In the market for a buzzy psychological thriller to add to your winter reading list? The newest release from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen might be just what you’re looking for! On the heels of their blockbuster bestseller THE WIFE BETWEEN US, Hendricks and Pekkanen are back with AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, coming January 8th. I’ve gotten lots of questions about this book from CBTB readers, and thanks to the team at St. Martin’s Press, I’m so excited to give you the inside scoop on this buzzy suspense novel! In this post, you’ll have the chance to read an early excerpt from AN ANONYMOUS GIRL - and to learn all about the book and the writing team behind it.
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Book Review: BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward
No matter how many domestic suspense novels you’ve read, chances are you haven’t read one quite like BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward. Intimate yet expansive, BEAUTIFUL BAD takes readers into the most private secrets of a troubled marriage via pit stops in that same married couple’s history. Traveling from the Balkans to England to post-9/11 New York, BEAUTIFUL BAD draws readers into a story epic in scope, but decidedly personal at its core. This suspense novel has all the hallmarks of your favorite domestic thriller: a marriage with a dark side, a cast of unreliable characters, and some engaging, page-turning twists along the way. But what makes me particularly glad to have read this book is the authenticity that fills its every page. BEAUTIFUL BAD is based on the real-life experiences of its author, and the author’s closeness to the material is evident here in the best possible way. Ward writes with sensitivity about topics including PTSD, the complexities of friendship, and the pressures and challenges of marriage and motherhood—not to mention the utterly compelling portrait she paints of the world as seen through her protagonist’s eyes. BEAUTIFUL BAD is a multifaceted suspense novel brimming with energy, emotion, and entertainment value. Highly recommended for readers who want complex yet binge-worthy domestic suspense.
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Best Debut Crime Novels of 2018
There’s something so special about discovering a debut author whose work just clicks for you. It’s that thrill of discovering something new - a hidden gem, an author whose work you’ll want to follow for years to come. 2018 was a hugely exciting year for new crime fiction talent, but there were five debut crime writers whose work stood out to me in particular - and those are the authors whose work you will find in this list! The authors featured in this list write in very different crime fiction spaces, but their work has one very important thing in common: it’s exceptional. From a harrowing coming-of-age story to a Scandinavian domestic drama to a modern take on a classic procedural and much more, this list highlights the expansive, elastic quality of the crime fiction genre—and proves that women are leading the charge across the board. I can’t wait to see what these talented writers will do next. In no particular order (because I loved them all!), let’s dive in to my picks for Best Debut Crime Novels of 2018.
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Book Review: THE RECKONING by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Iceland’s Queen of Crime returns in 2019 with the second installment in her superb Children’s House series: THE RECKONING. Picking up where her 2018 release THE LEGACY left off, Sigurdardottir’s newest crime novel delivers a gritty, layered procedural exploring the longstanding implications of childhood trauma. Readers follow series protagonists Detective Huldar and psychologist Freyja as they find themselves immersed in a bizarre case: a school’s time capsule is opened, and in it is discovered a note predicting the deaths of six people. A child wrote it… it can’t be real, can it? But when a string of inexplicable - and gruesome - events take place, Huldar and Freyja begin to suspect the note isn’t just the product of a child’s imagination after all—and, if they’re right, there’s much more darkness to come. Living up to her work’s well-earned reputation as crime fiction that borders on horror, Sigurdardottir’s THE RECKONING is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. In a story both gruesome and heart-wrenching, Sigurdardottir weaves a masterful mystery that belongs on the bookshelf of every Scandinavian crime fiction reader.
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Buzzworthy 2019 Book #2: THE HUNTING PARTY by Lucy Foley
What do you get when you cross an Agatha Christie-inspired plot, a stylish-yet-rugged atmosphere, and some seriously dark secrets between old friends? Enter Lucy Foley’s addictive, binge-worthy suspense novel THE HUNTING PARTY. A college reunion over New Year’s Eve goes very wrong when a snowstorm descends, trapping the friends in the luxury lodge where they’re spending their holiday. As claustrophobia mounts and old secrets rear their ugly heads, things get darker still… and when one of the group is found dead, the truth is clear: one among them is a murderer. Fans of Ruth Ware will find much to love in Foley’s deliciously atmospheric and transportive writing. Come for the book’s classic crime-inspired premise, stay for its delectable drama and sly plotting—you’ll be left guessing “whodunnit” until the book’s final shocking pages.
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