Tag: domestic thriller

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“The truth is that social media is an optical illusion. It’s an unreality, it’s the very deliberate version of people’s lives that they want you to see.”
― Mary Kubica, She’s Not Sorry

Meghan Michaels is an ICU nurse and single mom to a teenage girl. Following the divorce from her ex-husband, Meghan and her daughter move to a small apartment relatively close to where she works.

One day, a new patient is admitted to the ICU. This wouldn’t normally be cause for concern except for the fact that this woman is plastered all over the news. Why? Caitlin is in a coma from a traumatic brain injury that she sustained after a fall from a bridge. Was this suicide? Or did someone push her? Meghan would normally keep her distance from her patients, but Caitlin’s actions, her family, and Meghan’s own past lure her in.

On top of dealing with Caitlin, Meghan is also struggling with fallout from her divorce. Looking for help, she heads to a divorce support group. Meghan runs into an old friend from high school who appears to be in an abusive relationship with her husband. Meghan will do anything to help her old friend. Her decision to help means adding another complication to her messy life. Add in someone terrorizing women in her neighborhood and Meghan is extra on edge. She must keep herself and her daughter safe, while also focus on her patient at work. When a witness steps forward saying they know what happened to Caitlin, police swarm the ICU, putting all the staff on edge as they now aren’t sure whether Caitlin jumped or was pushed.

Kubica has crafted a slow burn thriller that had me on the edge of my seat questioning how all the threads would tie together. As is true with most psychological thrillers, this is not a book where you can shift focus while reading. Every detail is important! I can’t wait to see what Mary Kubica comes up with next.

This title is also available in large print and a CD audiobook.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“You couldn’t question it, or take it for granted. You had to be grateful. Because what had been given to you could just as easily be taken away.”
― Sally Hepworth, Darling Girls

Norah, Jessica, and Alicia may not be blood related, but they are sisters in every other sense of the word. The three women met when they were each placed separately with Miss Fairchild, their foster mother, at a gorgeous and idyllic farming estate called Wild Meadows. Each girl was rescued from a different family tragedy and told how lucky they were to be brought to Miss Fairchild. They hoped for a second chance at a happy family life, but Miss Fairchild had other plans.

Miss Fairchild may have greeted them with positive hopeful intentions, but their childhoods slowly morphed into something for which the three girls were unprepared. Their hopeful fairy tale shattered into pieces when Miss Fairchild revealed her not-so-nice side. Crossing Miss Fairchild by not following her rules or for any unpredictable reason could land the girls in major trouble.

The girls, desperate to escape, search for a way to save themselves. Once they are able to run away from Miss Fairchild, they are hopeful that they will never have to see her or visit Wild Meadows again. Their hopes are dashed when, as adults, they receive phone calls from detectives alerting them that a body had been found under the Wild Meadows house. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are called back, but be it as victims or suspects is still up for debate. Returning as adults isn’t easy for the sisters. Long-held secrets are drudged up as the three work through issues from their past and their present in an attempt to solve this new crime.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth had me hooked from the beginning. Set in Australia, Hepworth breaths life into her characters and surroundings with compelling narratives and well-written dialogue. Just when you think you have the story figured out, she throws in twists and turns that push you in a completely different direction. What really drew me in was the deep connection between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia and how that bond was unbreakable. Hepworth doesn’t hesitate to discuss how childhood traumas can affect adults, even taking time to discuss the nitty gritty of the traumas they suffered.

This title is also available in Playaway audiobook, large print, and CD audiobook.

Those People by Louise Candlish

- Michelle Leave a comment

Those People  is another standout suspense / thriller novel from Louise Candlish, who expertly crafts domestic  thrillers with neighbors who are not exactly who they seem.  The narrative it told in alternating chapters of past and present, so the reader knows that some future tragedy has taken place but the who, what, where and why has yet to be uncovered.

Candlish’s latest novel takes place just south of London in a tiny enclave which encompasses the picturesque street of Lowland Way.  Comprised of upper class, professional couples whose homes are impeccable and whose children play harmoniously together, the neighborhood is shocked when “outsiders” Darren and Jodie take up residence in an inherited house.  Couples Ant and Em, Ralph and Naomi, Finn and Tess make up the neighborhood, along with recent widow Sissy.

Darren and Jodie are polar opposites of their neighbors.  They play their music loudly at all hours of the night, begin renovations without proper equipment and have a variety of abandoned vehicles on the property.  The residents of Lowland Way quickly lose patience with the new residents and emotions run high on both sides.  The neighbors are plotting among themselves all the different ways they can rid themselves of the new eyesores in the neighborhood.  Within the cluster of friends, alliances begin to form and betrayals begin.  Are they willing to do whatever it takes to bring “their” neighborhood back?

Events take a tragic turn when someone loses their life in the middle of the night.  Accusations fly and neighbors begin to undermine each other wondering who is to blame.  Then, another tragedy occurs and the rumors and speculation intensifies.  Candlish crafts a suspenseful tale where red herrings abound and the group of neighbors wonder who they can trust. Those People  has a tendency to build slowly with careful character development.  Even though the pace can move a little slowly, I recommend Those People as a domestic thriller with a unique twist.