There’s nothing like a gripping, unputdownable thriller to get lost in, and we’ve had some amazing thrillers to chat about in the Book Club. Harriet Tyce’s Blood Orange was a hugely popular choice, so we’ve got a few recommendations for books that you might like now that we’ve finished Blood Orange…
Behind Closed Doors (B.A. Paris)
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.
You’d like to get to know Grace better, but it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.
Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.
Fast-paced, and with well-developed characters, Behind Closed Doors is a domestic, psychological thriller.
Here To Stay (Mark Edwards)
Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige – he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for.
The Robinsons arrive with Gemma’s sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret.
As Elliot’s in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsons’ past. But is he prepared for the truth?
Domestic thrillers are what Mark Edwards does best. This story is very well written, well-plotted and suitably unsettling.
The Wife Between Us (Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen)
Vanessa is reeling from her divorce from Richard, a wealthy, handsome man. She moves through the days in a haze of alcohol and doesn’t have anyone in her life, other than her Aunt Charlotte.
There are a lot of twists and a lot of assumptions that you end up making as the plot unfolds. It explores marriage, the control someone can hold over another person, and the subsequent consequences.
Before I Go To Sleep (S.J. Watson)
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love – all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine’s life.
This psychological thriller follows Christine who suffers from anterograde amnesia. It’s a hugely impressive debut novel, and you’ll have no idea who to trust when you’re reading it.
Strangers (C.L. Taylor)
Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before. Ursula feels like she killed the love of her life. Gareth’s been receiving strange postcards. Alice is being stalked.
Three strangers, two secrets, one terrifying evening.
The story follows the three main characters throughout alternating chapters. Ursula is in mourning, and has a shoplifting habit, Alice is a single mother, working as a shop manager and trying her hand at internet dating, and Gareth is a security guard at a shopping centre who cares for his mother who has dementia.
There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story, and as usual, C.L. Taylor manages to tie everything together nicely at the end.
