Tag:

Psychological

Review

The Bachelorette Party

by Willy Williams

Agatha Christie’s 1939 And There Were None set the template for the island mystery with its protagonists trapped on a remote isle and stalked by an unknown killer. The arrival of cell phone technology has forced writers to up their thriller game. As with the guests in Sean Doolittle’s Device Free Weekend, the five girlfriends who arrive at Baltic Vinyasa on Isle Blind off the Swedish coast for a four-day yoga-themed bachelorette party must give up their cell phones and other digital devices to the proprietor, Irene. “I wish I wasn’t so addicted to my devices,” confesses Lena. Her sister Tessa, the bride-to-be’s best friend, has another, more secret, motive for joining the party. A true-crime podcaster whose latest episode crashed and burned in the wake of a scandal, she hopes to redeem her career by solving the mystery of the Nacka Four. A decade earlier, four young women, who had traveled to the archipelago for their annual reunion, disappeared, presumed by police to have drowned when their boat was found floating. Tessa suspects they may have been murdered on Isle Blind and is determined to find evidence. But from the moment she steps on the island, her sense of dread grows. While elements of this twisty mystery require a suspension of disbelief (the luxurious hotel is built on a rocky island too barren to support crops yet has plenty of water for hot showers), Sten (The Resting Place) excels at building the creepy horror and chilling tension. Readers who like their thrillers bloody and gory will enjoy this dark Nordic take.

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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

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

Plays Well With Others

by Brian Kenney

You won’t find any members of organized crime here. Nor are the characters locked on a Scottish island or seeking a cozy murderer who has their community petrified. In fact, men have practically no roles in this book. And who needs them? The small group of suburban women who populate this novel are terrifying enough. Let’s start out with Jake, who a year ago endured her then-bestie posting their most intimate correspondence on social media. The result? Jake lost everything: job, house, and, most importantly, her husband. After a bit of sulking and trying to live down her past, Jake is back—she settles into a charming bungalow—and gets ready to retaliate. But this time she has a new friend with her, Mabel, who has her own set of problems. The two join up to seek revenge, although the real victims turn out to be the kids, who find themselves in the cross-fires (for real!). Is anyone in this terrifying community without a grievance? A compulsive domestic thriller that is as dark as it is dangerous.

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Review

Parents Weekend

by Jeff Ayers

Santa Clara University hosts an annual Parents Weekend for students’ families. In Finlay’s latest thriller, he showcases five families with baggage, from students hiding secrets to their parents with facades created to ignore reality. This generational mess creates a drama school larger than anything New York or Los Angeles universities have ever seen, with dysfunction ruling the day. The parents and youngsters are supposed to attend a dinner event together, but only the adults show up. Numerous calls and texts to the kids go unanswered, and the worries grow. An accidental drowning of a student a couple of days earlier may hold the key. FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller arrives to find answers. Keller was seen in Finlay’s earlier novels Every Last Fear and The Night Shift, and fans will be thrilled to see her again, while newcomers will fall in love with her. As Keller talks to the parents of the missing students, she begins to uncover the truth of what each family wants to avoid. Finlay tells the story from the parents’ perspective, occasionally peering into the five missing students’ lives without revealing too much. He crafts a genuine page-turner with a cast of flawed and realistic human characters. Plan a weekend to devour this terrific thriller.

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Review

Claire, Darling

by Brian Kenney

Yes, her childhood was terrifying, with a mother who made Mommie Dearest seem like milquetoast. But, these days, Claire has really got it together. Now she’s 30, with a job in PR that she always wanted and a fiancé, Noah, who’s handsome and loving; life couldn’t be better. Even her horrible mother died a few months ago, freeing Claire, although leaving her nothing in her will. Until one day when she decides to drop off lunch for Noah at his office—it’s their anniversary—and the receptionist won’t let her in. In fact, she claims that Noah hasn’t worked there in three months. Whaaaat? That night, Noah doesn’t show up at the apartment they share. He’s not picking up her calls. Not answering her texts. In the days to come, and with the help of her friend Sukhi, Claire tracks Noah through every channel possible, getting repeatedly blocked along the way and transforming from a happy young woman to a stalker, obsessed with the beautiful blonde woman who keeps showing up in Noah’s socials. A psychological thriller that will delight readers who enjoy fiction that’s thoughtful but also reads like a rocket. If you appreciated Kimberly McCreight’s Like Mother, Like Daughter, you may well like this.

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Review

If Two Are Dead

by Jeff Ayers

Luke Conway and his wife, Carrie, are moving from LA back to Clear River, Texas, where they grew up, so they can help Carrie’s father, who is gravely ill. For police officer Luke, it is a chance to escape a shooting that has traumatized him, and he’s now a county deputy. Carrie has baggage as well, but she is heading towards it. When she was a high-school junior, she was the sole survivor of an incident that left two girls dead and her with a chip in her skull. She barely survived and can’t remember any details of that day. One evening, while off-duty, Luke appears to hit someone while driving home in the pouring rain. Inspecting the area provides no evidence of a body, so he leaves and doesn’t report it. Luke tells himself that he hit a tree branch, but deep down, he knows he hit someone and decides to keep it a secret. Carrie arrives in town to find a not-so-warm welcome and soon learns that some there believe she killed the two girls years ago and is faking amnesia. Luke and Carrie need each other’s support, but running from the truth only makes matters worse for their marriage and their lives. Mofina generates suspense in unexpected ways and crafts a compelling, genius story that ends in a manner not even savvy readers will see coming. His background as a newspaper reporter allows him to craft realistic characters who face overwhelming odds. Harlan Coben and Alex Finlay fans should already have Mofina on their to-read pile, and this one is another guaranteed bestseller.

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Review

Eat, Slay, Love

by Brian Kenney

Three women, who couldn’t be more different, come together over a man—known as Zander, Zachary, Xavier and more—whom they hate a great deal and love, perhaps, just a little. Marina is a former chef, now a full-time mom, who’s recently divorced and quite broke, but is enjoying rediscovering love with Xavier. Lilah is a withdrawn librarian who wins the lottery—literally. With funds pouring into her account, and falling in love with a man who is now her fiancé, Xavier, life couldn’t get any better. Then there’s Opal, the oldest of the trinity and a well-known health guru whose history with Xavier—confidence man, liar, thief, and lover—extends back the farthest. How the three women come together, and slowly learn to trust one another, is an absolute delight. But what to do with Xavier, currently a hostage in Marina’s basement, is even more of a laugh riot. Until it isn’t, and the book takes a very dark turn indeed. For all who loved Cohen’s Bad Men and Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Club Murder.

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