Thrillers & Suspense
June 2026

New & Recently Released
The Girls Trip by Ally Condie
The Girls Trip
by Ally Condie

Hope, Ash, and Caro met at an online book club. Over the past two years, they’ve been there for each other in every way—except in person. When each of their lives reach a crossroads, they decide to meet in real life at the gorgeous Sonnet Resort at Eden National Park.  Hope, an actress, has become entirely too famous and needs to get away from it all. Ash, a successful online entrepreneur, isn’t sure what has happened to her marriage. Caro, a doctor, has lost a patient and doesn’t know if she wants to carry on or start all over. And none of them are telling each other the full story …
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke
Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.  Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.  Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.  A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.
Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden
Want to Know a Secret?
by Freida McFadden
 
Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know.  Like… Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows?  And what's buried in her backyard?  April's secrets are enough to destroy her.  I'll make sure of that.
The Counting Game by Sinéad Nolan
The Counting Game
by Sinéad Nolan

Southwest Ireland, 1995: Two children go into the woods. Only one comes out.  When thirteen-year-old Saoirse Kellough goes missing, panic grips a rural Irish community. Saoirse is not the first girl to disappear in the forest, rumored by locals to be haunted, and the only witness—her troubled younger brother, Jack—refuses to speak. Saoirse went missing when they were playing the Counting Game, a ritual believed to ward off evil, and Jack has sworn to protect the forest’s secrets.  Freya Hemmings, a psychotherapist still healing from a loss of her own, is brought in to help investigators break Jack’s silence. As the race to find Saoirse alive accelerates, the search threatens to unravel a family facing the unthinkable. Everyone is a suspect, and the closer Freya and Jack become, the more danger they find themselves in.  Haunting and emotional, The Counting Game is a suspenseful debut from an unmissable new voice in crime fiction.
Hope Rises by David Baldacci
Hope Rises
by David Baldacci

Walter Nash, working under the alias of Dillon Hope, is on the road to revenge after becoming an informant for the FBI against a global criminal operation headed up by Victoria Steers. Steers has ripped everything Nash held dear away from him. He has nothing left to lose and with long, rigorous training under his belt the gentle and sensitive Nash has transformed into something he never thought he’d be: a physically imposing man with lethal skills. And now he has only goal left in life: taking down Victoria Steers.  In order to succeed, he’s going to need to cross enemy lines and work the job from the inside. But Steers is shrewd and only brings those she trusts completely into her inner circle. Nash must rely on every ounce of his hard-earned skills in order to prove himself an ally to Steers if he’s ever going to get close enough to decimate her criminal empire.  Yet, despite hating the woman for destroying his life, Nash finds himself oddly drawn to Steers in ways that he never could’ve imagined. And what he ultimately discovers will turn all he believed upside down, forcing Nash to do something truly unfathomable.  So, will the truth set Nash free?
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper
A Violent Masterpiece
by Jordan Harper

Los Angeles, right now. America with its back up against the wall. This Frankenstein's monster of crimes and lurid dreams sewn together into something like a city.  A city ready to explode: A Hollywood pedophile is arrested, and is ready to tear down the city to get his freedom. A young woman goes missing—and men in black rubber gloves who look like cops clean out her apartment in the middle of the night. And the serial killer known as the LA Ripper is on the loose, leaving tragic/graphic/brutal crime scenes in his wake. Three people trying to keep their heads above the dirty water will find themselves coming together to unite these strands into one enormous, unspeakable crime ... Jake Deal is a gonzo live-streaming nightcrawler, beaming the city's chaos straight to his audience of blood-hungry subscribers, giving them the view from the top of the mushroom cloud—until a job he can't refuse drags him back into his old life of Hollywood glamour, drugs, sex and sleaze. Armed with cameras and hidden mics, he'll infiltrate private clubs, gather high-class dirt—and stumble onto a conspiracy woven into the center of LA's most powerful men, who call themselves “The Kids in the Candy Store.”  Doug Gibson is a street lawyer, who fights for his clients against the army of cops, prosecutors and judges—he is the knife they bring to the gunfight. But when he's hired by a Hollywood pedophile ready to sell out his friends for a chance for freedom, he'll take on a fight bigger than he could have imagined. And when his client “commits suicide” in prison, Gibson will have to stop being a weapon—and become a warrior.  Kara Delgado works for an underground private concierge company—a make-a-wish foundation for the terminally rich. She scores drugs, makes connections, and plans multi-million dollar sex parties. She has learned the secret truth of this world: there are no rules, only prices. Her best friend Phoebe has gone missing, and Kara's the only person who knows that Phoebe's place was wiped clean of evidence by men in black rubber gloves. But when she begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to Phoebe, and its connection to the killer known as the LA Ripper, it will drag her into the dark heart of the city.  As Jake, Doug and Kara all investigate these crimes, they'll encounter ketamine-addled sitcom stars, bloody riots, homeless gangsters, a killer cop on death row, secret vaults in Beverly Hills, tech-bro orgies, medical cannibals, true crime junkies, private security wet-work teams, reality shows, street takeovers, car chases, coyotes, a sadistic Tarzan, and a three day, fifty million dollar wedding, before everything is revealed and they must each make their choice about how to fight back in this violent world before the bloody, blazing conclusion.
The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews
The Fine Art of Lying
by Alexandra Andrews
 
