BestThrillers Staff

Standby Counsel, the The Year’s Best Legal Thriller, by Alexi Venice

The Bottom Line: A sexy legal thriller that deftly blends an international terror plot with romantic obsession. Honored as the Best Legal Thriller of 2021. Despite having no experience in criminal defense, civil attorney Monica Spade is ordered to represent an accused murderer. The accused, a demure Romanian woman named Stela, purportedly stabbed her boyfriend 13 times before being admitted to the hospital as a possible […]

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Send Me No Flowers, a Fast-Paced Police Procedural Filled with Sex, Romance and Longing

The Bottom Line: A fast-paced Lori Daniels novel filled with steamy sex, romance and longing. In keeping with the style author Tom Preschutti established with Lover Come Back, the third series book Send Me No Flowers is a seamless continuation of its predecessor. Hardboiled police detective Lori Daniels is once again convinced that someone from her past – in this case, a high-ranking police officer

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Clochán, a Charming Historical Thriller by Lawrence P. O’Brien

The Bottom Line: A vivid, gut-wrenching and charming historical thriller that captures a man’s coming of age in early 19th century Ireland. Set in the years surrounding the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the novel’s early chapters follow the plight of the Neal family as they attempt to survive an armed uprising against British rule and its subsequent backlash. Wartime is not kind to the Neal

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Unwitting, a Gripping Medical Thriller by Deven Greene

The Bottom Line: Terrorism, greed, genetics and politics collide in this complex and gripping thriller. In her previous Dr. Erica Rosen MD series book Unnatural, the pediatrician stumbled upon a program to develop Olympic athletes by manipulating the genes in embryonic stem cells. While that storyline reverberates in Unwitting, Erica’s focus soon becomes the investigation of a suicide bombing at San Francisco’s Oracle Park baseball

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Brushed Off, a Darkly Comic Whodunnit by Lee Musgrave

The Bottom Line: A darkly comic and original whodunnit featuring a truly memorable amateur sleuth. Is there a serial killer at work in Los Angeles, or just someone particularly motivated by greed, jealousy or love? Whichever the case, why has the killer chosen the LA art scene as his hunting ground? LA homicide detective Cisco Rivas, and his unlikely partner, public TV host James Terra,

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At Daddy’s Hands, a Realistic and Harrowing Thriller by Jacob Paul Patchen

The Bottom Line: A realistic and harrowing tale about children who are forced to do the unthinkable. “We’re not seriously talking about… killing dad, are we?!” That seminal line of dialogue comes in the book’s first few pages, far sooner than one might expect in a typical thriller. But in light of Jacob Paul Patchen’s heartbreaking prologue, in which he describes his experiences working in

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Oak Hollow, a Harrowing Horror Novel by Dan McDowell

The Bottom Line: Harrowing hotel horrors continue in this satisfying follow-up to Level Zero. The second entry in Dan McDowell’s Nightmare in Riverton series begins as Nancy Helbens Richards and her husband, Ron, quibble about money and appear to be on the brink of divorce. But those problems pale in comparison to external forces. First, photos of Nancy are inexplicably strewn about with vulgarities and

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On the Devil’s Knee, a Richly Drawn Historical Thriller by Craig A. Godfrey

The Bottom Line: A richly drawn historical thriller filled with murder, intrigue and shocking twists. Craig A. Godfrey’s historical thriller begins in Tasmania on Boxing Day, 1914. What appears to be a hat box is delivered to 22-year-old Protestant Frankie Mulberry, who lives at her parent’s home despite secretly marrying a young Roman Catholic named Brady. But upon opening the present, a bomb detonates, killing

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Stadelheim: Tower of Torment, a Highly Original Thriller by Skye Smith

The Bottom Line: A highly original thriller featuring one of the creepiest neo-Nazis in contemporary literature. Recommended for fans of serial killer thrillers and contemporary horror. Set in the early 1990s, Skye Smith’s debut novel tells the story of a wealthy neo-Nazi predator named Dale and the twisted obsessions that threaten a group of unsuspecting Minneapolis residents. The book’s title is a reference to Stadleheim,

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Furious, an Excellent Psychological Thriller on the High Seas

The Bottom Line: An expertly paced psychological thriller on the high seas. As Furious begins, surgeons Dr. Dagny Steele and her husband, Brad, are grieving the loss of their daughter. Dagny seems to resent how quickly Brad has returned to normalcy, while Brad wants her to move on with her life. He also has a surprise: he’s leased a 62-foot yacht that the two of

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