Itβs hard to believe it, but a new year is almost upon usβand itβs promising to deliver some outstanding crime and suspense novels! In the lead up to the new year, Iβm resurrecting my βBuzzworthy Booksβ seriesβa series of βpreviewβ posts dedicated to highlighting a couple of early-2022 releases that Iβm particularly excited about! For my first Buzzworthy 2022 Book, Iβm so excited to recommend Katherine Faulknerβs outstanding domestic thriller GREENWICH PARK, which will hit US bookstores on January 25th. This exceptional domestic suspense novel delivers a delicious blend of paranoia-inducing plotting and engaging, entertaining interpersonal secrets and drama. Pick this book up for its stunning cover, stay for its wildly addictive and seriously unsettling cat-and-mouse plot. Read on for three reasons you should add GREENWICH PARK by Katherine Faulkner to your 2022 reading list!
Read MoreBook Review: INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell
Queen of the just-one-more-page thriller Lisa Jewell is back with what is undoubtedly my favorite book of hers yet: INVISIBLE GIRL, available this week in the US. INVISIBLE GIRL is a perfect encapsulation of the delicious blend of dark intrigue and entertainment value that Iβve fallen in love with in Jewellβs writing. Itβs a story of chance encounters, intersecting lives, and sinister secrets, all of which plays out against the seemingly innocuous backdrop of a high-end neighborhood in London. There is no one sole protagonist in Jewellβs latest novel, but rather a cast of characters whose intersecting fates provide the sinister drama central to this engrossing, unputdownable psychological thriller. Behind closed doors, everyone has something to hide, and none of Jewellβs characters are spared having their darkest secrets laid bare in INVISIBLE GIRL. Readers looking for a fresh take on domestic suspense will find Jewellβs INVISIBLE GIRL an irresistible blend of juicy drama and razor-sharp thriller writing. INVISIBLE GIRL is one of the best psychological suspense novels Iβve read this year, and a must-read for any suspense aficionadoβs fall reading list.
Read MoreQ&A: Sandie Jones, Author of THE FIRST MISTAKE
Still on the hunt for the perfect domestic thriller to bring on your next vacation? Look no further: Sandie Jonesβ THE FIRST MISTAKE is the book for you. Twisty and shocking, THE FIRST MISTAKE takes a relatively familiar suspense setup - a wife who fears her spouse is being unfaithful - and pushes it in addictive, jaw-dropping new directions. Sandie Jones made a splash with her debut novel The Other Woman, which was a selection for Reese Witherspoonβs book club and a New York Times bestsellerβ¦ but I actually loved THE FIRST MISTAKE even more. This book is a perfect example of what I like to call βpopcorn readingβ: an utterly entertaining story that youβll want to binge-read in one or two sittings. Fans of B.A. Paris, J.P. Delaney, and Shari Lapena will absolutely love the domestic drama, plot twists, and chilling suspense Sandie Jones serves up in THE FIRST MISTAKE. Iβm thrilled to welcome Sandie Jones to CBTB today to talk all things THE FIRST MISTAKE! In this blog post, youβll find all the details on Sandieβs newest release, an excerpt from my review of this deliciously addictive suspense read, and, of course, my conversation with Sandie.
Read MoreBook Review: MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing
Appropriately billed as βMr. And Mrs. Smith meets Dexter,β Samantha Downingβs deliciously dark debut crime novel MY LOVELY WIFE follows a married couple with a unique way of keeping the spark aliveβ¦ serial murder. Thatβs right, this book centers around a pair of ordinary suburban spouses whose date nights involve death. Sound over the top? It is, but in the best possible way. In MY LOVELY WIFE, Downing pushes the domestic suspense novel to its limitsβand the result is a hugely entertaining, seriously sinister suspense read. Letβs be clear: this book has a wild, larger-than-life premise - and itβs one that, frankly, could go wrong in less capable hands. But rest assured, Downing gets it very right. MY LOVELY WIFE is wicked fun to read; readers looking for a suspense novel with plenty of entertainment value that doesnβt take itself too seriously will be hooked on Downingβs razor-sharp debut. As for me, it had been a long time since I read a book that was this fun to devour, and Iβm already eagerly anticipating what Downing will do next.
Read MoreBook Review: OPEN YOUR EYES by Paula Daly
In an instant, the life you know can be taken away. Thatβs the premise of Paula Dalyβs sharp and thoughtful domestic suspense novel OPEN YOUR EYES, available in the US tomorrow (October 9, 2018). Centering around the wife of a bestselling crime writer, OPEN YOUR EYES confronts readers with the terrible ways that our ordinary could become anything but. When a brutal crime leaves Jane Campbellβs husband Leon in a coma, Jane is forced to pull the proverbial wool from her own eyes and confront the secrets her husband has been keeping from her in their otherwise idyllic marriage. As Jane plumbs the depths of her husbandβs secret life, she finds that her tranquil existence has been a facadeβand what lies beneath is more troubling than she could ever have imagined. Daly writes deftly about ordinary life; OPEN YOUR EYES is a subtle and nuanced suspense novel that will best suit readers looking for a story made chilling by its plausibility. This is not a story defined by shocking violence or twistsβitβs a story that is unsettling because of how closely the lives of its characters resemble the lives we ourselves lead. Readers will find protagonist Jane an acquired taste, but the deeper she digs into the truth of her own life - and the more agency and independence she develops in the process - the more they will root for her. OPEN YOUR EYES is tense, chilling reading material, and a breath of fresh air in the domestic thriller genre.
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