|
Thrillers and Suspense April 2021
|
|
|
|
| If I Disappear by Eliza Jane BrazierWhat it is: an intensifying, creepy debut thriller about fandom, obsession, and small-town secrets.
Starring: recent divorcee Sera Fleece, whose appreciation of a true crime podcast grows increasingly compulsive; Rachel Ward, the podcast's host whose sudden disappearance drives Sera to make things personal.
Media Buzz: A TV adaptation of If I Disappear is in the works, with the novel's author set to write the screenplay. |
|
| Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy KatzmanWhat it's about: One place at Stanford. Three qualified applicants from the same prep school. And three mothers determined to see their daughter win admission.
Meet the mean girls: stay-at-home mom Kelly, a Stanford alum; tech CEO Alicia, whose donations might make up for her daughter's lackluster grades; and single mom Maren, whose daughter is valedictorian.
Reviewers say: Girls with Bright Futures is a "bracingly vicious portrait of entitlement" (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
|
Northern Spy
by Flynn Berry
Certain that her beloved sister did not join the IRA by choice, a Catholic BBC producer confronts impossible decisions that test family bonds, the limits of her ideals and her responsibilities as a mother.
Walking an increasingly perilous road, she fears nothing more than endangering the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son. A riveting and exquisite novel about family, terror, motherhood, betrayal, and the staggering human costs of an intractable conflict.
|
|
| Possession by Katie LoweThe premise: Ten years ago, Hannah McLelland's life was upended when her husband was murdered in their London home. Since then she has worked hard to rebuild and make a life for her daughter, far away from the media sensation surrounding the trial of her husband's killer.
The problem: A true crime podcast is re-investigating the case, and as the host digs deeper into Hannah's past, the court of public opinion turns against Hannah and threatens to undo everything.
For fans of: Conviction by Denise Mina, which also features a main character who must deal with the airing of her dirty laundry on a true crime show. |
|
| Lola on Fire by Rio YouersWhat it is: an action-packed crime thriller about desperate decisions, blackmail, and settling old scores.
The setup: In desperate need of cash, Brody Ellis robs a convenience store. The only witness who can tie him to the scene of the crime agrees not to go to the police, but only if Brody will commit another crime on her behalf.
Read it for: the well-developed characters; the intricately unfolding revenge plot involving Brody's estranged mother and a bitter mob boss.
|
|
|
Every Last Fear
by Alex Finlay
After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family-his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister-have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain-and they won't tell Matt why. The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn't the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt's older brother, Danny-currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte-was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny's case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison-putting his own life in peril-and forcing him to confront his every last fear.
|
|
|
The Downstairs Neighbor
by Helen Cooper
From her downstairs apartment in suburban London, Emma has often overheard the everyday life of the seemingly perfect family upstairs--Steph, Paul and teenage daughter Freya--but has never got to know them. Until one day, she hears something that seizes her attention: Freya has vanished and the police are questioning Steph and Paul about their life. Do either of you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm or threaten you?
The effects of Freya's disappearance ripple outward, affecting not just her parents, but everyone who lives in the building, including Emma and local driving instructor Chris, who was the last person to see the teenager before she went missing. Each character's life is thrown into sharp focus as devastating mistakes and long-held secrets are picked apart and other crimes come to light--including a child gone missing 25 years before, and a shocking murder--that make clear that the past never stays where we leave it, and that homes can be built on foundations of lies.
|
|
|
The Opium Prince
by Jasmine Aimaq
Born to an American mother and a late Afghan war hero-turned-magnate, Daniel Sajadi has spent his life navigating a complex identity. After years in Los Angeles, he is returning home to Kabul for the first time as the head of a US foreign aid agency dedicated to staunching the growth of the poppy fields in Fever Valley that feed the world's opiate epidemic.
But on the drive back to Kabul from an anniversary trip with his wife, Rebecca, Daniel hits and kills a young Kochi girl named Telaya. Nomad tribes are ignored in the eyes of the law, and Daniel is let off with a nominal fine due to a mysterious witness at the scene-a man named Taj Maleki, who turns out to be a prominent opium khan. Wracked with guilt and visions of Telaya, Daniel begins to unravel, running from his rapidly crumbling marriage and threats of blackmail and murder from the man who would do anything to save his poppy fields from eradication.
|
|
| The Nightworkers by Brian SelfonShecky Keenan’s family is under fire—or at least it feels that way. Bank accounts have closed unexpectedly, a strange car has been parked near the house at odd hours, and Emil Scott, an enigmatic artist and the family’s new runner, is missing—along with the $250,000 of dirty money he was carrying.
Shecky lives in old Brooklyn with his niece Kerasha and nephew Henry, and while his deepest desire is to keep his little makeshift family safe, that doesn’t stop him from taking advantage of their talents. Shecky moves money for an array of unsavory clients, and Henry, volatile and violent but tenderhearted, is his bagman. Kerasha, the famed former child-thief of Bushwick, is still learning the family trade, but her quick mind and quicker fingers are already being put to use. They love one another, but trust is thin when secrets are the family trade. And someone will be coming for that missing money—soon. |
|
| Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga TokarczukTranslated from the original Polish, this stylistically complex blend of literary fiction and suspenseful detective story follows quirky, reclusive Janina Duszejko as she involves herself in the investigation of a neighbor's murder.
Read it for: the offbeat tone, compelling writing, and Janina's insightful reflections on life in a small Polish village.
Try this next: Death in Her Hands, which also features an acclaimed author of literary fiction (in this case, Otessa Moshfegh) dipping her toe into the genre. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|