A friend who is an avid reader recently told me she was disillusioned with the triller genre. As an action/thriller writer this made me a bit sad but with further reflection, I’m not sure she meant exactly what she said. I don’t think she was disillusioned so much as disappointed.
I think she actually liked psychological suspense or literary suspense and was approaching thrillers with the same expectations. That’s one way to walk away disappointed in a book.
Each genre has certain conventions, expectations, and necessary scenes to make for a satisfying reading.
Final tally, or close to it, I might squeeze in another book or two, for books read in 2018: 82. I read a lot of commercial thrillers this year, even for me, as I wanted to really try to dig in and look at the mechanics of the genre for my own writing.
This was also the year I took a break from podcasts and tried more audiobooks, mostly while I walked Dash. I ended up listening to 21 books on audio, which accounts for the jump in total books read. I’m usually around 60 or so, about a book a week on average.
So what books left an impression? What are the books I can still remember months later? These are my favorite reads of 2018.
As I’m getting back into my own writing, I’ve been reading or listening to a lot of thrillers and mysteries and trying to analyze the books by what I’m learning from The Story Grid. Why is it written this way? Why is it structured this way? Where is the turning point?
I know it’s a good book when I’m flipping pages and forgetting to ask those questions. That’s the type of book I’d like to write some day.
Calling these classics might be pushing the definition a bit, but they were all written more than 15 years ago and I think they all hold up really well and would likely find bestsellers lists again if they were released today.
If you find yourself in a used bookstore in a beach town this summer, you could do a lot worse than picking up one of these five classic thrillers to read while soaking up some sun.
When people find out you’re a “reader” you get asked about books. I don’t mind. In fact, it’s one of my favorite topics, especially mysteries and thrillers. Starting with the Hardy Boys and my mom’s fascination with Murder, She Wrote, I’ve been hooked on the genre almost since I could read. I remember getting in some trouble in fifth grade for bringing an “adult” mystery.
Now that it’s summer, I often get asked about books to bring to the pool or the beach or on vacation. Here are 5 recent mysteries and thrillers to consider if you want some thrills and chills while you read in the summer sun.
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
The second book in the Aaron Falk series builds on and improves on last year’s debut. Five women from the same workplace go on a hike for a corporate retreat. Only four come back out. They all tell a slightly different story.
That’s a good hook. Both books are set in remote and little seen parts of Australia for crime fiction. If you’re looking for a new series, bring both books. You won’t be disappointed.
The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor
This is a debut mystery/thriller and sometimes hits some story telling speed bumps that often crop up in first novels, but at its best it does conjure that feeling of impending adulthood and one last summer with friends that Stephen King does so well.
While not going supernatural, the atmosphere and dread lurk over the second half of the book as the murderer still lurks among the now grown friends.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
This book reads like an almost unbelievable and over-the-top thriller, but it’s all true. It landed on just about every year end best-of list and for good reason. Grann, also the author of the almost-as-good Lost City of Z, tells a story that appears to have almost been erased from American history.
The story of the Osage Indians, their vast wealth at the beginning of last century and all the attention, murder and grief it brought down on the tribe. Fascinating and sobering read that I’ve recommended more than any other book recently.
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
This thriller received a lot of buzz early this year. The cynical reader might find it a slick, example of how to produce a commercial bestseller.
It certainly feels at times that the author was working through a genre checklist, but I found it a very well-done example of mainstream genre fiction.
You’ll likely see a few of the ‘surprises’ coming long before they are revealed. But if it’s calculating, it’s still a well-constructed story that forces you to keep turning pages.
The Outsider by Stephen King
I’ve really enjoyed the last few King books that dipped their toe into the crime fiction genre and while THE OUTSIDER doesn’t continue the Bill Hodges trilogy, it does continue the recent dichotomy of King and crime fiction. If the Hodges trilogy was 75% crime fiction / 25% classic King, THE OUTSIDER flips that equation.
You get a classic, sprawling King story with many characters (the strongest are the women characters), social commentary on the media, along with a Hodges holdover in Holly. If you find the beginning a bit slow, the story really starts to move when Holly comes onboard and flies through the finish.
That’s it. Five recent mysteries and thrillers that will keep the pages moving and help you escape even further on your vacation.
I’ll end 2017 with 63 books read. Pretty good and higher than the last few years.
I came up short on my goal to read 12 non-fiction books, only reading 7 as the second half the year I started really concentrating on learning more about story, genre, craft and doing more of my own writing again. To learn writing, you need to read and I read a lot in the mystery/crime/thriller genre.
In no particular order, these are the books that stuck with me (when you read as much as I do, if you can remember the plot after a few days, it’s the sign of a good book) and that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a friend.
If you need a book to read over the holiday break or start the year right, I promise you could do much worse than any on this list.
