Thrillers – Page 2 – Current Book Stack

November 30, 2021

The Last Thing He Told Me

Thoughts: I read this book in one sitting, besides turning pages, I really don’t think I moved until I finished. Hannah receives a note written by her husband saying ‘Protect Her’ and then discovers he has disappeared. Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey not satisfied with the responses they’re getting from the FBI start their own search but find out much more about his past than expected. This was a great page turner without being too close to a thriller. If you’re looking for a good MDW beach read this would be ideal!

Summary: Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.

November 30, 2021

The Thursday Murder Club

Thoughts: Despite this story having 3 murders in it, it was a really light and entertaining mystery. ‘The Thursday murder club’ is four residents at a retirement home who meet every Thursday to look at cold cases and solve them. When a man connected to their building is murdered they take it upon themselves to investigate and solve it for the police. If you’re looking for a mystery but don’t like thrillers this is great. The end is a little unresolved as they’re turning it into a series but it was a very easy read.

Summary: In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?

November 30, 2021

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Thoughts: Absolutely loved this book! I’ve had it on my want to read list for a while but deciding to pull the trigger this weekend when grabbing some new books and I’m glad I did. Finlay is a single mom struggling to get by with her writing career. While discussing the latest plot of her book with her agent she is mistaken for a contract killer, and then accidentally becomes one. The book is entertaining, comical with just the right amount of suspense.

Summary: Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

November 30, 2021

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Thoughts: If you’re looking for a good mystery without too much of a Gone Girl factor, this is perfect. Hal gets a letter stating that her grandmother has died and is requested to be present for the reading of the will. She assumes it’s a mistake as her mother always told her they had no other family, but decides to go anyway as she is desperate for a way to pay of her debts. Upon arriving at the house she realizes the dynamics and history of this family offer a lot more questions than answers on how she ended up here.

Summary: On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.

November 30, 2021

Fortune Favors the Dead

Thoughts: I loved this book and it has the perfect set up to be a series so I’m excited to see it’s happening. The story is narrated by Will who has spent her recent years as an assistant to a private investigator. We start off learning how she came to work for Lillian and then she tells the story of a high profile murder they solved. I love a good mystery book and this being centered around two qualified women instead of the typical grumpy man and and a random female sidekick was great.

Summary: It’s 1942 and Willowjean “Will” Parker is a scrappy circus runaway whose knife-throwing skills have just saved the life of New York’s best, and most unorthodox, private investigator, Lillian Pentecost. When the dapper detective summons Will a few days later, she doesn’t expect to be offered a life-changing proposition: Lillian’s multiple sclerosis means she can’t keep up with her old case load alone, so she wants to hire Will to be her right-hand woman. In return, Will is to receive a salary, room and board, and training in Lillian’s very particular art of investigation.

Three years later, Will and Lillian are on the Collins case: Abigail Collins was found bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball following a big, boozy Halloween party at her home—her body slumped in the same chair where her steel magnate husband shot himself the year before. With rumors flying that Abigail was bumped off by the vengeful spirit of her husband (who else could have gotten inside the locked room?), the family has tasked the detectives with finding answers where the police have failed.

But that’s easier said than done in a case that involves messages from the dead, a seductive spiritualist, and Becca Collins—the beautiful daughter of the deceased, who Will quickly starts falling for. When Will and Becca’s relationship dances beyond the professional, Will finds herself in dangerous territory, and discovers she may have become the murderer’s next target.

November 30, 2021

The Push

Thoughts: I could not put this book down I had to see what would happen next and the short chapters make it an easy read. The story itself was Verity level of omg did that really just happen and definitely not for everyone as a disclaimer. There’s a cliff hanger ending but you also get more context about the beginning and I was almost tempted to go back and read those first chapters again.

Summary: Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had. But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter—she doesn’t behave like most children do. Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well. Then their son Sam is born—and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

November 30, 2021

If I Disappear

Thoughts: As someone who loves true crime podcasts I expected to love this more than I did. It had a lot of suspense to it and I think I suspected every character at least once which always creates interesting twists. The ending was a little too unresolved for me but definitely an exciting read and if you love podcasts you’ll connect to that dynamic in the book.

Summary: Sera loves true crime podcasts. They give her a sense of control in a world where women just like her disappear daily. She’s sure they are preparing her for something. So when Rachel, her favorite podcast host, goes missing, Sera knows it’s time to act. Rachel has always taught her to trust her instincts.

Sera follows the clues hidden in the episodes to an isolated ranch outside Rachel’s small hometown to begin her search. She’s convinced her investigation will make Rachel so proud. But the more Sera digs into this unfamiliar world, the more off things start to feel. Because Rachel is not the first woman to vanish from the ranch, and she won’t be the last…

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021

Emma in the Night

Thoughts: For a thriller this has everything you could ask for. A story you get swept up in, enough twists that you don’t know what to believe, and the ending ties up every loose end perfectly so you have no questions. I would call it a Gone Girl jr as it’s a little lighter but still just as much manipulation and turns.

Summary: One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

February 1, 2021

January Book Stack

Breaking down what I read in January and how I’d rate everything. Looking back I realized I didn’t fall into my normal routine of reading all one genre which I was happy about. I feel like I usually end up reading 3 of the same books in a row and then mix up plots and characters so I’m going to try to stick to mixing it up this year. I’m currently 6 books into my 75 book goal for the year so we’re moving at a good pace!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Do I even need to elaborate? Two more left in my reread and I already don’t want it to end.

Black Buck

Loved this book, it was a great balance between entertainment and life advice. The story telling was captivating and I walked away with a lot of great lessons on sales and how to interact with others.

Leave the World Behind

I really didn’t enjoy this book. It was hard to follow at times and there were parts included that seemed like big events that we just never heard about again. The ending was abrupt and had no real resolution or explanation to what was happening so I was left really unsatisfied.

The Dating Plan

I loved this one. A sweet romcom with characters you’re really rooting for. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick light hearted story. I got this as my Book of the Month for January.

The Only Child

Randomly picked this up in the used section of the bookstore. It was essentially Mind Hunter meets bad horror movie but I enjoyed it.

Moonflower Murders

This was great, if you love mysteries just start diving head first into Anthony Horowitz. This is a follow up to Magpie Murders so I’d suggest reading that first.

January 4, 2021November 30, 2021

The Last Time I Lied

Pairs well with: Water from your camp branded water bottle

If you’re in the market for a good suspense thriller this is it. I feel like I’ve read so many thrillers at this point that I can start to predict the endings but this ending really caught me off guard. There’s a good balance of creepiness, paranoia and nostalgia of being at summer camp.

While attending summer camp Emmas’ three bunkmates went missing and were never found. Now 15 years later, a professional painter, she cannot stop painting the girls. At an art show she runs into the owner of the camp who informs her they’re reopening and want her to come teach art. She decides to accept the offer so that she can investigate and figure out the truth about 15 years ago, but quickly regrets it. The end will have your heart racing and then as soon as you think everything is resolved there’s a second bomb that will truly have you saying WTF.