Tag: thriller

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Cape Fear

Title: Cape Fear (formerly The Executioners)

Author: John D. MacDonald

Genre: thriller

When Stephen King wrote a column for Entertainment Weekly, he wrote one about his Top 10 Villains in literature. That list made me want to read every book he mentioned. I’ve read No Country For Old Men, Sanctuary, 1984 (my all-time favorite book), Harry Potter (Voldemort), and Lord of the Rings (Sauron). The other villains include Dracula, Pazazu from The Exorcist, Rhoda Penmark from The Bad Seed, Harry Powell from Night of the Hunter, and Max Cady from Cape Fear. I’ve never seen the movies, so this was all new to me.

From Goodreads: An insane criminal threatens to destroy a family, and the police are powerless to protect them.

For fourteen years, convicted rapist Max Cady nursed his hatred for Sam Bowden into an insane passion for revenge. He lived only for the day he would be free—free to track down and destroy the man who had put him behind bars.

Murder was merciful compared to what Cady had in mind—and what Cady had in mind was Bowden’s innocent and lovely teenaged daughter….

This short book starts out with Cady terrorizing the family. It takes no time at all to get to the suspense. Sam is a good guy who did nothing wrong, but Cady doesn’t see it that way. He’s out for revenge and will stop at nothing to kill each and every Bowden. Written in 1957, this book is definitely dated (Sam and wife Carol sleep in different beds), but it’s a fun way to look at the past when life was so simple. And the story definitely holds up. I say this is a must-read for any thriller fan. Books like this just aren’t written anymore.

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The Stranger Inside

Title: The Stranger Inside

Author: Lisa Unger

Genre: thriller

I had only read one book by Lisa Unger before, Ink and Bone, and thought it was great. So when my book lottery (seriously, I just choose a number at random and what comes up is the book I read) selected this one, I was excited and looking forward to a new thrill. Sadly, this one didn’t work for me at all. I had to roll my eyes a few times, and there was a giant plot hole that I could not get past.

From Goodreads: Even good people are drawn to do evil things … Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but, years later, was released. Then someone delivered real justice–and killed him in cold blood.

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, putting aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

This book just misses the mark all the way around. The main character is okay, not too annoying, but I just didn’t care about her much, which I should have, given her childhood trauma. And a secondary character, who is a bit of a spoiler, so I’ll keep quiet, was absolutely absurd. I didn’t believe this character’s situation at all. The dialogue was super cheesy and didn’t sound authentic. And the plot twist, ugh, just no. I gave it three stars because I definitely wanted to get to the end, but it was just so lame overall. Bummer.

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Saint X

Title: Saint X

Author: Alexis Schaitkin

Genre: literary thriller

I like a good murder mystery, but this wasn’t one exactly. However, it was really great in its own unique way. The story deals with an unexplained death (was it murder? was it an accident?) and the aftermath of the people surrounding it. The language was just beautiful, which is why I added “literary” to the genre. And for a debut novel, I was really blown away by how great this book was.

From Goodreads: Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort – are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives.

Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth – not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister? At seven, Claire had been barely old enough to know her: a beautiful, changeable, provocative girl of eighteen at a turbulent moment of identity formation.

As Claire doggedly shadows Clive, hoping to gain his trust, waiting for the slip that will reveal the truth, an unlikely attachment develops between them, two people whose lives were forever marked by the same tragedy.

As Claire dives deeper into her sister’s life and death, you really get to see just who Alison was. Claire gets access to some of her sister’s audio diaries and gets an unfiltered Alison. And as you get to see Alison through the lens of her sister, you see who Claire is deep down as well. And Clive. Oh, Clive. I’m certainly not going to tell you whether or not he was involved in Alison’s death, but as Claire gets to know him, you really feel for him. I thought this book was excellent. I was expecting just another thriller, but it’s so much more than that. I definitely recommend this one.

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The Chestnut Man

Title: The Chestnut Man

Author: Soren Sveistrup

Genre: thriller

My go-to Netflix shows are Nordic police procedural. I cannot get enough of these. They are so well-written, and the characters are so much better than in American police procedurals. They frequently feature female leads, which is awesome, and aren’t bogged down by tropes or an overwhelming amount of red herrings. So when I can find a book that’s similar, I’m really excited. And this book was a perfect match.

From Goodreads: The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing. If you find one, he’s already found you. A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.

A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted? To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues. Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over. And no one is safe.

