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Thrillers and Suspense August 2023 |
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| What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa AdelmanThe setup: After the birth of their son, Alexis and her husband Sam buy a fixer-upper in an upscale neighborhood near the Potomac River.
What goes wrong: Beyond the stress that renovation can put on any marriage, Alexis feels isolated as the only Black person in the community. She befriends the widow of a well-regarded resident, but when the death is ruled a homicide, Alexis soon discovers a tangled web of secrets that lead to the appalling truth behind the murder.
For fans of: Never Ask Me by Jeff Abbott; The Other Mrs. Miller by Allison Dickson; and The Block Party by Jamie Day. |
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| The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. BerryWhat it's about: CIA agent Shane Collins is on his final assignment, stationed in Bahrain to keep tabs on a insurgent group. After meeting and falling for a local artist, Shane will soon find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time at the dawn of a revolution.
You might also like: The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz; The Cover Wife by Dan Fesperman.
Reviewers say: I.S Berry's "gorgeous prose is its own reward, with echoes of Le Carré and Graham Greene" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane BrazierWhat it is: an intricately plotted and compelling portrait of the glamorous world of showjumping, where the competition between the equestrian equivalent of "stage moms" can be literally cutthroat.
What's inside: cliques, dark secrets, and suspicious "accidents" in and around the stables, all of which culminate in a gruesome murder.
About the author: Girls and Their Horses is the 3rd standalone novel by Eliza Jane Brazier, following Good Rich People and If I Disappear. |
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| Killing Me by Michelle GagnonWhat it's about: After escaping from a serial killer, reluctant grifter Amber Jamison is lying low in a squalid Las Vegas motel. When violence arrives on her doorstep again, Amber teams up with a motley crew of local women to bring down a murderer who can't quite give up the hunt.
Read it for: the flawed but likeable characters and offbeat, darkly humorous tone.
For fans of: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson; I Told You This Would Happen by Elaine Murphy. |
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| The Drowning Woman by Robyn HardingWhat it is: an action-packed, fast-paced story of two women used to looking over their shoulders for very different reasons, the unexpected bond they form, and the secrets they keep from each other even as they grow closer.
Starring: Lee Gulliver, a failed restaurateur living in her car and trying to stay off the radar of the dangerous people she owes money to; Hazel Laval, a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship who asks for help disappearing after Lee foils her suicide attempt.
Try these next: Last Flight by Julie Clark; The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger. |
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| You Can Trust Me by Wendy HeardWhat it's about: Best friends Summer and Leo make a living grifting wealthy Californians with relative ease. After Leo gains the attention of billionaire Michael Forrester, she accepts an invitation to his private island for the chance at a big score. When Leo vanishes, Summer sneaks onto the island in search of her friend -- and the truth.
Read it for: the likeable and well-characterized protagonists and the strength of their bond.
Reviewers say: "Readers will want to ride with Summer and Leo all the way to the end" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Night Flowers by Sara HerchenroetherThirty years ago: Hikers stumbled across the bodies of an unidentified young woman and two children, hidden in New Mexico's Gila National Forest.
Present day: The upcoming anniversary revives interest in this very cold case, prompting separate investigations by local detective Jean Martinez and Connecticut librarian Laura MacDonald, whose dogged efforts converge with unexpected consequences for them both.
For fans of: Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski; Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers. |
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| Sing Her Down by Ivy PochodaWhat it is: a haunting, stylistically complex story about the unstable and obsessive relationship between two former cellmates and the collision course of their lives on parole.
Starring: Florida Baum, who took a plea agreement for arson but in private claims she was an innocent bystander; Diosmary Sandoval, who was convicted of assault after an act of self-defense and believes that there is much, much more to Florida than meets the eye.
Reviewers say: "This searing, accomplished page-turner deserves a wide audience" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica WardWhat it's about: After some mental health struggles, fifteen-year-old Sarah Taylor's hopes for a fresh start at her new boarding school are dashed thanks to relentless bullying from St. Ambrose queen bee Greta Stanhope. Deciding to gain the upper hand, Sarah sets off a chain of event s unanticipated, deadly consequences.
Who it's for: readers who appreciate dark academia vibes and unreliable narrators.
About the author: Novelist Jessica Ward is best known for the Black Dagger Brotherhood paranormal romance series, published under the name J.R. Ward. |
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| Speak of the Devil by Rose WildingHow it starts: on New Year's Eve, with seven women gathering at a seedy hotel around midnight.
What unites them: their tangled web of connections to the same manipulative man, whose severed head is discovered in the room with them. Each had ample reason to want him dead, each maintains her innocence, and none of them will be safe until they figure out what really happened.
Reviewers say: "This cautionary tale satisfies in its culmination of long-overdue justice for spurned women" (Library Journal). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org
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|  | Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson
Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, John W. Risley, Jr., Chairman |
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