Top 10+ Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers…so far in 2019

I may have been absent from blogging for a while, but I have still been reading up a storm! In fact, I’m smashing my GoodReads goal for the year. My husband’s health is improving and everything is looking very positive on that front. Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie this week, so I thought I’d highlight the top 10+ mystery/suspense/thrillers I’ve read so far this year. If you’re familiar with the way I rate books, I’m pretty critical and I read a LOT of books, so my standards are fairly high. That said, taste is subjective, so feel free to disagree with me!

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I voluntarily reviewed complimentary copies of these books. No opinion was required, and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, see disclosures for more detail.

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

About the Book: Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. But while her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing—and admit that she’s solely to blame.

Harriet, devastated by this unbearable loss, can no longer bring herself to speak to Charlotte again, much less trust her. Now, more isolated than ever and struggling to keep her marriage afloat, Harriet believes nothing and no one. But as the police bear down on both women, trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to this little girl, dark secrets begin to surface—and Harriet discovers that trusting Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter….

My Thoughts: This is a very engrossing psychological thriller. It unfolds deliberately, but is compulsively readable so that you may stay up quite late–as I did–trying to get to the exciting conclusion. 
Hovering over everything throughout the tale is “What exactly happened to Alice?” 
You do find out, and the ride to get there is full of uncomfortable turns of event. Once you start to puzzle out what is going on, the creepy factor escalates quickly and you will be in the place I was last night at midnight–wanting to keep reading to discover the fates of the characters.
The book is told from two perspectives–Harriet and Charlotte, one the mother of the missing Alice and one the mother who was watching Alice when she disappeared. I really felt for both characters as this book is actually more than just a suspense-filled tale, it’s as much a character analysis of these two mothers and what drives and motivates them to make the choices they do.
This is the first book I’ve read by this relatively new author and I will be excited to read more in the future. 

No Exit by Taylor Adams

About the Book: On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the Colorado Rockies. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop with no cell phone reception. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, the exhausted young art student goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car is a little girl locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no way to call for help and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

My Thoughts: Incredibly fast-paced suspense thriller. The action starts on the first page and doesn’t let up until the end, it’s propelled forward at a breakneck pace.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked Darby very much, but as the story progressed I grew to like her spirit and was rooting for her and Jay to triumph.
There are many great surprises in this book–I hesitate to use the word “twists” because that’s not what they really are, but there are some unusual turns of event that kept me invested and made me appreciate the author’s ingenuity for moving the storyline in a plausible way despite the obstacles of location and circumstance. 
If you like psychological suspense thrillers, this is definitely one to put on your list.

The Suspect by Fiona Barton

About the Book: When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft, and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. 

As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think…

My Thoughts: I was quite impressed with the latest mystery by Fiona Barton. She skillfully weaves a suspenseful story while managing to include the humanity of loss and the fear of every parent.
Each portion of the story is revealed at deliberate intervals so that the reader isn’t frustrated by wondering about elements for too long. And the twists keep coming until the very end, so that even when you think you know everything, you really don’t. 
I like the chapters from alternating points of view, so that the reader is kept just a bit more informed than the different parties involved, but only just slightly. I much prefer this to the other way around (where the reader is totally in the dark and the characters know everything). 
I will definitely read more books by Barton in the future, I appreciate how she furthers the stories of the main characters, but doesn’t get bogged down on side tangents so much that she neglects the main plot.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michelides

About the Book: Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

My Thoughts: Devoured this book in one day–couldn’t put it down!
A very clever psychological suspense thriller with a stellar twist toward the end. I liked that none of the characters are exactly who they seem to be on the surface, which makes the novel overall more compelling and intriguing.
The plot is quite original and never slowed down for a second. If you think that it will suffer from one of the main characters being silent for the great majority of the book, then think again. The book’s themes are deeply rooted in psychological pain and made me think about how our pasts shape us in ways that we might not even be conscious of on the surface. 
This is a fantastic debut and I look forward to reading additional books by this author in the future, especially if they are all as fresh and intricately twisty as this one.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

About the Book: During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

My Thoughts: A bit of a slow starter, it took me a while to get used to the writing style and sorting out which character was which. However once it got going, this was an intriguing psychological thriller. Set in the snowy Scottish Highlands on a remote estate, filled with characters all protecting dark secrets–what a setup for a great mystery!
About halfway through I couldn’t put it down and kept reading in order to know what happened. It’s not even clear from the beginning who the murder victim is (although it’s not terribly difficult to figure out, that part doesn’t really matter). The ultimate resolution is surprising and satisfying.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

About the Book: Laura Lochner has never been lucky in love. She falls too hard and too fast, always choosing the wrong men. Devastated by the end of her last relationship, she fled her Wall Street job and New York City apartment for her sister’s home in the Connecticut suburb where they both grew up. Though still haunted by the tragedy that’s defined her entire life, Laura is determined to take one more chance on love with a man she’s met on an Internet dating site.

