psychological thriller

Review: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

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What can I say about this latest novel from Megan Miranda other than it’s pure gold?  Truly, it’s along the lines of “Run and grab this one as fast as you can and be prepared to stay up way  past your bedtime to finish it.”

Nic dreads returning to her hometown.  But she can’t avoid it after being summoned by her brother.  He needs her help to make arrangements for their aging father.  Her plan is to get in and out as quickly as possible, get back to her life as she knows it.  History, however, has other ideas…

You see, there’s a reason she left in such a hurry all those years ago.  Was it the devastating disappearance of her best friend, Corinne?  Or was it something else?  Whatever the cause, it’s still there after all these years.  Dark secrets don’t stay hidden forever.  And once you start digging, well, it’s just a matter of time until everything is out in the open.  Or maybe not.

Megan Miranda has written an outstanding thriller, making me want to read all of her others.  Bonus points on originality for this one as the story is told in reverse.  I wasn’t sure how that was going to work at first, but by the end it all came together.  A must-read for fans of suspenseful, well-told stories!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  All the Missing Girls

 

Review: The Sister by Louise Jensen

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I hate it when I wait too long to review a book.  And I know I’m not alone in that sentiment.  It’s not that we completely forget what the story was about.  It’s just that we are such voracious readers that sometimes characters and storylines from various books mesh together into one big bookish blob.  But still, I would be neglecting my role as a reviewer of “books that must be read” if I didn’t mention this little gem.

When Grace loses her best friend, Charlie, her world comes to an end.  Connected from childhood, everything she knows involves Charlie.  She just can’t come to grips with her death, with secrets left behind and questions unanswered.  So she digs.  She looks for answers to just who Charlie was.  And in the process, she uncovers more than she expected in the form of Charlie’s unknown sister, Anna.  Here’s where things start to get weird.  Grace begins to forget things, to lose things.  She’s sure someone is following her.  And the people around her are acting very strange.  Is she going crazy?  Or is something more sinister at work?

This debut novel is a thriller in the truest sense.  It plays tricks with your mind and leaves you guessing all the way while at the same time making it seem as if you’ve figured it out.  And of course there’s a fantastic twist that you’ll never see coming!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  The Sister

 

Review: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

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What can I say about Jodi Picoult?  Her stories have moved me in ways few others have been able to.  From the stories of families lost to love found, she gets me every time.  For some reason this one had slipped by me until recently.  And that’s a shame, because it’s one of her best to date.

Jenna is a child without a mother, and also very much without a father.  Her mom disappeared years ago after a tragic accident (or not?) at the family’s elephant sanctuary.  And her dad, for all intents and purposes, is lost to her as well as he wastes away in a mental institution.  Even though she has the love of her grandmother, she just can’t come to terms with the fact that her mom is not in her life.  Is it because she doesn’t want to be or because she can’t?  So Jenna enlists the help of a washed-up psychic along with the detective from the decade old case.  With their help, can she finally figure out what happened all those years ago?

Playing a central role in the story are the elephants.  Not just the physicalness of them, but of the similarities between their emotions and the emotions of humans.  So very different, but so very much alike.  For anyone who thinks these animals don’t feel, don’t love, don’t grieve,  I dare you to make that argument after reading this book.

This book is about so many things.  It’s about a child without a mother, a missing person, an unsolved mystery, and of course, the elephants.  It’s a cliffhanger until the very end.  And just in case you think you’ve figured it out before the last chapter, you’re wrong…

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Leaving Time

Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

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I love it when an author, especially in a debut novel, is able to write a story that’s so compelling, so suspenseful that you flip page after page to finally get to the ending.  For me, the best thrillers are the ones where it’s drawn out until almost the very end.  You think you know who dunnit but you’re never completely convinced until that last chapter. That’s what you get with this mesmerizing book from Fiona Barton.

We know from the get go that something bad has happened.  When Jean’s husband is killed, the media immediately are at her door.  They want her story.  But they don’t want the sympathetic story of a grieving widow devastated by the loss of her husband.  They want to know exactly what happened years ago.  That’s when Glen was accused of a crime so horrific that surely he’d be locked away forever.

Somehow, though, that didn’t happen.  And for reasons unknown to the reader until deep into the story, he and Jean have half-heartedly attempted to rebuild their lives.  But the past refuses to let them.  When Glen is no longer in the picture, surely Jean will finally get some peace and quiet.  Too many secrets left buried won’t let that happen, though.  Is Jean the one who can finally shed light on the tragedy that changed so many lives?

This was a classic thriller in all the best ways.  There are horrible crimes, secrets buried, and of course death.  Each chapter was rampant with an undertone of something big about to happen.  As I turned each page, I just knew that finally I’d find it all out.  But alas, it was not to be.  Not until almost the very end.  Yes, I guessed correctly on several things.  On others, not so much.  Grab this one and see if you can do better!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  The Widow

Review: The Silent Girls by Ann Troup

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Having never read anything by Ann Troup, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  Sure, the description is intriguing.  But how many times have we started a book with high expectations only to experience disappointment when it doesn’t follow through?  Not the case with this one!

When Edie returns to her childhood home to clear up some loose ends after her aunt’s untimely death, she doesn’t expect to be there for long.  Clean out the house, sell off some belongings, settle the estate, and then she’ll be on her way.  But of course things don’t go as planned.

It’s known by all that Coronation Square was the scene of a series of grisly murders years ago. When the killer was caught and executed, justice surely was served.  But as Edie starts digging through the clutter and dankness that was her aunt’s life, she begins uncovering secrets. It quickly becomes apparent that there are people who want those secrets to remain hidden.  And they’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.

