Tag:

Thrillers

Review

All This Could Be Yours

by Brian Kenney

A pitch-perfect novel of suspense from Ryan that will force readers into racing to the book’s dramatic, and unsettling, conclusion. Tessa Calloway is a new but hugely successful novelist, and to capitalize on her popularity, her publisher has sent her on a multi-city, multi-week book tour that leaves Tessa exhausted, missing her young children and husband, while appreciating the hundreds of fans who come out to greet her. Until Tessa realizes that among her fans is a stalker. A stalker who knows her past inside and out, and has the power to sabotage her career while also destroying her family. Will Tessa capitulate and give her what she demands, if it means her darkest secrets will remain hidden? It’s a delight to have experienced, industry-insider Ryan provide this nail-biter with a good jolt of reality. And thanks to her for recognizing the roles that both booksellers and librarians play in fostering readers.

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Review

Kiss Her Goodbye

by Jeff Ayers

Frankie Elkin, finder of missing people, goes to Tucson, Arizona, to search for a missing Afghan refugee in Gardner’s (Still See You Everywhere), latest thriller. Sabera’s a young mom who vanishes, leaving behind a frightened little girl and a husband who doesn’t seem all that concerned his wife is missing. The police don’t even bother opening a case into the matter. Sabera’s friend, Aliah, knows something has happened and hopes Frankie can uncover the truth, even if the answer is painful. Establishing a home base of operations, Frankie finds a place to live temporarily: housesitting for a rich gamer with exotic pets and a quirky staff, who quickly become her allies. The more Frankie digs, the more everyone seems to be hiding something, and when a breaking news segment on local television shows what appears to be Sabera in the background of a murder scene, Frankie starts to question if anyone is trustworthy. The past collides with the present, and Frankie will face the unfortunate reality that finding answers might not necessarily mean winning or justice. Gardner knows how to do a psychological deep dive into her characters, making readers feel that these people with traumatic pasts and secrets could easily be our next-door neighbors. She also provides insight into the plight of refugees while amping up the tension and twists. Another great entry from the always reliable Gardner.

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Review

The House on Buzzards Bay

by Henrietta Thornton

Murphy likes to take lawyer characters out of their geographic and emotional comfort zones, and in this, perhaps his best book yet, he makes the discomfort both sharper and more nebulous than we’re used to. The author’s (An Honest Living) main character is Jim, who’s married to Valentina; they spend the summer in a house he inherited in Buzzards Bay, on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts. Before he met Valentina, he gave his tight pack of college friends shares in the home; over the years, they’ve summered there, some regularly, others rarely seen. This summer sees the return of several regulars and of Bruce, who hasn’t shown up in years. He brings with him a darkness that creeps over the old friends and becomes especially pronounced when the residents, in a nod to the house’s origins as a home for an occult group, holds a séance. A French woman who’s an ex of one of the gang, with her languid but also guarded ways, will be memorable for her strange manner. But all the characters and even the house will stay with readers, especially those who enjoy introspective language (“there was something petty, almost squalid, in not appreciating a friend’s beauty until she was holding it there before you”) and a slight tinge of the supernatural.

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Review

Exiles

by Jeff Ayers

Coile, who also writes as Andrew Pyper, passed away in early January, and this tense and terrific novel is sadly his last. A crew of three—two men and one woman—is sent to Mars to coordinate the eventual habitation of the red planet. Machines were sent earlier to create the base where they will live out the remainder of their lives, but the crew arrives at Mars to find no response to their signal. A bumpy ride to the surface and changed lock codes reveal a strange scenario. The robots built the habitat but were attacked by a being with stealth abilities and super strength, and the description sounds like an insect if it had one giant claw and could walk on two legs. As the crew listens to the machines tell their story, it appears that not all is as it seems, and the robots might be homesick for Earth, which would be entirely against their programming. This mix of horror, isolation, and psychological suspense demands to be read in one sitting and forces the reader to ask provocative questions with answers that have profound implications, such as, “What constitutes sentience?” and “What is the price humanity is willing to pay to reach the stars?” Exiles would make a fantastic movie, and fans of Alien or Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow should consider going on this journey.

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Review

Writers and Liars

by Brian Kenney

Fifteen years ago, a small group of young writers were invited to a retreat on the Greek isle of Eris. (Eris, by the way, is the goddess of discord and strife, a real trouble-maker if there ever was one.) Back then, the goddess managed to sow all manner of discontent, successfully breaking up at least one young couple. Who knows what she has in store for this retreat? Nevertheless, everyone from 15 years ago has been invited back by the mysterious billionaire and publisher Argos Alexander for another retreat, and nearly everyone is game to attend, bitter or not. Several of the participants are still writing, mostly crime fiction, and what writer could ignore powerful Argos? Even our narrator, Maia, who wrote one successful debut years ago, is hoping to make a fresh start. But Argos is absent for dinner the first night, leaving behind directions that whoever can write the best mystery while they are on the island will receive money and fame. Except he’s absent again for breakfast, and when a group goes for a hike, there is Argos, a crumpled corpse at the bottom of a cliff. This gives our writers plenty to worry about, from the expected (who killed Argos, and who will be murdered next) to the use of nature as a weapon. Rich in Greek mythology, this book will fascinate many readers

