Michelle Rao

Birds of Prey Don’t Sing, a Bold Assassination Thriller by Joe Cary

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The Bottom Line: A bold assassination thriller about a perfect kill that refuses to stay buried. Highly recommended. Birds of Prey Don’t Sing opens on the African savanna in 1988 with sixteen-year-old Michael Harrier lying prone on a ridge. As poachers rake an elephant with automatic fire, Michael calmly picks them off with a sniper’s rifle. Just as he muses about the seduction of self-righteousness, he swears the poachers’ […]

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Sayonara, My Sweet, a Sophisticated Crime Thriller by Lea O’Harra

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The Bottom Line:  A gritty, compact and emotionally sophisticated crime thriller that should win over plenty of Michael Pronko fans. Sayonara, My Sweet opens with a Nippon Daily evening-edition newspaper report announcing the mysterious death of twenty-three-year-old Kaori Hirakata in Murota after she collapses from poisoned chocolates. Set in a quiet town where violent crime is rare, author Lea O’ Harra’s framing is immediately effective.  The

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ZigZag Girl, a Must-Read Whodunnit by Ruth Knafo Setton

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The Bottom Line: A must-read whodunnit in which illusion, misdirection and motive are cleverly intertwined. Set amid the neon glamour of Atlantic City, ZigZag Girl opens on what should be a pivotal performance for magician Lucy Moon. But as showtime approaches, her co-performer and closest friend, Vanessa Kim, still hasn’t arrived. Vanessa would never miss a performance, and as minutes tick by, Lucy’s concern hardens into dread. That

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The Debt, a Suspenseful Crime Thriller by Chris Young

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The Bottom Line: A muscular, suspenseful crime thriller about consequence and the long shadow of obligation. Set in the fictional city of Fresburg, The Debt follows eighteen-year-old Michael Kramer, a disciplined martial artist whose future fractures after the accidental shooting death of his best friend. Convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Michael is sentenced to five years in prison.  Debut novelist Chris Young uses the early going to establish

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Poison Pill, a Timely New Medical Thriller by Anthony Lee

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The Bottom Line: A timely and gripping medical thriller that explores the dark underbelly of the world’s growing fixation with weight-loss cures. Highly recommended. Anthony Lee’s third Dr. Mark Lin novel finds our hero back at Ivory Memorial Hospital, moving through the familiar rhythm of inpatient rounds. Lin’s patient Hector Lucero, only in his twenties, is already facing devastating kidney failure, and the severity of the

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The Unlikely Huntress, an Explosive New Spy Thriller by Stephen Maitland-Lewis

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The Bottom Line: Atmospheric and explosive, The Unlikely Huntress builds dread in whispers and delivers its punches with startling force Stephen Maitland-Lewis returns to the harrowing world he built in Legacy of Atonement with a powerful sequel, The Unlikely Huntress. Set nearly a decade after the events of the first novel, ten years have passed since young Giselle Faber, then a recent graduate in her first job, stumbled into a

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Prompt Execution, a Smart and Timely Terrorism Thriller by S.W. Michaels

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The Bottom Line: Prompt Execution turns everyday tech into a murder weapon and every alibi into a lie. Smart, urgent, and terrifyingly plausible.  The second book in S.W. Michaels’ Aegis Series opens with a cleverly executed murder disguised as a smart-home malfunction. Victor Shen, a celebrated tech executive, is killed inside his own meticulously automated house. It’s a locked-room setup built for the connected age, complete with

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Stealing Stealth, a Stellar Debut Spy Thriller by Brian L. Reece

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The Bottom Line: A stellar series debut that will leave fans anxiously awaiting Gabrielle Hyde’s return. Stealing Stealth opens in 1970s Toronto with a heist that transcends crime and borders on performance art. Elite thief and Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Hyde moves with balletic precision, dismantling security systems, manipulating evidence, and escaping moments before international law enforcement storms the scene. From the opening pages, it’s clear that

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the breaking of time

The Breaking of Time: Chronicles of the Arvynth by J.J. Hebert

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The Bottom Line: A winning blend of the supernatural and family adventure that crackles with heart and imagination. Five stars.  The Breaking of Time opens in a quiet New England suburb with a startling confession. Daniel Ward, devoted husband, father, and unassuming accountant, admits that the life he has built is a carefully constructed fiction. He is far older than he appears, and he has spent years

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Vatican Daughter is the Year’s Best Conspiracy Thriller

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The Bottom Line: Voted the Year’s Best Conspiracy Thriller in the 2025 BestThrillers.com Book Awards. The novel begins in Vatican City, where newly elected Pope Joseph Morris slips into the papal garments. Just before stepping out to greet the adoring throngs in St. Peter’s Square, he asks one of the assisting clergy, Cardinal Roselli, to hear his confession. And much to Roselli’s surprise, the Pope discloses

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