Edgy Romantic Thriller
339993
The author strikes a good balance to create a thriller with a romance weaved into the plot. Both protagonists, Zoe & Ethan have disturbing pasts that ups the mystery factor.

Zoe is cast as the reluctant victim in settings of a mental hospital and in homes where she hears screaming voices where murders were once committed. Against these chilling settings, she rises with fortitude to solve the crime of who murdered her husband.

What is a romance without a swasbuckling & brooding hero in the form of private investigator, Ethan, who falls for his client, Zoe. Their romantic tension is nicely eased with their light joking banter intervals. Like the treatment of PI Ethan not only being macho but also comes across as an intelligent crime solver. Like the easy going treatment of male bonding between Ethan and his pals which provide comic relief.
15518
I have always been a fan of psychological thrillers and the premise of this book sounded really interesting. The book is narrated in alternating points of view from the main characters.

From page one, I identified with Kate who wakes up in a hospital bed having no idea who she is. When she meets Liam, the man whom shes told is her husband, she doesnt believe that shes ever seen him before. Her gut isn't buying the story she's been told. But there are photos of her wedding and much more  so, she has no choice but to go with him. Before she even leaves the hospital, she knows this is not a nice man. He insists that she wear heels, designer clothing, and makeup  just to go home. And thats only the beginning 

Because the book was written in multiple POVs, the reader gets a birds eye view of exactly how evil Liam is: what he has done to get what he wants, what he will do, and how his sick, sociopathic mindset places no value on anyones life but his own.

I really enjoyed the authors storytelling, characters, and wit. As the story advanced and the plot became more complex, I was never lost or confused. I just wanted to keep turning pages.
2350829
A surprisingly good read if you are the sort who loves edge-of-the-seat thrillers. The Girl At The Bar begins with a gripping, seductive scenario with characters that get under your skin and behave in puzzling, unpredictable ways. Your cuppa has barely finished when Rebecca, a brilliant and stunning cancer researcher goes missing and her bipolar boyfriend Ragnar, from a single night of wild passion, finds himself staring at a murder charge. The only thing that saves him is the fact that there is no body so far, despite the discovery of her blood soaked dress. At stake is a revolutionary cancer cure, bitter pharma feuds, a deep dive into the fascinating and competitive world of medical research, lovable hackers, a psychotic killer and more all unfolding at a rapid, unputdownable pace in bold and beautiful New York.

