7 Thrillers to Read this Weekend

Hello, sweet friends! Happy Monday and last week of February to you. This month is completely flying by and with a little sprinkle of snow last weekend, I got to thinking: I need one good weekend or trip to cuddle up with a few books. If you’re still in the stretch of a cold winter and need good thrillers to shake up your weekend, here are seven books to read this weekend. I’ve read half of this list so far and the others were recommended based on my usual reads and authors. You can use the pictures below, pictures above and book title for a link to purchase. So, let’s jump in!

 

The Girl on the Train

EVERY DAY THE SAME

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My thoughts: This book was named the next Gone Girl when it first debuted. There are several twists and turns throughout the story and honestly, at the end of the book, you realize that EVERYONE is a hot mess. I loved this book as a beach read!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue….

It’s about the disappearance 40 years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden…and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance…and about Lisbeth Salander, a 24-year-old, pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age, who assists Blomkvist with the investigation.

This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism – and an unexpected connection between themselves.

My thoughts: I haven’t read this book yet but want to give you guys the same warning I received: there are few very graphic scenes in this book that could be triggering to you. There are tons of sneak peeks online that I would advise looking into first. Outside of that, this book is #1 of 6 part series. You can grab the entire Girl with a the Dragon Tattoo series here.

 

The Wife Between Us

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

My thoughts: This is another book in my TBR pile because it has been recommended to me about 6 times. I love twisty marriage books where there are multiple suspects and the person you think is guilty in the beginning, is far off from who is actually guilty. As a rule of thumb, any thriller with women, girl or wife is usually good!

 

Final Girls

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.
 
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
 
That is until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit; and Sam, the second Final Girl, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

My thoughts: If you follow me on Twitter, you already know how I feel about this book. This was my first February book that I finished over two weekends. I screamed at several parts of the book and was genuinely surprised by the ending. I am actually still on a slight book hangover from the ending, if I’m being honest. Late last year I read Lock Every Door by the same author and LOVED it. One of my book club connects recommended this book since this was the author’s first. It did not disappoint. 

Truly Madly Guilty

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families.

Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit busy, life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.

Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last-minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger-than-life personalities there will be a welcome respite.

Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

My thoughts: This is a book I started and stopped about 4 times over the past 2 years. I picked it up forever ago at Ollie’s and am committed to finishing it in April. ICYMI, this book was turned into a TV show on HBO and as always, I recommend reading the book before watching the show.

 

The Favorite Sister

When five hyper-successful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder…

Brett’s the fan favorite. Tattooed and only twenty-seven, the meteoric success of her spin studio—and her recent engagement to her girlfriend—has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates.

Kelly, Brett’s older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now—a role which requires her to protect their shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, non-working actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends—and resentment soon breeds contempt.

The Favorite Sister explores the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today’s America—and offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.

My thoughts: Y’all, this is another book I stopped and started over and over again. After Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll became one of the most loved authors ever following her coming forward with her personal story behind the novel. My favorite thing about this book is that it is based in a reality TV show and if you watch any right now, you’ll see how easily this story could become a reality.

 

The Perfect Stranger

From the author of the New York Times bestseller All the Missing Girls—the gripping story of a journalist who sets out to find her missing friend, a friend who may never have existed at all. “Think: Luckiest Girl Alive, The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl” (TheSkimm).

When Leah Stevens’ career implodes, a chance meeting with her old friend Emmy Grey offers her the perfect opportunity to start over. Emmy, just out of a bad relationship, convinces Leah to come live with her in rural Pennsylvania, where there are teaching positions available and no one knows Leah’s past.

Or Emmy’s.

When the town sees a spate of vicious crimes and Emmy Grey disappears, Leah begins to realize how very little she knows about her friend and roommate. Unable to find friends, family, a paper trail or a digital footprint, the police question whether Emmy Grey existed at all. And mark Leah as a prime suspect.

Fighting the doubts of the police and her own sanity, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Megan Miranda delivers a deep, dark and twisty novel just as thrilling as her New York Times bestseller All the Missing Girls.

My thoughts: This was my second Megan Miranda book after All the Missing Girls. I had a slight book hangover from that one and knew I would pretty much love anything by this author.  I would definitely say that All the Missing Girls was better, IMO, but this book gave us more insight into small town secrets. This is a great weekend or beach read if you want a little thrill and still want to sleep at night.

 

Whew – that was A L O T! If you couldn’t tell, thrillers/suspense books are my favorite types of books to read and share. If you’re looking for other books on my reading list, find them here. Until next time, thanks for reading! Have a great week -xo, Azanique <3