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Thrillers and Suspense March 2022 |
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| Unsafe Haven by Lucy BurdetteWhat it's about: New York-based medical student Elizabeth Brown is headed for a subway station when a panicked teenage girl hands her a small, wrapped bundle that turns out to be a newborn baby. This is the beginning of a series of events that will leave her and later, the baby's mother, fighting together for their lives.
Is it for you? Unsafe Haven is Lucy Burdette's first foray into darker, grittier storytelling compared to the cozy mysteries she is primarily known for. |
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| Queen of Urban Prophecy by Aya de LeónWhat it is: the incisive and dramatic story of young hip-hop star Deza Starling as she rises to fame in a cutthroat industry where no one is what they seem and it's impossible
About the author: Poet and novelist Aya de León teaches creative writing at UC Berkley. Her previous work includes the Justice Hustlers series of heist novels and the standalone A Spy in the Struggle.
Reviewers say: "Talented wordsmith De Leon infuses power and impact into her prose and her protagonist's verses" (Booklist). |
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| Road of Bones by Christopher GoldenHow it started: American documentary producers Felix Teigland brought a film crew with him to Siberia to cover an urban legend about the 1200-mile-long Kolyma Highway, which is said to be built on top of the bones of gulag prisoners from the Stalin era.
How it's going: It's too cold to survive more than a few minutes outdoors and when they arrive at their final filming location, a desolate village called Akhurst, they find the place abandoned except for one traumatized, catatonic young girl and a shaman lurking at the edge of the forest.
Who it's for: readers who appreciate supernatural elements, folklore, and the menacing power of nature. |
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| The Overnight Guest by Heather GudenkaufThe setup: True crime writer Wylie Lark has secluded herself in a remote Iowa farmhouse to work on her newest book, about two unresolved murders that took place in a nearby town.
What goes wrong: During a blizzard Wylie discovers an injured five-year-old boy in the snow and takes him in, cut off from the authorities until the storm clears. This act of kindness puts a target on her back however, and she's about to find out that the farmhouse isn't quite so isolated after all. |
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| A Narrow Door by Joanne HarrisSeries alert: A Narrow Door is the third entry in the series of psychological suspense novels set at elite boarding school St. Oswald's.
This time: big changes are underway, including the arrival of the school's first female students and the first woman hired to replace an outgoing headmaster, but the discovery of human remains in a sinkhole on campus show that the school hasn't moved on from its dark past.
Reviewers say: "This spectacular feat of storytelling will seduce the reader from page one" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| True Crime Story by Joseph KnoxWhat it's about: the disappearance of 19-year-old Manchester student Zoe Nolan and the complex web of secrets that starts to unravel as the police investigate.
How it's told: through conversation transcripts, person emails, official documentation, and assorted other files gathered by a metafictional version of author Joseph Knox.
For fans of: iconic show "Twin Peaks", epistolary novels, and stylistically complex stories that keep readers on their toes. |
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| Notes on an Execution by Danya KukafkaWhat it is: a disturbing yet moving portrayal of the last 12 hours of death row inmate Ansel Packer's life, told through the alternating, kaleidoscopic perspectives of the women in his life.
Starring: Ansel's mother Lavender, who reflects on her trauma and the choices she made as a desperate teen mom; Hazel, the twin sister of Ansel's ex-wife, whose life was deeply marked by her brother-in-law; and Saffron, a homicide detective who briefly knew Ansel when they were both in the foster care system as children.
Reviewers say: "A contemporary masterpiece that sits alongside The Executioner's Song and Victim: The Other Side of Murder in the library of crime literature" (Library Journal). |
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| Undermoney by Jay Hartley NewmanWhat it's about: Disillusioned by American politics, a cabal of intelligence agents and members of the military plot to get their preferred candidate elected president with the help of some dark money, Russian operatives, and a powerful (but increasingly paranoid) billionaire.
Is it for you? The primary appeal of Undermoney comes from the high stakes scheming, double-crossing, and international intrigue, and is best for readers who don't mind unlikable protagonists behaving badly. |
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| The Runaway by Nicholas PetrieSeries alert: The Runaway is the 7th entry in the action-packed series of thrillers starring atonement-seeking combat veteran Peter Ash.
This time: Peter pulls over to help a young pregnant woman whose car has broken down, unwittingly putting himself in the path of the cunning, ruthless killer determined to track her down.
Reviewers say: "This is a lava-flow of action, and a rich reading experience as well" (Booklist). |
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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, Maureen Kern, Chairwoman |
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