6 December Thrillers Written by Women
The further we get into December the less interested I am in books
that make me think. I want escape, and I want to be entertained. The
most I want to ponder when I'm reading this month is along the lines of
whodunit.
Here are a half dozen thrillers and mysteries that will suit me just fine. Which ones call to you?
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
(Berkley, Dec. 3): This is a missing person thriller set in a small
town in New Zealand. The characters include an outsider big-city
detective who ends up as the town's only cop and a prodigal daughter
who's returned home after an eight-year hiatus. The two team up to
search for clues and sort through the suspects, churning up old crimes
and deep secrets among the villagers. The New Zealand countryside plays a
role in this dark thriller in which everyone seems to be hiding
something. Opening lines:
She returned home two hundred and seventeen days after burying her husband while his pregnant mistress sobbed so hard that she made herself sick. Anahera had stood stone-faced, staring down at the gleaming mahogany coffin she’d chosen because that was what Edward would’ve wanted. Quiet elegance and money that didn’t make itself obvious, that had been Edward’s way. Appearances above everything.Audiobook: Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (Penguin Audio; 10 hr; 59 min) [digital and audio copies provided by the publisher]

Maybe you got it at birth. Maybe you gained it through hard work. Perhaps you have yours because you’re charitable, or ambitious, or an asshole. It’s your reputation. Everyone’s got one. And if you think reputations don’t matter, you’re wrong.Audiobook: Narrated by Lisa Flanagan, Allyson Ryan, Phoebe Strole, Brittany Pressley, and Karissa Vacker (Penguin Audio; 13 hr, 3 min) [digital and audio copies provided by the publisher]

He comes over on Thursday of every week. That’s my day, I’m Thursday. It’s a hopeful day, lost in the middle of the more important days; not the beginning or the end, but a stop. An appetizer to the weekend. Sometimes I wonder about the other days and if they wonder about me. That’s how women are, right? Always wondering about each other—curiosity and spite curdling together in little emotional puddles. Little good that does; if you wonder too hard, you’ll get everything wrong.Audiobook: Narrated by Lauren Fortgang (Harlequin Audio; 9 hr) [digital and audio copies provided by the publisher]

I know my brother is dead. I’m not dumb like Hazel Merkowicz from up the street says.Audiobook: Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky (Blackstone; 9 hr, 16 min) [digital copy provided by the publisher]
Sometimes Mama just gets confused, is all.
Like every year on the feast of Saint Theodore, his birthday, Mama sets out an extra plate for Theo, with a candle on it instead of food because I guess Theo isn’t hungry. And Mama says, “Isn’t this nice? It’s like we’re all together again.”

The good thing about being suddenly overcome with fresh terror is that you forget everything else you were afraid of. At least temporarily.Audiobook: Narrated by Suzie Althens (Dreamscape; 9 hr, 17 min) [digital copy provided by the publisher]
The pilot next to me in the two-seat prop plane angled his almost toothless grin my direction and said loudly, “A little bumpy today. You’ll get used to it.”

The girl’s body dangles from the tall, iron gates guarding the school’s entrance. A closer examination shows the ends of a red silk tie peeking out like a cardinal on a winter branch, forcing her neck into a brutal angle. She wears her graduation robe and multicolored stole as if knowing she’ll never see the achievement. The last tendrils of dawn’s fog laze about her legs, which are five feet from the ground. It rained overnight and the thin robe clings to her body, dew sparkling on the edges.Audiobook: Narrated by Fiona Hardingham (Harlequin Audio; 11 hr, 53 min) [digital and audio copies provided by the publisher]
5 comments:
Nice to see a collection of thrillers by women!
I'd like to read all of them.
Great choices, I've added most of them to my TBR list.
A great list Beth! I enjoyed A Madness of Sunshine, I hope you do too
I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Wives.
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