"When I found my husband at the bottom of the stairs, I tried to resuscitate him before I ever considered disposing of the body." ~ from Lisa Lutz's The Passenger |
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| All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth BrundagePsychological Suspense. Did art history professor George Clare brutally murder his wife in their eerie farmhouse, then leave their toddler alone for hours while he returned to work? It seems likely, especially as the story of their more-than-shaky union unspools. But though both husband and wife carried secrets, so too did the unwelcoming town they'd recently moved to. Part mystery, part horror, and wholly unnerving, this riveting novel has been compared to Gillian Flynn's runaway bestseller Gone Girl, and may also appeal to fans of Jennifer McMahon's The Winter People. |
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| Hidden Bodies by Caroline KepnesPsychological Suspense. In this follow up to You, bookstore manager/serial killer Joe Goldberg is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend Beck, and is devastated when his new love takes off for L.A. without him. Determined to find (and punish) her, Joe heads west...where, despite his disdain for Hollywood mores, he fits right in. And then he meets, and falls in love with, a beautiful heiress named Love. Will this relationship flourish? Or will Joe's past catch up with him? With a charming (if murderous) protagonist, both You and Hidden Bodies will have you in the distinctly odd position of empathizing with a serial killer. |
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| The Passenger by Lisa LutzPsychological Suspense. Readers expecting the quirky charm of author Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files should prepare for something completely different: this dark novel starts with a fatal fall for the unfortunate Frank Dubois, which prompts his wife Tanya to flee, changing her name and appearance -- apparently not for the first time. A tenuous friendship with a mysterious bartender named Blue eases her loneliness, but may cause new problems as Tanya (now Amelia) tries to settle into yet another new life, under yet another new name. "Binge-worthy fare," says Booklist. |
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| The Travelers by Chris PavoneSpy Fiction. In this complex, intelligent novel, travel writer Will Rhodes is completely unaware that his boss is running a spy agency alongside his travel magazine. In fact, he only learns about it when a woman shows up at his door with a gun and firm orders to recruit him, willingly or not, to the CIA. From there, an international chase ensues, while Will's marriage gets increasingly tense as he spins more and more lies. If John Le Carré doesn't pack enough punch, and Robert Ludlum isn't cerebral enough, The Travelers might be right up your alley. |
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| Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage by David IgnatiusThriller. There's a new, off-the-books unit of the CIA working in Pakistan, and despite the secrecy that cloaks it, the unit's operatives are being killed off, one by one. Newly minted head of counterintelligence Sophie Marx is tasked with finding the killer (or killers) and with figuring out how the officers' identities were leaked. What she uncovers -- U.S. bribery in Pakistan, highly illegal financial activities -- is terrifying, and will leave you wondering how much author David Ignatius' day job as a Washington Post columnist (specializing in the Middle East and the CIA) influences his fiction. |
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| Bagmen: A Victor Carl Novel by William LashnerCrime Fiction. In this 8th and most recent book in the series starring Victor Carl, the down-on-his-luck lawyer has taken on a job as a bagman carrying payoffs to those who grant favors. Unfortunately, one such job results in his being set up as the fall guy in a brutal murder, his name plastered across newspaper headlines. Curiously, this has the unintended effect of making his services as a bagman ever more desirable than his skills as a lawyer ever had been. And that's when the fun begins. Often funny, this fast-paced crime novel is an "entertaining, thoughtful read" (Booklist).
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| Our Kind of Traitor by John Le CarréSpy Fiction. In Antigua for a vacation, former Oxford don Perry Makepiece and his girlfriend Gail are befriended by a Russian gangster named Dima, who wants them to help him escape an increasingly dangerous criminal underworld. But Dima, a big-time money launderer, knows a lot about which international financiers are above board -- and which are not -- and MI5 is mighty interested in him. Advised by operatives, Perry begins liaising with Dima, but it seems as if everyone has a slightly different agenda. This tale of treachery, infighting, and the trail of money is a "chamber symphony of exquisite delicacy" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Portobello: A Novel by Ruth RendellPsychological Suspense. The catalyst for this leisurely paced but tense suspense novel is an envelope full of cash, which gallery owner Eugene Wren finds on Portobello Road after its owner is felled by a heart attack and carted off to the hospital. Eugene doesn't need the money himself, so he posts notices about the find and is soon contacted by other Londoners, all with their own obsessions and despairs. His good act leads, ultimately, to terrible consequences. With a strong sense of place and well-rounded characters from all social strata, Portobello Road is "superlative" (Publishers Weekly). |
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