All posts tagged: domestic suspense

Ashley Audrian on her debut, THE PUSH–now in paperback–about motherhood, family history, genetics, and more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  Deliciously dark and juicy psychological drama–a DEBUT–you’ll be talking about long after you turn the last page, the issues and concerns surrounding motherhood, family history, genetics, and more.  NOW IN PAPERBACK! ~WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS~ ALWAYS WITH A BOOK Leslie Lindsay and Ashely Audrain in Conversation NOW IN PAPERBACK! THE PUSH (now in paperback from Pamela Dorman Books/PRH January 4, 2022) is one of those buzzy–OMG–books you’ll devour in one sitting. Is it a conversation-started? You bet. Will have it have you puzzling out your own maternal history–going back generations? Yes, that too. Here, we meet Blythe Connor, a woman whose experience of motherhood is not at all what she imagine. Blythe is determined to be the warm, caring, generous mother she herself never had. Still, she can’t let go of the disturbing, nagging thought that her daughter, Violet is not like other children. Is something ‘off?’ She’s distant, defiant, stubborn, antisocial, angry. Is she dangerous? Is Blythe just exhausted? Is it because Blythe doesn’t have much of a mother figure and her …

The fabulous and down-to-earth Mary Kubica talks about her new domestic suspense, LOCAL WOMAN MISSING, her fascination with true crime, writing ‘the big twist,’ old houses, how even idyllic places have their dark stories–plus, a question for me, too.

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  An explosive page-turner from Mary Kubica will have you looking over your shoulder–and your neighbors–differently. ~WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ SPOTLIGHT: MOTHERHOOD Mary Kubica has done it again. Every one of her books is a treat and I so glad I had the opportunity to dive into this one a bit early. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING (Park Row Books, May 18 2021) is her seventh (!!) domestic thriller and it’s so, so good. Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. This is unusual, she has a newborn, she’s relatively new to town, what reason would she possibly have to leave…or for someone to kidnap her? Not long after, Meredith Dickey goes missing, and her 6-year old daughter. But it’s a close-knit, suburban town outside of Chicago, neighbors are concerned but there’s only so much that can be done, even after a search party is formed. The case(s) eventually goes cold and Meredith’s husband, Josh, and son, Leo, continue with their lives. Now, eleven years later, the 6-year old daughter shockingly returns. She’s traumatized, must wear sunglasses at all times …

Sally Hepworth on her fabulous new THE GOOD SISTER, featuring twin sisters, mental health elements, a baby, and so much more, plus the books she’s raving about.

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  A neuro-atypical librarian decides to have a baby for her (fraternal) twin sister, but the story is so gorgeous, perceptive, and multi-faceted. The Most Anticipated Book of 2021: CNN.com • E!Online • Bustle • Goodreads • PopSugar • SheReads • Parade.com • Bookish ~WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ April Spotlight: Siblings I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth’s writing since the beginning, so when I discovered her new book, THE GOOD SISTER (St. Martin’s Press, April 13), I knew I had to get my hands on it–not only does it deal with adult fraternal twin sisters, but it also touches on mental health issues, family dysfunction, and mystery. Rose and Fern Castle are fraternal twins, and as different as night and day. Rose is the ‘responsible one,’ and rounder, called “Rosie Round,” by their mother, a nickname she detests (understandably). Rose marries, is an interior decorator. Fern, tall and willowy, slightly quirky, she hasn’t been formally diagnosed, but is likely on the spectrum, with sensory issues and an almost very literal interpretation of the world. What’s …

Kelly Simmons on her newest domestic thriller, NOT MY BOY, how parenting boys is different than parenting girls, her three most-recommended books, procrastination, more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  ~WRITER’S INTERVIEWING WRITERS|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ April Spotlight: Siblings A missing child, a mother-son new to a neighborhood, multiple suspects, an entangled family, and more in NOT MY BOY. I loved Kelly Simmons’s ONE MORE DAY and when I learned she had a new one out, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. NOT MY BOY (Sourcebooks Landmark, January 2021) is a bit of family drama meets domestic suspense with touches of Lisa Unger’s IN THE BLOOD meets Gilly Macmillian’s TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH. Hannah Sawyer is a writer–she’s working on various things, but mostly ghost-writing a woman’s memoir–but she’s also a divorced mother of a young boy, Miles. They have recently moved into a cozy carriage house on the property of a larger, more established home in a neighborhood where Hannah’s sister, Hillary, and her husband and daughter live. It’s within just days (maybe even hours) that a little girl goes missing. Suddenly, everyone in the neighborhood is captivated by this case. Secrets abound in NOT MY BOY, in which everyone becomes a …

COMING SOON IN PAPERBACK–THE SUNDOWN MOTEL, set in the 1980s and today, a run-down roadside motel teeming with ghosts, mysteries of the past, more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  An atmospheric and troubling mystery set in upstate New York at a run-down roadside motel teeming with ghosts–both literal and figurative.  NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!  ~WEEKEND READING | ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ THRILLER SPOTLIGHT Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of THE BROKEN GIRLS.  New York Times Bestseller USA Today Bestseller  NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, NY. But something isn’t right at the motel, something haunting and scary. Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and to visit the motel, where she …

Queen of romantic thrillers, Erica Spindler is here chatting about her new book, THE LOOK-ALIKE, set in small-town Wisconsin with a flair of mental illness