In the beginning, there was art.  It was Clare Bast’s love of art that saved her from a bleak, predictable life in upstate New York, and drew her to the cultured world of Manhattan’s Upper East Side where she met Jed, her doting, affluent husband.  Despite her best efforts—including a half-finished PhD, abandoned when her daughter Sadie was born—Clare secretly can’t help but feel like an imposter in Jed’s one-percent, Park-Avenue life.  When the well-connected wife of Jed’s new boss introduces her to influential friends—a curator here, a gallerist there, an aficionado abroad—Clare feels an essential part of herself coming alive again. And when she discovers that an important work painted by the subject of her unfinished dissertation is hanging in the brownstone of a seductively attractive dealer, she believes fate is leading her where she belongs . . . until she finds herself at the scene of a gruesome murder and a stolen masterpiece. Caught in the perfectly wrong place at the perfectly wrong time, every clue the investigation uncovers points back to her.  Suddenly, Clare is trapped inside a dark and treacherous art world filled with unscrupulous dealers and international criminals. What, exactly, has she gotten herself into . . . and how is she going to get herself, and her family, out?
I, Spy by L. M. Kemp
I, Spy
by L. M. Kemp

Kendal Carter is out in the cold and she wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s been four years since her daughter Rosie was born and Kendal has kept her miles away from the danger of her former life as a spy. But when their hiding place is discovered, Kendal is forced to turn to old contacts for help. Her longtime friend and ex-handler Rico doesn’t miss his chance to pull his best spy back in. Whisking them to London, Rico offers them a luxury safe house in an area with good schools. How can Kendal resist?  But there’s a catch, of course. Rico wants Kendal to come back to work for his espionage agency Bon Temps. He’s offering an assignment with no apparent downside, investigating one of the dads at Rosie’s new school who works at one of London’s biggest, murkiest tech firms and suspected of being up to no good. It should be easy enough for someone with her experience, and luckily, mother is the perfect cover.  However, it doesn’t take long for Kendal to realize that Rico’s got an agenda of his own. The tech firm may be dealing in darker and more deadly secrets than they all realize, plus the world of coffee mornings and playdates comes with its own web of allegiances and betrayals. Kendal soon finds herself in way too deep . . .  A gripping blend of suspenseful spy thriller with heartfelt women’s fiction, I, Spy is the first in a propulsive debut series about the masks we all wear, whether as a spy or as a parent.
Five by Ilona Bannister
Five
by Ilona Bannister

Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.  None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.  These are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune. But they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.  An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannister’s skillful hands, five people’s stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
Make Me Better
by Sarah Gailey

Celia is so tired of being alone. All she wants is to have a family―to belong to someone. That's why she's going to Kindred Cove for the annual Salt Festival held by the secluded community that lives there. They promise that healing is possible. They promise that transformation is inevitable. There is no grief at Kindred Cove, because there is no suffering. Nothing is ever lost.  Celia knows that, at that mysterious island surrounded by that impossible, ever-growing reef -- she will find herself.  She’s ready to be healed. She’s ready to be transformed.  She's ready to believe.
The Fourth Option by Jack Carr
The Fourth Option
by Jack Carr

