| Pulse by Michael HarveyWhat it's about: This compelling, intricately plotted story begins like many other police procedurals (with a dead body and a couple of cops), but quickly goes off the rails when the victim's brother reveals he had a premonition about the crime.
Is it for you? Though very much a thriller, Pulse does borrow heavily from murder mysteries and has strong supernatural elements.
Author alert: Michael Harvey is best known for his Michael Kelly series of mysteries, though with Pulse and 2016's Brighton, he is starting to veer more towards suspense. |
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| Leave No Trace by Mindy MejiaStarring: speech therapist Maya Stark, who works at an isolated mental health facility near Minnesota's Boundary Waters; and Lucas Blackthorn, who went missing at age 9 and has resurfaced ten years later, refusing to speak to anyone about his past.
What happens: Maya and Lucas form a bond that gets him to finally open up a bit, but soon it becomes clear that Lucas' (presumed dead) father is still out there somewhere and that Lucas will do anything to get back to him.
Read it for: the compassionate handling of mental illness and the author's impressive use of the wilderness setting to create a strong sense of foreboding. |
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The Middleman
by Olen Steinhauer
What happens: A cryptic phone call. Hundreds of overnight disappearances. A series of assassinations on the 4th of July. All of these events are connected, and it's just the beginning of one man's plot to take down American society as we know it.
Featuring: Rachel Proulx, a dedicated FBI agent investigating the protest movement that has turned into a frightening terrorist threat.
Read it for: the intricate plotting and the timely, thought-provoking exploration of many current social and political issues.
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Under My Skin
by Lisa Unger
It's been a year since Poppy's husband, Jack, was brutally murdered during his morning run through Manhattan's Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn't recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack? The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts; there are periods of time she can't remember, and she's unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she's imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband's death.
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The Witch Elm : a novel
by Tana French
"A brilliant new work of suspense from "the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years." (Washington Post) From the writer who "inspires cultic devotion in readers" (The New Yorker) and has been called "incandescent" by Stephen King, "absolutely mesmerizing" by Gillian Flynn, and "unputdownable" (People), comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out. Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life - he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed. A spellbinding standalone from one ofthe best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we're capable of, when we no longer know who we are"
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| The Spite Game by Anna SnoekstraThe premise: Ava was mercilessly bullied in school, and as an adult she has dedicated her life to revenge. Changing her looks, attitude, and social connections, Ava has infiltrated the exclusive circles of her tormentors and begins to ruin each woman's life, one by one.
The problem: Ava has taken down every member of the clique who made her life hell, except for the group's queen bee Mel, who just might escape Ava's particular brand of justice.
For fans of: unreliable narrators, vengeance stories, and mean girls getting their comeuppance. |
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Deep War : The War With China and North Korea - the Nuclear Precipice
by David Poyer
After the United States suffers a devastating nuclear attack, and facing food shortages, power outages, cyber and AI assaults, and a wrecked economy, Admiral Dan Lenson leads an allied force assigned to turn the tide of war in the Pacific, using precisely targeted missiles and high-tech weapons systems. But as the campaign begins, the entire Allied military and defense network is compromised-even controlled-by Jade Emperor, a powerful Chinese artificial intelligence system that seems to anticipate and counter every move. While Dan strives to salvage the battle plan, his wife Blair helps coordinate strategy in Washington, DC, Marine sergeant Hector Ramos fights in an invasion of Taiwan, and Navy SEAL master chief Teddy Oberg begins a desperate journey into central China on a mission that may be the only way to save the United States from destruction and defeat. Thrilling, filled with near-future technology, and deeply grounded in the human cost of war, Deep War is a brilliant novel by an acknowledged master of military fiction.
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| The Fixer by Joseph FinderWhat it is: a fast-paced, intricately plotted financial thriller about how a simple home renovation ends up undermining the foundation of one man's already crumbling life and memories.
Starring: Rick Hoffman, who returns to his childhood home after losing his job as a journalist, the apartment he can no longer afford, and the girlfriend who prized them both more than she did Rick.
What goes wrong: Rick's efforts to spruce up the place lead him to a large stash of money hidden in the walls, and when he decides to move the money, he ends up uncovering a tale of political corruption that many people would rather stayed buried. |
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| Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip MargolinWhat it's about: Matthew Penny is a recently widowed lawyer in 1850s Oregon who has agreed to take the case of Worthy Brown, a freed slave who's suing for the release of his 15 year old daughter Roxanne from bondage.
What goes wrong: Worthy is arrested for a murder, and soon enough both cases intersect with the conflicting interests of the wealthy and powerful of the bustling frontier town of Portland.
Author alert: Phillip Margolin is also known for his contemporary thrillers, such as the Amanda Jaffe novels and the standalone Woman With a Gun. |
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Behind Closed Doors
by B.A. Paris
To outsiders, charismatic Jack -- a lawyer specializing in domestic abuse cases -- and caring Grace seem to have the perfect marriage. But it's on their wedding night that Grace begins to see Jack's true nature, and it's not long before she's kept a virtual prisoner in their posh London home. But it's for her sister, the Down syndrome-afflicted Millie, that Grace is the most scared, as she's soon to move in with them, and is likely to bear the brunt of Jack's terrifying proclivities. Relentless pacing (aided by a narrative that switches between past and present) make for an absorbing if disturbing read.
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The Favorite Sister
by Jessica Knoll
When five hypersuccessful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder. Brett's the fan favorite. Tattooed and only 27, the meteoric success of her spin studio, and her engagement to her girlfriend, has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates. Kelly, Brett's older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now, a role that requires her to protect their shocking secret. Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful best-selling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, nonworking actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends, and resentment soon breeds contempt. Lauren, the start-up world's darling whose drinking has gotten out of control, is Goal Diggers' recovery narrative, everyone loves a comeback story. And Jen, made rich and famous through her cultishly popular vegan food line plays a holistic hippie for the cameras, but is perhaps the most ruthless of them all when the cameras are off.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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