Rosie Ferro has spent most of her life worrying about her troubled sister. Fearless but fragile, Laura has always walked an emotional tightrope, and Rosie has always been there to catch her. Laura’s return, under mysterious circumstances, has cast a shadow over Rosie’s peaceful life with her husband and young son – a shadow that grows darker as Laura leaves the house for her blind date.

When Laura does not return home the following morning, Rosie fears the worst. She’s not responding to calls or texts, and she’s left no information about the man she planned to meet. As Rosie begins a desperate search to find her sister, she is not just worried about what this man might have done to Laura. She’s worried about what Laura may have done to him…

My Thoughts: This book was a very fast read–I couldn’t put it down because I really wanted to know what happened. I know that sounds cliche, but the pacing is quick and there’s quite a bit of suspenseful action to keep the reader invested in the outcome.
The only quibble I have about this book is the timeline was a bit confusing. I had to keep turning back to the beginning of chapters to see when a particular event was occurring in order to keep straight the before/after/present day timeline. There’s some overlapping (intentional) so some events aren’t happening at the same time as other events even though it seems like they are. I know, that sounds confusing, but once you read the book you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Overall, the mystery is great and although the villain is kind of obvious once you get down to it (I called it from the beginning) that doesn’t really detract from the overall suspense of the book and the unraveling of the puzzle.
This is the third book I’ve read by Wendy Walker and will definitely continue to read her books as they are always unique and engaging.

Saving Meghan by DJ Palmer

About the Book: Some would say Becky Gerard is a devoted mother and would do anything for her only child. Others, including her husband Carl, claim she’s obsessed and can’t stop the vicious circle of finding a cure at her daughter’s expense.

Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of hospitals with a plague of unexplained illnesses. But when the ailments take a sharp turn, clashing medical opinions begin to raise questions about the puzzling nature of Meghan’s illness. Doctors suspect Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioral disorder where the primary caretaker seeks medical help for made-up symptoms of a child. Is this what’s going on? Or is there something even more sinister at hand?

As the Gerards grow more and more suspicious of each other and their medical team, Becky must race against time to prove her daughter has a deadly disease. But first, she must confront her darkest fears and family secrets that threaten to not only upend her once-ordered life…but to destroy it.

My Thoughts: I honestly didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did. I am kind of over the whole Munchhausen-by-Proxy trope, so I rolled my eyes when I received this book for review. 
But…this is not the book I was expecting! It is an incredibly twisted tale that will keep you guessing until the very end. I only figured out one of the twists, but there are so many that it would honestly be impossible to figure them all out. For the first time in a long time, I had a book that I couldn’t put down because I was totally immersed in the story and wanted to know how it turned out.
I didn’t really love Becky, I thought she was way too overprotective, over involved, and downright annoying. Yet her character made the book that much more intriguing, because you just didn’t know whether or not to believe her about Meghan or not.

If you like a good twisty thriller, especially one with captivating medical details (Michael Palmer’s son is the author), definitely pick this one up. 

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

About the Book: Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away. Just as he did to her.

My Thoughts: Dark, twisted, very fast-paced read. Jane is a sociopath and knows it, but she is the best and most likable character in the book. She is straightforward (to the reader) about her motivation and intentions and I deliciously devoured to story to see how it would all play out. 

Bonus: This one is available on KU

Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen

About the Book: Adam and Sophie Warner and their three-year-old daughter are vacationing in Washington State’s Hood Canal for Memorial Day weekend. It’s the perfect getaway to unplug—and to calm an uneasy marriage. But on Adam’s first day out on the water, he sees Sophie abducted by a stranger. A hundred yards from shore, Adam can’t save her. And Sophie disappears.

