No contest really….I choose escape this month! With unending news reports of a screaming Delta variant, climate change weather warnings, images of an inglorious end to a twenty-year war and yet another earthquake tragedy for Haiti— I need to take a breath. Perhaps my hopes were too high. In May, I started to see friends, venture forth, prepare for a visit from my grandchildren, and plan for a summer of more freedom from COVID 19 worries. It is wonderful! I’m so grateful that I’m healthy and that most family has escaped COVID; I thoroughly enjoy re-connecting with those far away, or just distanced due to the circumstances.  My expanded and improved patio space has added to the fun. But, the warning signs of trouble ahead are unnerving….and wildfires in the pristine northland of Minnesota are not too far away.

So, I’ve decided to soothe myself with fiction that pulls me in, twists me into a pretzel and finally spits me out flat….and in the process relieves the mounting pressure of tension that has built up in a most delicious way. Who doesn’t love a thriller ?

According to Google, as a genre of literature, thrillers can be described as dark, engrossing, and suspenseful plot-driven stories. … Any novel can generate excitement, suspense, interest, and exhilaration, but because these are the primary goals of the thriller genre, thriller writers have laser-focused expertise in keeping a reader interested. For my purposes, I seek out thrillers that keep me reading, as oblivious as possible to what else is happening around me. True confession— I haven’t read all of these books this month, but they are recent reads.  All have the common denominator of delivering escape. 

I love high stakes, plot-driven stories with wicked bad guys or girls, and page-turning suspense. Throw in a plot-twist or two and I’m all in. However, I’m also somewhat of a scaredy-cat. To this day, I have not watched the movies The Silence of the Lambs or Psycho. I trace it to a bad experience watching the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds as a tender young thing and being so traumatized I slept on the floor of my parents bedroom that night. How embarrassing!

Reading a thriller is easier for me than watching one, but I’m still somewhat fearful of gore and gratuitous violence, even on the page. But, that is just my taste. I prefer being lulled into a sense of calm, as the featured photo this month does, and then be shaken to my core. So, I’m going to share with you the thrillers I’ve been reading lately, in no particular order. I hope you enjoy one or two yourself this month!

While Justice Sleeps by Stacy Abrams

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The Searcher by Tana French

Indelible: A Sean McPerson Novel, Book 1 by Laurie Buchanan

The Last Thing He Said to Me, by Laura Dave

Wolf Kill (Sam Rivers #1) by Cary J. Griffith

The Long Lost Jules, by Jane Elizabeth Hughes

Northern Spy, by Flynn Berry

Aviary, by Deidre McNamer

To Be Read ASAP:

In my Audible Library—The Travelers, by Chris Pavone and The Maidens by Alex Michealides

Arriving as a pre-order on pub date, 9/7—Stolen Hours, by Allen Eskins

Pre-purchased and Scheduled for Ticketed author event in September—Lightening Strike by William Kent Kruger

Oh, and another reason I’m reading thrillers right now? Research. My current project (Book #3) seems to be turning into one. Will let you know how it goes….

Stay safe!

Maren