I have been a fan of mysteries since I first read The Westing Game . Although I had been intrigued by them before that, this was my gateway book. After that I devoured every mystery I could get my hands on, the more twisty the better. The genre has made a resurgence the past few years, thanks to the uber-popularity of Gone Girl . Some of the books in the genre are good, and some aren’t, so I’d like to share my list of the ones I’ve particularly enjoyed this year.
I voluntarily reviewed complimentary copies of many of these books. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, see disclosures for more detail.
His & Hers by Alice Feeney
About the Book:
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.
Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
My Thoughts:
Superbly written psychological murder mystery thriller! I was kept in the dark until the end wondering who was committing the murders and why. I thought I had it figured out many times, and just when I got comfortable with my choice, another twist was thrown in to confuse things once again.
I listened to this as an audio book and the sections are narrated separately: His, Hers, and the Villain. The narrators are excellent and the clever use of a voice modulator for the villain is both supremely creepy and ingenious to keep the listener in the dark.
Feeney has a way with words and turning a phrase that is beautifully elegant. I honestly felt like I got to know the characters, especially Anna and her brokenness. The emptiness inside of her echoes through her words, and Stephanie Racine does a superior job with conveying that in the audio book.
Highly recommended for thriller and mystery readers, especially as an audio book.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
About the Book:
What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks toMaggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.
My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book. I normally steer far away from books with paranormal or ghost themes, but this book is written in such a way that those elements actually added to the suspense rather than detracting.
The interplay between Maggie’s current status of living in the house and the excerpts from the book her father wrote about their experiences keeps the tension in the forefront throughout. Shades of Amityville Horror give a creepy, spooky feel to the novel. And Maggie’s staunch insistence that the book was nothing but a bunch of lies created for publicity makes the reader question everything that happens–was the book real, or is there a logical explanation?
The exposition of the plot is deliberate, yet with dynamic pacing that keeps the reader turning pages quickly to discern what is true from what is fabrication.
Riley Sager is an author that never fails to satisfy suspense lovers because his cleverly drawn stories are clever and original. Keep them coming!
Safe by S.K. Barnett
About the Book:
Jenny Kristal was six years old when she was snatched off the sidewalk from her quiet suburban neighborhood. Twelve years later, she’s miraculously returned home after escaping her kidnappers—but as her parents and older brother welcome her back, the questions begin to mount. Where has she been all these years? Why is she back now? And is home really the safest place for her . . . or for any of them?
My Thoughts:
Wow, what a super twisted book this is!
One of my favorite premises–someone missing without a trace. This one is a six-year-old girl who is headed out to walk two doors down to play with a friend and vanishes. Twelve years later, she returns–or does she?
I appreciated the quick pace and the way things were revealed. There are quite a number of points of view, not sure all of them were completely necessary since some of them were for a couple of pages and then never again. It is difficult to know who or what to believe because there are lies upon lies: one character to the others and characters to themselves as well. All of this serves to help the story unfold deliberately.
This is an overall very solid and surprising psychological thriller.
TW: Sexual and physical abuse of a child (some of the instances were very disturbing)
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
About the Book:
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, making sure she’s living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.
A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets—Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it’s no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva’s identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
My Thoughts:
Solidly great mystery/thriller.
The author was incredibly good at creating a suspenseful atmosphere, I was literally holding my breath in parts, anxiously flipping pages as quickly as I could hoping that I could help the characters get away from their situations.
Such an intriguing premise–two women who desperately want to start their lives over and disappear swap plane tickets. One plane heads to California and one heads to Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico bound plane crashes. Everyone thinks the woman with the ticket is dead, but how will she start over?
I also loved the ending. It was absolutely perfect because it wraps up all loose ends, which is very satisfying for me.
If you want a book that will grab you from the beginning and keep you invested in the characters throughout, this is an excellent choice. Just be prepared for some loss of sleep.
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
About the Book:
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family―until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.
My Thoughts:
Excellent psychological suspense novel that will totally keep you guessing throughout. I know it sounds like a cliche, but Hillier’s writing is so good that it will captivate readers.
I did have my suspicions about what was going on, and I was partially correct, but the extent of the web of lies is stunning and brilliantly laid out.
I genuinely felt for Marin. Again, the author’s ability to put me right in her shoes, even though I’ve never experienced the anguish of a missing child, elevates this book past what other books in this genre provide. Plus, the Seattle setting is near and dear to my heart, I could vividly visualize the locations of everything described.
I loved Jar of Hearts and this one is even better. Sorry I waited so long to read it!
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
About the Book:
Lizzie Kitsakis is working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it all fell apart.
No. That’s a lie. It wasn’t sudden, was it? Long ago the cracks in Lizzie’s marriage had started to show. She was just good at averting her eyes.
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect.
As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Brooklyn Country Day school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own. In the end, she’s left wondering not only whether her own marriage can be saved, but what it means to have a good marriage in the first place.
My Thoughts:
This book is absolutely everything I look for in a psychological thriller!
There are unreliable narrators, twisted narcissistic characters, and you never know who is telling the truth and if their hiding of the truth is to protect themselves or for more sinister reasons.
I liked the character of Lizzie and really felt for her throughout the book. She’s in a tough place with her husband and having to deny her own dreams due to his poor choices. The Park Slope setting with the school parents and the different friendships is like being a voyeur into an elite life–again, we never know who is telling the truth about anything, which is what makes this book so compulsively readable. Not to mention that the murder takes place after a “key party”!
