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Thrillers and Suspense March 2020
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| No Bad Deed by Heather ChavezThe setup: California veterinarian Cassie Larkin is driving home when she witnesses a man assaulting a woman on the road. Despite a 911 dispatcher's warning, Cassie confronts the man, who then threatens her before driving off in her car.
The payback: Although Cassie is glad to have saved the woman's life, the threat haunts her even as the police assure her that she's safe. Then Cassie's husband disappears, seemingly having abandoned their young daughter while he took her trick-or-treating.
Reviewers say: "a paranoia-fueled thrill ride" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Holdout by Graham MooreWhat it's about: the long-simmering consequences of a highly charged trial, in which Maya Seale convinced her fellow jurors to acquit an African American teacher accused of murdering a white 15-year-old.
Ten years later: A true crime documentary about the case gathers the former jury together again, and revisiting the trial dredges up secrets and resentments that everyone is hiding, with fatal consequences and another person wrongly accused of murder.
You might also like: other fast-paced legal thrillers like Confessions of an Innocent Man by David R. Dow and Invisible by Andrew Grant, which also deal with revenge. |
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The Sacrament
by Olaf Olafsson
What it is: a haunting, character-driven, literary thriller that grapples with the legacy of child abuse in the Catholic Church and the decades-old secrets surrounding a priest's mysterious suicide.
Starring: Sister Johanna, a nun who seems to be an unlikely thriller protagonist -- at least until the truths she's been hiding from for the last 40 years begin to catch up with her.
Reviewers say: a "gripping, masterfully constructed story" that bends "toward redemption and justice" (Booklist).
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| The Only Child by Mi-ae SeoWhat it is: Appearing for the first time in English, this creepy psychological thriller asks if serial killers are born or made, and if anything can be done to save them.
Starring: Seonkyeong, a forensic psychologist who lives with her husband Jaeseong in Seoul; Yi Byeongdo, a serial killer who finally agrees to be profiled but only if Seonkyeong does it; and 11-year-old Hayeong, Jaeseong's daughter from his first marriage.
What happens: Hayeong moves in with her father and stepmother after a suspicious fire kills the maternal grandparents who had been raising her, and Seonkyeong begins to see disturbing parallels between her new stepdaughter and the manipulative serial killer she's interviewing. |
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| The Girlfriend by Michelle FrancesWhat it's about: Successful TV producer Laura Cavendish shares a strong bond with her medical student son Daniel. Any girl Daniel brings home would struggle to meet Laura's high expectations, and his new girlfriend Cherry doesn't come close.
The other woman: Cherry is beautiful and ambitious, but also from the wrong side of the tracks. Even worse, she isn't fazed by Laura's elitism and manipulation, and she's determined to hang onto Daniel, who she wants to marry for his family's wealth.
Why you might like it: The narrative alternates between Cherry and Laura's points of view, which keeps their intensifying conflict from feeling over-the-top. |
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The Son
by Jo Nesbø
Scandinavian Crime Fiction. Though author Jo Nesbø is known for his brooding series star Harry Hole, The Son is a highly praised stand-alone. What it shares with the Millennium books is this: vengeance drives much of the intricately plotted, fast-paced narrative, and political conspiracies play no small part. With complex characters (like Sonny, an incarcerated heroin addict serving time in exchange for drug payouts), this is an excellent choice for Stieg Larsson's fans.
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Swift Vengeance
by T. Jefferson Parker
Starring: private investigator Roland Ford, the hero of T. Jefferson Parker's previous novel The White Room of Fire; FBI agent Joan Taucher, who struggles with the legacy of her agency's failures.
What it's about: the hunt for an elusive killer known only as "Caliphornia," who is targeting (and decapitating) the former members of an Air Force drone assassination team.
You might also like: The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer; Nicholas Petrie's Peter Ash novels.
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| The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen WhiteWhat it is: the suspenseful and atmospheric story of long-buried secrets (and crimes) hiding behind the veneer of gentility in Atlanta suburb Sweet Apple, where newly divorced Merilee Dunlap moves with her children.
Read it for: the unlikely and dynamic bond Merilee forms with her 93-year-old neighbor Sugar Prescott, whose family once owned the land that Sweet Apple was built on and who is much more than the gossipy curmudgeon she appears to be.
Who it's for: fans of Kate Morton and Liane Moriarty who don't mind a little Mary Kay Andrews now and then. |
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