I have always loved reading fiction novels with a fast-paced plot and an unexpected ending that surprises me. In my own Dr. Kyle Chandler Thriller Series, I try to use this same thought-provoking pattern that also includes quick dialogue with an underlying sexual tension between the male and female protagonists to keep the readers’ interest. Using this, I feel I am conveying my passion for the characters and plot to the reader. I believe that this theme of fast-paced, twisting plots matched with surprise endings is shown with clarity in all five of the books I have recommended in this list.
As a skilled mystery/thriller author, Dick Francis always wrote stories with interesting protagonists fighting uphill against all odds, and this fascinating story is no different.
I personally loved this attention-grabbing plot set in the Scottish highlands about an offbeat young painter who gets drawn into a complex family drama. As the most unlikely character chosen to protect his ancient family heritage, I found the ever-changing story with an unexpected ending a sheer delight to consume rapidly.
Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time
'Great characters, twisting plot. One of the very best Francis novels' 5***** Reader Review 'Tense, puzzling and powerful . . . Francis is a consummate craftsman' 5***** Reader Review ______
Just after learning that his stepfather is gravely ill, artist Al Kinloch, returning to his remote home in the Scottish Highlands, is attacked by four men.
They ask one question - 'where is it?' - then leave him for dead . . .
Baffled and hurt, Al visits his stepfather and learns millions of…
While many of John Grisham’s novels are legal-based courtroom thrillers, this is not. As a result, I personally think this is one of his most interesting thrillers.
With a cadre of selfish family members circling the waters after the suicide death of their eccentric patriarch billionaire, the plot shifts to the wilds of the primitive Amazon rainforest as a recovering alcoholic attorney tries to track down the real heir to the vast family fortune.
I loved the vivid description of the water-filled jungle that made you feel right in the middle of the journey. His intense description of the protagonist fighting to overcome his lurking addiction while on his mission to make things right made you want to keep turning the pages until you reached the startling ending.
Troy Phelen is one of the richest men in the United States, and he's looking for a way to die.
He might just have found it.
Nate O'Riley is a high-powered Washington litigator who's lived hard and fast for too long. Emerging from his fourth stay in rehab, he knows returning to the real world is going to be murder.
Meanwhile Troy's estranged daughter walked away from the modern world and devoted her life to God, moving to the isolated deep jungles of Brazil.
When Troy dies and leaves a shocking will behind him, three lives collide with vast repercussions.…
Known for his Lincoln Lawyer and Harry Bosch crime/mystery series, this novel is the first one about Connelly’s investigative reporter Jack McAvoy.
I really enjoyed the immersion of the protagonist into the journalism newsroom world as he tries to link his brother’s unexpected murder to a series of nationwide murders.
With all odds against him, I liked the way Jack kept fighting the upstream battle to arrive at an astonishing conclusion to the case.
When Jack begins to investigate the phenomenon of police suicides, a disturbing pattern emerges and he soon suspects that a serial killer is at work, one who sets up his victims and leaves "suicide" notes drawn from the dark poems of Edgar Allan Poe.
From the author of the successful Gabriel Allon series, I feel that this thrilling novel about the exciting, action-filled life of an Israeli spy is one of his best.
I believe this fast-paced plot, with its unique character descriptions, is one of the best examples of the thriller genre, mixing the worlds of international art restoration with the global forces of criminal power.
Art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is asked to visit Zurich, to clean the work of an Old Master for a millionaire banker. But when he gets there he finds the corpse of his client in a pool of blood beneath the masterpiece, and discovers that a secret collection of priceless paintings stolen by Nazis in the war is missing. With the Swiss authorities trying to pin the murder on Allon and a powerful cabal determined to make sure this wartime secret remains buried, the art restorer must use all his former spy skills to find out the truth.…
Tom Clancy is well known for the technical military thrillers in his Jack Ryan series. This story is the first spinoff from that series about John Clark, the former Navy SEAL who decides to take on the drug-dealer world single-handedly while working for the U.S. government to lead a secret rescue mission overseas.
I feel that the intense drama of the action scenes, as well as the powerful surprise ending, make this story well worth the time to devour.
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From Tom Clancy, the celebrated author of the Jack Ryan series, comes the #1 New York Times bestseller that puts CIA operative John Clark front and center....
His code name is Mr. Clark. His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded and efficient...But who is he really?
In a harrowing tour de force, Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend, Mr. Clark.
It is an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness.…
Through a series of coincidences, busy trauma surgeon Dr. Kyle Chandler investigates a hijacked shipment of black-market French antiques, and suddenly, his whole world is turned upside down–and he doesn’t know why.
How would containers of antiques scheduled for delivery disappear into thin air? As he uncovers more evidence for the reason for this secret venture, Kyle ultimately faces his powerful opponent behind this complex scheme of deceit.
I’ve adored reading a good snarky first-person story since I first read Bloodlist, so long as the snark doesn’t go too far and become total unlikeable jerk… It can be a fine line!I hope I stay on the right side of it, but having read it enough and written in it for years with my Blood Rights Series, I feel qualified to say I’m a…snark connoisseur. (If you ask my family, this is how my own internal/life narrator speaks! My mother says that my character Dakota is me if I “said everything aloud that I think in my head.” She’s probably right, and I’m okay with that.)
Bad Blood is paranormal suspense in First Person Snark, so if you like sarcastic, strong female characters set in a world where the preternatural is run amok (i.e., legal citizens in the United States), then this book and series are for you.
Follow Sadie Stanton–"poster girl for the preternatural"–as she deals with all sorts of messes and sets up her business while being a vampire in a new day...or night, really.
I’m Sadie Stanton, and I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal out of me. I’m just like everyone else—I’m trying to start a business, not spending much time on my social life, and dealing with an obnoxious roommate...
Oh, and being a vampire. There’s that. But it’s okay, because we’re all legal now.
But believe me, that doesn’t make life easy. In fact, it might be harder now than ever before, but I did it to myself… And now vampires are attacking people seemingly at random and not even trying to feed. Everyone…
