Category: Thrillers

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Top 5 Books of 2020

I finished up my final book of 2020 on Wednesday which makes 75 total for the year. I’ve loved being able to share books with everyone this year and the below five are ones I couldn’t stop thinking about and recommending to others.

1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo I truly loved this book, it has everything you could ask for in a story and will keep you captivated and invested throughout. Evelyn Hugo was the it girl of Hollywood for decades, and now that she’s getting older she want to tell her whole story. She hires a young writer to write the book and keep her legacy alive, and we get to listen is as she recounts her decades in Hollywood and life since the spotlight.

2. Verity If Gone Girl is one of your movies that you see playing on TV and can’t pass by, you have to read this book. An author named Lowen is hired to ghost write a book in a very popular series after the author is in a car accident and isn’t able to finish. She moves into the Crawfords’ home to go through the notes Verity made for the book and tries to piece everything together. While looking through the notes however she discovers a lot more than she intended to.

3. The Alice Network If you’re a historical fiction fan, any Kate Quinn is mandatory reading, but The Alice Network was my favorite. The book follows Eve during WWII as she becomes a spy in France, and shows the incredible contributions these women made to the war. The timeline then shifts to 1947 where an American girl Charlie is searching for her cousin who she lost contact with during the war.

4. Talking to Strangers The irony is not lost on me that this was one of my favorite books in a year where 75% of my days I only speak to my husband and cats. What this year did bring however was a change in how we all communicate and interact with coworkers, friends, family and everyone else around us. Throughout the process of learning how to navigate these new communication standards I referenced lessons learned in this book multiple times.

5. Normal People The perfect cuddle up with a blanket and read in one sitting love story. The book follows Connell and Marianne from high school to college and all the life and love lessons they learn along the way. Disclaimer: this is not your happy romcom story, and you might cry, but you will fall in love with this couple. The book was also made into a show on Hulu for when you finish but still want more.

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Final Cut

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: English breakfast tea

I really enjoyed this story, although I feel like every thriller I’ve read lately takes place in the UK? This was an interesting twist on your typical old town with a secret Thriller. It gets a little dark so if you’re looking for a light beach read thriller this isn’t for you, it leans into Verity territory (probably why I enjoyed it so much, tbh.)

Final Cut follows Alex, a filmmaker, who gets a tip to travel to a small town in Northern England as the focus of her new documentary. The people in town are hesitant to speak to her and all seem to have their own secrets to keep. The purpose of the documentary is to showcase the ‘everyday life’ in Blackwood Bay but Alex quickly gets caught up in the mystery of three missing girls. The twists continue as Alex starts having memories come to her and think she’s been to the town before.

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Mexican Gothic

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Red Wine and the Halloween candy you ‘got for trick or treaters’

I’d seen a lot of people posting about enjoying Mexican Gothic, and then Kelly Ripa posted about it so I was sold. I can only watch Hocus Pocus so many times (according to my husband) to get into the holiday spirit this year so this book was perfect. The author does a great job of balancing the story and character development with the creepiness factor. I won’t lie, when I was walking upstairs to bed after reading I may have turned on every light along the way, but it was a great story.

The story is set in 1950’s Mexico following Noemí. Her cousin married a man quickly and left Mexico City to live at his family home and the family has hardly heard from her until she starts sending some concerning letters. Noemí makes a deal with her dad to go visit and check on her cousin, but when she gets there she realizes there’s something very abnormal about her in laws and their family home.

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Anxious People

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Coffee to stay alert and keep up

I chose Anxious People as my Book of the Month for September after seeing a lot of book accounts post about it. It was a fun, chaotic story about a group of people who go to an apartment viewing and end up the center of a hostage situation. Despite that it’s a very light hearted story, and the narration is very much of the thought process of everyone involved instead of your typical story telling.

It’s a fast paced story and a quick read, perfect for a flight or a vacation read. I enjoy getting books like this from Book of the Month because it’s a story that I likely wouldn’t have picked up on my own but when I saw it as an option was excited. If you get overwhelmed trying to pick new stories it’s a great way to limit the options and have books presented to you. If you’re interested in signing up you can use this link!

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‘One Of Us’ Series

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Water, minus any peanut oil

I enjoyed this series, it was essentially a combo of Pretty Little Liars x Gossip Girl with a hint of Breakfast Club. One of Us is Lying will be adapted into a show on Peacock, coming out sometime in 2021, I think it’ll do well as long as Peacock gains popularity. Since the sequel One of Us is Next is already written it hopefully won’t fall into the same trap as Riverdale where it goes completely off the tracks after season one.

One of Us is Lying is where the series starts, five high school students are in detention together when one of the students mysteriously dies. Naturally the other four become suspects, but the student who died, Simon, also ran a gossip site about their school so the suspect list continues to grow. I figured out the ending before it got there but still enjoyed the story and the characters themselves.