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  A young woman returning to her hometown in Wisconsin learns a brutal murder case she witnessed is being re-opened in this romantic thriller. ~WeekEND Reading~ A most anticipated book of 2020 according to: CrimeReads BookRiot The Nerd Daily Erica Spindler weaves a fast-paced tale of an unsolved murder in THE LOOK-ALIKE (St. Martin’s Press, Jan 28 2020). Trudging back to her door room late one night at Frederick College ten years ago, Sienna Scott stumbles upon a murdered classmate, her white coat and snow-covered ground stained crimson. The case is never fully solved, but closed. Sienna is shipped off to London to live with her grandmother. For ten years, she attends school there, becomes a chef. She’s back now, because her mother, who suffers from a paranoid delusional disorder is requiring more assistance. Others have always said Sienna looks just like her mother and Sienna’s biggest fear is that she will inherit her mother’s mental illness. What’s more, Sienna realizes there were some similarities between she and the girl who was murdered: they both had the same white coat. Could …

Deceitful, Dark, & Twisted THE NANNY is about villians, the art world, the slippery nature of memory; plus Gilly Macmillan talks about her ideal writing day, her next book, and more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay NYT Bestselling author, Gilly Macmillan is back with this dark, original, and diabolically clever tale of family secrets, set in a U.K. manor home. I’ve read all of Gilly Macmillan’s books and I think THE NANNY (September 10 William Morrow) must be her darkest, most sinister tale yet. Each one just gets better and better. Years ago, in 1988, 7-year old Jo’s (Jocelyn) nanny, Hannah, left without a trace. Jo was devastated. No one spoke of her again. Jo grew up bitter and distanced from her family; there was very little relationship between she and her mother Virginia (Ginny). Eventually, Jo leaves her aristocratic family and home–Lake Hall–behind for California. She marries and works in the art world–until her husband unexpectedly dies. It’s been thirty years, and Jo must return home to Lake Hall. She’s dreading this. She and her mother are estranged and there’s a stuffiness to this upper class life she desperately wishes to avoid. While she and her daughter, Ruby, are kayaking in the lake, they discover a human skull. This couldn’t be her long-lost nanny, could it? And then there’s …

Astonishingly Gripping, Hugely compelling, and so good–Shari Lapena is back with a new thriller set in an upper middle class neighborhood about teenage boys breaking into homes, plus the rhythm of writing, not plotting, more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  Suburban noir, paranoia, and murder. No one does it better than Shari Lapena in her fourth book, SOMEONE WE KNOW. INSTANT UK SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOTABLE BARNES & NOBLE JULY 2019 PICK Shari Lapena is among a rare breed of prolific women thriller writers. Each book is fabulous, hitting the New York Times bestseller list. In fact, her first thriller, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR (2015) was on the list for twenty-three consecutive weeks. Her second book, A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE, sealed her fate. She knows what readers want. And last year’s summer hit, AN UNWANTED GUEST was a nod to Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, which had me re-thinking whether I should bring that book with me to a little inn on the coast of Michigan. I did, anyway. Clear your calendar for about 18-24 hours, because this book will be wholly consuming. It could easily be read in one sitting, but those of us who feel obligated to sleep or let the dog out, go to work, or …

THE HEART KEEPER came to Alex Dahl ‘very insistently,’ about cell memory, organ donation, the lengths a grieving mother will go to reconnect; plus her experiences abroad and a fabulous reading list

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay Delightfully dark tale about two mothers and one little girl; about anger, grief, sadness, and more as the after-effects of organ donation.  THE HEART KEEPER (Berkley, July 16 2019) is a raw, gut-wrenching read from critically acclaimed thriller writer, Alex Dahl (THE BOY AT THE DOOR, 2018). This harrowingly, gritty read follows a grief-stricken mother who is desperately trying to seek a way to overcome the pain of losing her beloved only child, Amalie, who drowned. Alison becomes disturbingly fixated on a the life of a small girl who becomes the donor recipient of her daughter’s heart. She feels she can reconnect with her own daughter by becoming close to this little girl. On the surface, Alison is an affluent middle-aged mother (to step-son), Oliver, and appears to have it all together–gleaming luxury SUV and attractive husband, nice home. But she doesn’t have her daughter. She would do anything to get her back. We fall down a grim hole of mysterious interest and sinister intentions. Grief is a strange thing–it will cause even the most ‘typical’ person to come …

Bad neighbors, domestic agony and protecting lives in THOSE PEOPLE; plus Louise Candlish chats about her new puppy, the next book, and more

Published by

By Leslie Lindsay  Could your neighbor make you angry enough to kill? That’s what Louise Candlish sets out to discover in her new domestic thriller, THOSE PEOPLE.  Last year’s critically acclaimed OUR HOUSE had me on my toes wondering ‘who did it and why;’ I was flipping the pages uber-fast. And I love that Louise is focused on middle class suburbia, and those lingering ‘what-if’ questions. In THOSE PEOPLE (June 2019), she is acidly wry with sharp insights about human nature. For the families on Lowland Way, everything is pretty darn idyllic. The homes are stately and the neighborhood is sought-after by homeowners, the children attend good schools, and there’s that new ‘Play Out Sunday’ initiative in which a local homeowner has organized raising good press. But things on Lowland way take a nose dive when Darren and Jodie move in. Here, we meet several groups of neighbors–the married brothers who share a back garden, the couple with the new baby, the B&B owner, and well, Darren and Jodie who play loud music at all hours, are in constant …