My eyes light up at psychological thrillers, True Crime & great literary fiction
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 Cate is a middle-aged woman who gave up her career ambitions to raise her daughter and son, who are now both teenagers. Her husband works long hours at his psychology practice, providing therapy to children with sociopathic tendencies, and this fans the flames of Cate’s paranoia, as she is constantly worried that he’s cheating on her.
But Cate has also been casting a suspicious eye towards Owen, their strange neighbor across the street who has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies, and has become sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums. When a young girl named Saffyre goes missing on their street, Owen seems the obvious suspect, since it seems he was the last person to see her alive. But Saffyre is a former patient of Cate’s husband, and what neither of them know is that she’s been stalking them for quite some time, unwilling to sever their connection. And now she seems to have vanished in thin air... ---------------- This is a bit more of a slower-paced mystery with one toe dipped into literary fiction than it is a full-on, heart-pounding thriller. But there’s plenty of intrigue and a few fun twists, and in exchange for the slower pace, you get deeper character development and strong arcs. That’s a trade off I’ll take any day!! Lisa Jewell’s writing -- and understanding of human psychology --is top notch. The book explores some interesting themes, like the difference between being anonymous vs. being invisible, and the different types of love, such as needing someone vs. a more ‘pure’ form that doesn’t require anything from the other. This book also sent me down the disturbing rabbit-hole of incels, who are involuntarily celibate, heterosexual men who blame their lack of romantic success on women and society. This is a real thing. There are websites dedicated to it. This is fascinating to know, but also scary and disturbing and I’m never leaving the house again. This is a great read for fans of mysteries & thrillers, or people who enjoy getting into the skin of flawed - and not always ‘likable’ - characters!
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 Lila Ridgefield seems like the perfect wife from the outside, but she and her husband Aaron both have troubled pasts. When he goes missing, she’s very confused. She was the last person to see his body, and now he’s not where she put it. Her small town in upstate NY is thrown into the spotlight when - on top of Aaron’s disappearance - a true crime podcast focuses on a teenage girl who also went missing in the area. Soon it’s discovered that more girls are missing, and it’s beginning to look like all of these missing persons cases may be linked. Lila is now the object of national media attention, and she has to figure out what has actually happened to her husband before she is found out -- or worse. This domestic suspense thriller alternates between past and present, and flips between the POV of Lila and Ginny, the detective who is determined to uncover the truth. It has some Gone Girl vibes, which I love. The character of Lila is strong and sexy and complex and flawed, and I am here for it! The premise is fantastic and unique, so the book starts off with a bang. The middle did drag a bit for me, but the pace picked up again during the climax. I did predict the ending, but I’m not necessarily bothered by that, especially since it closed with such a satisfying theme of female empowerment. Plus, there was an extra twist that I didn’t see coming that was very dark and disturbing. (This may be a good place to add a trigger warning for those who’ve experienced abuse or sexual assault). This is a popcorn psychological thriller. Like many commercial thrillers, the emphasis is on plotting and shocking twists more than character, making it one of those easy and fun reads you can devour in one sitting while you escape the world for awhile. I’d definitely read the next book by Darby Kane! And I’m so grateful for the inspired and creative people like her who can craft stories that allow us to escape things like, oh say, global pandemics and contested elections.  I was interested in this book because the author has had an amazing career law enforcement: “Isabella was a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina in her department to attain the rank of captain, she served as a patrol officer, hostage negotiator, spokesperson, recruit instructor, patrol supervisor, gang council coordinator, and district station commander.”
Makes me think this is definitely a woman with some stories to tell, right? Nina Guerrera is an FBI agent who managed to get away from a serial killer at the age of sixteen. The man was never caught and has remained obsessed with her over the years. When she gains attention from a viral video, the man who abducted her is determined to play a game of cat and mouse with her, killing other women and leaving a trail of clues in his path, while the world watches. Nina and a team of experts at the FBI must discover who this man is and find him before he finds her and carries out his threat. What I appreciated most about this book is that there’s definitely a lot of insider detail, told in a tone that is hard and real, giving it the feel of a police procedural a la Criminal Minds or NCIS. I found the elements of the case incredibly believable and interesting. I was left wanting more of an emotional connection with Nina and the other characters. This was released Nov. 1 by Thomas & Mercer, @amazonpublishing Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #thecipher |