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Thrillers and Suspense February 2019
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A Hero of France
by Alan Furst
Who it's about: a team of patriotic Frenchmen (and women) in occupied Paris, whose backgrounds and skills are as diverse as their motivations for resisting the Nazis.
Read it for: the arresting combination of high tension and well-rendered atmosphere, which make for a deeply immersive reading experience.
Inspired by: the innumerable members of the French Resistance, who risked life and limb to oppose the Nazi takeover of their country.
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| The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay FayeStarring: Alice James, whose sordid activities in 1920s Harlem end with a flight for her life on the first train she can find. Her destination? Portland, Oregon.
What happens: Alice, who is white, finds an unexpected welcome at the black-owned and operated Paragon Hotel. But the KKK is on the rise in Portland, and when a young mixed-race boy goes missing, everything threatens to boil over.
Read it for: the distinctive and lively inhabitants of the hotel, such as glamorous and mysterious cabaret singer Blossom Fontaine; the frank depiction of Oregon's often-forgotten history with racist violence. |
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A Legacy of Spies
by John Le Carré
What happens: Former intelligence agent Peter Guillam is called out of retirement when the current government in London begins probing the activities of British operatives during the Cold War. This prompts Guillam to do some personal reflection on his past actions and missions, making for a bleak but also moving take on the typical spy thriller.
Series alert: Le Carré fans may recognize the name Peter Guillam -- yes, this really is the long-awaited next entry in the George Smiley series of novels, the first since 1991.
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Afterlife
by Marcus Sakey
Where it's set: an alternate Chicago, populated only by those who died violently -- some of whom have learned that their power grows when they kill others.
What it's about: FBI agent Will Brody is hunting down a sniper when he's killed by a bomb; waking up in this other Chicago, he remains determined to stop the sniper, who seems to have connections to the deadly inhabitants of the afterlife.
Why you might like it: Smart writing, a powerful love story, plenty of action (and violence) and an intriguing, disturbing premise combine for a "noodle-bender of the first order" (Kirkus Reviews).
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All the Beautiful Lies: A Novel
by Peter Swanson
What it's about: Harry's father Bill has seemingly died by suicide, but when Harry returns home, he becomes convinced that his father was murdered.
Prime suspects: Harry's femme-fatale stepmother, Alice, whose attentions to Harry border on inappropriate; the mysterious woman whom Alice claims Bill was seeing.
What reviewers say: All the Beautiful Lies is "a gripping exploration of delusion and deceit" (Booklist).
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| The Other Widow by Susan CrawfordThe premise: Dorrie and Joe's affair comes to an abrupt end on a late night drive, when Joe tells Dorrie it's time to break things off. Seconds later, Joe's car skids on some ice, killing him instantly and leaving a stunned Dorrie in the passenger seat.
The problem: Not wanting the affair to be exposed, Dorrie flees the scene of the accident to return to her husband and child. But strange things about the accident begin to torment Dorrie, like the failure of Joe's airbag, or that the door on his side of the car was open as she fled.
Author alert: The Other Widow is the second novel by Susan Crawford, whose debut was 2015's The Pocket Wife. |
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| The House Swap by Rebecca FleetWhat it's about: a struggling married couple, Caroline and Francis, who hope to work on their relationship during a week-long getaway to London, facilitated by a housing-swap website.
Good neighbors: Soon after their arrival, the next-door neighbor begins showing an unusual interest in the couple. And worse, the house is full of objects -- like pink roses and a bottle of a familiar aftershave -- that remind Caroline of a secret she's been hiding from Francis for years.
You might also like: My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry; Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald. |
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| The Answers by Catherine LaceyStarring: Mary Parsons, a young woman who, at last, has found an effective treatment for her chronic pain -- one that she can't possibly afford.
Desperate times...Mary now knows what relief feels like, and she'll do anything continue her treatment -- including an odd but high-paying job as part of an eccentric and self-centered actor's creepy "Girlfriend Experiment," where things soon spiral out of control for everyone.
Killer first line: "I'd run out of options. That's how these things usually happen." |
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An Honorable Man
by Paul Vidich
What it's about: CIA agent George Mueller is tasked with finding a mole in the highest levels of the agency, but in the paranoid McCarthy era, the closer he gets to his target the more suspicious his colleagues grow of him. Can Mueller find the double agent in time to clear his own name?
Inspired by: The complicated life and mysterious death of real-life spy James Speyer Kronthal, a protégé of long-serving CIA director Allen Dulles.
For fans of: John Le Carré and Charles Cumming.
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| Gone Without a Trace by Mary TorjussenFeaturing: accountant Hannah Monroe, who can't wait to get home to her boyfriend Matt Stone and tell him that she's finally up for a long overdue promotion at her job.
Home Sweet Home: When Hannah arrives at home, Matt is nowhere to be found and any evidence he ever existed has disappeared with him. Then she starts receiving mysterious text messages, and she begins to wonder if Matt is really as gone as he seems.
You might also like: No One Knows by J.T. Ellison; The Marriage Lie by Kimberley Belle. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Richmond Public Library 101 E. Franklin Street Richmond, VA 23219 (804)646-7223
rvalibrary.org
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