psychological thrillers
October’s Best Psychological Thrillers
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October brings a host of wonderful new psychological thrillers, distinguished by their commitment to using the form to explore pressing social issues as the genre continues to evolve and take on a wider scope. Below, you’ll find 6 new books, each with its own unique take on crafting compelling suspense. Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women (S&S/MarySue…
Learning to Love Thrillers and Their Morally Compromised Characters
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I’ve been a stay-at-home dad for six years now and I could tell you horror stories. I’ve changed diapers on gas station bathroom floors that should have been condemned. I’ve caught my babies picking up the most vile things in city parks. There are events with Roombas and couch cushions and Cheerios that would live…
Michele Campbell Leans into the Truth
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Michele Campbell worked at a prominent Manhattan law firm before spending eight years fighting crime as a federal prosecutor in New York City. She launched her fiction career in 2005, writing as Michele Martinez, with the Melanie Vargas legal thriller series. Then in 2017 she pivoted, boldly shifting into a new subgenre and, perhaps even…
10 Thrilling Books with Twists You Won’t See Coming
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I love trying to guess the ending. When picking up a new thriller, I’m almost immediately immersed in the mystery and the twists and turns. I greatly admire authors who keep their secrets under wraps, because I feel pretty smart when I figure out what an author was trying to hide from me. Here are…
The Enduring Appeal of the Christiesque ‘Closed Circle’ Crime
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The first crime novels I ever read were by Agatha Christie. I was probably about thirteen at the time and I remember being blown away by how clever she was. The way she could hide her killers in plain sight, or contrive a plot as deviously intricate as Murder on the Orient Express, or manipulate…
Crime Novels Featuring Interpreters, Transcribers, and Other Invisible Law Enforcement Professionals
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It’s the detectives, the private investigators and the lawyers who are usually front-and-center in crime fiction, but there are scores of professionals working in the criminal justice system to whom most of us give little thought. There are archivists who manage police records, people who clean police stations, who service their cars, and IT specialists…
Island Vacations Can Be Murder
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Sure, island vacations can be fun, relaxing, and restorative. But that’s if you’re reading a book in a different genre. In the world of crime, island vacations can be murder. Ever since Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley headed to Italy to bring Dickie Greenleaf back home, the allure of something sinister taking place on an island…
The Mother-In-Law From Hell
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I’ve always been fascinated by families and what drives their unique dynamics. I think perhaps it’s because mine is so small; both my parents are only children and I have only one sibling. But what fascinates me even more than the family we’re born into, is the family we marry. After all, we choose our…
In These Thrillers, “Best Friends” Are the Biggest Threat
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There’s a reason domestic thrillers are perennially popular: fearing the person sleeping next to you every night, realizing too late that the call is coming from inside the house, is enough to send chills up anyone’s spine. But to me, the idea that your closest friends might be the real threat is easily as terrifying…