I thought this book was great. I was left guessing until the end, but once the identity of The Chestnut Man was revealed, it all made sense. There weren’t a lot of dumb red herrings, but just good old fashioned police work following various leads. The main detective is a woman, so of course you know she’s awesome. The story was creative, the characters were solid, and the book overall kept me hooked. Definitely one of the better thrillers I’ve read in awhile.

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Grist Mill Road

Title: Grist Mill Road

Author: Christopher J. Yates

Genre: thriller

I’m reading a really dense book right now and needed something a bit lighter. Not sure mystery/thriller books are technically lighter, but they are quick reads and I don’t have to focus as much on them. This one has been on my TBR for awhile, although I knew nothing about it. I have to say this one was just okay for me. The story was interesting, but the character motivations just made no sense.

From Goodreads: Twenty-six years ago Hannah had her eye shot out. Now she wants justice. But is she blind to the truth? (insert groan here…what a terrible joke)

Christopher J. Yates’s cult hit Black Chalk introduced that rare writerly talent: a literary writer who could write a plot with the intricacy of a brilliant mental puzzle, and with characters so absorbing that readers are immediately gripped. Yates’s new book does not disappoint. Grist Mill Road is a dark, twisted, and expertly plotted Rashomon-style tale. The year is 1982; the setting, an Edenic hamlet some ninety miles north of New York City. There, among the craggy rock cliffs and glacial ponds of timeworn mountains, three friends—Patrick, Matthew, and Hannah—are bound together by a terrible and seemingly senseless crime. Twenty-six years later, in New York City, living lives their younger selves never could have predicted, the three meet again—with even more devastating results. 

The narrative is in both past and present, which was fine, but also from multiple perspectives, and this just didn’t work for me. Normally, I have no problem with multiple narrators, but this one just didn’t quite fit together. Maybe because the motivations for their actions were just really lame. The reason Hannah’s eye gets shot out….ridiculous. Equally ridiculous are Matthew and Patrick’s modern day motivations. I just was hoping for more with this one. Bummer.

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Some Animals

Title: Some Animals

Author: Joshua Todd James

Genre: science fiction thriller

I had the pleasure of editing this book a few months ago. I’m going to be honest and say that I don’t enjoy every book I edit, and I certainly don’t review them all. However, this one stuck with me because the character of Jacob is so compelling. Jacob isn’t a human. He’s a Companion, a robot who acts more human than humans do. He’s thoughtful and generous. He’s helpful and kind. He can’t hurt human due to his programming. He’s a gentle soul, and I just loved him.

From Amazon:

For fans of THE MURDERBOT DIARIES and I, ROBOT, volume one in a new thrilling series: SOME ANIMALS.

Jacob Kind is your friend. He is your helper. Jacob loves everyone, in fact. He loves his adopted mother, Sylvia, most of all. Jacob is a synthetic Companion, created specifically to be whatever his Primary, his owner, wishes him to be. He isn’t allowed to harm humans and, in fact, is devoted to humanity and art.

Right up until Jacob interrupts a masked man murdering Sylvia in their home and is blamed for the vicious crime. The police believe he’s the culprit, Companion company executives want him returned for reprogramming to prevent a PR nightmare, but Jacob only wishes to bring Sylvia’s killer to justice. Which he is going to have to do on his own.

So now Jacob is on the run. After her killer, and toward justice, with but one guiding light that his mother left him. Serve and protect humanity, at all costs. Without losing his own.

After Sylvia’s murder, however, Jacob’s demeanor shifts. He’s out for justice. Not blood, not to hurt any and all humans. But he wants to know who killed Sylvia and why. To see that person(s) brought to justice. And the journey Jacob takes is great. Through Jacob, we meet other Companions, journey through the lands, and see just how terribly Companions are treated in various parts of the country. James does a great job writing Companions of the future for today’s minorities. They are looked down upon, mistreated, and oftentimes abused. The parallels are noteworthy and important. I’ve been told there will be more from Jacob in future books, and I’m already excited to see where his story will lead.

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The Whisper Man

Title: The Whisper Man

Author: Alex North

Genre: thriller

PopSugar Reading Challenge Prompt: book published anonymously

For the reading challenge, I needed to read a book published anonymously. After scrolling through several lists, none sounded all that interesting. So, I fudged a bit and went with a book that is technically published anonymously but has a pseudonym attached. Alex North’s real identity is unknown. So, good enough for me. I read The Shadows last year and thought it was pretty good, so I figured why not just use this one for the challenge. And I’m so glad I did. This one was excellent.

