Here are 8 novels of thrilling suspense to keep you reading all month long! Unless you’re the protagonist of Holly Jackson’s new novel, in which case, you’ll only need to entertain yourself through the end of the week…
Holly Jackson, Not Quite Dead Yet
(Bantam)
Holly Jackson’s adult debut is a countdown thriller with teeth. After a lackadaisical and somewhat lazy law school dropout gets hit on the head by a mysterious antagonist, she’s got seven days to solve her own murder before an aneurism finishes what her attacker started. What would you do if you had only seven days to live? I would personally just give up, but then again, I’m not a heroine in a detective novel.
Ruth Ware, The Woman in Suite 11
(Gallery/Scout)
I’m very much looking forward to reading The Woman in Suite 11, Ruth Ware’s highly anticipated sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10. Lo Blacklock, the unlucky heroine of Ware’s cruise ship thriller, is back to work as a journalist after half a decade spent raising her young children. She’s been invited to a very special hotel opening in Geneva, Switzerland, which will, we assume, go disastrously wrong.
Michelle Brandon, Rush Week
(Avon)
Four estranged friends reunite for their five year sorority reunion at the University of Alabama, but each has a secret agenda for attending the celebration, and each will seek their own vengeance for college wrongs. Through flashbacks, Brandon takes readers inside the cutthroat world of sorority selection, for a fascinating window into a world steeped in traditions, whether charming or deeply problematic.
Megan Miranda, You Belong Here
(Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci)
A woman is forced to reckon with the dark secrets of her college days in Megan Miranda’s new thriller, You Belong Here. Miranda is a master of atmospheric thrills, and an elite university in the mountains of Virginia gives her a rich setting to work with. –DM
Se-Ah Jang, A Twist of Fate
Translated by S.L. Park
(Bantam)
Two women meet on a train and swap lives (and in the process make me deeply jealous of a nation with fast enough trains to bother using—by the time AmTrak reaches its destination, everyone would have given up on ever changing their fates).
Nicci Cloke, Her Many Faces
(William Morrow)
When a young waitress is accused of murdering four wealthy members of a private club, the nation is riveted, but what spectators see in the story may be more about projection than insight. Her Many Faces follows the tale from the perspectives of five men in the accused killer’s life, each with their own take on her guilt or innocence, and some with their own dark agendas for seeing her convicted. An excellent exploration of a central question: how well can we ever truly know a person?
Clémence Michallon, The Last Resort
(Knopf)
A luxury resort in the Utah desert is the backdrop for Michallon’s sophomore thriller, a close and careful study of relations strained to the breaking point and the weight of old secrets. Michallon is an expert with pacing and delivers readers a thoughtful and compelling mystery. –DM
Tasha Coryell, Matchmaking for Psychopaths
(Berkley)
Tasha Coryell’s debut was one of the highlights of last year, and her new book looks to fully live up to expectations. The protagonist of Matchmaking for Psychopaths is a jilted fiance who works as a…you guessed it…personalized matchmaker for psychopaths looking for love. And after she’s unceremoniously dumped, she starts to spiral, with the help of a handsome new lover with far too many similarities to her clients.