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Review

Blood and Treasure

by Jeff Ayers

Pote’s debut thriller mixes the best of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and Dan Brown to weave an unputdownable tale. An incident on the International Space Station leads to more questions than answers and appears to be a prelude to gaining access to a satellite and its tech. Ethan Cain and his team take on big-pocket clients to find hidden treasures and artifacts. Their current client initially had them track down a scroll, and the information revealed on it leads to the location of an ancient weapon hidden for centuries. Evil people and entire governments want to utilize its capabilities, and whoever has this weapon could change the world. Cain learns the coordinates for this device’s underwater hidden location, but when trying to recover it, he watches as a space capsule slams into the water close to them. Inside is an unconscious woman, ejected from the event that occurred onboard the International Space Station. How did she survive, and does she also have an ulterior motive? Pote’s writing captures what makes fans of action-adventure and historical conspiracy thriller writers like Brad Thor and Steve Berry deliver every book. Make this a mandatory addition to your reading pile; you will treasure it forever.

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Review

Fog and Fury

by Brian Kenney

Lucky us suspense readers. If you don’t know Rachel Howzell Hall’s books, then this novel is one fantastic introduction. If you do know Hall, then you will be thrilled to learn that this is the first in a series, the Haven Thrillers series featuring Sonny, a former LAPD cop who has just moved to the idyllic community of Haven (along with her mother, who, with memory issues, is quite a handful). It was high time that Sonny got out of Los Angeles, and joining her godfather’s PI business in Haven—one vowel short of heaven—on the bucolic Northern California coast seems the perfect option. First job? Locating Figgy, a missing goldendoodle. In seeking out Figgy, Sonny comes across her ex-boyfriend, the super-rich Cooper Sutton, a powerful force in Haven. But it’s the discovery of 17-year-old Xander Monroe, one of only four African Americans in Haven, dead on a hiking trail, that really wakes up Sonny. Xander was a super-smart 17-year-old physics student and a star football player with a career at UCLA ahead of him. So why is no one paying attention to his murder? Sonny is one smart, tenacious, Black, woman with her own personal issues to fight against. Powerful social commentary and strong suspense make for one excellent novel.

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Review

The Lake Escape

by Jeff Ayers

An annual tradition goes horribly wrong at a lake retreat in Vermont in Day’s latest thriller. Three families have grown up, and lifelong friendships have developed from Julia’s, David’s, and Erika’s families spending time every summer together. So much so that when their children become adults, they continue meeting every year and bring their kids. The area gives off a Jason/Friday the 13th vibe, since a local legend has a young woman disappear every 30 years, and this reunion marks the 30th anniversary of the last disappearance. Tensions explode from the moment they arrive, and everyone appears to have secrets and hidden motives. Day takes characters who initially seem to dislike one another and slowly reveals the bonds and reasons for them to stay as close as siblings forever. When David’s new girlfriend disappears, and his new nanny seems to have ulterior motives for taking the job, the group’s bonds begin to fray. The revelations pile up, and by the end, the reader will be surprised and a bit overwhelmed, which is a good thing. Day perfectly delivers the awkwardness and obligation of family reunions while spotlighting the comfortability and love that makes it all worthwhile.

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Review

King of Ashes

by Henrietta Thornton

A gripping family story packed with tension, violence, and secrets that’s sure to enthrall Cosby’s legions of fans. It introduces the Carruthers clan of Jefferson Run, GA. The town, known to local kids and jaded adults as Jefferson Got the Runs, used to be prosperous, but “now all we make are orphans and widows.” In a gray area in that regard is Keith Carruthers, who might or might not be widowed. His wife hasn’t been seen for years; he’s the owner of a crematory; and locals think he killed and disposed of her himself. Now that he’s been the victim of a hit-and-run and is comatose, his grown children, Roman, Dante, and Neveah, may never know what happened to their mother. But that’s the least of their worries after rich, successful Roman returns from Atlanta to see his father and tries to help Dante, who’s in trouble with ruthless local gangsters. Roman is used to more than a little white-collar sleight of hand in his financial advising business, but is quickly far out of his depth in the evil underbelly of his hometown. “We all fall short of grace, but the beauty lives in the attempt,” says Cosby (All the Sinners Bleed, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024), neatly summing up Dante’s increasingly bloody helping hand and the family’s striving to love one another even when the world gives them every reason to give up.

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Review

Love You to Death

by Brian Kenney

Zorie and Kayla, best friends since third grade, work as house cleaners in a so-so hotel, a position that allows them to engage in a bit of light stealing but not enough to keep them afloat. Which is how the two get involved in crashing weddings where they can pick up some major hauls (steal the money and pawn the goods) while not knowing a soul. Until one weekend they head off to work a rural wedding that they promise each other will be their last gig (“best friend’s honor” is their motto), only to discover that they are the only two Black women at an antebellum-themed wedding. Heading out of town as fast as they can, they are involved in an accident that sends them into temporary hiding as the news blares forth the story of the “Wedding Crash Killers.” Without any support from family, and no friends that can help, things start to escalate and the two head to New Orleans, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in their wake. Zorie and Kayla are forced to make tough decisions about their future and their friendship in this brilliant depiction of two young women who can barely keep alive financially. Completely compelling, full of dark humor, and providing a deep investigation into the nature of friendship, this book is high on my list for book discussions.

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