In a nearby cabin is another couple, Kristen and Connor Moss. Unfortunately, beyond what they’ve heard in the news, they’re in the dark when it comes to Sophie’s disappearance. For Adam, at least there’s comfort in knowing that Mason County detective Lee Husemann is an old friend of his. She’ll do everything she can to help. She must.

But as Adam’s paranoia about his missing wife escalates, Lee puts together the pieces of a puzzle. The lives of the two couples are converging in unpredictable ways, and the picture is unsettling. Lee suspects that not everyone is telling the truth about what they know—or they have yet to reveal all the lies they’ve hidden from the strangers they married.

My Thoughts: Solid mystery thriller. Lots of good twists and turns–some I saw coming and others really surprised me. With a genre that is getting more saturated by the day, it takes a lot to craft a well-plotted mystery that can keep me entertained. The Washington state location, with so many familiar towns and areas referenced, were just icing on the cake to me as it gave the story local flavor.
There were a few things I had to suspend disbelief about, but overall this is a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing.

Bonus: This book is available on KU

Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

About the Book:

Beth Murphy is on the run…

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning—one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing…

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she’s taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine’s carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that’s certain is that someone is lying and the truth won’t stay buried for long.

My Thoughts:

4.5 stars—fantastic, breakneck-paced twisty thriller 

I want to start by saying that you should go into this book knowing as little as possible. If you like psychological thrillers just trust me and pick this up.

That said, I pretty much saw where this was headed for the most part from the beginning, but it is the sign of a great writer that it didn’t matter, because the way it is put together is so well done. 

Great characters with a fast moving plot that I literally could not put down. My regular errands and tasks were out to the side today while all I did was read! 

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

About the Book: No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story…until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

My Thoughts: This is a very, very creepy book! 
Sager has become one of my favorite psychological suspense novelists. His premises are totally unique and keep me fascinated throughout the book. I admit to staying up very late last night reading because I was too creeped out to put the book down and go to sleep. 
I liked the characters, and although this book has some similar elements to everything I’ve been reading lately: namely, Jules taking it upon herself to investigate the disappearances, even when it puts her in danger, in this case it actually works well. Mostly because no one else takes her seriously and everyone who could possibly take her seriously is hiding something. It added to the suspenseful nature of this tale, ratcheting up the tension rather than annoying me like most of the books I’ve read recently.
One small quibble kept me from sighing with satisfaction at the end (I won’t post because it’s a spoiler), but all in all this is a solid, well-told suspense novel.

The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

About the Book: Lila Bennett’s bad choices have finally caught up with her. And one of those decisions has split her life in two. Literally.

In one life, she’s taken hostage by someone who appears to be a stranger but knows too much. As she’s trapped in a concrete cell, her kidnapper forces her to face what she’s done or be killed. In an alternate life, she eludes her captor but is hunted by someone who is dismantling her happiness, exposing one secret at a time.

Lila’s decorated career as a criminal defense attorney, her marriage, and her life are on the line. She must make a list of those she’s wronged—both in and out of the courtroom—to determine who is out to get her before it’s too late. But even if she can pinpoint her assailant, will she survive? And if she does, which parts of her life are worth saving, and which parts must die? Because one thing’s for certain—life as Lila Bennett knew it is over.

My Thoughts: Cleverly written psychological thriller with Lila in two parallel situations: Captured and Free.
I appreciated the journey this character went through with her self-discovery. The ultimate resolution is satisfying and actually somewhat believable. Pacing is quick and deliberate, I never felt any portion of the story getting bogged down, it flowed very well, and the interplay between the captive and the free sections also had great pacing. I never felt like we stayed too long in one at the expense of the other. 
I have liked previous books by these two authors, and I think they are starting to really find their groove with the past couple of books. I will definitely read more from them in the future.

Bonus: This is available on KU

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

About the Book:

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style—but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

My Thoughts: John Grisham’s The Firm is one of my favorite books because I love the way it flows and the adventure of the plot. Escape Room reminds me a lot of what I enjoyed about that book.
This was a very quick read, I finished in less than a day because the plot moves forward at such a dramatic pace. It is divided between the first person account of Sara Hall and chapters featuring a group of colleagues trapped in an elevator designated as an escape room. 
I loved the way things unfolded and although I figured out pretty much where things were going halfway through, I still liked the journey and the satisfying ending. This is a superb summer read, recommended for those who enjoy a good locked room whodunnit.

Have you read any great mystery/suspense/thriller books lately? Share with me!