Disillusioned by the government and institutions he dedicated his life to serving, former Navy SEAL and CIA ground branch operative Chris Walker is about to end his life when he receives a call that saves it. The wife of a teammate he lost in Afghanistan has now lost her son to the opioid crisis and needs Walker’s help. Thrust into a conspiracy that goes deeper than he ever imagined, Walker must go up against the system and the very Constitution he once swore an oath to support and defend in order to find justice for his friend’s widow.  With ambitious FBI agent Jarrett Stanton on his tail, Walker—accompanied by his loyal Belgian Malinois and using his off-the-grid VW pop-up camper filled with a hidden cache of weapons—takes the law into his own hands, exposing corruption and issuing a long-forgotten brand of lethal outlaw justice.  In the tradition of the great “stranger comes to town” Westerns of the past comes a modern interpretation of the mysterious vigilante gunslinger legend from “the hottest author on the thriller scene today” (The Real Book Spy). Get ready for a new kind of hero. Justice is coming.
Ironwood: A Catalina Novel by Michael Connelly
Ironwood: A Catalina Novel
by Michael Connelly

Detective Sergeant Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated—by twenty-two miles of ocean—from the troubles of Los Angeles County. But now a threat is coming to his safe haven.  Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell and his deputies watch a plane land in the middle of the night at the Airport in the Sky, a remote airstrip in the mountains. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and the deputies move in, but things quickly go sideways. While Stilwell chases the fleeing pickup man into the mountainside brush, shots are fired on the runway and the plane flies off.  An internal inquiry follows, putting Stilwell on the bench until he is cleared of responsibility for the disastrous operation. But he is determined to find out who brought deadly violence to his island, and begins his own secret investigation into the drug deal gone wrong.  While under orders to remain in the sheriff’s substation, he finds in the lost and found a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces it to a woman who disappeared while hiking on the island four years ago. But then why was the pack only turned in two months back? Now thoroughly intrigued, he follows the mystery all the way to the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.  Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, and soon realize they are on the trail of a criminal who revels in taunting the authorities. Meanwhile, frustrated at being shut out of an investigation on his own island, Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the department to pursue a case whose reach is wider than he ever imagined.  Page-turning, packed with intrigue, and bringing together an unstoppable investigative team, Ironwood continues the Catalina series with all of Michael Connelly’s signature “relentless narrative drive…evocative atmosphere, realistic dialogue, and well-developed characters” (Washington Review of Books).
Upcoming @ Your Library
For Youth
 
Family Storytime 
Every Wednesday at 11:00 AM
Join Ms. Laura for stories, songs, and fun for everyone in the Children's room!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Summer Enrichment 2026 Kickoff Event!
Tuesday, June 23rd 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Come join us for an action-packed celebration to kick off CPL's Summer Enrichment 2025 and sign up for what's sure to be another colossal summer of fun!
 
Register Here
 
 
Summer Enrichment Thursday CRAFTernoon: Pasta Paleontology! 
Thursday, June 25th  3:30 - 4:30 PM
Come by the Maker Space every Thursday at 3:30pm to create your own unique craft! This week: Let's make dinosaur fossils out of pasta shapes and air-dry clay! Registration is *required* to participate. Recommended for ages 8-13.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
Summer Enrichment Movie Series
Friday, June 26th 3:15 PM
 
Register Here
 
 
Summer Enrichment 2026: Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug with Stage a Story! 
Tuesday, June 30th 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Poor Tiny. He wants to give his friend a hug but his arms are too short. In this workshop we will shrink our arms and brainstorm different ways to show we care. Recommended for ages 3-7. Registration is required, as space is limited. Meeting rooms 1 + 2.  This program is sponsored by the Cranbury Public Library Foundation.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
 
Summer Enrichment 2026: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs with Stage a Story!
Tuesday, June 30th 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
The dinosaur family is out..."somewhere", which makes their house the perfect target for Goldilocks! We will have fun acting out this hilarious take on a classic tale. Recommended for ages 4-9. Registration is required, as space is limited. Meeting rooms 1 + 2.  This program is sponsored by the Cranbury Public Library Foundation.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
 
For Teens
 
Teen Mashup Hour (or Whatever)  
Thursday, June 11th 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
 
On the second and fourth Thursday each month, tweens & teens can drop by the Teen Room at 4:00pm for the Teen Mashup Hour (or Whatever). Each month there will be a guided craft to work on - but attendees are welcome to discuss whatever and work on whatever they'd like. Attendees will also learn of volunteer opportunities available at the Library. Light snacks will be offered. The teen room computers are only to be used for programming materials during this hour.

