2 New Suspense-Filled Novels That You Won't Want to Put Down

by Susan Roberts

 

Do you have a vacation coming up or perhaps just a long weekend off work? It would be a great time to pick up these two suspense-filled novels as once you start you won't want to put them down.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

 

Down the Dark Streets by William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

April 2022; Pinnacle; 978-0786044443
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); suspense

"Seven thirty was Wheel of Fortune time, which meant Patrick Knox had to get his tired butt out of his tattered chair and rustle up a ginger ale and some crackers for his wife.   It was slow getting up, Patrick's knees popping like firecrackers.  There was a time when those knees carried him across the finish line of the New York City marathon.  Now, the walk to the kitchen and upstairs was marathon enough and there was no one to cheer him on." (9)

I'm glad that I didn't have anything to do yesterday because once I started this book I couldn't put it down until the end.  It's a book about modern-day America and is full of twists and turns all the way through as senior citizens in a small community in Virginia fight to keep from being evicted from the homes that they've owned and paid off years ago.

Most of the people in this community are senior citizens in declining health.  Joe Knox and his wife Mary have lived in their home for over 50 years.  Mary has muscular dystrophy and Joe, despite his health problems, is her only caregiver.   Their doctor recommends bringing in help and when their neighborhood priest gives them information about a group called We Care which provided home health care workers, Joe finally decides to hire someone to help with his wife and their home.  Joe and his friends began to notice that many of the houses in the neighborhood have become empty and when he witnessed one of his neighbors being thrown out of her house by the sheriff because it was in foreclosure, he becomes suspicious because he knows that the house had been paid off years earlier.  When Joe gets pneumonia and has to go to the hospital, he's thankful that they had such a wonderful caretaker for his wife.  When Joe and Mary's two sons visit, they find a foreclosure notice in their parent's stack of mail.  As they begin to investigate they find that there is a conspiracy going on to foreclose on all of the houses in the community and get rid of the elderly residents.  What the 'bad guys' don't realize is that the community members may be old but they will fight back with a vengeance to keep their homes.

This suspense-filled book is well written and the characters are very real.  We read about people being evicted from their homes every day.  Joe says at one point in the story "'What kind of animals prey on the elderly?'"

This is my first book by these authors.  They have an extensive list of books and it's time for me to check some of them out. 

Buy Down the Dark Streets at Amazon

It Could Be Anyone by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

May 2022; Scarlet; 978-1613162996
audio, ebook, print (312 pages); psychological thriller

Once I read the first chapter of It Could Be Anyone, I knew that it was going to be a long night for me because there was no way I could put it down until the end.  I loved the way that the author set up the story.  The reader knows from the first chapter that Trevor dies at his wedding reception but finding out who-done-it takes until the very end.  It could be any one in the group of five best friends because they all have a good reason to kill him.

The five friends who meet at the airport in New York to travel to their friend Fiona's wedding in Florida have been friends forever.  They all think that they know everything about each other...but do they really or do they all have secrets from each other?  The person that they didn't like was Trevor.  He wooed Fiona by becoming friends with her group of friends but he did more than that.  He blackmailed every one of the friends with the fact that their deepest secrets would be revealed unless they encouraged Fiona to marry him.  If they expressed any verbal doubts, he would reveal what he knew about each of them.  Even though they are all being compelled to support the couple, they are keeping their opinions of Trevor to themselves and not sharing that they are all being blackmailed.  As we get to know each character and their secret, it quickly becomes apparent that they all have a reason for wanting Trevor dead and any one of them could be the murderer.

Here's a bit about each of the friends

• Emma and Ethan are married and expecting their first child.
• Dutch is rich but spends all of his time doing charitable activities to compensate for his past mistake.
• VeeJay is a nerdy science fiction reader who is originally from India.
• Allie - has been divorced by her husband (who was twice as old as her) after he found out her secrets.
• Fiona - is a mousy looking kindergarten who falls in love with Trevor.

This book kept my attention until the end as each character tried to enact revenge on Trevor without him or any of the friend group knowing their secrets.  Trevor is a despicable person who wanted to marry Fiona to be part of her family and he'll do everything possible to make sure that nothing keeps him from this goal.  I enjoyed this book so much that I've already started reading Jaime Lynn Hendricks's first book Finding Tess.

Buy It Could be Anyone at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.