3 Great Thrillers You Won't Want to Put Down

by MK French

If you are looking for a great book that will keep you up too late and glued to the pages, then you will want to check out these summer thrillers.

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Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe

August 2024; Thomas & Mercer; 978-1662508332
audio, ebook, print (396 pages); domestic thriller

Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. She left years ago after her sheriff father fell to his death and rumors blamed her. While she had no intention of returning, her grandfather is ill in the hospital. Faye Arden is a newcomer in town, transforming the old Moor Manor into an inn. Locals love her, but Jac is convinced something sinister is at work. One of her grandfather's prized possessions is in Faye's office, cementing that belief. The more Jac learns, the more dangerous it becomes, not just for her, but for her family.

Jac is angry, hot-headed, and almost incapable of not reacting to everything around her. She's not a southern belle as her mother wanted, but interested in detective work like her father and grandfather had been. Some cases haunted her grandfather, and the clock he cherished was a reminder of a case he consulted on but couldn't solve. Seeing it in Faye's office causes her calm to unravel, and she soon tries to investigate Faye in her clumsy way, causing more rumors in town as well as possible harm to herself as some of her other reckless behavior comes to light. She looks bad, while Faye continues to look like a victim. As we learn more along with Jac, we see the lengths each of them will go to.

I enjoyed both cases that Jac's grandfather had been troubled with. It is not only about the deaths of girls across the country but a missing person's case. The reveals are very well done, and I was pulled into Jac's family, the chaotic emotions she felt, and the need for justice. This is a great summer thriller.

Buy Not What She Seems at Amazon

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

August 2024; Random House; 978-0593736838
audio, ebook, print (432 pages); technothriller

Kat Frank is a cop and widowed single mother who trusts her intuition who is selected for a pilot program that has her paired with Lock, an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity). This hologram is activated by a device on Kat’s wrist, and Lock’s statistical calculations and data analysis are often up against her people skills. Two missing person’s cold cases they are reviewing suddenly become active, and Lock is the only one who can help when the case begins to target Kat personally.

Kat had lost her husband due to faulty AI information, so from the get-go, she is biased against Lock, and his humorless manner at the start doesn't help. It's why she was chosen for the pilot program, however. Cold cases aren't just data to her, but people that vanished and still need to be found. As they reinvestigate two cases, they see details previously missed, similar situations that preceded the disappearances, and a possible thread linking the two. Unfortunately, Kat's own son disappears as well with the same missing CCTV footage, sending her spiraling into grief and desperation to conclude the case even when her coworkers remove her for being too close to it.

The story itself is in a near future where AI can process information and draw conclusions, whereas our current AI is not quite there yet. It learns when it's appropriate to dispense information and statistics, and rapidly goes through social media posts, texts, and the hard bits of data that normally take humans hours. It takes to heart Kat's assertion that police work is not just finding clues but protecting people and helping them feel safe. Because of this, Lock insists on continuing the search and helping Kat solve the crime and bring victims back home. It's a compelling thriller and kept up past my bedtime to finish it.

Buy In the Blink of an Eye at Amazon

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage

August 2024; Thomas & Mercer; 978-1662521003
audio, ebook, print (331 pages); domestic thriller

Hanna once tried to kill her mother as a child but went through years of therapy to heal. At twenty-four, she's married to Jacob and a stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. She works as a phlebotomist, which helps ease the occasional need to hurt other people. It's a careful balancing act for her, so when Joelle begins to change, Hanna begins to revert to her old habits. Now she will manipulate people and events around her like the sociopath she is.

Dear Hanna is the sequel to Zoje Stage's debut novel Baby Teeth, which won her several awards and nominations since it was published. I hadn't read that novel, but it's not necessary to have read it to understand this one. There are enough nods to Hanna's childhood, and how she had worked for years to learn how to read people, deal with them and everyday problems, and that she must work harder to keep herself regulated than others. To do that, she has her job, her art, and letters to her brother Gustav, nicknamed Goose. She enjoys being a stepmother and being the center of this little family unit, but Joelle derailing the expected path makes her question her place in it. She doesn't know how to function now, and that means manipulating others to do what she wants, and then poisoning when it doesn't work out.

It's fascinating to see how Hanna perceives the world, how separated she is from emotions, and how ordinary interactions become a careful assessment and evaluation of the best response. She comes across as introverted and serious at times, but this is her best way to function without truly harming others. We see her letters to and from Goose, and the ways she tries to do what she thinks is expected of her. Any derailment sets off her spirals, however, so Joelle's major one nearly undoes the years of therapy she had. I didn't expect the ending of the novel, but it also fits. She had a good run in that family and had developed a set of coping skills that helped her function. This kept me glued to the book, eager to see how her life ended up.

Buy Dear Hanna at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever. 

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