Detective, Thriller & Suspense.

Today I am going to present you a Detective, Thriller & Suspense selection! Finally, we have “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides “One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus, “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, “Puzzle” and “Vertige” by Franck Thilliez and last, but not least, “The Girl in the Fog” by Donato Carrisi.

Summary of “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides:

Alicia

Artist Alicia Berenson keeps a diary. For her, it’s a refuge, a chance to express herself. And it’s also a way to show her beloved husband that everything in their life is wonderful. The very thought of upsetting Gabriel or causing him pain is unbearable. But one evening, Alicia shoots him in the face five times, and from that moment on, she doesn’t utter a word. Her confession becomes… a painting. A self-portrait, in the lower left corner of which Alicia has inscribed a single word in Greek: «Alcestis.»

Theо

Expert psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced that he can help Alicia where all other doctors have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, he understands that Alicia’s silence is far more meaningful than it seems. But will Theo want to hear the truth if the patient finally speaks?

Alcestis* — the heroine of an ancient Greek myth who agreed to sacrifice her own life to save her husband.

Talking about “The Silent Patient”, it is definitely that book with a crazy plot twist that turns everything upside down. I felt the suspense from the beginning and until the very end. I can`t say for a hundred percent whether you will be able to predict it or not, but it is, undoubtedly, worth of your time.

9/10

“One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus.

A strict teacher punished five high school students by keeping them in the classroom after lessons, but only four of them walked out alive. The fifth student, Simon, an outcast who exacted cruel revenge on his tormentors by exposing their ugliest secrets online, was found dead. The police have no doubt it was murder. Everyone is under suspicion because each has something to hide.

But which of the four young men and women is the killer? Was it Bronwyn, the straight-A student bound for the Ivy League? Addy, the school’s beauty queen and shampoo commercial blonde? Nate, the juvenile delinquent on probation? Or Cooper, the rising baseball star with the face and physique of Captain America, a heartthrob among girls? Each of them had their own reasons to get rid of Simon. But who committed the crime?

It has been a good couple of years since I read this book and, I am sure it is a great teenage detective romance that can easily make readers to binge-read it. The denouement is very thought-provoking. I kept asking questions throughout the book, but after finishing it, I struggled because I was dying to talk to the deceased Simon.

8.5/10

“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn.

Everything was ready for the celebration of a five-year wedding anniversary when one of the guests of honor suddenly and inexplicably disappeared. There were signs of a struggle in the house, blood that had clearly been wiped away, and a trail of «clues» in a game called «treasure hunt»—a game the beautiful, smart, and incredibly inventive wife arranged annually for her beloved husband. It seems that these «clues»—strange notes and equally strange trinkets she placed here and there—are the only chance to shed light on the fate of the missing woman. But will the «hunter» have to reveal a few of his own less-than-flattering secrets to the world in the process?

Warning! This book might seem too cruel to some readers, due to the fact that it contains descriptions of physical violence as well as the emotional one. The tone of it is quiet dark, so, please, consider this.

Wow, that book was so much crueler that I expected. It is a masterpiece when it comes to mind-blowing plot twists. After they kept coming up, I was shocked about the amount of times I changed my mind.

9.5/10

“Puzzle” by Franck Thilliez.

In Franck Thilliez’s thriller «Puzzle», the protagonists Ilan and Zoé, professional treasure hunters, infiltrate a mysterious game where the grand prize is three hundred thousand euros, and the cost is human life. The rules of the game are unknown to them; they only know its name: Paranoia. In the mountains, on the grounds of an abandoned psychiatric hospital, eight participants must confront their deepest fears. To obtain the key to the coveted safe with the money, they must collect ten black crystal swans. But beware: the price of such a find is your life.

“Puzzle” combined all I needed from a truly thrilling thriller – suspense, romance, old enemies, setting in the middle of nowhere. Although, I stay away from movies and books set in psychiatric hospitals, this one had a completely different perspective on it. I have read “Puzzle” as fast as I possibly could back then.

To be honest, the end can be predicted by an experienced thriller reader, but I guessed it right the moment before the reveal of the main villain.

9/10

“Vertige” by Franck Thilliez.

In Franck Thilliez’s new thriller “Vertigo”, the author masterfully creates a chilling and suffocating atmosphere of a sprung trap. The protagonist, Jonathan Touvier, an experienced mountaineer who has conquered the world’s greatest peaks, suddenly finds himself one night chained to a rock in a strange cave, with the exit blocked. Around him are cold, ice, darkness, his dog, and two strangers: one, like Touvier, is chained to the rock, while the other can move but wears an iron mask with a coded lock, which will explode if he crosses a red line in search of salvation. The unwilling prisoners are left to speculate: how and why did they end up here, and who is manipulating them? But the main question is this: how far into desperation and savagery can a person go to survive?

After “Puzzle”, I did expect more. In that book we could see another perspective at times, but here there is only one point of view, which sometimes might be annoying a little.

The outcome is very engaging and, certainly, ambiguous. I wanted to know much more that the author has written. Also, for some readers, there might be a lack of characters. If you have noticed, there are only three of them.

All in all, it was an entertaining survival book.

6.5/10

“The Girl in the Fog” by Donato Carrisi.

A sleepy town lost in the Alps, a Christmas Eve, fog. From the house where the Christmas tree lights shine and the gifts lie to the festively decorated local church, it’s just three hundred meters, but young Anna Lou never appeared at the church… Ubiquitous journalists, photographers, and TV crews besiege the town. Each of them is eager to be the first to report sensational news about the investigation. Special Agent Vogel expertly takes advantage of this, drawing attention to himself. But what really happened to the quiet red-haired girl, and what does a stray cat have to do with it?

Here we go with the most devastating detective thriller of this selection, written by Donato Carrisi. It reveals some highly unpleasant moments of working as a Special Agent and necessary, sometimes insane, measures that they must take in order to uncover the truth.

What is so special about this book is that at the very end after all the answered questions, Donato decided to play his last trump card to absolutely crush reader`s mind.

10/10

That was the end of the fascinating thriller journey of six deeply terrifying books. Please, stay tuned until the next selection. It won`t disappoint you!

Good bye!