Suspense Thriller Books

The best suspense thriller book reviews. While all thrillers contain elements of anticipation, suspense thrillers spend ample time building a state of mental uncertainty and anxiety in the story’s core characters, often delaying acts of violence over long periods of time to maximize the effect of the ensuing climactic scene.

Fairy-Tale

Fairy Tale, a Magical New Adventure by Stephen King

The Bottom Line: Decades into his illustrious career, Stephen King continues to reinvent himself. Fairy Tale is one of King’s best. One of the best things about being Stephen King is no doubt the freedom to do as he pleases. Decades after being crowned the Master of Horror, Stephen King has spent much of the 21st century stretching the limits of the genre, working well […]

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A Bounty of Bone, a Jaw-Dropping Suspense Thriller by PG Lengsfelder

The Bottom Line: A jaw-dropping suspense thriller that is unlike anything you’ve ever read. Eunis, a 39-year-old albino Minnesota woman, bears the “mark of the devil” – a brown birthmark on her left cheek that runs from her eye to her chin. A Bounty of Bone is the captivating story of how Eunis goes from someone whose appearance repulses people to someone who is hunted

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Bad Fortune, a Triumphant New Malcolm Winters Mystery

The Bottom Line: A slow-burn, cerebral mystery that methodically builds stakes and suspense en route to a shocking climax.  Thomas J. Thorson’s highly anticipated fourth Malcolm Winters Mystery (the first, Heirs Apparent, was one our 2020 Best of the Year picks) continues the story of Malcolm Winters, who is now living as an English professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. As he did in

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Just a Still Life, a Delightful Mystery by J. Ivanel Johnson

The Bottom Line: Warm up the apple crisp and cozy up to a detective mystery that has been 75 years in the making. It’s the fall of 1971 in New Brunswick, Canada, and inspector Philip Steele is trying to shake off the stench of burnout and cases that haunt him to this day. He has given his resignation and desperately wants to swear off police work for good.

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Gwendy’s Final Task, a New Psychological Thriller by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

The Bottom Line: A satisfying conclusion to the Button Box trilogy that takes heroine to new heights, both literally and metaphorically Book one, Gwendy’s Button Box – which we ranked as one of Stephen King’s best audiobooks – kicked things off in familiar ground for King fans. In Castle Rock, Maine, a device with terrifying and glorious powers reveals itself to Gwendy Peterson, who is

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Reckonings, a Heartbreaking Suspense Novel by Karen E. Osborne

The Bottom Line:  A heartbreaking suspense novel about family secrets, shame and justice.  Karen E. Osborne, author of the superb Tangled Lies, returns with a suspense thriller featuring Osborne’s finest protagonist yet.  Thirty-six year old Roxy has been through a lot. At age 12, her mother abandoned her. At 18, she was raped by her boyfriend, Spider. These days she works at a local beauty

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Eyewitness, a Captivating Psychological Thriller by T.R. Folsom

The Bottom Line: A winning blend of psychological thriller and sci-fi that is simultaneously captivating, eerie and moving. Fifteen years after a car accident destroyed her eyesight and her family, 30-year-old Emily Warner regains her vision through a miraculous cornea transplant. It’s actually her second procedure. The first was a failure, and not just because her body rejected the donation. Shortly after the operation, Emily

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The Pine Barrens Stratagem, a Smoldering and Timely Crime Thriller by Ken Harris

The Bottom Line: A contemporary crime thriller that works on every level, from the smoldering investigation to the whipsaw banter between characters you’re bound to love. Ken Harris’ The Pine Barrens Stratagem centers around Steve Rockfish, a private detective hit so hard by the COVID-19 pandemic that he’s on the verge of losing everything. Creditors are even threatening to repossess his car, a 2015 Dodge

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Shadows of Leonardo, a Thriller Destined for the Big Screen by Will Ottinger

The Bottom Line: Daniel Silva fans will find a new favorite with this made-for-Hollywood tale of ancient art, mystery and murder. Shadows of Leonardo opens months before the end of World War II, as the Nazi regime is collapsing across the eastern front with Russia. Starving and on the verge of freezing to death, a Nazi SS officer discovers a create bound for Reichsmarschall Göring.

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The Body in the Road, an Engrossing Teen Suspense Thriller by Donna M. Zadunajsky

The Bottom Line: This engrossing teen suspense thriller puts the fictional town of Craven Falls on the map. Fans of Natalie D. Richards’ small town mysteries may fall for this tale of a teen who makes an unfortunate turn. Seventeen-year-old Ohio girl Sara Nelson is deathly afraid of her psycho boyfriend, Brad. Fearing for her life, she takes her Grandmother’s car in the middle of

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