This is such a dark, dreary book.  And that’s exactly as it should be.  Anything else wouldn’t have worked.  The author paints a depressing, suspenseful scene that fits the story perfectly.  There are twists and turns galore to keep you guessing until the very end. An excellent, well-told mystery!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  The Silent Girls

Review: Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood

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All authors tell a story, using their written words to weave a tale. And many are really very good at it. But it’s the rare author who creates a narrative so compelling, so lyrical, that the reader simply cannot pull away. T. Greenwood is one of those authors for me.

Something tragic happened to Tess many years ago.  We know it involved a child, and we know that it’s forever changed her.  But other than that, we are left to find out as the story progresses.

So when she claims to see a lost child out on the road one evening, the reader isn’t sure what to think.  Is it her imagination playing tricks on her yet again?  Or did she really see a disheveled, bleeding four-year-old on a dark country road?  She had been drinking, after all.  But everyone believes her.  At first.  A search commences, but when nothing is found, not even a body, doubts start to creep in.  Still, Tess knows what she saw and is steadfast in her commitment to find the child.  At all costs, even.  Her marriage and reputation are at stake, but she won’t be swayed in her determination.

I’ve loved absolutely everything from this author, and her newest book is no exception. Her stories are always captivating from the beginning until the very end. Full of life experiences that could happen to anyone, they make you think “What if…” So grab this one. Enjoy. And then go read her others!

~Thalia

Buy it Now:  Where I Lost Her

Review: The Girl with the Wrong Name by Barnabas Miller

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51E6IyEo21L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Want an intriguing book with more twists and turns than you can keep track of? Before you’re even halfway through? This latest offering from Barnabas Miller is that and more.

Theo has secrets, and some of them even she doesn’t know. It all goes back to “The Night in Question.” She has a scar, but not much else to pull her memories from. And to make things more difficult, she finds herself pulling away from those she’s always been closest to. So she loses herself in her documentaries as she becomes immersed in the lives of strangers, traveling the streets of New York.

And this is where the story becomes really confusing. You’ll second guess yourself and wonder if it’s all going to make sense at some point. And it will. But not easily.

If you like your stories neatly mapped out for you, then this one isn’t for you. It’s not logical, it’s not sequential, it doesn’t even make sense sometimes. But still, it’s mysterious and compelling enough to keep you reading if for no other reason than to find out just how exactly that scar came to be?!?

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Girl with the Wrong Name

Review: A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice

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51GdIgFFSzL._SX310_BO1,204,203,200_It’s always a joy to discover a book that’s been around for several years but has somehow flown under my reader radar. On the one hand, there’s a bit of frustration that I HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK BEFORE NOW! But conversely, there’s pleasure in being able to recommend an older, maybe unheard of, book to friends.

Once upon a time, there were four friends. They did everything together. But then they began to grow up. And their paths diverged. Two of them became jocks. One became the popular cheerleader. And one becomes the outcast. But things aren’t always what they seem, and being on the right side of things doesn’t guarantee a happy outcome. Death, by both murder and suicide, sets everything on a collision course to an ending that can’t be happy for everyone.

This story is full of dark secrets and family histories that were best left hidden. Everything’s connected, and that’s not always a good thing. The writing is beautiful, poetic even, full of rich imagery and so descriptive that you can feel the atmosphere with every page.

This was recently a rerelease of Christopher Rice’s debut novel. Of special interest to me was the note from the author sharing his thoughts on how he would/wouldn’t change the story if he were to write it today. Yes, he’s Anne Rice’s son. And with that comes huge expectations. But talent is talent, regardless of the family lineage.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: A Density of Souls

Review: Damage Done by Amanda Panitch

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19542831Wow. Can I just leave it at that? Seriously, if I went no further and that compelled you to read this book I think you’d agree completely. But, since that really doesn’t qualify as a review…

Julia and her family have moved to a new town, taken on new identities and histories. They had to after her twin brother committed an unforgivable crime that pushed them to the edges of society. So they’ve started over, and they’ve left the past behind. But it’s not as simple as separating the “before” and the “after”. There isn’t enough time or enough miles to keep the past away.

Julia, or Lucy as she’s now known, finds herself looking over her shoulder. She’s sure that she’s being followed. But what could they want from her? She doesn’t remember what happened during those horrific twenty-two minutes. Or so she says.

This debut novel by Amanda Panitch does not disappoint. It’s full of more twists and turns than you can imagine. Figure it out and then something else happens. From the gripping first pages to the unforgettable conclusion, it’s a book that I’ll be recommending to friends far and wide.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Damage Done

Review: Take Another Look by Rosalind Noonan

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511PcSLyRdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_This latest thriller from Rosalind Noonan had me hooked from the very first page. From the opening scenes until the conclusion, I simply could not tear myself away.

It starts off as sort of a “What would you do?” When Jane finds herself pregnant with twins and in an unhealthy relationship, she makes the heart-wrenching decision to give one of the babies up for adoption. After struggling with just which twin to keep, she makes peace with herself and her choice. She moves away and starts a new life with baby Harper.

Several years later, her past comes back to haunt her when she unwittingly comes face to face with her long-lost daughter, Isabel. Everything she’s struggled to build for both herself and Harper is threatened when she must ‘fess up to Harper.

As if that wasn’t a hard enough task, Isabel’s arrival coincides with some strange happenings. Accidents, missing items, illnesses, truths disguised as lies…Jane doesn’t know who or what to believe. Are these just more of Harper’s typical teenage dramatic outbursts? Or is something more disturbing at play?

This is one of those stories where you might think you know what’s going on. I thought the same thing. And I was right. Partially. It’s a book that leads you on and keeps you guessing. And even when you’ve got it figured out, it’s still one heck of a story!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Take Another Look