This program is intended for ages 11-17.

The Teen Mashup Hour will meet on the second and fourth Thursday each month at 4:00pm in the Teen Room (unless otherwise stated).
 
Register Here
 
 
Teen Junk Journaling Club 
Mondays, June 15th, 22nd and 29th
Tweens & teens ages 11-17 are invited to join the new monthly Junk Journaling Club. Members will learn all about the sustainable practice of junk journaling and how we can repurpose materials that would otherwise be scrap into a creative outlet. Journaling is a great practice to help us slow down, unplug from our screens, and reflect on what's important to us in the moment.  All materials, including a journal, will be provided, but members are also welcome to bring their own photos, stickers, scraps, junk, and other assorted materials to place in their journal each month. Members are not required to attend every session and are encouraged to work on their journals in their spare time.  Registration is *required* to ensure enough materials are supplied. This program will take place in the Teen Room.
 
 
 
Tween and Teen Flower Crowns 
Thursday, June 25th 1:00 PM
Celebrate Midsummer & Pride Month by crafting flower crowns! Participants will be provided with all of the materials and instructions to create their own crowns, as well as information about the history of flower crowns and examples worn by icons like Marsha P. Johnson and Frida Kahlo. The best part - the flowers are faux, so you'll be able to enjoy your crown for years to come!

To ensure safety, this program is limited to those ages 11 and up. Registration is required as materials are limited. 
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
For Adults
 
Gentle Yoga 
Wednesdays, June 10th, 17th and 24th 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Join us for an hour of gentle stretching, breath work, and meditation. This class is perfect for beginners or experienced practitioners.  Please bring your own mat.  Walk-ins welcome.
No registration required.  Beth Glasberg  has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. After studying the mind-body connection as part of her work as a behavior analyst, she decided she needed a deeper education in yoga. The more she learned, the more she fell in love. She became certified as a yoga instructor through the Yoga Renew program and joined the Yoga Alliance. Since then, Beth has been teaching both foundational and vinyasa flow classes regularly. She is also in the process of becoming certified to work with individuals who have suffered a trauma. She is passionate about using movement and breath to build strength, flexibility, balance, and peace, and committed to making the practice available to individuals of all fitness levels and backgrounds. When not on the mat, you can find Beth enjoying time with her family, visiting new places, or relaxing at the beach. in Motion Fitness is a boutique fitness studio located in Princeton, NJ.  Register for additional dates on our website.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
Nutritious Feast 
Friday, June 12th 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM 
Join instructor Shipra Mitra for a hands-on workshop featuring helpful, budget-friendly, and health-focused recipes that you can watch, learn, and taste!  Beyond her professional and philanthropic pursuits, Shipra embodies the essence of holistic well-being nurturing both mental and physical health through art, travel, and an active lifestyle. She believes that true wealth lies not in material gains but in living each day with purpose, balance, and fulfillment.  Space is limited. Please register to secure your spot.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
Pilates for Wellness 
Mondays, June 15th, 22nd and 29th  
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Candice Wisaksono is a certified Pilates instructor dedicated to guiding others toward deep relaxation, healing, and inner balance. With a passion for holistic wellness, she combines the restorative power of Pilates to help her students find peace, clarity, and renewal. Her classes offer a nurturing space to release stress, reconnect within, and restore harmony to the body, mind, and spirit. Please bring your own mat.  Register for additional dates on our website.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
CPL Cinemates Film Club 
Monday, June 15th 6:00 PM
Movie-lovers of all kinds are welcome! Whether you're a casual viewer or well-versed in auteur theory and the works of André Bazin, we invite all who wish to share in the cinematic experience and spirited (but civil) discussions. Screenings will vary in rating, so we advise using discretion on deciding whether to attend a screening.
 
This program is suggested for teens and older.
Refreshments will be provided, but you may also bring your own snacks and nonalcoholic drinks. Most importantly: bring your love for movies!  This program will meet in Meeting Rooms 1 + 2 on the third Monday of every month.  
 
