Who doesn't love a suspenseful story? These books range from spy thrillers to detective stories to horrifying tales. They span continents and come from new talents and bonafide masters. But they all have one thing in common: they'll delight anyone who needs a good thrill!
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Agent Running in the Field
By John Le Carre
Every new Le Carre books seems to be prefaced with “the master is back,” but where has he ever gone? He’s always been vital, perhaps no more so than now, when stories of spies and government secrets seem, well, contemporary again. Agent Running in the Field feels like a Le Carre classic, rich with thrills and also bureaucracy. Nobody mines the mundane for mystique like Le Carre does, but in this novel he opens his eyes to gaze upon modern day intrigue, like Brexit. A slam dunk gift for anyone hooked on the news.
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American Spy
By Lauren Wilkinson
We couldn’t put this novel down. American Spy has it all—it’s a finely wrought and brilliantly imagined political thriller, cold war historical fiction, family portrait, and love story all at once. Marie Mitchell is the only woman of color working as an intelligence officer in her NYC field office, a veritable boys-club, and when the CIA offers her an assignment in Burkina Faso in which she’s to romantically ensnare and derail the efforts of communist revolutionary Thomas Sankara, she accepts. What follows is sheer wondrous writing filled with captivating, tender characterizations. We’re so excited to see what Wilkinson does next.
**FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION’S 2019 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE**
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The Chestnut Man
By Soren Sveistrup
“A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen,” the jacket copy reads, so come on, you know how this will go: not well. There’ll be sinister clues, elements of the occult, windswept Scandavian shores (vacationland it’s not!). But Sveistrup is a serious writer, full of dread and foreboding. Behind this story, the Chestnut Man. Hearing that name, you have chills already, don’t know? Who doesn’t need something a little scary for the holidays?
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Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
By Olga Tokarczuk
Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
The Booker International prize-winning Polish author scores again! Misfits living on a plateau near the Czech border star in this part fable, part mystery, part bittersweet story of friendship exploring the fine line between animals and humans, sanity and madness.
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Full Throttle
By Joe Hill
A New York Times bestseller, this collection of short stories by Joe Hill explore his roots as the son of infamous writer, Stephen King, and delve into fairytale-like murders and blood boiling mysteries. It even includes a story co-authored by King about a faceless truck driver. Imaginative and gory, this collection is perfect for those who love page-turning suspense and hilariously gruesome plots.
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The Guardians
By John Grisham
So, there’s a lawyer. He’s young. He’s idealistic. He’s on the trail of murderers…or are they on the trail of him? Classic Grisham, and you can’t deny it, the writer has real talent and skill. Few people are famous for so long without sacrificing part of themselves, but Grisham seems like he remains whole. Nobody else writes like this. You know who’ll want a Grisham book for the holidays, but don’t forget: even snobs need to have fun sometimes.
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Heaven, My Home
By Attica Locke
This sequel hits as hard as the original, Bluebird, Bluebird. Detective Matthews is pulled from desk duties to investigate the disappearance of a nine-year-old white child with familiar connections to the Aryan Brotherhood. When he arrives, he finds a much deeper story than your run-of-the-mill racism. Friendships and marriages are tested, business practices are questions, ancestral lands are fought over, and damn that cliff hanger is crucial. Give this to anyone who needs a thrilling story.
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Imaginary Friend
By Stephen Chbosky
From the bestselling author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower comes a highly anticipated horror story of a single mother and a young boy who flee an abusive household only to find themselves trapped in a new, nightmarish reality. Addictive and ter-ri-fy-ing, Chbosky clearly spent the last 20 years of his life trying to unseat Stephen King, and here, he gets pretty damn close…
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The Institute
By Stephen King
…but the master’s the master, and this is another classic from King! If you are a fan of his work and disgusted by the current political situation in this country, this book is for you. Boy genius Luke gets into MIT at 12 and then his parents are murdered. He gets grabbed in the middle of the night and taken to the Institute where kids are made to “do things.” Absolutely gripping and relevant, the perfect gift for the crime junkie in your life.
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The Memory Police
By Yoko Ogawa
Translated by Stephen Snyder
Quiet and creepy, Ogawa’s newest novel is a little bit fantastical and a little bit too close to realism for comfort. A close first person narrative that keeps the reader emotionally entangled and on their toes, this Orewellian translation by Stephen Snyder is entertaining and important.
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