Nicholas Nash is a skilled storyteller, openly inviting you to guess whodunit, page after intriguing page. Yet the truth eludes the sharp reader even as the machinations of a twisted mind are laid bare. By books end, I came away understanding a whole lot more about cancer thanks to Nashs extensive research and ability to explain complex things simply. I would have loved to see a bit more complexity in the development of the quirky characters, but as a first outing the book is certainly impressive.  All in all, an excellent read  delighted to have discovered a really good writer in the thriller genre. Disclosure: I was sent an advance copy for honest feedback from the author.
3662239
Julia Dudek takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride through a dark, twisted tunnel as it enters the human psyche. The ride begins slow, then speeds up, and suddenly you feel like you're on a rocket. As you wait to see if there will be light at the end of that horrifying tunnel as chills go up your spine, while sitting on the edge of your seat, you witness a heart-pounding thriller. This compelling, nail-biting story portrays the terrible truths that hide behind everyday appearances. The plot is a spellbinding, chilling journey that reveals just how little we know about the world around us. The pages are filled with revenge, passion, and rage, with a spectrum of terror that only a few can see. Evil has its winning ways, but how far will Angelique McCourt go to seek her revenge on Bernadette's killer? Will Angelique find the mysterious pieces to the bizarre puzzle? This spine-tingling suspenseful journey will continue through relentless psychological torment. How many victims does detective Ben Marsden find, and does he solve the puzzle before Angelique? On the quest of vengeance for the murder of her best friend, does Angelique's life fall apart, and how does she change? Does an intelligent beauty queen, with a photographic memory battle a blood-thirsty monster, and where does she find that demon? As rage and danger light up the pages, while Angelique embarks on a ruthless mission to hunt the killer, who's on the hunt for her? Does Angelique's mission become seductive and deadly to find the missing pieces? Will passion distort the hidden truth in the case? After suffering the loss of a loved one, then jumping into the mind of a deranged killer, will Angelique survive her struggles for justice as she faces her worst fears? I highly recommend this novel to all thriller lovers. The pages are packed with drama, the characters are intriguing, and the plot explodes into an entertaining, psychological thriller. The author cleverly defines the good, the bad, and the evil through characters that come to life in a twisted, emotional story. "PIECES" is as chilling as DON'T SAY A WORD, as intense as ALONG CAME A SPIDER, and as suspenseful as THE BONE COLLECTOR, with Denzel Washington, and Angelina Jolie.
759410
CREEP, the debut novel by Jennifer Hillier, is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end and will leave the song by the band Radiohead of the same name (Creep) stuck in your head.  And oh that ending, it `creeped' me out!  Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology and a sex addict.  Ethan is her teaching assistant and more.  Morris is her fianc and about to find out.  There's an extra person in this romantic equation and that equals trouble.  If I were to compare this book to another, I'd compare it to GONE GIRL.  Only, I liked CREEP better.  At the end of the book is a teaser chapter for the sequel, FREAK.  I'll definitely be reading the sequel.  4.5 stars.
1115336
Amanda Robson's debut novel is a corker in the psychological thriller genre. There are four main characters, Rob and Carly who are married, and Craig and Jenni. Each chapter is written in the first person POV of one of these characters. It all begins when Carly, during an alcohol-fueled conversation with her husband Rob asks him who he fantasises about when they are having sex. The seed has been sown by the answer given, and an obsession begins to grow dangerously spreading it's tendrils in a way that will put a stranglehold of deception and fear for each of the four characters.
This dark novel had it all for me, jealousy and paranoia, with lashings of hot steamy sex. What more could anyone want? I cannot wait for Amanda Robson's second novel to be released.
3283884
A thriller that takes mind games to a whole new plane
2684885
I went into this book without knowing anything about it except that they were selling it everywhere most of last year. I actually thought it was going to be a some kind of lame chick lit that got a lot of hype. I stood corrected. This book had me hooked from beginning to end. By no means a classic, but it is a great thriller.

The story is told through three women: Rachel, Ana, and Megan. Rachel (AKA: the girl on the train) is a wreck. She is a divorcee, an alcoholic, emotionally volatile, infertile, and suffers from low self-esteem. Her ex-husband left her for Ana and she occasionally gets drunk and accosts the couple's home.

Ana is pretty much a trophy wife. She is content to have won the affections of her man (called Tom) and thrilled to have produced a daughter with him. She lives with Tom, rather begrudgingly, in the house he had bought when he married Rachel - a house next to train tracks.

Megan lives two houses down from Tom. Her connection to the aforementioned women is minimal. Rachel sees her and her husband (Scott) from the train most days and romanticises her life in an almost fanatical way. Ana, on the other hand, used to contract her babysitting services. Megan is described as beautiful yet private by others. When the book gives us her perspective we discover a very vulnerable and self-destructive character.

Rachel one day sees Megan from the train and she's making out with a stranger. The next day Megan goes missing and Rachel believes she's got the information that could help with the investigation.

