Backlist Thrillers I Want To Read This Fall 2020

9/22/2020


I think all readers are more likely to pick up a thriller during the Fall months. There's something so comforting about reading some creepy fiction as you sit by the glow of a Jack-o'-lantern with rain hammering at the window. So, here's a list of all the thrillers that have been sitting on my TBR forever, that I hope to read in the Fall of 2020.

An Unwanted Guest

by Shari Lapena

Goodreads Synopsis: It's winter in the Catskills and Mitchell's Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing--maybe even romantic--weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity--and all contact with the outside world--the guests settle in and try to make the best of it. Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead--it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic.

I own a few Shari Lapena books, but I've only read The Couple Next Door (ironically the only book I don't own, yay). That's partly down to the so-so reviews I've seen others give her novels. She seems to be a bit of a Ruth Ware - people either like and stick with her, or just feel meh and give up. Despite this novel having the most lackluster reviews, the premise speaks to me more than some of the other domestic thrillers. 


The Dry

by Jane Harper

Goodreads Synopsis: In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain. Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier. But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones.

When I bought this at a library book sale, I didn't know that it was a detective driven thriller. That's entirely the reason that it's sad on my shelves for so long. I'm not a huge fan of thrillers when the main character is a federal worker. They tend to read too dry (he.. he.. he) for my enjoyment, however, I'm really interested in the Australian backdrop of this book so I'm gonna give it a mighty try. I'm hoping for Wolf Creek vibes.


The Good Girl

by Mary Kubica

Goodreads Synopsis: One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

Mary Kubia is another popular thriller author that I haven't yet read! This is the only book by her on my shelves, so I'm hoping it's a good choice for my first. Have you read anything by her? Do you recommend something else? Let me know! 


In The Woods

by Tara French

Goodreads Synopsis: As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

I know, I know. I just said that I don't like detective driven stories and yet here I am putting another one on this list. But I mean, that synopsis is so intriguing! How can I not want to read it? I also own The Witch Elm by Tara French, but seen as that one is mighty larger than this, I think I'll go with the smaller of the two first! 


The Perfect Stranger

by Megan Miranda

Goodreads Synopsis: Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Megan Miranda has the prettiest thriller covers. Look how beautiful! Was that the sole reason of me picking up this book? .......yes. But her other book The Last House Guest was picked as a Reese Witherspoon book club pick so I immediately put this author on my radar. I'm hoping this will be the first domino in a month of me marathoning her books.

The Shining Girls 

by Lauren Beukes 

Goodreads Synopsis: In Depression-era Chicago, Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women, burning with potential. Curtis stalks them through their lives across different eras until, in 1989, one of his victims, Kirby Mazrachi, survives and starts hunting him back. 

This is my most anticipated read as the mix of thriller and sci-fi really intrigues me. Who doesn't love a protagonist that starts to fight back? I'm hoping it'll give me the feel of slasher movies like Ready Or Not, You're Next, and P2. 



What's a backlist thriller that you're hoping to pick up soon? 



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