I really hope you are enjoying our fresh new series on the blog as I virtually select books for our readers. Today I am selecting books for a reader that loves a fast-paced thriller and I have to say that I have read a lot of these over the years. I think there is no greater pleasure than those especially when they keep me up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish it.
I stay away from the big names that crank out the books that are often found on the bestsellers list because I love discovering new writers and sharing about them with you all. That might put me at a disadvantage since I can’t always speak to those writer’s styles that, but simply their genre. Fingers crossed I can still deliver on today’s selections despite not being as familiar with these writers as our reader is!
If you would like me to pick some books for you, just fill out this questionnaire and submit it. I will send you an email when your post is live to let you know my favorite picks for you! You can also leave comments on books you would recommend for this reader too in our comment section below!
Reader Profile
Name?
Kelly
What is Your Favorite Book Genre?
Thrillers
Who Are Your Favorite Authors?
Stuart Woods, James Patterson, Carol O’Connell
What is Your Favorite Book of All-Time?
The Harry Potter Series
What Do You Look for In a Book?
It must be fast paced.
The Virtual Librarian Selects…
If there is one thing I REALLY love it is a fast-paced thriller. For me, thrillers often sound spectacular on their jackets and then end up missing the mark so I am REALLY choosy about this genre and few reach over a 3-star potential for me. That’s why I feel REALLY good about my choices for Kelly today. I also would love to introduce her to a new writer she may not have known about before so I am selecting a few fast-paced reads that have kept me up until the wee hours of the morning!
Into the Darkest Corner is just the book for you if you are looking for a book that you just can’t turn the pages fast enough and causes you to be groggy the next day because you just had to finish it!
Catherine Bailey is a young, single, and beautiful woman that catches the eye of a guy named Lee who is working at a nightclub one night that she is at one night with her friends. She is quickly taken in by him and she isn’t the only one. All of her friends seem just as smitten with Lee as she is.
While their relationship starts out with a passionate fury and a surprising attentiveness that Catherine has never experienced before, she soon realizes that there is also another darker side to Lee that, frankly, scares her. Lee continually is both physically and mentally abusive to Catherine and begins to wedge doubt of her own character by planting seeds in the minds of all of her friends who all begin to question Catherine’s own stability.
Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine, who is now going under the name Cathy, has become a shell of her former self, and is riddled with obsessive compulsive disorder as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Although she has no friends and no one to lean on, an unlikely relationship blossoms between herself and the her upstairs neighbor, Stuart. Just when she begins she thinks she can find happiness, Lee is released from prison and first on his agenda of people to visit….Cathy. What happens though when everyone believes you just have OCD and there really IS someone after you?
At several points I realized I was holding my breath because the book was so suspenseful as the character, Lee, is in pursuit of her. For those of you left wondering is there any life after Gone Girl, this book is for you. This book is perfectly timed with a great story build of a woman before and after an abusive relationship came into her life.
This is a fantastic read, but not for the faint of heart due to extreme violence and graphic sex scenes. This is just as dark and twisted as
Gone Girl, but brings a level of suspense that I have been waiting a long time for in a book.
If Kelly isn’t faint of heart (ha!) and can handle the darkness in this one, then I think she will love this one for its quick pacing!
The Bullet by Mary Louise Kelly
If you are looking for a fast page-turner of a book, this is it. This is a beautifully written mystery that echoes some of my favorite thrillers from Chevy Stevens. When a woman discover a bullet in her body that she was never aware of it, it sends her life spiraling in a direction that she never expected.
The origin of that bullet and the people around her that it has affected, cause this cold case to be reopened… reopening wounds of the family and friends around her.
Despite the gravity of the case and the circumstances surrounding it, the book is laced with great humor and a cast of endearing characters. I really enjoyed this one for a quick escape!
I have NO DOUBT that Kelly will love this one! After finishing it, I highly recommend our interview with Mary Louise Kelly to find out how she came up with such a creative concept for her storyline!
The book opens with the following words, “I’ve been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don’t know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she’s scared. But I will.”
Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia is unlike her parents in every way, content with her life as an inner-city school teacher. When she finds herself at a bar one night alone, after being stood up by her boyfriend, she meets a guy. Her plans for a one-night stand turns into the worst mistake of her life.
I don’t want to say anymore because the beauty in this book is those plot twists you never see coming! This is such a strong debut novel from Kubica and I also loved her second thriller too, just in case you haven’t checked it out yet!
I am recommending this one to Kelly because I think the plot twists are stellar in it and the pacing is quick. After she finishes, Mary joined us in our Sundays With Writers series to talk about her debut as a writer!
Legal thrillers aren’t usually my cup of tea, but I REALLY loved this one and I think Kelly will too!
Andy Barber has been a district attorney for over twenty years. He is well respected and knows how to command the courtroom. When a murder happens at his son’s school, he is among the first on the scene and is ready to help bring vindication to the murderer.
What Andy never suspects is that his own son is the one who is charged with the murder. Andy is removed from the case when all clues begin to point towards his son. Andy doesn’t want to believe that his son could commit such a heinous crime, but as mounting evidence points towards Jacob, he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does he hide the evidence he finds that he knows that the police might be after or let the justice system decide the fate of his child?
Part family drama, part thriller, I could not put this book down. My heart ached for this family who is now ostracized from their friends and coworkers, while the other part of me ached that Jacob would be proven guilty of the crime. The reader will be taken on a wild ride from start to finish with this book. It is a twisty ending that will leave you breathless.
Whatever you do, add this deeply moving book to your list. I highly recommend this read for book clubs because it gives readers a chance to think what they might do to protect their child.
I think this will be a variation on the typical thriller I would recommend for Kelly and found it to be REALLY compelling with some great twists!
Hush Little Baby is the story of a woman named Jillian Kane who has the life that she always dreamed of. She is a successful businesswoman, she has two beautiful kids, she wants for nothing financially, and her husband is a well-respected cop who every woman wish she had. Jillian is living with a secret though. For nine years, her husband has abused her and he is calculating enough to abuse her in ways that no one would ever suspect that she is a victim.
When things escalate too far, Jillian decides to run away from him with her two kids. Unfortunately, she has no money, no plan, and no one that she can turn to. It is in this most pivotal moment of her life that she develops unlikely friendships and learns to finally save herself and her kids. Her husband though, is a cop and is determined to do everything in his power to get his children back…and kill her.
I could not put this book down because I was so worried about Jillian and her kids. For two days, every moment I had, I was reading this to make sure that they could get to safety. When I say that I had my heart all wrapped up in this one, it would not be an understatement.
I have a feeling that Kelly will love this well-paced psychological thriller and recommend reading this interview with Suzanne Redfearn about her book after she is done!
What would you pick out for Kelly based on her preferences? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
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