Each month's selection is inspired by a specific theme and is voted on by club members. Be sure to submit your email address on the questionnaire below to be included in the voting for each month's film!

Below is a short questionnaire to assess what types of films participants would like to screen. Please feel free to share your thoughts by submitting a form and be sure to leave your email to stay up to date with Cinemates happenings!

Cinemates Film Club Questionnaire
 
Monthly Themes:
June - Pride
 
 
Chair Yoga Dance 
Tuesday, June 16th 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Stephanie Cuddahy is a certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer who has taught classes is several local gyms, including most recently RWJ Fitness and Wellness Hamilton and the Hamilton Area YMCA.  Her cardio chair dance class came from her love of low impact aerobic exercise and the need to make the class appropriate for all bodies and fitness levels. AND it needs to be fun!
 
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
 
Spinning Yarns
Tuesdays, June 16th 6:30 PM
Register for additional dates on our website.
 
Register Here
 
 
                                                     
 
 
Afternoon Book Discussion
Wednesday, June 17th 1:30 PM
Meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month in Meeting Room 3.

Register Here
 
 
 
Monthly Puzzle Night! 
Wednesday, June 17th 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Join us for our monthly puzzle night on the third Wednesday of each month! Come work on a new puzzle each month, and meet fellow puzzle enthusiasts!

Drop in from 6-8pm when we'll be working on puzzles in the adult circulation room.
 
Register Here
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
iPhone 101
Monday, June 22nd 12:30 PM
Learn all about how to use your iPhone or iPad!  In this workshop, we will have an open forum for any troubles you might encounter with the iPhone or other Apple devices. In previous sessions, we discussed the camera, security measures, and data storage. Beginner to intermediate experience with an iPhone or Apple device is suggested. Meeting Room 1.
 Register Here
 
 
Literary Cafe
Monday, June 22nd 6:30 PM
Discuss your recent reads with fellow bibliophiles. This discussion group promises thought-provoking and engaging discourse. Meets the 4th Monday of the month in Meeting Room 3.
 
 
Draw and Discover: Charcoal for Non-Artists 
Thursday, June 25th 11:00 AM
Inspired by the American landscape in all its forms — from coastlines to deserts, mountains to fields, this expressive drawing workshop is designed especially for those with no artistic experience. Using charcoal, kneaded erasers, and touch, participants will discover how to draw by revealing rather than outlining. As textures shift and forms appear, each person will see a landscape, real or imagined, begin to emerge from the page, uncovering a story waiting to be seen. Expect to get your hands a little messy as we explore creative charcoal techniques. Wear an old shirt and join us for an unforgettable, hands-on art experience.  Taught by Jenny Santa Maria.  Registration Required. 
 
Register Here
 
 
                                                                          Martha and George Washington: A Love Story 
Tuesday, June 30th 7:00 PM
In 2026, America is celebrating her semi quincentennial- 250 years! In this event, historical reenactors from The Ladies of History will show us a different side of our most famous Founding Father. Today, we often see America’s first “First Couple” as older people in stodgy portraits.  However, at the start of the American Revolution, they were in their 40s, a vibrant couple in middle age.  They lived and loved and had their joys as well as their trials.   George and Martha had a strong and loving relationship; their marriage lasted over 40 years.  During the war, Martha joined him every winter in camp so that they could be together, and so that she could provide the support and warmth he needed to maintain his morale.  Observers of the couple noted that she “was mad about him”, they were “excessively fond of one another” and that their relationship was “one of tenderness and respect”.   This presentation seeks to educate people about this important couple as well as the people who surrounded them and helped them achieve all that they did.  Hear from them about how they met, about their marriage, their families, their responsibilities and, of course, about their love.  It is educational, emotional and romantic.  Join us as we celebrate America 250!
 
Register Here
                                                            
Library Hours & Closings
LIBRARY CLOSED
FRIDAY, JUNE 19th
 
Monday thru Thursday - 10 AM to 8 PM
Friday - 10 AM to 5 PM
Saturday - 10 AM to 4 PM
Sunday - 12 PM to 4 PM
Cranbury Public Library
30 Park Place West
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
609-722-6992

www.cranburypubliclibrary.org/