I’m a mystery, thriller, and suspense author who’s written dozens of books across five series. In addition to writing crime fiction, I’ve always loved reading in the genre. I’ll take a fast-paced thriller any day. I’ve noticed, over time, that my reading tastes have changed. I gravitate toward crime fiction that features flawed but ethical protagonists who believe, as I do, that light drives out darkness, love is a demonstration of courage, and kindness is a weapon. These five books share this theme in common—all against the backdrop of gripping, high-stakes plots with twists and turns aplenty. These are books that will get your heart racing andgive you hope for humanity.
Louise Penny’s entire Inspector Armand Gamache series is a treat. I’ve yet to read an entry that hasn’t touched me. Once you visit the fictional hamlet of Three Pines, you won’t want to leave. But this ninth book in particular highlights the way Penny’s broken characters strive to let the light in. In this book, the ever-insightful Chief Inspector Gamache maintains his integrity, kindness, and conviction while investigating a baffling murder and dealing with personal and professional betrayals that seem to grow ever larger. His unflagging courage is an inspiration.
How the Light Gets In is the ninth Chief Inspector Gamache Novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." —Leonard Cohen
Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn't spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining…
Daniel, the unforgettable protagonist of this mystery, is resilient, resourceful, and realistic. Clear-eyed about the world and how it views him, Daniel—who has a debilitating, degenerative condition called spinal muscular atrophy—witnesses an abduction from his wheelchair. The amateur sleuth enters into a risky game of cat and mouse to draw out the kidnapper and save the victim. What I love most about this book is Daniel’s belief that “the world is a place that can welcome everyone.” Driven by his personal philosophy, and with some help from his goofy best friend, Travis, and his outstanding health aide, Marjani, he risks his life to prove it.
“A fantastic novel. . . . You are going to like this a lot.”—Stephen King
“What’s more thrilling than a fictional character speaking to us in a voice we haven’t heard before, a voice so authentic and immediate—think Huck Finn, Holden Caulfield, Mattie Ross—that we suspect it must’ve been there all along, that we somehow managed to miss it? Daniel, the protagonist of Will Leitch’s smart, funny, heartbreaking new novel How Lucky, is just such a voice, and I’m not sure it will ever completely leave my head, or that I want it…
At first blush, Ten “Tenzing” Norbu seems to be just another jaded ex-cop turned cynical private investigator with a string of broken promises and a bitter ex. But Ten’s not your average ex-cop. For one thing, he’s also an ex-Buddhist monk. For another, his sidekick is a Persian cat named Tank. A chance encounter with a woman on the run from a cult leads to his first private case when the woman turns up dead. Ten’s reliance on his religious beliefs as he investigates her murder adds depth and meaning to this fast-paced mystery. Imperfect, but trying, Ten wormed his way into my heart over the course of the book.
'Don't ignore intuitive tickles lest they reappear as sledgehammers.' That's the first rule of Ten. In The First Rule of Ten, Tenzing Norbu ('Ten' for short) - ex-Buddhist monk and soon-to-be-ex-cop - takes on his first case as a private investigator in Los Angeles. Growing up in a Tibetan Monastery, Ten dreamed of becoming a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. So when he was sent to Los Angeles to teach meditation, he joined the LAPD instead. But as the Buddha says, change is inevitable; and ten years later, everything is about to change - big-time - for Ten. One resignation from the…
The Maid offers a fresh amateur sleuth with a unique outlook on life. Molly Gray loves and excels at her job as a hotel maid in a grand, upscale hotel. She struggles, however, with social cues and interpersonal relationships. When Molly finds a dead body in the penthouse suite, her awkward personality lands her at the top of the suspect list. To clear her name, she has to rely on a delightful cast of true friends she never knew she had. At times, I grew frustrated with Molly and her naivete, but I always appreciated her honest, refreshing worldview and the fact that she remained true to herself throughout.
*THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION *A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK
'An escapist pleasure' SUNDAY TIMES 'Delightful' GUARDIAN 'An instantly gripping and delightful whodunnit' STYLIST 'Smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing ' LISA JEWELL
The night Hannah’s husband vanishes, a young girl hands Hannah a note that reads “protect her.” The “her” in question is Hannah’s teenage stepdaughter Bailey. But from whom or what she needs protection is a mystery. So Hannah and Bailey set off to solve that mystery and, they hope, reunite their family. The mystery proceeds at a cracking pace, and the amateur sleuths make rookie mistakes that any crime fiction could have told them were bad ideas. But along the way, Hannah and Bailey’s rocky, arm’s-length relationship deepens into something real. I don’t want to spoil the ending for you, so I’ll just say that Hannah’s personal code and her strength of character lingered with me long after I finished this book.
* SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES STARRING JULIA ROBERTS *
'Brilliant. Pacy tense and twisty' - LISA HALL
'I adored this beautifully written thriller' - JO SPAIN
IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME: PROTECT HER
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect - his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As her increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss…
Forensic pathologist Bodhi King has an international reputation as the expert to consult when there’s an unexplained death cluster. So he’s not surprised when the call comes in about a troubling spate of deaths in a remote town on the U.S.—Canadian border.
Heissurprised when he arrives in the tiny community tucked away in the mountains and every door slams shut in his face. The people there don’t want his help, even as the body count rises. It would be the easiest thing in the world to walk away, but that’s not the path Bodhi’s chosen to walk. So he digs into the town’s dark crevices in search of the truth. But what he finds will force him to confront his own beliefs about courage, compassion, and the sanctity of life and of death.
Writer, reader, editor, reviewer, publisher… those are all parts of me. With a lifetime of experience in the “words” industry, I have a pretty good handle on what makes a book not just good, but hot. I say this with the understanding that each reader brings their own histories to the reading experience, and what one person may like, another may not. Nonetheless, I offer you my professional and personal favorites in the mystery/thriller/suspense categories. It is my sincere hope that you find these books as addictive as I’d found them. Superb and clever writing, engaging characters, unpredictable plots—yes, please! Though I occasionally step outside my comfort zone, I'm consistently drawn back to these categories.
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own. A friend murdered. A business in trouble. A marriage struggling to survive. And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own.
A friend murdered.
A business in trouble.
A marriage struggling to survive.
And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
