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Thrillers and Suspense February 2026 |
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| Murder Your Darlings by Jenna BlumSimone ‘Sam’ Vetiver is a mid-career novelist finishing a lukewarm publicity tour while facing a deadline for a new book on which she’s totally blocked. Recently divorced, Sam is worrying where her life is going when she receives glowing fan mail from stratospherically successful author William Corwyn, renowned for his female-centric novels. When William and Sam meet and his literary sympathy is as intense as their chemistry, both writers think they’ve found The One. But as in their own novels, things between Sam and William are not what they seem. William has multiple stalkers, including a scarily persistent one named The Rabbit. He lives on a remote Maine island, where his writer life resembles The Shining. And when writers turn up dead, including from The Darlings support group William runs, Sam has to ask: Is it The Rabbit, William’s #1 Stalker? Another woman scorned? Can William be everything he seems? |
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The Bone Thief
by Vanessa Lillie
In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family's fears. As Syd investigates both crimes, she's drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents, most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it's not the first time something, or someone, has gone missing from the camp. The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren't isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society's doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town's most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
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The First Time I Saw Him
by Laura Dave
Five years after her husband, Owen, disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them. But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again. Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety, and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.
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| Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley ElstonEveryone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price. Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she's married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move. Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth, and she may have found the best way in. Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek. Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone. |
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It Should Have Been You
by Andrea Mara
Have you ever sent a message to the wrong person? Susan sends her sister a gossipy message about their neighbor. But she accidentally posts it on the neighborhood WhatsApp group instead. It’s an innocent mistake that could happen to anyone, but rumors quickly spread and the backlash spirals. Soon that one wrong message leads to murder. A local woman is found dead, but when Susan listens to the news report, she realizes that the victim had the same address as her but in a different part of town. The killer may have got the wrong victim, they may be coming for her next.
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The Hitchhikers
by Chevy Stevens
Desperation is a dark road. It’s the summer of 1976. Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal after a devastating tragedy. They’ve planned the trip perfectly, every detail accounted for. Then they meet two young hitchhikers and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren’t what they seem. They’ve left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them. Now Alice and Tom are prisoners in a deadly game with nowhere to turn. As the tension builds, the lines blur, and the question becomes: In whose heart does evil truly lie? What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding? And who will live another day?
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You Deserve to Know
by Aggie Blum Thompson
Neighbors Gwen, Aimee, and Lisa share more than playdates and coffee mornings on their tranquil street in East Bethesda. They confide their deepest secrets, navigate the challenges of motherhood together, and provide a support system that seems unbreakable. But when Gwen’s husband is found murdered after one of their weekly Friday night dinners, the peaceful quiet of their cul-de-sac shatters. The seemingly idyllic world of the three close-knit mom friends becomes a web of deception, betrayal, and revenge. As the police investigate, the veneer of friendship begins to crack, revealing hidden tensions, clandestine affairs, and long-buried jealousies among the three women. With suspicions mounting and the neighborhood gripped by fear, Gwen, Aimee, and Lisa must confront the chilling truth about their husbands, and the sinister undercurrents in their own friendship.
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| No One Aboard by Emy McGuireAt the start of summer, billionaire couple Francis and Lila Cameron set off on their private luxury sailboat to celebrate the high school graduation of their two beloved children. Three weeks later, the Camerons have not been heard from, the captain hasn’t responded to radio calls, and the sailboat is found floating off the coast of Florida. Empty. Where are the Camerons? What happened on their trip? And what secrets does the beautiful boat hold? |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Albert Lea Public Library
211 E Clark St.
Albert Lea, Minnesota 56007
(507) 377-4350alplonline.org |
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