From Goodreads: After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town: Featherbank.

But Featherbank has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed “The Whisper Man,” for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter’s crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window. 

This book was just great in every department: characters, plot, writing, etc. I fully understood character motivations, plot points made sense, and it was tightly written. Jake and Tom are struggling, but your heart goes out to them both. They are trying as best they can, but adjusting has been difficult. The story is told sometimes in 3rd person and sometimes 1st. It’s a bit tricky, but once you get the idea, it’s not too bad. But I definitely appreciated North’s ability to write both in the same book. Overall, this one was a lot better than The Shadows. But because both were really well done, I’ll be looking for more of North’s books.

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The Wife Upstairs

Title: The Wife Upstairs

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Genre: thriller

Ugh, this book. It’s supposed to be a modern re-telling of Jane Eyre, which is a book I love. But every single character in this book was awful. Not one redeeming quality between them. And the fact that the title is a spoiler, what in the world? You know there’s a wife upstairs from the very beginning, which is ridiculous. Finding that out as a plot twist would have been so much better.

From Goodreads: Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie—not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past—or his—catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

I disliked every character: Jane, Eddie, the wife upstairs, all the minor characters, etc. Every one of them was vapid and useless. The fact that Jane desperately wants into their wealthy world tells you what kind of person she is. She is escaping her past, but when you find out what it is, it’s quite a disappointment. This book was a Book of the Month club selection back in Dec 2020. And it’s not one I’ll be recommending. What a disappointment.

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Chasing the Boogeyman

Title: Chasing the Boogeyman

Author: Richard Chizmar

Genre: thriller, mystery

Thank you Netgalley for this book!

I was introduced to Richard Chizmar because of his collaboration with Stephen King on Gwendy’s Button Box, which was great. I’ve also read his sequel, Gwendy’s Magic Feather, and am really excited for the next Gwendy book. I follow him on Twitter, but haven’t read much else of his. But when I saw that Netgalley was offering this one, I jumped at the chance to read more of his work. And, my gosh, did I love this one.

From Goodreads: In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman—and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.

Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.

This book is amazing. One of the best I’ve read this year, honestly. Even though it’s a work of fiction, Chizmar’s family, parents, siblings, wife, kids, etc that he mentions in the book are all real. The town eh grew up in and the streets, locations, etc are real. But the events are not. He says at the end (no spoilers here) that as he was thinking about this book, he knew that his younger self just had to be the narrator. And it works. Who better to tell a story of your hometown? The plot is great, with Richard and his journalist pal, Carly, trying to solve the murders of these girls. The story isn’t true, but it reads exactly like a true crime book. There are even photos of the “victims” and other people involved. Chizmar, I think, writes horror, but this one isn’t horror at all. It’s just a good old-fashioned mystery. Sure, girls being killed is pretty awful, but this book is not graphic at all. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my true crime/thriller fellow readers.

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Survive the Night

Title: Survive the Night

Author: Riley Sager

Genre: thriller

I’ve read all of Riley Sager’s books. Lock Every Door was my favorite. It was just so bonkers. But the rest have been really good and compelling. This book, though. Ugh. From the get-go, it was preposterous. I was so disappointed. The plot was fine, a girl trying to get through the night with this “mystery” guy, but the details were so ridiculous and unbelievable. Bummer because I was really looking forward to this.

From Goodreads: Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. Like the Hitchcock heroine she’s named after, Charlie has her doubts. There’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want Charlie to see inside the car’s trunk. As they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s suspicion merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?

What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse played out on night-shrouded roads and in neon-lit parking lots, during an age when the only call for help can be made on a pay phone and in a place where there’s nowhere to run. In order to win, Charlie must do one thing–survive the night.

First of all, there is NO WAY Charlie would have gotten a ride from a stranger after what she’s been through. It was wholly unbelievable. The reason she couldn’t have waited two days for her boyfriend to give her a ride was absurd. Charlie also sees movies in her mind. Like she blacks out to the real world and goes into a sort of hallucination and sees a movie, based on real events, playing out. W. T. F. Just ridiculous and unbelievable. It’s like Sager said, how can I make this movie-loving girl more vulnerable… oh I know, let’s give her some mental instability that will play right in to my plot. If you want to read a good road trip thriller, check out No Exit or I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Both do this fabulously and have their own interesting take on the situation. I gave this one three stars because I did finish it and want to see what became of Charlie, but it was just too stupid to give it anything more.