★★★★☆ I’ve been on an escapist thriller reading spree lately. With their Dateline-inspired storylines, I haven’t been able to get enough of creepy, relationship-gone-wrong novels this summer.
Category: Thrillers
The Io Project by J.E. Clarkson
★★★★★ Callie Sullivan headlines The Io Project, a new sci-fi series by J.E. Clarkson. In book one, Sullivan accepts the opportunity to work with the renowned Horatio Brookes, an inventor and philanthropist, on an environmental project after climate change starts having an accelerated impact.
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
★★★★☆ In this slow-burn suspense novel, Isabelle Drake has been suffering from insomnia for a year since her son, Mason, was kidnapped from his crib while she and her husband, Ben, slept in the next room. She’s so sleep-deprived she’s no longer sure of reality. This isn’t the first time Isabelle has had sleep troubles. Isabelle faced sleep demons during her childhood.
The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
★★★☆☆ Megan Miranda writes excellent thrillers, so I was excited to see her latest book as one of my book of the month choices. The premise centers around a group of nine high school students who traveled by van on a service trip and managed to survive an accident deep in the Tennessee mountains on their way home.
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline
★★★★☆ Jason and Lucinda Bennett have a quiet, suburban life with their two children, Allison and Ethan. Everything changes one night when Jason is driving his family home from Allison’s field hockey game, and the car is suddenly and inexplicably chased.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
★★★★☆ I knew I was in for a treat with Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins when the clerk at the bookstore commented on what a fun read it would be. I was purchasing a stack of six books and she singled this one out as the one I would want to read right away.
The Perfect Ruin by Shanora Williams
★★☆☆☆ I downloaded this book from Libby during a recent trip because it was immediately available, and the tropical image on the cover gave me vacation vibes. It turns out that the palm tree and the colors on the cover were the best part of this book.
All the Little Things by Sarah Lawton
★★★☆☆ Vivian is Rachel’s 15-year-old daughter. With a group of friends she hangs out with and an interest in exploring her sexuality, Vivian seems like your typical teenager. And, Rachel seems like a loving, albeit distant mom, who is too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice just how different Vivian is from her peers. The two start accumulating secrets until things start to unravel.
Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne
★★★★☆ Angel Killer has a highly original premise, which is hard to find these days in the crime thriller genre. Just when it seemed like everything has been done and overdone in fiction books about the FBI investigating a serial killer, Andrew Mayne pulls a rabbit out of his hat with this fantastic read.
Nine Lives by Peter Swanson
★★★☆☆ In this thriller, nine strangers receive a list in the mail with their names and those of eight others. One of the individuals named on the list is a detective and starts becoming concerned the list is a hit list of some sort. And, then these seemingly unconnected people on the list start dying in random ways.