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I tend to be more of a cozy mystery fan but give me the right mix of psychological thriller and a character I can care about and I’m sucked in. I’ve read a few of the latest buzzy reads (The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl etc.) and while I definitely enjoyed them they were also a little harder for me to read because of the violence, language, sexual content etc. that tended to be so pervasive or over the top that it sometimes took away from the story. (Yes, I get that life is ugly but I don’t need ALL the gory details!) I like my scary movies this way too. Give me a classic edge-of-your-seat nail biter over a twisted bloodbath any day. (Anyone see A Quiet Place? This is what I’m talking about. Such a great movie!) So, I’ve got two recent reads (or rather listens since they were both audio books) for you today. If you like some subtle twists and a classic feel to your thriller I highly recommend the following:
Depressed, alcoholic, heavily medicated Dr. Anna Fox, psychologist, is living alone in the townhouse she formally shared with her husband and daughter who have gone away under the pretense of a separation though she still talks to them frequently. Laid up and extremely agoraphobic after a serious car accident she spends the bulk of her time watching her neighbors through her camera’s viewfinder, playing online chess, watching old movies, or in a chatroom for agoraphobics where she offers her expert advice (though she rarely heeds it herself.)
Anna is highly unreliable and the characters she interacts with don’t come across much better. The cast is relatively small and the stage is reduced to her home and the square where she lives. None of her neighbors are what they seem but no one seems to believe Anna when she sees one of them stabbed to death in their living room. Full of homage to Hitchcock and other noir thrillers, Anna is the classic helpless heroine, handicapped by her situation but making a stand in the final scene. There aren’t a ton of surprises here but there are some twists and moments I didn’t expect and it kept me sucked in from beginning to end.
The Woman in the Window (audio book)
Written by: A.J. Finn
Read by: Anne Marie Lee
Number of Pages: 448 (13 hours 41 minutes audio)
Publisher: William Morrow (print) HarperAudio (audio), 2018
Age Range: Adult
Rating: 4/5
Recently divorced, Peter Harper is a musician and composer in a creative crisis. He rents a secluded beach house in Ireland in the hopes of rediscovering his muse but it isn’t to be. He spends some time with his mysterious neighbors (who seem to have no traceable past and like to avoid questions) and the local townspeople, including a love interest who runs a shop and hostel in the village. But mostly he spends time alone. Then one night he’s struck by lightning coming home from a dinner party and suddenly he’s plagued by headaches and vivid nightmares that intensify when his children come for a visit. The line between reality and his dreams gets blurred beyond recognition and soon no one knows who or what to believe.
The Last Night At Tremore Beach
Written by: Mikel Santiago
Read by: John Keating
Number of Pages: 320 (9 hours, 58 minutes audio)
Publisher: Atria Books/Blackstone Audio, 2017
Age Range: Adult
Rating: 4/5
What are your favorite mysteries or scary reads? Any you think I should add to my list?