Tag Archives: suspense

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

02 Friday Mar 2018

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I loved this dark, creepy novel. The main character is an alcoholic, agoraphobic woman who lives in NYC who hasn’t been able to leave her apartment in almost a year. She spends her days drinking, watching old black and white movies, and spying on her neighbors through their windows. One day she thinks she sees something very disturbing happen, but can we, the reader, trust her point of view? If you like Alfred Hitchcock, you’ll like this one.

“The Woman in the Window is a tour de force. A twisting, twisted odyssey inside one woman’s mind, her illusions, delusions, reality. It left my own mind reeling and my heart pounding. An absolutely gripping thriller.” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny)

“The Woman in the Window is one of those rare books that really is unputdownable. The writing is smooth and often remarkable. The way Finn plays off this totally original story against a background of film noir is both delightful and chilling.” (Stephen King)

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Odd Child Out by Gilly MacMillan

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in England, Fiction, mystery

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This is a new writer for me.  Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened.  Noah is British.  Abdi is a Somali refugee.   And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol, England. The writer keeps the tension at high pitch, a real page turner. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. The writer’s empathy for her characters is spot-on. (Includes reading discussion questions.)

“Macmillan captivates readers with a story just as addictive as her first… [and] shines when exploring the intricacies of relationships… Fans of Tana French, Ruth Ware, and Gillian Flynn will become completely entrenched in the unfolding details.” (BookPage)

“With lovely prose, depth of character and an intelligent narrative, Macmillan lifts the level of suspense with stiletto-like precision: a tiny graze here, a shallow cut there and, eventually, a thrust into the heart. At once profoundly unsettling and richly rewarding.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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A group of contestants are filming a survival reality show when a disease strikes the real world. However, isolated in the wilderness, the contestants have no idea, and believe everything they encounter is part of the TV show. This is a gripping story that is hard to put down.

“The TV show Survivor meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in Oliva’s stellar debut. . . Fueled by brilliantly intimate and insightful writing as well as an endearing and fully realized female lead, this apocalyptic novel draws its power from Zoo’s realizations about society and herself as she struggles to survive long enough to somehow make it back to her home.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Part wilderness-survival thriller and part dystopian pandemic story . . . a gripping portrayal of an ordinary person’s evolving survival instincts as she realizes she can’t trust the reality she sees.”—Booklist

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Camino Island by John Grisham

13 Wednesday Sep 2017

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John Grisham has broken away from his classic legal storytelling and has written a lawyerless, bookish thriller set in a picturesque Florida beach resort town.

Camino Island, Grisham’s 30th book in 28 years, is a story filled with book lovers – from those who write them to those who steal them, in particular the manuscript copies of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s early works which are housed in the basement vault of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department in the Firestone Library at Princeton University.  Filled with insights on the book trade, Camino Island is a fun read for those who love books!

“Tasty . . . a fresh, fun departure . . . sheer catnip . . . a most agreeable summer destination.” —USA Today

“A theft of priceless books from a library, a book dealer who dabbles in the black market of stolen manuscripts, and a novelist who is recruited for a daring mission all add up to what sounds like the ideal beach read.” – Library Journal

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Wrong Girl (Jane Ryland) by Hank Phillippi Ryan

01 Friday Sep 2017

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Chosen by the Weston Library Mystery Group.  Now the AGATHA AWARD WINNER for Best Contemporary Mystery and the DAPHNE AWARD WINNER for Best Mystery/Suspense!

Investigating allegations against an adoption agency that is suspected of reuniting adopted children with the wrong birth parents, Jane Ryland finds her efforts suspiciously tied to Jake Brogan’s case involving a young woman’s brutal murder and the disappearance of a baby.

THE WRONG GIRL has all the right stuff! The pacing is furious, the characters are great fun, and the dialogue crackles.–Linwood Barclay

A riveting story that will hook you from page one! Unputdownable–Deborah Crombie

 

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The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

10 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, mystery

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One of Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Mystery/Thrillers of the Year
One of Kirkus Reviews’ Ten Best Crime Novels of the Year
Edgar(R) Award Nominee for Best Novel
ALA Reading List Award for Best Mystery
Enjoyed by the Weston Tuesday Mystery Book Group!

