as a Belgian of Moroccan descent and the racism that eventually radicalized him.
About the author: Yasmina Khadra is the pseudonym used by former Algerian military officer Mohammed Moulessehoul to avoid censorship. His other novels include The Swallows of Kabul and What the Day Owes the Night. |
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| Possession by Katie LoweThe premise: Ten years ago, Hannah McLelland's life was upended when her husband was murdered in their London home. Since then she has worked hard to rebuild and make a life for her daughter, far away from the media sensation surrounding the trial of her husband's killer.
The problem: A true crime podcast is re-investigating the case, and as the host digs deeper into Hannah's past, the court of public opinion turns against Hannah and threatens to undo everything.
For fans of: Conviction by Denise Mina, which also features a main character who must deal with the airing of her dirty laundry on a true crime show. |
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| Lola on Fire by Rio YouersWhat it is: an action-packed crime thriller about desperate decisions, blackmail, and settling old scores.
The setup: In desperate need of cash, Brody Ellis robs a convenience store. The only witness who can tie him to the scene of the crime agrees not to go to the police, but only if Brody will commit another crime on her behalf.
Read it for: the well-developed characters; the intricately unfolding revenge plot involving Brody's estranged mother and a bitter mob boss.
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The bounty by Janet EvanovichStraight as an arrow special agent Kate O'Hare and international criminal Nick Fox have brought down some of the biggest bad guys out there. But now they face their most dangerous foe yet; a vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood.Directly descended from the Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler during World War II, the Brotherhood is on a frantic search for a lost train loaded with $30 billion in Nazi gold, untouched for over seventy-five years somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Europe.Kate and Nick know that there is only one man who can find the fortune and bring down the Brotherhood&;the same man who taught Nick everything he knows; his father, Quentin. As the stakes get higher, they must also rely on Kate's own father, Jake, who shares his daughter's grit and stubbornness. Too bad they can never agree on anything.
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| Just One Bite by Jack HeathWhat it's about: FBI consultant (and admitted cannibal) Timothy Blake has an unlikely side-hustle -- body disposal for the local crime lord. In this sequel to Hangman, Timothy’s disparate professional lives collide following the disappearance of a college professor.
Is it for you? The story is told in a darkly humorous tone but is still best for readers with strong stomachs, and those who can appreciate characters who manage to be engaging (if not exactly likeable). |
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The red book by James Patterson For Detective Billy Harney, getting shot in the head, stalked by a state's attorney, and accused of murder by his fellow cops is a normal week on the job. So when a drive-by shooting on the Chicago's west side turns political, he leads the way to a quick solve. But Harney's instincts -- his father was once chief of detectives and his twin sister, Patti, is also on the force -- run deep. As a population hungry for justice threatens to riot, he realizes that the three known victims are hardly the only casualties. When Harney starts asking questions about who's to blame, the easy answers prove to be the wrong ones. On the flip side, the less he seems to know, the longer he can keep his clandestine investigation going ... until Harney's quest to expose the evil that's rotting the city from the inside out takes him to the one place he vowed never to return: his own troubled past.
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Win by Harlan CobenOver twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors; and the items stolen from her family were never recovered. Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead; not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case; with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.Windsor Horne Lockwood III or Win, as his few friends call him; doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism; and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.
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| Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga TokarczukWhat it's about: Translated from the original Polish, this stylistically complex blend of literary fiction and suspenseful detective story follows quirky, reclusive Janina Duszejko as she involves herself in the investigation of a neighbor's murder.
Read it for: the offbeat tone, compelling writing, and Janina's insightful reflections on life in a small Polish village.
Try this next: Death in Her Hands, which also features an acclaimed author of literary fiction (in this case, Otessa Moshfegh) dipping her toe into the genre. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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