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Thrillers and Suspense March 2026 |
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Havoc
by Christopher Bollen
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize FinalistA New York Times' Best Thriller of the YearIn the vein of The Bad Seed comes a twisty, atmospheric psychological suspense about a meddlesome elderly guest at a decadent luxury hotel who believes she has left her problematic past behind, until she decides to interfere in the lives of a young mother and her eight-year-old son, and finally meets her wicked match.The war between age and youth has never been so vicious.Eighty-one-year-old widow Maggie Burkhardt came to the Royal Karnak to escape. But not in quite the same way as most other guests who are relaxing at this threadbare luxury hotel on the banks of the Nile. Maggie, a compulsive fixer of other people's lives, may have found herself in hot water at her last hotel in Switzerland and just might have needed to get out of there fast... But here at the Royal Karnak, under the hot Saharan sun, she has a comfortable suite, a loyal confidante in the hotel manager, Ahmed, and a handful of sympathetic friends, similar long-termers who understand her still-vivid grief for her late husband, Peter. Here, she is merely the sweet old lady in Room 309.One morning, however, Maggie notices a new arrival at check-in: a mournful-looking young mother named Tess and her impish eight-year-old, Otto. Eager to help, Maggie invites them into her world. But it isn't long before Maggie realizes that in her longing to be a part of their family, she has let in an enemy much stronger than she bargained for. In scrawny, homely Otto, Maggie Burkhardt has finally met her match.A propulsive, addictively-readable breakout from the critically acclaimed author of A Beautiful Crime and The Lost Americans, Havoc is brilliant, twisty psychological suspense that will get under your skin like the most unforgettable Hitchcock classics.
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Lazarus Man
by Richard Price
In this electrifying novel, Richard Price, the author of Clockers and a writer on The Wire, gives us razor-sharp anatomy of an ever-changing Harlem. East Harlem, 2008. In an instant, a five-story tenement collapses into a fuming hill of rubble, pancaking the cars parked in front and coating the street with a thick layer of ash. As the city's rescue services and media outlets respond, the surrounding neighborhood descends into chaos. At day's end, six bodies are recovered, but many of the other tenants are missing. In Lazarus Man, Richard Price, one of the greatest chroniclers of life in urban America, creates intertwining portraits of a group of compelling and singular characters whose lives are permanently impacted by the disaster. Anthony Carter--whose miraculous survival, after being buried for days beneath tons of brick and stone, transforms him into a man with a message and a passionate sense of mission. Felix Pearl--a young transplant to the city, whose photography and film work that day provokes in this previously unformed soul a sharp sense of personal destiny. Royal Davis--owner of a failing Harlem funeral home, whose desperate trolling of the scene for potential customers triggers a quest to find another path in life. And Mary Roe--a veteran city detective who, driven in part by her own family's brutal history, becomes obsessed with finding Christopher Diaz, one of the building's missing. Price, the bestselling author of Lush Life and, most recently, The Whites, has created a bravura portrait of a community on the edge of disintegration. Rich with indelible characters and high drama, Lazarus Man is a riveting work of suspense and social vision by one of our major writers.
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A Grave in the Woods: A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel
by Martin Walker
Another entertaining and enlightening entry in the Bruno, Chief of Police series, featuring an archaeological dig in the French countryside that unearths World War II-era mysteries--all while Bruno dishes up more culinary magic When Abby, an American archaeologist, arrives in St. Denis on the heels of her divorce, she hopes to make a new life for herself as a specialist guide for visiting tourists. So when a local British couple discover a grave from World War II on their property, Abby is able to put her training to good use. As it turns out, in the grave are the remains of two German women and an Italian submarine officer who had a big secret to hide. The women are suspected of having had links to the German garrison in Bordeaux during the war. It's up to Bruno, just recovered from a gunshot wound earlier in the year, to unravel the mystery--and its contemporary relevance. His task is made more difficult by the horrible heat-dome summer, which is raising the temperature for miles around, as unprecedented amounts of rain drench the Massif Central and threaten increasingly dramatic floods. As Bruno drills to the heart of the case, matters get even more complicated when both Abby's financially distressed ex-husband and a mysterious dashing Italian naval officer arrive, with very different ideas in mind. Once again, Bruno is left to serve the guilty their just rewards, and his friends, some sumptuous Perigordian cuisine.
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Rough Pages: An Evander Mills Mystery
by Lev Ac Rosen
Set in atmospheric 1950s San Francisco, Rough Pages asks who is allowed to tell their own stories, and how far would you go to seek out the truth. Private Detective Evander Andy Mills has been drawn back to the Lavender House estate for a missing person case. Pat, the family butler, has been volunteering for a book service, one that specializes in mailing queer books to a carefully guarded list of subscribers. With bookseller Howard Salzberger gone suspiciously missing along with his address book, everyone on that list, including some of Andy's closest friends, is now in danger. A search of Howard's bookstore reveals that someone wanted to stop him and his co-owner, Dorothea Lamb, from sending out their next book. The evidence points not just to the Feds, but to the Mafia, who would be happy to use the subscriber list for blackmail. Andy has to maneuver through both the government and the criminal world, all while dealing with a nosy reporter who remembers him from his days as a police detective and wants to know why he's no longer a cop. With his own secrets closing in on him, can Andy find the list before all the lives on it are at risk? Dive into the full Evander Mills series: Lavender HouseThe Bell in the FogRough Pages
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Things Don't Break on Their Own
by Sarah Easter Collins
Four couples gather at a dinner party. Some are ex-lovers, some are old friends, and two have a secret that threatens to undo all of their carefully crafted illusions before dessert is served in this thrilling suspense debut--
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Creation Lake
by Rachel Kushner
Deep in rural France, covert agent Sadie Smith uses charm and cunning to manipulate her surroundings. While surveilling a subversive commune, she becomes intrigued by Bruno Lacombe, a mentor to the activists who challenges her perspectives. Rachel Kushner delivers a taut, captivating noir that intertwines art, humor, and profound insights.
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A Song Over Miskwaa Rapids
by Linda Legarde Grover
Margie Robineau, fighting for her family's long-held allotment land, uncovers events connected to a long-ago escape plan, and the burial--at once figurative and painfully real--of not one crime but two. While Margie pieces the facts together, Dale Ann is confronted by her own tightly held secrets and the truth that the long ago and the now are all indelibly linked, no matter how much we try to forget--
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The Man Made of Smoke
by Alex North
Criminal profiler Dan Garvie returns to his childhood island home after his father’s suspicious death, only to uncover chilling clues that a notorious serial killer from his past may have returned. Alex North’s latest is a haunting, twist-filled thriller about buried trauma, family secrets, and the monsters that never stay dead. For fans of: Thomas Harris.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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