Tag:

Thrillers

Review

Mr. and Mrs. Dixon Hide a Body

by Brian Kenney

Book of the Week January 15, 2026

Dreadful yet droll, disturbing but also delightful, this is the tale of one couple so eager to escape from their hopeless marriage that each is secretly planning to “off” the other in the next few days. Daisy is a seamstress and designer who creates her own bizarre clothes using used frocks, castoffs from other residents, while abusive husband James convinces townies to invest in his sleazy cryptocurrency business.  Living in a deteriorating mansion that is as rundown as their relationship, each has a plan to get rid of. Just when they’re  driving home from a party, with ideas for how to murder each other dancing in their heads, Daisy hits a man. She had wanted James to drive as she felt too tipsy. While most people might call the cops, Daisy and James take an alternate route and drag the dying man home so as not to attract attention. His demise comes rapidly, leaving the couple stuck with the age-old dilemma: what to do with a corpse in your house. Then it occurs to Daisy to haul the corpse off to the family mausoleum, as one does, located in the nether reaches of their estate. All goes well until weeks later a huge storm initiates a flood that washes out the village, exposing decades of James’ family members. Gruesome, yes. But don’t you want to know who got to prison first?—Brian Kenney-

Add Pub Date to my Calendar

          

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Model Patient

by Dodie Ownes

In her late twenties, Evelyn left the glamorous world of modeling to marry charming and wealthy Henry, who encouraged her to settle into the good life, Sunday dinners with his family, holidays with the whole Westbrook clan. But now it’s the mid-sixties, London is swinging, and the set-up isn’t working for her—the pressure to get pregnant, Henry’s parents’ constant interference, and the isolation—and horrible dreams begin to plague Evelyn. At the suggestion of a former colleague, she secretly begins psychoanalysis with Dr. Patrick Daley. As the abuse that she suffered at the hands of a family friend while a teen is revealed, sessions with Dr. Daley become increasingly confusing—he seems to be encouraging her to love him, but gives nothing in return. Her best friend, Diana, tries to stabilize and support Evie, but gets pulled into a swirl of allegations that she is not sure she can trust. And someone is trying to make Evie believe that she is a bad, bad person. Ashe’s tight, smart thriller touches on women’s right to birth control, societal pressures to conform, and the changing mores of the modern world against the backdrop of The Beatles and Carnaby Street.—Dodie Ownes

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Imposter

by Henrietta Thornton

When a young mother is found murdered in her Mayo, Ireland home, psychologist and criminal profiler Alex Gregory is asked to consult. Traveling from the English prison hospital where he struggles in vain to help another mother, an abuser who won’t face her past, he worries that the Irish police and other locals will see him as a big shot coming to belittle them. He’s right to be worried, but more problematic than his background is that the locals are wary of profiling and of Alex’s questioning of them. This is where the protagonist’s history treating manipulative patients comes wonderfully to the fore; he’s both kind to those he meets and able to see right through their ways and fears, abilities that will endear him to readers. The small town comes to life through the psychologist’s astute observations of its inhabitants, with past relationships and scandals enriching the whodunit puzzle, which is topped off with a satisfying twist. Ross’s several series have just become available in the United States, so, happily, there’s much more where this came from.—Henrietta Thornton

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Finder’s Keepers

by Dodie Ownes

Everyone is reading the bestselling novel Diary of an Octopus by Emily Harper, but Rose knows that the novel is her real story, from her diary—and if anyone puts two and two together, she is going to jail for murder. In 8th grade, Rose crushed on her teacher Mr. Bellamy, and when Mrs. Bellamy was found murdered, Rose came under suspicion but was never charged. In order to destroy the evidence, she has to find her stolen laptop, which she is sure Emily has. To get close to Emily, Rose becomes her number one fan, presenting herself as Iris at multiple book signings and even accepting an offer to stay with her target for a few days. What could be better? This psychological thriller, with a murder mystery at its heart, grows increasingly twisty as readers learn about Rose’s tween years and the manipulation she suffered at the hands of Mr. Bellamy, which left her damaged and doubting her own self-worth and reality. The high-stakes cat-and-mouse story finds Rose pulled into a past she thought she had escaped. Fans of Stephen King’s Misery and Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot will find much to enjoy here.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Icefall: The Rise of the Nine

by Jeff Ayers

The Nine, beings designated to protect Earth from potential destruction, have been asleep for centuries, but now the alarm has been activated. An alien ship crashed into Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier more than 150,000 years ago, and with global warming melting the ice, the vessel has become visible. Scientists investigating the alien craft awaken lifeforms that have been dormant all this time; they are not friendly and are now loose. Driving into a small town outside Juneau, a couple of state troopers discover that everyone except a baby has been brutally killed by what appears to be a new kind of weapon. There’s a reason for the alert to this possible threat to Earth, and the Nine will quickly discover that the aliens that have escaped from the ship are relentless, brutal, and unstoppable. Humanity doesn’t stand a chance. Newman and Land tell an intense story that demands to be read in one sitting. With great characters and a fun take on an alien invasion theme, this is John Carpenter’s The Thing meets The Terminator, with a dash of Michael Crichton if he didn’t care about body count.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Two Perfect Lies

