Killer Thrillers Display
I love a good thriller for the excitement and the suspense, but I also love how quickly you can get swept up in one! Sometimes when you want a good weekend (or weeknight) read, a thriller is the perfect choice. Here are some of the possibilities we have on display in our "Killer Thrillers" display:
"He Said He Would Be Late" by Justine Sullivan is a fast-paced, twisty psychological debut about the complexities of marriage and new motherhood, told through the frenetic lens of a wife seeking the truth about her husband--at all costs. "Liz Bennett knows that she is one of the lucky ones. Wealthy and charming, Arno is a supportive husband to Liz and a doting father to their daughter, Emma. A rising banker at a top firm in the Boston area, he is the picture of perfection, rounding off their idyllic New England life. But when Liz sees a text on Arno's phone with a kissy-face emoji, her anxiety kicks into overdrive and she begins to worry that her luck has run out. Plagued by persistent skepticism and countless sleepless nights, Liz decides she must uncover the truth about her husband--as any wife would. So she takes a deep breath and dives down the rabbit hole. As Liz peels back layers of deceit and tracks down every lead, a frenzy begins to take over her life. Could Arno really be unfaithful? Or is Liz's imagination getting the best of her? When everyone around her is convinced she's become unhinged, she must prove, if only to herself, that a woman's intuition expands beyond a single cryptic text."
"Breathless" by Amy McCulloch was a summer 2022 release that I really enjoyed. "Journalist Cecily Wong is in over her head. She's come to Mount Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world, to interview internationally famous mountaineer Charles McVeigh on the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. She's given up everything for this story--her boyfriend, her life savings, the peace she's made with her climbing failures in the past--but it's a career-making opportunity. It could finally put her life back on track. But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. And by the time a second climber dies, it's too late to turn back. Stranded on a mountain in one of the most remote regions of the world, she'll have to battle more than the elements in a harrowing fight for survival against a killer who is picking them off, one by one."
"The Villa" by Rachel Hawkins is "a deliciously wicked gothic suspense," set at an Italian villa with a dark history. It's perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware. "As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce's girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album--and ends in Pierce's brutal murder. As Emily digs into the villa's complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce's murder wasn't just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred--and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind. Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge--and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends."
C.J. Tudor is a must-read author for me, and her 2024 novel "The Gathering" was my very first Rapid Recommendation video! "The Drift" is another excellent thriller by this author. "Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world. Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They'll need to work together to escape - with their sanity and secrets intact. Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She's in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as "The Retreat," but as the temperature drops and tensions mount, Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive. Carter is gazing out of the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, the threat of something lurking in the chalet's depths looms larger, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails-for good. The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater threat-one that threatens to consume all of humanity."
You'll find these and lots of other titles in our "Killer Thrillers" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
