Michelle Rao

Filaments, a Hypnotic Psychological Thriller by KZK

The Bottom Line: Filaments is a hypnotic psychological thriller that pulses with intelligence and dread. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn and Blake Crouch. Filaments begins in a crowded college bar, where exhausted biologist Dr. Thea Pappa is reluctantly celebrating a long-awaited research grant with her graduate students. Amid the blur of cheers and clinking glasses, Thea’s sense of triumph quickly gives way to unease […]

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Fractured, a Must-Read Domestic Thriller by Jason Melby

The Bottom Line: A must-read domestic thriller. Fans of Linwood Barclay should move Fractured to the top of their reading queue.   Fractured begins in Florida as struggling novelist Stu Harvey and his pregnant wife Lisa brace for a hurricane. Their marriage, already strained by grief over a drowned son, is compounded by financial stress. Just as the storm knocks the power out, Lisa goes into labor. Stu’s frantic

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The Seventh Wonder, a High-Stakes Archeology Thriller by Andrew Siditsky

The Bottom Line: A fast-moving, high-stakes archeology thriller that is perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.  The Seventh Wonder opens in 270 B.C.E., as a Macedonian warship approaches the ancient city of Alexandria. The crew believes they are seeing the impossible – the legendary lighthouse of Alexandria, thought to have been destroyed. Just minutes after its menacing appearance, the ship bursts into flames.  

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Viper Island, a High-Octane, Cinematic Thriller by Cameron K. Moore

The Bottom Line: A relentlessly immersive, high-octane and cinematic thriller that readers won’t be able to put down.  In Cameron K. Moore’s excellent novel Fearless, top neurosurgeon Molly Jones realized that her curse – an inability to feel fear – could also be a superpower. As Moore’s third Trident thriller, Viper Island opens, Molly is now a Trident operative embarking on her first field operation. Despite all she’s learned,

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Cross Examination, a New Legal Thriller from a Master Storyteller

The Bottom Line: James E. Carroll is a master storyteller. Come for the murder mystery and riveting courtroom drama, but stay for the cunning corporate conspiracy. James E. Carroll’s second Jamie Carson Legal Thriller, Cross Examination, focuses on Herbie Jones, a white collar worker whose gun possession charge – aside from a prior arrest for cocaine possession – seems somewhat out of character. Herbie is a star

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Proxy War Book Review

Proxy War, a Knockout Series Debut by S.W. Michaels

The Bottom Line: A knockout series debut you can’t afford to miss. Proxy War is a rare combination of explosive technology, global security stakes and emotional depth.  College student Alex Mercer lives with her adoptive parents, Jin-woo and Soo-yeon Mercer, in a modest Fremont, California apartment complex. Amidst financial struggles, Alex has to juggle school and side jobs. When she learns that her father has been the unwitting

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Colony, a Shockingly Great YA Sci-Fi Thriller by Ron Wolff

The Bottom Line: A shockingly great YA Sci-Fi thriller that earns its suspense and pays it off repeatedly. Highly recommended for any sci-fi fan.  At a time when establishing an outpost on Mars seems more plausible than ever before, Ron Wolff’s Colony opens – appetizingly so – with a detailed schematic diagram of Hellas Station, a base for human colonization and scientific exploration. What follows next is

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Toxic Minds, an Essential Medical Thriller by Anthony Lee

The Bottom Line: An essential medical thriller that boldly tackles cults of personality and the threat of widespread medical disinformation within a psychologically terrifying plot.  Dr. Mark Lin first appeared in one of 2024’s best medical thrillers, Doctor Lucifer. Anthony Lee’s followup, Toxic MInds, begins as Lin is discharging Shannon Dixon, a patient he’s treating in an Orange County-area hospital. Soon after, Shannon, who is pregnant and worried

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MotherLove, a Stunning Crime Thriller by Hope Andersen

The Bottom Line: A truly stunning crime novel that is emotionally charged, challenging and filled with unexpected twists.  MotherLove opens in St Croix as an assassin in a wetsuit sneaks aboard a yacht, executes a human trafficker and rescues several young Haitian girls. Two days later, in New Jersey, 35-year-old Rebecca Winslow wakes in a frigid guestroom. Rebecca is grieving the loss of a child, multiple

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