It goes on from there. I thought it was going to end up being some kind of Gone Girl rehash, but it resists temptation, thank goodness. I did find the ending to be a little anticlimactic, but it's got a pretty decent reveal. What most attracted me to this book was its women-centric themes such as motherhood, marriage, loyalty and sex appeal. Some people might find it too overwhelmingly feminist since the few men in it are deceptive and abusive. While I will agree that it lacks a certain subtlety, it is also something that happens in real life and it is interesting to watch these women deal with her own issues while also dealing with these emotionally-murderous men.
998171
Chilling psycho-romantic thriller. Great read, but I wish the romance had been flushed out over a longer period of time. The romance borders a bit on instalove, but it's still a hot read. Dane was swoony, Kat was a strong woman, and the killer... I hadn't been expecting the twists this book through out! =
2454883
m/m
Watch Point by Cecilia Tan is a kinky m/m romantic thriller. Eric Sakai-Johnson is messed up. He was honorably discharged from the Navy (before don't ask, don't tell), fired from his bodyguard job even after he took a bullet for the guy because the guy found out that he was gay. The firing also ended the medical support his employer was giving Erics mother leaving Eric with millions in debt. He is pissed off. His plans to kidnap his former employers son in exchange for the money doesnt go exactly to plan but it does clue him into the fact that he isn't the only one his former employer has hurt.
Watching Chase blossom while kidnapped was delightful. I had a couple of issues with this but I think it was mostly due to the nature of Chases kink and Chases father is up for jerkwad of the year.
Trigger warnings this story is full of dubious consent due to the kidnapping. Actual kidnapping. Rape fantasy between kidnapper and hostage.
916733
This thriller has everything: non-stop action, romance, political espionage, biological weapons, nanotechnology, pulsing glow-in-the-dark fungi, and the imminent threat of a world pandemic. It will appeal to men, women, soldiers, pacifists,
jocks, nerds, and anyone leery of taking too many antibiotics.

The complex plot begins during World War II as young soldier Liam Conner saves America from Japanese biological weapons. The next time we see him, he is a seventy-five year old physics professor emeritus at Cornell, doting on his great- grandson, Dylan, and plotting romance and more between his younger coworker Jake and his granddaughter Maggie.

From there, the action doesnt stop. Reeling from a personal tragedy, Jake, Maggie, and Dylan prove satisfyingly feisty and resourceful in defending themselves and their world from danger. But an evil genius has planned their demise with great precision and is bent on destroying America to ensure Asian world dominance.

As soon as I read the last page, I checked imdb.com (Internet Movie Database) to confirm my suspicions. Yes! This novel has been optioned for a movie. Amazingly, this is the first novel by the author. Not surprisingly, he is a physics professor at Cornell University.
4207085
Sworn to Silence is a chilling new series debut by Linda Castillo. The audio book is read by Kathleen McInerney. She does a fabulous job with different voices in this thriller.  The reader should be warned up front the the book can been pretty gory and there is a lot of violence toward women described.

Kate Burkholder grew up in the quaint town of Painters Mill, Ohio where many Amish residents still drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life.  A serial killer, dubbed The Slaughterhouse Killer, shatters the peace of this little town and leaves the residents terrified and on guard. During this time, young Kate's life takes a fateful turn when she was just 14. She was sexually assaulted by an Amish man named Daniel Lapp. She shoots the man and seeing him lifeless on the floor, she is certain he is dead. Her father drags away the body, and the family never speaks of the incident again, and it is never reported to the police. She and her family are "Sworn to Silence". The area murders cease around the time that Lapp is killed, and the residents begin to live somewhat normal lives once again.

Some 16 years later, Kate now 30, is the police chief in Painters Mill.  She must deal with a series of brutal crimes in which the female victims are tortured and raped, and Roman numerals carved onto their stomach. These crimes are very similar to those that occurred when she was a young girl. Is this a copy-cat? Kate begins to asks herself if Daniel Lapp is really dead. She is determined to track down this killer before he strike again.

