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Thrillers and Suspense April 2022 |
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| Good Rich People by Eliza Jane BrazierThe setup: Wealthy Hollywood couple Graham and Lyla love renting their guesthouse to (and destroying the lives of) self-made people right on the cusp of career success, such as up-and-coming tech company director Demi.
The complication: "Demi" isn't who she says she is, and her hard-won street smarts might finally be a match for this sheltered old-money pair.
For fans of: David Lynch films; The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West; the classic Richard Connell story "The Most Dangerous Game." |
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| Other People's Clothes by Calla HenkelWhat it's about: In Berlin for their semester abroad, art students (and true crime enthusiasts) Zoe and Hailey jump at the chance to rent an apartment owned by a famous thriller writer. The thrill soon turns to terror, however, when they start noticing quirks in the apartment design that suggest that they're being under surveillance.
Read it for: the darkly humorous tone and complicated, less-than-healthy friendship dynamics between Zoe and Hailey.
Try these next: Wahala by Nikki May; This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel. |
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| Fake by Erica KatzWhat it is: a compelling crime story about an art forger and a Russian oligarch client who leads her into a world as glamorous on the outside as it is corrupt on inside.
Starring: Emma Caan, a young painter whose skills catch the eye of a wealthy art collector up to no good; Leonard Sobetsky, a Russian magnate whose promise to introduce Emma to important people in the international art scene comes with major strings attached.
Reviewers say: Author Erica Katz's exploration of the seedy underbelly of the art world and its "more egregious manipulations and frauds makes for genuinely captivating entertainment" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Cage by Bonnie KistlerThe premise: Two women are working alone after hours at fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau -- human resources director Lucy Barton-Jones and attorney Shay Lambert. Leaving at the same time, they share an elevator down from their offices on the 30th floor.
The problem: The elevator stalls on its way down, and by the time it's operational again, one of the women will be dead.
Try this next: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris. |
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| Tripping Arcadia by Kit MayquistWhat it's about: Determined to save her family from financial ruin, med school dropout Lena takes a job as an assistant to Dr. Prosenko, who serves the powerful Verdeau family. When she's asked to take part in the Verdeaus' sinister schemes, she plots her revenge.
Why you might like it: Kit Mayquist's intensifying debut offers lush prose, plenty of twists and turns, and an unforgettable heroine in Lena.
For fans of: books that offer a fresh spin on the gothic genre, like Emily M. Danforth's Plain Bad Heroines or Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. |
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| Chloe Cates Is Missing by Mandy McHughThe setup: Thirteen-year-old internet celebrity Chloe Cates has gone missing and the search for her has made headlines. Getting significantly less attention is the eerily similar case of another 13-year-old Abigail Scarborough.
The complications: Chloe is just an elaborate persona managed by Abigail's toxic stage mother Jen, and the police detective assigned to the case has a hidden, contentious connection to Jen's past that may put everything (and everyone) involved in serious danger. |
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| Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. MorrowWhat it is: an intricately plotted and sometimes disturbing story of the complex relationship between two Black teenage girls living in a posh (and extremely white) community.
Read it for: the compelling mix of friendship and unhealthy competition that underlie the girls' bond with each other.
For fans of: Margo Hunt's Best Friends Forever; Oyoinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer. |
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| Our American Friend by Anna PitoniakWhat it's about: It never occurred to White House correspondent Sofie Morse that she would be chosen to write the official biography of Lara Caine, the enigmatic, Russian-born First Lady, nor that taking the job might pull her into a high-stakes game of international intrigue with potentially devastating consequences.
For fans of: Curtis Sittenfeld; the FX original series The Americans.
Reviewers say: "This lively political thriller mulls love, loyalty, and the rewards of playing the long game" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Latinist by Mark PrinsWhat it is: a character-driven retelling of the Daphne and Apollo myth set at Oxford University, where a gifted graduate student searches for a way to salvage her career after her mentor's machinations threaten to undermine her future.
Starring: Christopher Eccels, a manipulative classics professor convinced that his obsession with a promising student is "love" and that he has her best interests at heart; Tessa Templeton, a determined doctoral candidate who stumbles across an obscure Latin text that might help her escape the professor's outsized influence. |
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| No Second Chances by Rio YouersWhat it's about: Twenty-four-year-old Kentuckian Kitty Rae moved to L.A. to pursue an acting career, working as a drug courier until fame arrives. Kitty's prospects drastically improve after she happens to save the life of a washed-up (but well-connected), Hollywood star, but first she'll need to escape the wrath of her employer, a vengeful drug dealer.
About the author: British-Canadian writer Rio Youers is best known to suspense fans for Lola on Fire and Halcyon, but his bibliography also includes the graphic novel Sleeping Beauties and the supernatural novel The Forgotten Girl. |
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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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