by Dodie Ownes

In Two Perfect Lies, Richards crafts a “Freida McFadden for YA” thriller that explores the dark side of loyalty. Clara Cutler is a social outcast with a criminal record until Lily Dalton, the school’s It girl, takes her under her wing. For two years, their friendship is Clara’s lifeline until mysteriously a folder is found in her backpack containing a deadly hit list and recipes for explosives. Though Clara knows it belongs to Lily, Lily denies it, and even suggests that Clara’s knowledge of chemistry proves that the folder is hers. As the targets on the list begin to meet “accidents,” Clara is forced into a desperate race to clear her name while everyone—including the authorities— already views her as the primary suspect. One by one, former friends of Lily concede that they too were framed, and it becomes clear that Clara’s savior is a predator. This breakneck, atmospheric read cements Richards’s status as a master of the YA mystery genre. Readers who love stories about toxic friendships and “perfect” girls with murderous intentions will eat this up.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Most Likely to Murder

by Dodie Ownes

This engaging young-adult mystery follows best friends Rick and Martina, social outcasts at Meadowvale High who are known for staging elaborate pranks. Their lives take a deadly turn when the school yearbook is hacked, replacing traditional superlatives like “Most Likely to Succeed” with terrifying death predictions, such as “Homecoming’s Cutest Corpses.” This perceived cruel joke quickly becomes a nightmare when students and staff start dying in the exact ways described. As the primary suspects due to their history of practical jokes, Rick and Martina must find the real killer before they become the next victims on the list. McBride’s snarky dialogue rings true to teen talk, and emerging romances add a little spark and normality to the out-of-control happenings at school. A group chat shared by the high-school seniors who fear they are targeted adds a chorus effect, and grown-ups prove completely useless when it comes to finding the murderer—and oh, what a reveal that is. Don’t miss the acknowledgement, in which McBride reveals where she got the story idea!

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Darkrooms

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week 12.15.25
The disappearance of nine-year-old Roisin O’Halloran on the night of the summer solstice in 1999 has haunted two emotionally damaged women for 20 years. Deedee, Roisin’s grieving older sister, has joined the Gardai in her small Irish town of Bannakilduff so she can more easily investigate what happened after Roisin vanished into the mysterious Hanging Woods. Although she’s engaged to Sean, scion of the prominent Branagh family, DeeDee is barely holding it together, drinking too much and having a casual fling with a fellow officer. Caitlin Doherty, Roisin’s childhood friend and the last person to see her alive, is also living a chaotic life, surviving as a petty thief in London and trying to escape painful memories. But the death of her estranged mother forces her to return to her hometown and her dark past. As Caitlin and DeeDee warily circle each other, they gradually uncover secrets that expose long-buried shocking crimes. Winner of the UEA/Little Brown Crime Prize, Hannigan has written a twisty, atmospheric debut that captures the claustrophobic small-mindedness of a community willing to close ranks against the innocent to protect the guilty.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Library After Dark

by Brian Kenney

Daedalus is, of course, the famous Athenian inventor, sculpture, and craftsman, as well as the father of Icarus. So it’s quite appropriate to name a grand research library after him. The library depicted here is a bit of mash up, with references to many literary genres and many libraries, including New York Public’s vast research library at 42 second street and the infamously creepy Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library in Philadelphia. Enter Aria, who rather relishes creepiness, and whose life is looking up these days. She’s moved to New York, has been hired to work as a bookseller, and even found her own micro-apartment. And then Aria’s boyfriend invites her to join him on Valentine’s Day for an after-hours tour of the Daedalus. What fun! Until the Library’s automatic door-entry closes shut, sealing their little tour group down in the lower decks. With time to reminisce until being saved, all the terrifying stories about the Daedalus start to tumble out. And then the inevitable happens: there’s a murder in their little group. And suddenly it would seem that no one is getting out alive. Campy, gothic-y, and a tad humorous, The Library After Dark takes the traditional closed-room novel, twists it inside out, then offers readers something quite different to enjoy

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Whisper Creek

by Jeff Ayers

A family struggling to keep its farm afloat, while dealing with a greedy corporation that will do anything to evict them from the land, is only the tip of the iceberg in Brennan’s thriller. Ellen McKenna tries to keep everything going after the death of her husband, but it’s tough. Her children help, but they have their own struggles. The neighbors have all sold their properties or sections of them, but Ellen still refuses to sell. With a storm on the way that could cause catastrophic flooding, one of her kids walks into a situation with a neighbor that escalates into a threat more dangerous than the forecasted weather. As the storm hits and the roads close, any hope of rescue is out; Ellen and her family must find a way to survive the possible loss of the farm, if they are not killed first. Brennan has crafted a terrific thriller that escalates the tension as the various elements collide. Whisper Creek is a place every suspense fan should visit, just make sure to check the weather forecast first.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail