Bunches of Thrillers for the Summer!

As the summer begins here in Canada (finally, right?), I’ve decided to devote this blog to recommending thrillers. Whether you’re at the beach, on your back deck, on a boat, or even in a comfy couch in your living room (and it’s raining outside), summer vacation is a time to read.

A few weeks ago I read with interest this article in the New York Times on the best summer thriller reads for 2017. I decided to take a page from their book, and come up with my own list of summer thrillers that you simply MUST read. the same. Here’s the NY Times article, if you want to read some of their recommendations.

My favorite get-comfy-on-the-couch reading is a genre called literary thriller. Although closely related to, it differs somewhat from the genre of “mystery.” Mysteries involve a crime (which often occurs before the book begins), and a crime solver which can be a police officer, private detective or amateur crime solver (librarian, etc.).

Thrillers are about crime as well, but often the crime hasn’t occurred yet. It is only ominously threatening on the horizon, or overhead, or it's something in the past. There isn’t necessarily a crime solver, just someone (often a woman in the books I’m reading) in danger. And often she, alone, has to figure out what is happening to her or to her family. Others clearly, don’t see the danger.

Although I do have a few true “mysteries” in the following list, (X by Sue Grafton and Breeding Ground by my friend Sally Wright,) most of the following recommendations are in the thriller category.

Whether you read by print, on a Kindle or my favorite—my waterproof and dustproof (read sand) Kobo Aura H20, which is loaded with books to read. 

Here are a few wonderful thrillers that I’ve already reviewed here on I Like It that you can add to your beach reading satchel.  

Safe with Me by K.L. Slater

Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris

The Lake House by Kate Morton

The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney

 Here are a few books I’m currently reading (and yes, ah, I do read more than one book at a time!) and will be reviewing here in the coming weeks:

Breeding Ground by Sally Wright—if you like horses, WW11 and intrigue, you will love this mystery set in 1962 in the southern US

In the Woods by Tana French. A new murder that detective Ryan must solve bears too much resemblance to an older, unsolved crime from his childhood.

In no particular order, here are the books on my Kobo just waiting to be read this summer:

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda - a journalist sets out to find a missing friend, a friend who may never have existed at all.

After the Lie by Kerry Fischer - Your past will devastate your family. But your lies could destroy them.

Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah  - She's a wife. She's a mother. She isn't who you think she is.

The River at Night by Erica Ferencik - What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller - Ingrid writes letters to her husband, Gil, about the truth of their marriage, but she never sends them. Instead she hides them within the thousands of books her husband has collected. After she writes her final letter, Ingrid disappears

Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell - a pulse-pounding thriller about a man who is haunted by a face from his past.

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner - a page-turning literary mystery that brings to life the complex and wholly relatable Manon Bradshaw, a strong-willed detective assigned to a high-risk missing persons case.

Here’s another list put out by Goodreads. 

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my own thriller/mysteries here. Night Watch and The Bitter End are my newest babies.

Well, all of these lists should get you going on some great summer reading!

At the end of the NY Times article there is a question- what are your favorite thrillers for the beach?

So, that is my question for you - What are some of your favorite thriller authors and summer reads?

Next Time: It’s more suspense with The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan.