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mystery

Thrillers

War, Criminality, and “The Right Sort of Man”

“Did your hunch prove correct?” asked Gwen. “It did,” replied Iris, as she began typing her notes of the interview. “What was it about?” “Her stockings.” “Were her seams not straight?” “The seams were straight,” said Iris. “The girl is crooked.” It is June 1946 in London. The war is…
Neil Nyren
May 31, 2019
Thrillers

“The Wife Between Us” Meets “Rebecca”

Since high school, Claire Prescott planned her life. From the first time she saw university professor Byron Prescott speak about literature at her high school, she knew he would be a part of it. Even though everyone told her Byron was too old and his first wife, Colleen, seemed to…
Missi Gwartney
June 10, 2019
Thrillers

ITW Spotlight: Mystery Probes Complex Female Relationships

Alafair Burke didn’t set out to write a trilogy, but with the release of her latest novel of domestic suspense—The Better Sister—Burke completes a set of three thematic novels that explore “the complexity of female relationships and the diverse roles that women play in contemporary society.” The Better Sister (Harper)…
Dawn Ius
May 9, 2019
Thrillers

A Mystery and a Mind Unravel in “The Silent Patient”

Alex Michaelides grew up reading Agatha Christie “obsessively,” but she never wrote anything like this. The Silent Patient (Celadon Books) grips you immediately, but where it goes is completely unpredictable – and it takes you to dark corners of the human psyche you never knew existed. “I love him so totally,…
Neil Nyren
February 6, 2019
Thrillers

Drugs, Secrets, and Disappearances in “The Woman Inside”

The Woman Inside (Dutton) by E.G. Scott is a story of marriage, prescription drugs, money and secrets. Lots of secrets. At first, you think you’ve got all you need to know about the main characters—their motivations, thoughts, emotions—to deduce the final outcome based on these scatterings sprinkled throughout this well-crafted…
Janice Lombardo
February 6, 2019
Thrillers

Ancient Truths, Modern Evil, in Hearts of the Missing

The spirit of Tony Hillerman hovers over every page of Carol Potenza’s debut novel Hearts of the Missing (Minotaur), so it’s no surprise that, when still unpublished, it won the 2017 Hillerman Prize for the best first mystery set in the Southwest. Hillerman’s spirit is far from the only ghost that…
Neil Nyren
December 4, 2018
Thrillers

“Manuscript for Murder:” The Cozy Thriller

With Manuscript for Murder (Berkley), the second installment of the long-running Murder She Wrote series penned by Jon Land, the author pushes the series into new territory, blurring the boundary between cozy mysteries and thrillers. Or perhaps he is forming a new genre: the cozy thriller. Land took the mantle of…
James R. Hannibal
November 6, 2018
Thrillers

4 Indie Bookstores Offer Their Top Suspense Reads

Sunscreen? Check. Swim suit? Check. Summer suspense? Grab some of these. There’s nothing like a good, gripping tale to help you unwind. We randomly polled four independent bookstores that specialize in murder and mayhem about new bestsellers in the suspense category. Surprisingly, there were no overlaps as each store named…
Joanna Poncavage
June 28, 2018
Thrillers

Stuart Turton’s Intricate Plot Bends Minds and Genres

This may very well be the twistiest, most intricate crime novel you’ll read this year. A tall order, I know, given the competition, but trust me on this. The author, Stuart Turton, calls it “an Agatha Christie mystery in a Groundhog Day loop, with a bit of Quantum Leap.” Others have…
Neil Nyren
September 18, 2018
Thrillers

Jon’s Picks: 6 New Thrillers to See You Into Summer

What’s in a name, or two, for that matter? When it’s Michael and Daniel Palmer, the answer is plenty. Daniel, stepping in ably for his late, bestselling physician father has penned a terrific follow-up to The First Patient in The First Family (St. Martin’s, April 17). The attention here focuses…
BookTrib
May 16, 2018
Thrillers

ICYMI: ‘Killing Jane’ Takes Jack the Ripper By the Throat

Murders mimicking the savagery of the most infamous serial killer of all time abound in Stacy Green’s mystery/thriller, Killing Jane, which remind us that violence can surface at any time and come from the most unlikely sources. What if Jack the Ripper was really Jane the Ripper? This new book…
Deb Zipf
December 8, 2017
Romance

Come Dance with a Seductive Specter

“I do not see ghosts!” uttered more than once by Suzy Wanamaker, is one of the most memorable lines in Come Dance With Me. And even though readers may want to disagree with her, there’s one thing they can agree with: this is an intriguing page-turner. Originally titled Come Closer,…
Y. M. Nelson
May 9, 2019