As I sat down to draft my review of Pretty Little Wife I realized it was going to have to be somewhat brief. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a lot to say about the book (I do!), it’s that this thriller is so beautifully plotted and executed that saying too much about the book would ruin the reading experience for other people. It’s one of those frustrating situations where I just want to shove … Continue reading Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane
CW: Self-harm, suicidal ideation, abortion It’s difficult to review a book that is so, so good, but you don’t want to reveal too much for fear of ruining it for others. The Guest List is one of those books; it’s a thriller that is so superbly plotted that I’m afraid to say anything about it because I want other readers to enjoy every reveal as much as I did. I just want to shove it … Continue reading The Guest List by Lucy Foley
CW: Domestic violence, violence against women, violence against animals, references to sexual assault A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh is a tightly plotted thriller that has pervasive feeling of rage coiled around it. Every character in this book feels angry and on edge, on the verge of snapping. This creates a superb tension that carries throughout the novel and, when combined with a perfectly plotted mystery and well-developed characters, results in a fantastic reading … Continue reading A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
I’d really like to write a longer review of The Missing by Caroline Eriksson because it’s a superb psychological thriller, but in order for readers to perfectly get the story, I can only talk about the novel superficially. This book is all about fascinating layers, but they really need to unfold for readers organically. Like a lot of thrillers, this book is told deep POV style from an unreliable narrator–in this case, Greta, a young … Continue reading The Missing by Caroline Eriksson, translated by Tiina Nunnally
Perfect Prey by Laura Salters stands out from the psychological thriller crowd due to it’s excellent portrayal of a heroine with a mental illness. Like The Woman in Cabin 10, Perfect Prey depicts a heroine who is unapologetic about struggling with a mental illness (in this case generalized anxiety), who is gaslit because of it, and who perseveres even when she has to overcome the dual obstacles of physical danger and mental distress. The only … Continue reading Perfect Prey by Laura Salters
There’s been a trend in mystery fiction lately of deliciously twisty psychological thrillers featuring women in roles that mysteries don’t usually afford them. I’ve talked about it before, The Gone Girl effect, and how these thrillers that set up a traditional mystery scenario. A woman (usually respectable and middle class) is missing or dead. We presume she is the victim. Then the author takes all our usual assumptions shakes them up in a Yatzee cup, hits us in the … Continue reading All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
