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Thrillers and Suspense April 2019
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| The River by Peter HellerThe premise: Best friends and outdoor enthusiasts Jack and Wynn are on summer break from Dartmouth College and decide to go on a short canoeing trip in the beautiful but rugged woods of northern Ontario.
The problem: Their summer gear is insufficient for a sudden, rapidly advancing cold front and from the other direction, a forest fire is gaining ground. As they try to escape, they will have to withstand the threats of both Mother Nature and human nature if they want to make it out alive.
Author alert: Peter Heller is best known for the suspenseful pandemic novel The Dog Stars. |
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| What We Did by Christobel KentStarring: Bridget Webster, a suburban boutique owner and survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of an esteemed music teacher.
The more things change... Bridget is stunned when the teacher enters her shop accompanied by one of his current students, a girl who reminds Bridget of her younger self. Provoked by his continued impunity, Bridget decides it's time to take action.
Reviewers say: "Readers will root for the unwitting killer in this tense, well-crafted vigilante thriller" (Booklist). |
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| Woman 99 by Greer MacallisterPicture it: San Francisco, 1888: specifically, the "progressive" Goldengrove Asylum, where a supposedly mentally ill young woman named Phoebe Smith has been committed.
What happens: Charlotte, Phoebe's sister, believes the commitment was a mistake. She decides to go undercover as a patient to get Phoebe out, but once inside Charlotte discovers things are even worse than she anticipated.
Did you know? Woman 99 is inspired by Ten Days in a Mad-House, the 1887 exposé of asylum conditions written by trailblazing journalist Nellie Bly. |
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| Blood Orange by Harriet TyceFeaturing: Alison Wood, a deeply flawed defense attorney who appears to have it all, with a thriving career and a loving family.
What happens: Under the surface, Alison's law firm is as messy as a soap opera and her marriage has turned toxic, but when she's assigned a new client who is accused of murder, Alison begins to see things differently and wants to find a way to turn her life around.
Reviewers say: "a page-turner that drives to a shocking and satisfying ending" (Publishers Weekly). |
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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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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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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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| Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie KnechtThe premise: It's the early 1960s, and Vera Kelly spends her time working at a radio station and, when she can work up the nerve, visiting underground lesbian bars in Greenwich Village. At least until her skill with electronics gets her noticed and eventually recruited by the CIA.
The problem: Sent to Argentina to infiltrate a leftist student group, Vera is making progress until a military coup leaves her stranded in Buenos Aires with no way to contact her handlers.
Read it for: Vera herself, who is as flawed as she is compelling; the poignant parallels between Vera's personal and professional lives, both of which are clandestine. |
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An Unwanted Guest
by Shari Lapena
What happens: A snowstorm strands a diverse group of guests at a Catskills ski lodge, and once the power goes out people begin to die one by one at the hands of the killer among them.
Inspired by: Agatha Christie's famous "locked room" mystery And Then There Were None.
Critics say: "[Shari] Lapena [creates] a goosebump-raising atmosphere as the darkness and malevolence stretch on" (Booklist).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Richmond Public Library 101 East Franklin Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7223rvalibrary.org/ |
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