1845: New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland.    These two events will change New York City forever…

“The launch of a brilliant new mystery series, set in 1845 New York City: Irish Potato Famine, the birth of the police force, brothels and bedlam.”– Gillian Flynn

“It’s been almost twenty years since Caleb Carr’s bestselling Olde New York crime novel, The Alienist, was published, and I cant count the number of times since then that someone has asked me if I can recommend a suspense story anything ‘like it.’ Well, New York has inspired lots of terrific thrillers, but I’ve just stumbled on one of the worthiest successors yet. Lyndsay Faye’s novel, The Gods of Gotham.“—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

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The Murder of Mary Russell: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King

13 Monday Feb 2017

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Weston Library has a new mystery book group and this was the first pick!

“The great marvel of King’s series is that she’s managed to preserve the integrity of Holmes’s character and yet somehow conjure up a woman astute, edgy, and compelling enough to be the partner of his mind as well as his heart.”—The Washington Post Book World

“The most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.”—Lee Child

“Leaping narrative energy has always been a hallmark of this series, and it reaches something of a peak in this latest volume. . . . The lean momentum of the story never falters. . . . It’s a stunning prolonged feat of storytelling, and it succeeds in making The Murder of Mary Russell the best installment so far in an excellent series.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“Worried about Mary Russell? Well, you should be. She’s opened her door to the wrong man and deeply troubling secrets are set to tumble out, rewriting her history and putting herself and the people she loves in a dangerous spot. Once again, King spins a tantalizing tale of deception and misdirection for her readers’ delight and scores a direct hit in her latest Russell-Holmes mystery.” — Deborah Walsh for LibraryReads

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Nutshell by Ian McEwan

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

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I call it (with tongue in cheek) Hamlet Redux….a funny, engaging tale of murder, intrigue, deceit, and political commentary told (in incredibly graceful prose) from the viewpoint of a nine month old fetus.  McEwan is truly a 21rst century Shakespeare.

“With Nutshell, Ian McEwan has performed an incongruous magic trick … A smart, funny and utterly captivating novel … A small tour de force that showcases all of Mr. McEwan’s narrative gifts of precision, authority and control, plus a new, Tom Stoppard-like delight in the sly gymnastics that words can perform.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“As an example of point of view, you can look no farther than these gorgeous pages, which not only prove that brevity is the soul of wit but also offer the reader a voice both distinctive and engaging … The reader [will be] speeding through every page, each one rife with wordplay, social commentary, hilarity, and suspense … Hats off to Ian McEwan.”—Mameve Medwed, Boston Globe

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Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt

19 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by in Fiction, Humor, mystery

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This was the first mystery that I read that was written by David Rosenfelt, but it won’t be the last. The title drew me in and what kept me reading was his brisk pace and upbeat sense of humor. I think animal lovers and mystery lovers alike will enjoy his Andy Carpenter series and other titles.

“Rosenfelt’s 15th mystery featuring Paterson, NJ-based defense attorney Andy Carpenter (Outfoxed) takes on the case of Martha “Pups” Boyer, who earned her nickname after years of rescuing and placing stray puppies. However, a neighbor complained to the city about the dogs, and now Pups is due in court to fight the zoning law. Although she wins that battle, she’s soon hauled off to jail for allegedly killing the complainant. To make matters worse, that case calls into question the death of Pups’s husband. Now Andy will have to prove her innocence and avoid the killer. The wisecracking, dog-loving attorney still has plenty of appeal in this fast-paced Christmas mystery that avoids any holiday sentimentality.” – Library Journal

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

31 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in Drama, Fiction, mystery

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Sixteen minutes after take-off on a foggy night from Martha’s Vineyard airport, a private jet plummets to the ocean.  Only a down-on–his-luck artist and a 4 year old boy (now the sole inheritor of immense wealth from his mogul media father’s empire)  manage to swim to safety.  “Who? and why?” scream to be answered.  A suspense thriller at its best.

“From the Emmy, PEN, Peabody, Critics’ Choice, and Golden Globe Award-winning creator of the TV show Fargo comes the thriller of the year, 2016.”

“This is one of the year’s best suspense novels, a mesmerizing, surprise-jammed mystery that works purely on its own, character-driven terms….Mr. Hawley has made it very, very easy to race through his book in a state of breathless suspense.”―Janet Maslin, New York Times 

“In the hands of a writer like Noah Hawley, who knows how to build tension from mundane moments, it is a remarkable thriller that most readers will find difficult to put down…it moves toward a breathless ending.”―The Washington Times

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