February blows in this weekend with bitter cold and nationwide protests, as the new year’s massive upheavals continue apace. Of lesser importance to the world, but more relevant to this site, February also brings a host of excellent new psychological thrillers channeling the anxieties and undercurrents of our new normal. As always, blurbs are by me, unless otherwise stated.
Leodora Darlington, The Exes
(Dutton)
The Exes has a clever set-up: a woman with a trail of dead fiances finds her current partner has been keeping secrets. What part did she play in the deaths of her ex-lovers, and how can she make sure history doesn’t repeat itself? The characterization is particularly apt, with seeming opposites yielding to slowly emerging parallels, revealing and structuring in equal measure.
Karen Parkman, The Jills
(Ballantine)
The Buffalo Jills were the first pro-football cheerleading team to unionize, which perhaps is why the team so aggressively eliminated its star supporters from the sidelines (the team was dissolved soon after organizing). In The Jills, a cheerleader goes missing at the start of the novel, leading her ever-capable friend & teammate down a dark rabbithole that touches on every crisis of upstate New York. As we’ve learned from Dare Me, Tik Tok, and countless reality TV shows, there is nothing more noir than cheerleading.
Caroline Glenn, Cruelty Free
(William Morrow)
When a former starlet returns to Los Angeles, it’s been ten years since she lost her child, ten years since she was dropped by her adoring fans, and ten years since her husband came out of the whole mess scott-free. A chance encounter with a charismatic younger woman leads to a risky, yet rewarding, new business plan: kill off anyone who’s ever mistreated them, boil their bones into collagen, and sell it to women desperate to firm up their faces before they find themselves replaced. What could go wrong?
Susan Walter, Murder at 30,000 Feet
(Blackstone)
A locked room murder mystery set on a plane? That’s in the SKY? Sign me up, and please also put me on a no-fly list. –Olivia Rutigliano
Philippa Malicka, In Her Defense
(Scribner)
In this excellent psychological thriller with legal elements, an epic battle over a young woman’s future looms between her famous mother and her cult-leader therapist, and all roads to resolution lead back to a series of encounters in Italy with vast ramifications for the current court case. Malicka has crafted a complex psychological puzzle with a thoroughly satisfying ending, and I can’t recommend this book enough.
M.K. Oliver, A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage
(Atria)
A mother with a busy family life adds ‘disposing of a dead body’ to her multi-tasking daily agenda in this mordantly funny novel. This is a high-concept thriller that delivers on the brilliant premise with a more than memorable ending. –Dwyer Murphy
Rebecca Novack, Murder Bimbo
(Avid Reader Press)
While the title is reason enough to recommend this book, Novack’s novel is more than just a book called “murder bimbo”. It’s also a compelling tale and hilarious metamystery in which the titular bimbo may or may not commit murder, may or may not be a spy, and may or may not be a bimbo…and she’s going to tell us all about it for her podcast to set the record straight. Honestly, if you aren’t automatically intrigued by a book called “Murder Bimbo” then I can’t help you. It’s so good, y’all.
Danielle Girard, Pinky Swear
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books)
Danielle Girard’s premise is so genius it’s almost traumatizing; it’s about a woman who investigates the disappearance of her surrogate right before the birth of the baby. I’m super pregnant, so this is my worst nightmare, but man I respect it. –OR
Will Dean, Adrift
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books)
A pair of married writers move their small family to a houseboat, and soon they’re on the move, growing physically and psychologically further from civilization as their situation comes under growing strain. Dean has written a masterful novel of suspense and splintering relationships. –DM