My Thoughts:  This is one thriller that I thought I had figured out early on, but I was wrong.  It wasn't until the last third of the book that my second guess was correct. (I like when this happens in a thriller).  I thought this book was very good. There was a part where some romance was woven into the story, and my personal feeling was that this aspect, took away from the story instead of enhancing it. Despite this I would still recommend this novel I you enjoy a good thriller.
3774084
DISINTEGRATE, by Christine Klocek-Lim, is a young adult sci-fi thriller, rife with dramatic punch, dashed with mad scientist furor, then stirred up in a crockpot of government conspiracywith a dose of superhero origin story thrown in, too. And then theres the romance.
Emily and Jax are a couple college kids who are, in different ways, running from their past before the action even starts. Emily knows she is exceptional but she doesnt know why. Her father is goneor deadand her mother is lost in a descent into substance abuse and depression. Shes found a friend and a roommate at school, but no answers  until she meets Jax. And, really, if I were to say anything more about him right here, that would be telling. Lets just say that Jax is surprising, a character who unfolds with the plot, even as Emily wrestles with her love for him and her default mistrust of the whole universe and just about everyone in it.
The magic of this book is that, once Emily and Jax have moved on from timid flirtingthat is to say, timid on Emilys part; Jax has the flirtatious energy of a small dog on a Monster energy drinkto an actual date, the story pretty much explodes into continuous action. Everything past that point is revealed on the rumbling train-without-brakes that this story becomes: character development, plot twists, backstoryall of it happens while the reader is holding onto this book with one hand and trying not to fall off of it.
DISINTEGRATE is a cross-genre book that would appeal to a wide spectrum of readers. Theres some gritty subject matter here. Klocek-Lim does not needlessly reel back or censor herself for the young adult audience, and the protagonists of this book don't reign in their language for the benefit of readers who actually hear worse than that walking down the halls at their real-life high schools. The characters are both fantastical and authenticflawed, rather innocent in a sort of dirt-smudged go-to-hell kind of way, and heroic.
The ending has a nice little bow wrapping it up, tooa connection to a critical symbol early in the book. But that bow is just a little  looseleaving the possibility for more of this tale to be told.
4087541
My gut knotted. My heart raced. At times I held my breath. Pretty Maidens All in a Row, JM Browns debut psychological thriller, had all the ups and downs of a giant rollercoaster ride.

Mary Elizabeth Grange is a fourteen-year-old student known as Beth to family and friends. She is an average teen with stunning ebony hair and alluring blue eyes. She has loving parents and a best friend, Sally. She also has a stalker, a man obsessed with her beauty and her purity. When his delusions overwhelm him, he kidnaps her and Sally. The event shatters Beths life, and eventually her family moves away in an attempt to begin anew.

At the onset of Part 2, life seems normal, even happy, for Liz, as she now calls herself. It was this part of the story that slowed down significantly for me. While I knew that the author was preparing for another big peak, this portion felt sluggish to me. My interest picked up when she began receiving packages from a secret admirer, however. This wasn't her boyfriend Jack, but was it really an admirer? What if Richard Reed had been released from the psychiatric ward? Could this be a copycat? Or was it someone with a different agenda? Girls start turning up dead, their bodies assaulted and carved with puzzling messages. Is Liz in danger again?

I was sure I knew  until Ms Brown threw another small twist. It turned out that my instincts were correct, but it was a clever move nonetheless.

The rhyme Mary, Mary quite contrary is something that Beths dad used to sing to her when she was a girl, and the killer incorporates the phrase pretty maidens all in a row into his bizarre thought processes. Ms. Brown, a former psychiatric nurse, did an incredible job getting inside the head of her perpetrator in this book.

I did find a few things to be problematic. The transitions from one scene to the next were frequently abrupt, going from one character and place to another without warning, and I often had to reread a whole page to see what I had missed. Also, as I mentioned above, the middle of the book dragged quite a bit and could have used some editing. For the most part, though, Ms Brown did a great job making me squirm and feel anxious over and over again. Kudos for a fine start to your thriller writing career, JM!

