A woman grieving the loss of her husband is thrown into the center of a shocking conspiracy in suspense writer Emily Carpenter’s page-turning newest. In UNTIL THE DAY I DIE, suburban bliss is shattered by a tragic accident: in an instant, Erin’s beloved husband is gone, leaving her and her teenage daughter, Shorie, to fend for themselves. In the wake of this unthinkable tragedy, Erin’s mental state begins to unravel. As she spirals towards rock bottom, her best friends (and the co-founders of the prominent tech company Erin and her husband ran) intervene, sending Erin to a luxury rehabilitation center on a remote Caribbean island. What could go wrong? A lot, as it turns out. UNTIL THE DAY I DIE is hair-raising, cinematic fun to read. From its interpersonal secrets to its high-stakes chase scenes in the Caribbean jungle, UNTIL THE DAY I DIE delivers thrills both big and small - a highly entertaining and larger-than-life concoction. Readers in the market for a binge-worthy book with a healthy dose of drama will find Carpenter’s UNTIL THE DAY I DIE right up their alley. (It doesn’t hurt that the cover is absolutely gorgeous, either!)
Read MoreBook Review: HUNTING GAME by Helene Tursten
Helene Tursten, best known for her Irene Huss crime fiction series, returns this week with HUNTING GAME—an atmospheric detective novel that launches her brand-new series featuring Detective Inspector Embla Nyström. And what a fantastic series launch it is. HUNTING GAME is in many ways a classic detective novel; its moody atmosphere, measured pacing, and down-to-earth plotting will make it a perfect fit for readers of traditional procedurals. However, thanks to its stellar protagonist, HUNTING GAME feels decidedly modern as well. At the heart of this superb mystery is Embla Nyström, a young woman working for the mobile unit of the police department in Gothenburg, Sweden. Fiercely independent and as physically tough as she is mentally strong, Embla is an inspiring character—but, even better, she’s relatable, too. She’s the kind of down-to-earth, realistic protagonist that readers will wish they could get to know in real life. In a genre where “damaged detectives” with all manner of bad habits and outlandish behavior can seem a dime a dozen, Embla’s realism and relatability set her apart. From its intriguing cast of characters to its immersive atmosphere and delightfully classic crime-inspired plotting, HUNTING GAME is an excellent read from first to last, and the start of a series I will look forward to following.
Read MoreBook Review: THE STRANGER DIARIES by Elly Griffiths
How is this the first time I’ve read a book by Elly Griffiths? There’s no other way to say it: I’ve been missing out. Griffiths’ exceptional standalone THE STRANGER DIARIES is a spring 2019 must-read. Layered and immersive, atmospheric and authentic, this brilliant twist on Gothic suspense will captivate the reader. Following Clare Cassidy, a teacher who specializes in Gothic literature, THE STRANGER DIARIES takes readers into a bookish mystery with sinister undertones. When one of Clare’s closest colleagues is found murdered, Clare is grief-stricken—but things take an ominous turn when a clue is discovered on the corpse that tie the gruesome crime to the work of a Gothic writer who happens to be one of Clare’s favorites. Could life be imitating art? As Clare ventures into the dark heart of the goings on at her place of employment, it begins to appear that this work of fiction is playing out in the real world—to deadly end. In THE STRANGER DIARIES, Griffiths masterfully blends Gothic influence with modern-day suspense sensibility, and the result is effortless, spine-tingling, page-turning fun. Masterfully blurring the lines between reality and fiction, Elly Griffiths has crafted an exceptional bookish mystery that is both an ode to Gothic literature and an effective work of Gothic suspense unto itself.
Read MoreBook Review: RED SNOW by Will Dean
In 2018, Will Dean captured the attention of crime readers around the world with his chilling debut, DARK PINES. Now, he’s back—and his sophomore novel is even better than his first. In RED SNOW, readers return to the fictional town of Gavrik, Sweden, and to all its glorious quirkiness and personality. But there’s something sinister happening in this quiet town. First, a suicide; then, a gruesome, almost ritualistic murder—what could be next? Rejoining series protagonist Tuva Moodyson, a reporter for the town’s local newspaper, readers will go down the rabbit hole and into the twisting, turning case of “the Ferryman,” a killer so named due to the licorice coins he placed over the eyes of his victim. RED SNOW is, as expected, a highly atmospheric and chilling thriller. But even better is what I didn’t expect this story to be, and that is a touch zany and brimming with personality. Dean masterfully laces his crime novel with quirks and quiet jokes galore; this isn’t a comic novel by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a crime novel with a dark, eccentric sense of humor. (Fans of Twin Peaks, this one’s for you.) RED SNOW is a fresh take on northern crime fiction, guaranteed to deliver thrills and a few laughs along the way.
Read MoreBook Review: THE BONE KEEPER by Luca Veste
Luca Veste’s chilling standalone crime novel THE BONE KEEPER will add a welcome dose of spine-tingling fun to your early-2019 TBR. Part police procedural, part urban legend, THE BONE KEEPER reads like the creepiest story kids in your neighborhood used to tell to scare each other… only this time, it’s all grown up, and it might just be real. In his newest work, Veste slyly weaves together a detail-oriented police procedural with a story of suspense that’s the stuff of nightmares—and the result is the twisted, engrossing THE BONE KEEPER. The ideal reader for THE BONE KEEPER will be one who loves an immersive, layered police procedural, replete with all the details of a police investigation, but who also looks for books with a unique edge and personality—all qualities that THE BONE KEEPER has in spades. This slow-burning crime novel will best suit readers who love a traditional police procedural structure; if you fall into that category, you will find THE BONE KEEPER to be a highly original - and highly creepy - winter read.
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