Why am I passionate about this?

Thrillers are just that—thrilling. But thrillers with lots of explosions and gunfights aren’t that appealing to me since I know the hero will make it. With realistic domestic, at-home-style thrillers, the thrilling nature is how the scenarios could really happen. Those are the most thrilling ideas, the ones I can see how they could actually happen to someone—or to me. That makes it exciting. This is why I read many of them and have written quite a few, too, because there’s nothing more thrilling than thinking your home, or the people in it, isn’t as safe as you thought. 


I wrote

Taken: A Mother's Secret

By Dan Lawton,

Book cover of Taken: A Mother's Secret

What is my book about?

Nine-year-old Chloe Janis is missing. Abby, her mom, is now faced with an impossible decision—revealing seventeen-year-old secrets she's kept hidden…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Wife Between Us

Dan Lawton Why did I love this book?

The twists kept on coming—literally until the final pages. Just when I thought I had it all sorted out, pow comes another, then another!

The plot might have seemed straightforward once I got into it, but it’s anything but. It’s complex yet easy to digest and piece together. Unbelievably addicting. One of my all-time favorites.

By Greer Hendricks,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Wife Between Us as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A fiendishly clever thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. This one will keep you guessing.' - Anita Shreve, author of The Stars are Fire

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekannen is the shocking Richard and Judy Bookclub bestseller with twists you won't see coming.

Marrying a man with a past was always going to come with problems, but you never expect to become the focus of another woman's obsession.

Nellie just wanted to live the life she'd always dreamed about with Richard. But who is his ex-wife, Vanessa? Wasn't…


Book cover of The Woman Inside

Dan Lawton Why did I love this book?

So. Much. Drama. When a couple of dead bodies turn up, no one can be trusted, and everyone’s a suspect since there are more than enough motives to go around.

I found this wildly entertaining and engrossing, not knowing who was “good” and “bad.” Discovering that as the pages went on made the journey so much fun, with surprises around every corner.

By E. G. Scott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Woman Inside as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A white knuckle read!' - Amazon reviewer
'An ending I did not see coming!' - Amazon reviewer

'From its seize-you-by-throat opening to that jack-in-the-box finale, this slick, sleek thriller held me breathless. Psychological suspense at its brightest and boldest.' - A. J. Finn, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

A page-turning thriller about secrets and revenge, told from the perspectives of a husband and wife who are the most perfect, and the most dangerous, match for each other.

******

A BOOK OF THE MONTH PICK

For better, for worse...

Rebecca didn't know love was possible until she met Paul,…


Book cover of Tell No One

Dan Lawton Why did I love this book?

One of the best books I’ve ever read. The story’s puzzle is terrific, and the action is constant, intense, and entirely plausible.

This novel was one of the reasons I fell in love with the thriller genre, thanks to its continuous redirection and explosive revelations sprinkled throughout. Completely devourable.

If there was ever a novel I wish I could read again for the first time to be shocked all over again, this is unquestionably the one.   

By Harlan Coben,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Tell No One as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every year, the Doctor David Beck and his young wife, Elizabeth, meet at the same deserted lake to rediscover their love for each other, and inscribe one more year into 'their' tree. But that year was the last. Elizabeth was kidnapped and Beck knocked unconscious. By the time he woke up, his wife had been discovered dead, and horribly mutilated. For eight years he grieves. Then one afternoon, he receives an anonymous e-mail telling him to log on to a certain web-site at a certain time, using a code that only the two of them knew. The screen opens onto…


Book cover of The Last Child

Dan Lawton Why did I love this book?

I credit John Hart for inspiring me to write; I think this is his best work. I love the balance between gritty, literary-style writing and an action-filled, fast-paced plot.

As a reader, I found that balance to be exquisite, especially as the POVs shift from a child's mind to troubled adults and the investigation into the missing child.

It contains all the elements that make a great novel. I’ve only read one novel twice, and this was the one. 

By John Hart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon has to face things no boy his age should face. In the year since his twin sister's abduction his world has fallen apart: his father has disappeared and his fragile mother is spiralling into ever deeper despair.

Johnny keeps strong. Armed with a map, a bike and a flashlight, he stalks the bad men of Raven County. The police might have given up on Alyssa; he never will. Someone, somewhere, knows something they're not telling.

Only one person looks out for Johnny. Detective Clyde Hunt shares his obsession with the case. But when Johnny witnesses a hit-and-run…


Book cover of Family Money

Dan Lawton Why did I love this book?

Chad’s thrillers are addicting. His writing style—lighting-fast action, very little filler, almost no flowery language—makes the pages fly.

This one, in particular, is littered with secrets and big, important questions that gave me no choice but to keep reading to find the answers. Exciting and thrilling, this is one of my favorite page-turners. 

By Chad Zunker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Family Money as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A dead man's secrets put a family in peril in a twisting novel of suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of the David Adams series.

Alex Mahan is married to his high school sweetheart, Taylor. They have two daughters and a beautiful home, and Alex's startup business is about to explode thanks to massive private funding from his compassionate and supportive father-in-law, Joe. With millions more to come, all is perfect-until Joe is abducted and murdered during a family trip in Mexico.

Alex's world is about to be turned upside down. He can't bear to tell his grieving wife…


Explore my book 😀

Taken: A Mother's Secret

By Dan Lawton,

Book cover of Taken: A Mother's Secret

What is my book about?

Nine-year-old Chloe Janis is missing. Abby, her mom, is now faced with an impossible decision—revealing seventeen-year-old secrets she's kept hidden or losing her daughter forever.

Everything unravels after Abby receives a cryptic message from a man from her past, someone she’d tried to forget but knew would come back. And now he has, and he’s taken, Chloe. Abby knows why, what he wants, and that he'd never hurt Chloe, but admitting the truth might reveal Abby’s years of deception and expose the ultimate betrayal. If Abby can’t find a way to suppress the truth while keeping her family intact, she will lose the life she fought to protect. But if she doesn’t act fast, it might be too late.

Book cover of The Wife Between Us
Book cover of The Woman Inside
Book cover of Tell No One

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Knife Skills

By Wendy Church,

Book cover of Knife Skills

Wendy Church Author Of Knife Skills

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a thrill seeker when it comes to reading, and I want to be so immersed in a story that I have to read it in one sitting and then can be completely taken by surprise by a plot twist. It was extremely hard to pick only five titles, so to narrow it down, I 1) made an attempt to pick from a few different sub-genres and, 2) stipulated that Agatha Christie could populate the entire list. All of these titles blend wonderful writing with great twists, and I hope you enjoy them. I did my best to avoid spoilers in the descriptions, although by being on this list, it’s a little bit of a spoiler…

Wendy's book list on plot twists that nail the art of surprise

What is my book about?

"Dizzying . . . Audiences who wished the TV series The Bear had made room for Russian mobsters are in for a treat" - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's, a below-average restaurant, the only place that will give her a job. Things change when she finds head chef Louie Ferrar dead in the walk-in freezer of his restaurant. But instead of closing the place down, the owner, Russian gang boss Anatoly Morozov, offers not only her Louie's job but…

Knife Skills

By Wendy Church,

What is this book about?

"Dizzying . . . Audiences who wished the TV series The Bear had made room for Russian mobsters are in for a treat" Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's, a below-average restaurant, the only place that will give her a job.

Things change when she finds head chef Louie Ferrar dead in the walk-in freezer of his restaurant. But instead of closing the place down, the owner, Russian gang boss Anatoly Morzov, not only offers her Louie's job, but also…


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