4 stars
860976
**Sandra Brown is still the master-mind of exciting romantic thrillers, especially with her latest "Mean Streak".  As she slowly awakened Dr. Emory Charbonneau had only one thought in mind, she must be dying.  Suffering from a gash on her head experiencing a blinding headache, nauseated to all hell and yet the shocker of them all, staring into the face of a total stranger with gorgeous blue eyes.  What happened and where am I? The stranger told her he saw her running on the other side of the mountiain through his binoculars.  When he lost sight of her, he tracked her down finding her unconscious due to a head wound and brought her to his cabin.  She wanted to go and he told her a flat out no for two reasons. First she had a concussion and secondly, the weather was too bad for traveling, end of story!  Emory knew he was right of course, with all the symptoms she was experiencing but could she trust him?  He won't even tell her his name or where he's from and having absolutely no contact with the outside world.  After having a huge argument with her husband Jeff regarding her practice run she was doing by getting  ready for the big marathon she was doing the following month, Emory felt bad that she couldn't call him. Jeff on the other hand couldn't care less because he was too busy having an affair while Emory was away.  The stranger watched her like a hawk, especially when she slept because he thought Emory was one of the most beautiful women he's ever seen.  Plus he knew with a certainty that somebody wanted her dead.  The gash on her head when he found her and the bloody rock lying right beside her was proof enough for him.  There was something else too that couldn't be denied and that was the attraction between the two of them.  When Emory begs him to take her back or even take her to a phone, he repeatedly refuses.  Why?  Because it has nothing to do with her, he tells her it's because of him.  So with wild thoughts going through her head, she starts to believe that he's a criminal of some kind.  He also knows that Dr. Emory Charbonneau is filthy rich and comes from big money and if they find her, they find him too.  What is this stranger's devastating secret she wonders?  It won't take her long though to realize  that he has more passion than she gave him credit for.  When two of the meanest men show up at his door, he begs her to remain silent while he goes outside to confront them but when he returns, he tells her to come with him for the brothers sister is very ill.  Jeff was forced however, to go to the town where Emory was last seen to report her missing but when he faces two very sly cops, he comes under suspicion.  By breaking the law, the stranger and Emory steal medical supplies that she will need in order to help the girl and she can't help noticing how the stranger is highly protective of her and what's more, his compassion for the girl.  It doesn't take Emory long to realize that she is falling in love and even though he won't admit it it, so is he.  So that night held two very important memories for her.  The love they shared and the stranger bringing her home and for once, she was at a loss for words. The stranger thought it was for the best but he found it difficult to breathe or leave her but when he saw Jeff, he knew there was something he had to do. He put many plays into motion, afterall he was a professional.  Who is this sranger?  What's his dark and sinister secret that he doesn't want anyone to know about?  He has a long and over powering past and he has a reputation for getting the job done.  But first, he must do something that he has been waiting to accomplish for a very long time.  To rid the world of two people with the worst "mean streak" like no other and he won't stop until their six feet under!..............this book was excellent!  Thank you Sandra Brown for another great masterpiece!
176905
I loved Hidden Threat. This romantic thriller with tons of chemistry between our hero and heroine, Cali and Matthew, left me enthralled from start to finish.
3324732
Fans of Pentecost get ready for a fast moving suspense thriller with a darker theme and horrific possibilities.

Morgan Sierra's academic training in theology and psychology at Oxford equipped her well in the first installment of Joanna Penn's ARKANE Series. In Prophecy, the stakes are raised as we learn much more about an evil organization called THANATOS.

We now see THANATOS as more than a collector of occult and religious objects. On the surface the leader of THANATOS functions as the head of a biotech corporation engaged in research into family planning and mental health issues. The Greek word THANATOS means death and its symbol is a pale horse. We quickly learn the leader of THANATOS is a diabolical megalomaniac, intent on using secrets from the Devil's Bible to launch a new holocaust. He will use his corporation to accelerate his malevolent objectives.

While THANATOS ruthlessly pursues the Devil's Bible; Morgan Sierra, her partner Jake and the considerable resources of ARKANE work to stop them. This story brings the reader face-to-face with extreme evil. Morgan and ARKANE once again find themselves in a struggle to find solutions to ancient mysteries. Much of that time is spent in crypts and catacombs.  They have to battle agents of THANATOS each step of the way.

Readers of psychological thrillers, historical fiction and horror should be at home with this engaging read.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Prophecy-an-ARKANE-thriller/dp/B006R7UZAU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Prophecy, an ARKANE thriller</a>