Sometimes you just need to read a really fun psychological thrillerβand thatβs the boat I found myself in last week. After devoting my entire October to-read list to supernatural thrillers for spooky season, I was ready to get back to my psychological suspense roots this monthβand ideally, I wanted something that was a little bit more lighthearted and βpopcorn-yβ for a change of pace. Luckily for me, I had the perfect book for the job waiting on my to-read pile: Catherine Steadmanβs brand-new release, THE FAMILY GAME. THE FAMILY GAME is a page-turning suspense story about a writer, her fiancΓ©, and her fiancΓ©'s dark family secrets. It was my first time reading a Catherine Steadman novel, and (spoiler alert!) it wonβ t be my last. If you loved the movie Ready or Not or Jessica Knollβs psychological thriller Luckiest Girl Alive, youβll love Catherine Steadmanβs THE FAMILY GAME. Page-turning, fresh, and just the right amount of weird, THE FAMILY GAME is a perfect choice for your winter to-read list. (Bonus: if you celebrate Christmas, this book takes place in the lead-up to the holiday! Plan accordingly.)
Read MoreRanking Freida McFadden Thrillers
If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember me going down the rabbit hole last month and binge-reading a whole bunch of psychological suspense novels by an author named Freida McFadden. I dove into Freidaβs buzzy suspense novel THE HOUSEMAID earlier this summer on a whimβand quickly found myself hooked on the authorβs deliciously binge-worthy popcorn thrillers. My August 2022 reading list ended up being dominated by Freida McFadden books, and I realized itβs about time I documented my journey with her work so far! The next time I find myself falling into a reading slump and just need something lighter and binge-worthy to pull me out of it, I can almost guarantee Iβll be turning to a Freida McFadden book for the perfect βpopcorn readβ solution. Without further ado: read on for my ranking of the Freida McFadden thrillers Iβve read so far!
Read MoreCBTB'S RECOMMENDED "POPCORN THRILLERS"
We all know how much I love a dark, disturbing crime novelβbut sometimes, even I need something lighter and more escapist. Enter what I like to call βpopcorn thrillers.β Binge-worthy as a bowl of popcorn and brimming with as much entertainment value as your favorite movie, a βpopcorn thrillerβ is one of those irresistible, lighter suspense novels that make for the perfect escapist, one-sitting read. This is an entirely arbitrary category of thriller, but itβs one that youβve probably heard me refer to a lot here on CBTBβand itβs a category that (based on conversations Iβve had with folks in this community!) so many of you seem to really enjoy. Todayβs blog post is exactly what its title says: a place for me to collect my recommendations for βpopcorn thrillers,β and a resource for you to return to when youβre looking for your next read in this category! Iβm keeping this blog post simple: there arenβt any bells & whistles here, simply a running list of βpopcorn thrillersβ that I personally love. Under each bookβs listing, youβll find the publisher-provided descriptive copy for the book, and a buy link so you can check it out for yourself.
Read MoreBook Review: RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins
Anyone else feel like they could use an escape to their own personal, private island paradise? No? Just me? If you too are feeling the urge to armchair travel somewhere idyllic right about now, allow me to introduce you to the perfect bookish escape: RECKLESS GIRLS, a wickedly entertaining thriller that blends Gothic atmosphere with an escapist, binge-worthy plot. In this seafaring suspense tale, a young woman and her boyfriend think theyβve finally found their golden ticket to embark on the sailing trip of their dreams when theyβre hired by two wealthy strangers to sail the women to Meroe Island, a remote, deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But this island is shrouded in dangerous mystery and loreβ¦ and the group is about to find out that these stories might not just be the stuff of legend. This juicy, addictive paradise-turned-deadly suspense novel blends the page-turning entertainment value of a βpopcorn thrillerβ with a dash of romance and the thrill of an adventure tale where no oneβs survival is guaranteed. RECKLESS GIRLS is compulsively readable, wickedly fun suspense perfect for a weekend binge-read. Pick this one up if you want a lighter thriller that packs a majorly entertaining punch.
Read MoreBook Review: THE HUNTING WIVES by May Cobb
Summer reading just got a whole lot spicier. May Cobbβs deliciously juicy and wickedly entertaining THE HUNTING WIVES might just be the most gossip-worthy suspense novel of Summer 2021. Centering around an elite clique of wealthy housewives with secrets as big as their home state of Texas, THE HUNTING WIVES invites readers into an exclusive and glamorous world with a dark side. When Sophie relocates her family from Chicago to a small East Texas town, she hopes to give them the kind of peaceful, stable upbringing that was missing from her own childhood. But Sophieβs world is turned upside down when she meets charismatic and mysterious Margot, the ringleader of a group of local affluent housewives who call themselves βThe Hunting Wives.β As Sophie falls under Margotβs spell, she is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of parties and hookups. And when someone close to the group turns up dead, and suspicion falls on Sophie, her world threatens to be destroyed forever. THE HUNTING WIVES is dripping with glamour and excess, a razor-sharp thriller about the complexity of female relationships wrapped up in an irresistible, reality-TV-worthy package. Fans of Desperate Housewives and Liane Moriartyβs Big Little Lies will relish this irresistible story of wealthy women behaving very badly, and the (maybe not-so-) innocent woman caught in their crosshairs.
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