100 books like Mothered

I consider this one of the original “medical thrillers” and a must-read for any fans of the genre.

Dr. Jeremy Stone is the classic scientist turned hero who must save the world and does so in dramatic fashion. This book taught audiences that science and facts could be entertaining and part of great adventures and helped give birth to a whole new genre. I reread this book every couple of years, and I am never disappointed. 

I love Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books, and I love big court trials, so it makes perfect sense that I loved this book.

Ryan–who is an award-winning TV journalist as well as a best-selling thriller author–started covering the murder trial of Casey Anthony, the mother who made headlines for allegedly killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee and hiding the body for months, with the idea of doing a non-fiction book about the case.

But, when Anthony was found not guilty by the jury, Ryan switched gears and came up with the idea of doing a mesmerizing fictional novel inspired by a case such as Casey Anthony. The result is a must-read!

I like novels about spies, and this one is unique. Eighteen-year-old Juliet finds work as a transcriptionist. It’s a top-secret job that requires her to live a double life. Duties involve writing down conversations between Nazi sympathizers that she hears through a microphone in the walls. I loved the ridiculousness of the concept. Most of the conversations were mundane, and often, she could only hear part of what was being said.

The novel is written tongue-in-cheek. I felt sympathy for the naïve girl Juliet, who made bad decisions and caused problems for herself and others. Along the way, I learned a bit about MI5 and its role in the UK in WW2.

When I was a kid, I used to love W. Somerset Maugham short stories. Often they were about two strangers, usually men, meeting in a remote colonial outpost, and one of the two would then proceed to tell the other a strange, violent, heartbreaking, life-altering story that had happened to him or that he had witnessed. Mouth to Mouth, which I loved, reminded me of those stories.

I listened to it on audiobook, and the narration is pitch-perfect. This novel is about two men who meet at an airport when their plane is delayed. They go into a lounge, where one of them, a rich art dealer named Jeff, proceeds to tell the other his life story.

It’s gripping. I sat in my car after I got home so I could listen to the last twenty minutes.

This story has so many of my favorite things: cops, lawyers, murder, courtroom drama, and a sinister backstory that kept me unsettled and guessing throughout. Keera Duggan (former chess prodigy and district attorney) finds herself at her family’s firm defending the bad guys she used to convict. She views the world as one big chess match, which gives her the ability to see the whole board when she takes on her first murder case.

It’s a thinker, so no wading through pages of high-speed car chases and flying bullets—well, a couple of bullets. I enjoyed the way Dugoni moved his characters around, and kept me wondering how it would end.

And the end? It doesn't disappoint. I can’t wait for the next book.

This book was Beautiful Gowns but make it horror—and I loved every second of it. While more of a thriller than horror, the kills in this one stick with me like its comparative film, Ready or Not did.

Our main character is the resident bad girl of her private school, and once she's lost everything she worked for, she's not afraid to be the villain for the bag. I love reading about ambitious girls who leave scratch marks behind them, and Adina practically plows through the book, telling everyone, "This is not America's Next Top Best Friend." Not afraid to lie, cheat, or steal your man, I’m still glad she got everything she wanted - especially because she took it for herself.

I love the way that Archer turns the dry ins and outs of the workings of the British stock market into an adventure tale. I can’t quite believe how many explanations of market activities he manages to describe and explain in the simplest, most easy to understand terms. All while keeping the action going.

I learned from Archer what short selling is, how Ponzi schemes work, the meaning of insider trading, and how pump and dump schemes are set up and executed. I also learned how flawed the British financial markets were until their reform. A fascinating, highly entertaining romp through the city of London.

This novel took me deep into an African safari, a place I have never been anywhere but this breathtaking novel. Both a mystery and an emotional ride, I felt as though I’d been on a safari, from the aroma of a nearby lioness to the fear of being stranded in an unforgiving landscape. 

The story is about an A-list actress named Katie Barstow and her entourage who trek to Africa for a civilized adventure. Of course, it doesn’t stay civilized when a kidnapping goes wrong, and they are left in the wild lands of Africa. Who lives? Who dies? It’s a mystery, a thrill ride, and an immersive read. 

This is a beautifully written psychological thriller.

At a high school reunion, a polite invitation between old friends—Elise, a successful actor, invites Abby, who is floundering, to visit her in LA—spirals into Abby’s attempt to infiltrate the star’s life. The novel fearlessly plumbs the mysteries and complications of friendship and shows how misguided impulses can gradually take over our psyches.

I’m a fan of big endings, and this novel’s final paragraphs, which cap Abby’s disturbed yet compelling emotional journey, are stunners. 

When I first started writing mysteries, I realized that a different approach had to be used when I wrote in a first-person point of view. Only those clues that are seen by the main character can be shown to the reader. So that might limit what I, the author, can use as clues.

In Doiron's book, the main character is in law enforcement, and he has access to methods and information that a non-LEO person can access. But despite that Mike Bowditch, the main character, often doesn't realize that he's found a clue or a key to a mystery until it almost slips out of his hands. That makes him a person I can relate to.

And I also like that he explains a lot about policies and procedures just as he decides he's not going to follow said procedures.