October may seem like the best month to share a list of books, even a short list, that fall under the category of thrillers, mysteries, suspense or crime novels. You know the kind of novels I mean — something to keep you up late at night (as any good book should). But also, something to worry your fingernails over or cause you to keep the lights on while you flip the pages, turn down the audio or keep your electronic device plugged in.
With a cup of tea on the end table, you are ready to read … carefully, quickly, excitedly, driven by those characters, that plot, those thrills, mysteries and what happens next.
Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve isn’t the only time of year to read nerve-tingling books. These stories are year-round thrills.
But please check out the books below, and if you haven’t read them yet, grab one or two. I also included two debut authors whose books may be new to you. I hope you enjoy!
Note: The following book descriptions have been provided by the respective publishers.
All Her Little Sisters (William Morrow) by Wanda M. Morris
In this fast-paced thriller, Wanda M. Morris crafts a twisty mystery about a Black lawyer who gets caught in a dangerous conspiracy after the sudden death of her boss … A debut perfect for fans of Attica Locke, Alyssa Cole, Harlan Coben and Celeste Ng, with shades of How to Get Away with Murder and John Grisham’s The Firm.
Everyone has something to hide …
Ellice Littlejohn seemingly has it all: an Ivy League law degree, a well-paying job as a corporate attorney in midtown Atlanta, great friends, and a “for fun” relationship with a rich, charming executive, who just happens to be her white boss. But everything changes one cold January morning when Ellice arrives in the executive suite and finds him dead with a gunshot to his head.
And then she walks away like nothing has happened. Why? Ellice has been keeping a cache of dark secrets, including a small-town past and a kid brother who’s spent time on the other side of the law. She can’t be thrust into the spotlight — again.
A Single Light (Howard Books) by Tosca Lee
Six months after vanishing into an underground silo with 60 others, Wynter and Chase emerge to find the area abandoned — no sign of the group that was supposed to greet them when they emerged, the same people Wynter was counting on to help her locate the IV antibiotics her gravely ill friend, Julie, needs to live.
As the clock ticks down on Julie’s life, Wynter and Chase embark on a desperate search for medicine and answers. But what they find is not a nation on the cusp of recovery, but one radically changed by global pandemic. As hope fades by the hour and Wynter learns the terrible truth of the last six months, she is called upon once again to help save the nation she no longer recognizes — a place so dark she’s no longer sure it can even survive.
Fast-paced and taut, A Single Light is a breathless thriller of nonstop suspense about the risks of living in a world outside the safe confines of our closely held beliefs and the relationships and lives that inspire us.
Her Perfect Life (Forge Books) by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Everyone knows Lily Atwood — and that may be her biggest problem. The beloved television reporter has it all — fame, fortune, Emmy awards, an adorable seven-year-old daughter, and the hashtag her loving fans created: #PerfectLily. To keep it — all she has to do is protect one life-changing secret.
Her own.
Lily has an anonymous source who feeds her story tips about others — but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life! How does he — or she — know so much?
Lily understands that no one reveals a secret unless they have a reason. Now she’s terrified someone is determined to destroy her world — and with it, everyone and everything she holds dear.
How much must she risk to keep her perfect life?
Never Saw Me Coming (Park Row) by Vera Kurian
Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.
Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths — students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smartwatches that track their moods and movements.
When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths — and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath. (Read BookTrib’s review here.)
The Vanished Days (Sourcebooks) by Susanna Kearsley
Autumn, 1707. Old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to carry the young, exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh, the streets are filled with discontent and danger.
When a young widow, Lily Aitcheson, comes forward to collect her lost husband’s wages, former soldier Adam Williamson is assigned to investigate her petition. As Lily tells her story, Adam has only days to discover if she’s being honest, or if his own feelings are making him blind to the truth. But sinister figures lurk in the background — is Adam being used as a pawn in an increasingly treacherous game?
