After taking some time off from reading not-cozy mysteries and/or thrillers, I’ve been dabbling in them again this summer. This is such a broad genre – as discussed in a recent book club meeting, it’s one of those genres where there’s a spectrum of “intensity:” some are more psychological and others are just twisty, while some are almost cozy in comparison. I don’t mind crazy twists and I’ll tolerate a decent amount of “edge-of-my-seat-suspense,” but I’m not a fan of gore or anything too dark. There is a line, and if I inadvertently pick up a title that meets that line, I’ll just DNF and carry on. Thankfully I’m pretty good at telling if a book will “work” for me or not.

Since it’s been a while since I read this kind of book, I thought I’d share mini reviews of a few of the thrilling mysteries I’ve read and enjoyed this summer.

The Midnight Feast | Lucy Foley | William Morrow | 2024
Okay, I’ll admit: this one came close to the line – there was a moment {or few} of “where exactly is this going?” Once I started getting a hunch about what was going on, I was able to see why things were so weird. But it is probably the darkest novel of Foley’s I’ve read {although nothing is quite as dysfunctional as The Paris Apartment was – that was a mess}, and weird. There are so many twists and turns and revelations, it’s a compelling and compulsive read – like a train wreck, without the hot mess. The end “revelation” by way of passing comment is hands-down the best part of the whole book, and I’m there for it. Also the cover.

The Heiress | Rachel Hawkins | St Martin’s | 2024
This one was so twisty. {Noticing a theme? I love a good twist}. I had a few hunches in the reading {definitely recommend the audio on this one: the narration was so good}, but holy cats, y’all. This has so much going on: dysfunctional family drama. Extreme wealth drama. Southern aristocracy in a small town drama. Rumors of murder drama. Layer upon layer upon layer of secrets, and there’s only so long you can keep some things secret. This is the story of how those layers came peeling off like an onion, and it gets … twisty.

Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera | Celadon | 2024
I read this in 3 sittings, and honestly it would have been 2 sittings, except I got sleepy and couldn’t keep my eyes open and focused to finish.
This is a wild ride. And again: extremely twisty. It actually kept me second-guessing and reworking my theory right up until nearly the same moment that Lucy figured it all out. {This is a major win for the book, since I typically figure things out very early}. I loved the format and presentation: having the transcripts of podcast episodes sprinkled into the narrative, uncovering secrets and unraveling stories piece by piece. Like I said: wild ride, and oh-so-twisty.

After taking time off from reading them, it’s been nice to come back to “thrilling” books, but I’m remembering why I don’t like to binge them. Once you’ve read a couple in close succession, they start feeling … not as thrilling. These were fairly spaced out, a few weeks apart, and were all different enough they felt fresh. {Not mentioned but also read: Ruth Ware’s newest, which was one weird read, ha}. But now it’s time for a genre shift, a palate cleanse … I’ve got one or two more on my TBR that I do plan to pick up, but after several more romances and maybe a handful of cozies. Or more Austenesque mysteries – those are excellent fun.

Do you enjoy thrillers? If so, what’s your favorite?

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