I have really liked the books I’ve read by this author and they continue to get better and better with each one.
What Lies Between Us by John Marrs
About the Book:
They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.
Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.
But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.
Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.
My Thoughts:
Wowza, what did I just read? That was seriously bonkers.
I saw where some of it was going, but some surprises did occur. It is wholly difficult to know who the good people are vs. who are the bad people. Or are they all a combination of both?
I couldn’t stop reading because the twists just kept on coming and there were some doozies!
I will admit, some of this story (probably much of it) is so implausible, but for once that didn’t stop my reading enjoyment, if I can say that I enjoyed it because that seems terrible that I did.
I can’t say too much because I don’t want to give away all of the blindsides in this novel. I’d classify it as a domestic thriller, with some psychological suspense thrown in for good measure.
John Marrs does it again with his imaginative writing skills.
Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
About the Book:
A windowless shack in the woods. A dash to safety. But when a woman finally escapes her captor, the end of the story is only the beginning of her nightmare.
She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena.
The little girl who escaped the woods with her knows things she isn’t sharing, and Lena’s devastated father is trying to piece together details that don’t quite fit. Lena is desperate to begin again, but something tells her that her tormentor still wants to get back what belongs to him…and that she may not be able to truly escape until the whole truth about what happened in the woods finally emerges.
My Thoughts:
Thoroughly gripping and exciting psychological suspense novel.
Very fast-paced, the action starts from the first page and doesn’t let up until the end. There are twists galore, some I figured out ahead of time and some I did not.
Yes, this book has shades of Room, but apart from the obvious similarities, the stories are completely different. This book starts with a woman arriving at the hospital after being hit by a car, young daughter Hannah in tow. Hannah states that the woman’s name is Lena, which is the name of a woman who had been missing for fourteen years. When Lena’s parents come rushing to the hospital, her father flat out denies that this is his missing daughter, but Hannah is the spitting image of Lena at that age. Once the secrets begin to be revealed there is no stopping the surprises around every corner.
The book is told from three points of view–“Lena”, Hannah, and Lena’s father Matthias. It gives a unique perspective to each situation as each character has a different take on things or something they are hiding. This is the first English translation for Hausmann, and I believe it is the first suspense novel. I look forward to more from this talented author.
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
About the Book:
Selena Murphy is commuting home on the train when she strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat. The woman introduces herself as Martha and soon confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.
Then the nanny disappears.
As Selena is pulled into the mystery of what happened, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, she begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover…
My Thoughts:
After being disappointed by the last few books I read by Unger, this is a refreshing return to the exciting, page-turning psychological suspense writing that I adore.
The premise behind this book is fascinating–Serena has caught her husband cheating on her with the nanny via the nanny cam. On the train heading home, she sits next to a mysterious woman and confesses her frustration with the situation. The next day, the nanny disappears. What happened to her–was Serena’s husband responsible for the disappearance?
In this book, nothing is as it seems on the surface. You don’t know which characters to trust, and as their connections are slowly revealed it is jaw-dropping to see how the entire tale fits together. Some of it I figured out ahead of time but other parts I didn’t and I loved the surprise.
Highly recommended!
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
About the Book:
Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name―and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation―but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases―and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
My Thoughts:
I loved The Escape Room and so I was hesitant about this new one because I didn’t think it could be as good, but I was happily wrong.
Besides being an engrossing psychological thriller with some surprising twists, this novel highlights the glaring inequities with rape culture. Rapes are the only crime where the victim is put on trial, and where the victim is blamed more often than not. It is something I had never really thought too much about before, but it is astounding when you take the time to think about it.
The only slight issues I had were that in the end, I couldn’t figure out why Hannah went to all of the work to hide herself, and I didn’t get a clear answer as to how she was able to find Rachel so many places and stay out of sight. Also, Rachel’s armchair detective work borders on a bit too convenient at times, some things she uncovers should have been discovered by the investigators. Other than those small details, this is a fantastic book, and they don’t detract from the overall story.
I listened to much of this one as an audio book and the narrators did an excellent job embodying the main characters. Since the tale focuses on episodes of a podcast, the narrative naturally lends itself quite well to an audio book format. I must say though, that at regular speed the speech is incredibly slow, so I had to speed up the audio to 1.75x in order for my mind not to wander. Listeners might want to play around with the speed to find one that works for them.
If you’re looking for a compelling suspense novel, then look no further and place this one on your list now.
Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
About the Book:
Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York City and start a life together in Sam’s sleepy hometown upstate. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.
Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist’s wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie’s happily ever after.Â
My Thoughts:
Oh my! Mind is still reeling! If you haven’t read it, stop reading right here and go pick it up before reading more. I highly recommend this book, but you will have a better reading experience if you go into the book blind because the fewer things you know about the plot the better.
This is an incredibly twisty mystery. Just when I thought I had figured out where things were going, then my whole perspective got turned upside down. And that happened more than once! I love it when I can be surprised, and this one definitely did that.
This is the second book I’ve read by Molloy and I like her style of writing that keeps the reader invested and moves the story along at a rapid pace. The characters were intriguing and each of them were totally necessary for the plot. There were a few things that required some suspension of disbelief, but overall that did not affect my reading enjoyment.
In a year that has been saturated with psychological suspense novels, this one stands out above most of the rest.
There’s still a bit of time left in the year, so I may add a book or two to the list.
Do you agree with my choices? Do you have any books to recommend?