One of Us is Next is the sequel, we pick up back at Bayview High except this time some of the side characters from One of Us is Lying are who we follow. I prefer this type of a set up in a sequel, the main four characters from the first book are still tied in and the story is consistent but it doesn’t feel like just a retelling of the first one. In this book a copy cat of Simon is playing an online truth or dare with the entire school which leads to another student dying. We get to know more about dynamics of the town and families involved and I may have enjoyed this one more than the first.

If you ever had to defend yourself for how many seasons of Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale you stuck around for you’ll enjoy this series.

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The Last Flight

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: An airport sized water bottle

If you love a good thriller/mystery, this is a must read. It has your typical thriller set up where it starts at a huge event and then goes back and fills in holes, but the way that this story comes together in the end is *chefs kiss*. Coming from someone who typically finishes books with 100 questions, I was completely satisfied with how it wraps up.

The book is about Claire Cook who married into a prominent political family and appears on the outside to be living the picture perfect life. We quickly learn this isn’t the whole truth and we start seeing her plot an escape from her marriage. It’s an incredibly well organized and exciting story, but Julie Clark also digs into a lot of bigger issues about why abuse victims don’t come forward, and how the media handles tragedies. A thriller that involves a political family is essentially my ideal book, but even if JFKs grandson is the only news update you’ve had in weeks you’ll enjoy this.

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The Night Swim

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Coffee pretending you’re listening to a podcast on your commute

The Night Swim was my August selection from Book of the Month and I think my favorite I’ve gotten so far. I LOVE a true crime podcast, so when I read the description I was immediately sold.

The story follows Rachel, a true crime podcaster who gained a huge following in her first two seasons. She decides for season three she’ll follow an ongoing case during the trial right from the courtroom. As she gets to the town to begin coverage she starts getting letters from a fan asking her to also look into her sisters murder. It’s a really interesting concept, you see both investigations, the court room as well as transcriptions of what the podcast episodes sound like and I really enjoyed it.

This is now my fifth month of Book of the Month and I really do love it. It gives me the opportunity to mix up what I’ve been reading and for $14.99 it’s worth it to try out new books. Most of them are also new releases so it’s fun getting to find out about them early. You can sign up through this link if you’re interested!

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Something In The Water

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: A seltzer on the beach

I read Something In The Water at the beginning of quarantine and have found myself repetitively recommending it to people who are looking for a great beach thriller. It has a good balance of twists and turns without getting too dark.

The book actually starts at the ending but there are enough twists throughout that it’s hard to figure out how it will even get there. We then go back and see Erin and Mark on their honeymoon where they find a mystery in the water. Their decisions after the discovery will give you the same feeling as when you watch someone in a horror movie go into a dark basement alone. *Disclaimer: you may scream WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT while reading.* If you’re looking for a thriller but nothing too crazy on the gone girl scale this is a great choice.

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Holiday Weekend Books

If you’re like me and the holiday weekend snuck up on you don’t worry, I’ve got you covered on which books Prime can get to your door before your travel and festivities kick off.

When Life Gives You Lululemons is a sequel to Devil Wears Prada, do I have to go further? The story picks up following Emily who after leaving Miranda starts working in celebrity PR and ends up helping a Senators wife in Greenwich, CT. It hits all the necessary parts of a good summer read: lavish lifestyles, mystery and women working together so that a man gets what he deserves.

Do You Mind If I Cancel is perfect if you’re looking for a quick and entertaining read. First off, if you’re not already following Gary Janetti on instagram, go do that immediately. The book runs through his life and how he got to where he is in the entertainment industry. The audiobook is narrated by Gary himself so I’m sure if possible, it’s even funnier than the book.

If you’re looking for a good thriller I recommend The Girl from Widow Hills. This book has essentially four mysteries that happen across 20 years that all tie up in one stressful ending. Less Gone Girl/Verity closer to Something In The Water on the crazy meter.

If you’re having a calmer weekend and want a sweet romance the new Jasmine Guillory book Party of Two is perfect. It’s the second book on this list about someone being involved with a Senator, so maybe I’m missing DC a little more than usual? It’s your classic romcom and goes perfect with a glass of red wine and chocolate cake.

Hope everyone has a safe holiday, if you’re looking for more recommendations my full Amazon recommendation list is linked here!

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The Silent Patient

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: An easy red

I went back and forth on my feelings during this book but the end makes it worth it. Alicia, the silent patient, is put in a mental institution after being convicted of killing her husband. Not exactly a spoiler, but she doesn’t speak, so you have to depend on the narrator, side characters and a journal to fill in the gaps of what happened.

At parts I thought I figured it out and almost started to judge my friends who recommended it about why they thought the end was so shocking. However to the entertainment of my husband I actually gasped at the ending. It drags a little in the middle but I promise the ending is worth the hype.