Bella Wright

Bella Wright blogs about books, film and media.

Bombmaker, a Smart Terrorism Thriller by Daniel J. Davies

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The Bottom Line: One of the smartest terrorism thrillers in recent memory. Davies explores the psychology of extremism and delivers suspense, illumination as and a glimmer of hope.  Daniel J. Davies’ Bombmaker dares to understand the villain at the core of a riveting terrorism thriller. Former U.S. citizen Georges Subdallah – also known as Fadi – is rumored to be the world’s most-skilled bombmaker. He’s also a ghost, […]

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The Serpent’s Teeth, a Wildly Absorbing Murder Mystery by Stephen Kronwith, MD

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The Bottom Line: This wildly absorbing, innovative murder mystery is a must-read for Agatha Christie fans.   As The Serpent’s Teeth opens, an enigmatic assassin embarks on a curiously easy mission. As he prepares to enter the opulent estate, he has no need to hack its security system – instead, he simply logs in with the credentials his employer provided. Once inside, he finds his target, 79-year-old

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Fan Mail, an Emotionally Explosive Coming-of-Age Thriller by Joseph Lewis

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The Bottom Line: An emotionally explosive and life-affirming coming of age story wrapped within a simmering crime thriller. Fan Mail is a coming of age story centered around the lives of seven brothers – two biological, and five adopted – in the Evans family. Several of the boys are sophomores at WIsconsin’s Waukesha North High School, where a car bomb wreaks havoc in the school

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River of Wrath, an Epic Coming of Age Thriller by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor

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The Bottom Line: The dynamic duo of Weis and Astor make magic together. A rising body count, a dark pact among unlikely friends and a wholly evocative world propel this small town mystery to epic heights. Highly recommended. Until three unsolved murders rocked tiny St. Benedict, Louisiana, the town hadn’t had a single murder since 1942. As River of Wrath opens, local sheriff Kent Davis

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Clifford’s War: Without End, an Irreverent Comedic Thriller by J. Denison Reed

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The Bottom Line: An irreverent comedic thriller that combines a high-octane plot with regular doses of levity.  Following the murder of a U.S. Senator, Commander Doyle Hamilton is backed by party leaders to run in a special election to fill the seat. Doyle needs to assemble a team he can trust, and among the first to enlist is private investigator Clifford Dee. Doyle was once

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Azabu Getaway, The Year’s Best Crime Thriller by Michael Pronko

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The Bottom Line: Detective Hiroshi has never been more entertaining in this electrifying crime thriller featuring some truly ingenious financial crimes.  When American wealth manager Patrick Walsh returns to his Tokyo apartment and keys in his passcode, he’s surprised to find that it still works. For those unfamiliar with Tokyo, Azabu is known as one of Tokyo’s most expensive residential districts. When Walsh’s ex-wife Miyuki

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Blood Before Dawn

BLOOD BEFORE DAWN, The Year’s Best Historical Thriller

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The Bottom Line: The year’s best historical thriller (Winner, The BestThrillers.com Book Awards). April 1979: Ken Verrier and his wife, Sam return to Liberia only to buy diamonds, but they get caught up in a bloody rice riot and a coup d’état. Ken witnesses and unwittingly participates in a period of Liberia’s tumultuous yet poorly documented history—the overthrow of the Tolbert presidency that ultimately ends

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Best psychological thriller of 2022 - ashes in venice

Ashes in Venice, The Year’s Best Psychological Thriller

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The Bottom Line: Unpredictable, brilliantly crafted and deliriously unhinged, we can’t get enough of Ashes in Venice, and you won’t either. Gojan Nikolich’s Ashes in Venice is many things, among them revenge thriller, police procedural and darkly comic commentary on the state of criminal justice. The novel begins with a murder scene strongly reminiscent of Dexter. Based on the precision with which he dispenses his

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

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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

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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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