Despite the recent snow dusting across the Midwestern United States, spring is officially here, and with it comes a number of must-read thrillers from some of the biggest stars in the publishing world.
To celebrate the forthcoming warm weather, we’re highlighting the top 40 upcoming releases, including new offerings from Catherine Coulter, J.T. Ellison, Linda Fairstein, J.A. Jance, Lisa Scottoline, Alafair Burke, David Baldacci, John Sandford, Chris Pavone, Jeffery Deaver, Robin Burcell, Nick Irving, Anthony J. Tata, Anthony Horowitz, Mike Maden, Sandie Jones, Robert Crais . . . and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Just don’t blow your entire book budget quite yet, because summer will be here before you know it, along with new thrillers from Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, C.J. Box, Mark Greaney, Jack Carr, Ben Coes, Matthew Bettley, Karen Slaughter, and Stephen Hunter, to name a few.
Browse the list below, then let us know which books you’re most excited to get your hands on. Happy reading!
Double Exposure by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar
Release Date: March 26th
From the creators of Smallville comes an action-packed debut thriller about a war veteran and CIA officer in the 1960s swept up into a global conspiracy that may prove Hitler is still alive.
David Toland, a decorated Korean War veteran, has done all he can to leave a life of combat behind. Now Director of Preservation for the Library of Congress’s National Film Archive, Toland has made it his mission to preserve what he loves most: the Golden Age of American cinema, moving pictures full of romance, adventure and American Dream. That is, until CIA Agent Lana Welles drops in unannounced with a film canister, smuggle over the Berlin Wall at great cost, that may prove WWII never really ended–it just went underground.
David reluctantly agrees to serve his country one last time and help recover the film for Lana and the CIA. But it seems not everyone is as eager as they are to dig up the past. David and Lana’s discovery awakens shadowy forces who will do anything to keep their findings a secret. In search of the truth, David and Lana find themselves pursued across the globe in a cat and mouse game with enormous, world-altering consequences.
Why you should be excited about it: Obviously, I’m not giving anything away here, but few authors have successfully pulled off writing historical fiction wrapped in a spy thriller, and Gough and Millar nailed it. Think Robert Harris meets Brad Meltzer.
The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison
Release Date: March 26th
From New York Times bestselling authors Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison comes a riveting thriller pitting special agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine against a private French space agency that has the power to end the world as we know it.
Galactus, France’s answer to SpaceX, has just launched a communications satellite into orbit, but the payload actually harbors a frightening weapon: a nuclear-triggered electromagnetic pulse.
When the satellite is in position, Galactus’s second-in-command, Dr. Nevaeh Patel, will have the power to lay waste to the world with an EMP. A former astronaut, Patel believes she is following the directions of the Numen, aliens who saved her life when she space-walked outside the International Space Station. She is convinced that with the Holy Grail, just discovered by the owner of Galactus—eccentric treasure hunter Jean-Pierre Broussard—she can be reunited with the Numen, change the world’s destiny, and become immortal with them.
The countdown has begun when Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are thrown into the pending disaster. They must stop the EMP that would wreak havoc on communication and electronic systems on Earth, resulting in chaos and anarchy.
With their signature “nonstop action with enough realism to keep you thinking and scare the daylights out of you at the same time” (Suspense Magazine), Coulter and Ellison have created a thriller to take you on a breakneck and breathtaking journey.
Why you should be excited about it: Coulter and Ellison are one heck of a duo. Each a bestselling author in their own right, together they’re the most accomplished co-writing team working today, and their series is an absolute must-read.
Blood Oath by Linda Fairstein
Release Date: March 26th
New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein explores the depths of Manhattan’s secretive Rockefeller University in this timely, captivating thriller about the deep–and often deadly–reverberations of past sins.
Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit is finally back at work following a leave of absence, and not a moment too soon. With more women feeling empowered to name their abusers, Alex is eager to return to the courtroom to do what she does best. But even she can’t anticipate the complexity of her first case when she meets Lucy, a young woman who testified years earlier at a landmark federal trial . . . and now reveals that she was sexually assaulted by a prominent official during that time.
Yet Lucy’s isn’t the only secret Alex must uncover, with rumors swirling about one colleague’s abusive conduct behind closed doors and another’s violent, mysterious collapse. As the seemingly disparate cases of her client, adversary, and friend start to intertwine, Alex, along with NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, finds herself in uncharted territory within Manhattan’s Rockefeller University, a premier research institute, hospital, and cornerstone of higher learning. But not even the greatest minds in the city can help her when unearthed secrets begin to collide in dangerous ways . . . and unless she can uncover the truth, the life-saving facility just may become her grave.
Why you should be excited about it: Coop is back after a year off, which fits the story well since the last we saw her she was heading into a leave of absence. This time around, Coop is ready to get back into her office, and her first case deals with a blast from the past. A young woman who testified in huge federal case years back has now come forward as a victim of sexual assault, prompting rumors to swirl about a high-profile official, and Coop has to get to the bottom of it all. Fairstein is at her very best here.
The Killer in Me by Olivia Kiernan
Release Date: April 2nd
A deadly past refuses to stay buried in Olivia Kiernan’s masterful new novel
Death is no stranger to Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan, but she isn’t the only one from her small, coastal suburb to be intimately acquainted with it. Years ago, teenager Seán Hennessey shocked the tight-knit community when he was convicted of the brutal murder of his parents and attempted slaying of his sister, though he always maintained his innocence. Now, Seán is finally being released from prison—but when his newfound freedom coincides with the discovery of two bodies, the alleged connection between the cases only serves to pull Frankie further from answers even as it draws her closer to her town’s hidden darkness. With a television documentary revisiting Seán’s sentence pushing the public’s sympathies into conflict on a weekly basis, a rabid media pressuring the police like never before, and a rising body count, Frankie will need all of her resources if she is not only to catch a killer, but put to rest what really happened all those years ago.
A dark, irresistible cocktail of secrets, murder, and family, Olivia Kiernan’s latest is an impossible-to-put-down triumph.
Why you should be excited about it: Olivia Kiernan follows up Too Close to Breathe, her solid debut, with another rip-roaring crime thriller that moves fast and features nonstop surprises throughout.
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The A List by J.A. Jance
Release Date: April 2nd
Ali Reynolds straddles the line between the past and the future in the fourteenth book in the New York Times bestselling series.
Ten years ago, when Ali Reynolds’s high-profile newscaster life blew up on the West Coast, she went back home to Sedona, Arizona, to reinvent herself. Now while she’s living her new life, someone from her past comes asking for help. But will revisiting the past jeopardize her future?
Why you should be excited about it: Jance brings back Ali Reynolds for her 14th go-around in another highly-anticipated thriller that forces Ali to deal with past skeletons that have freed themselves from her closet and come back to haunt her.
Confessions of an Innocent Man by David R. Dow
Release Date: April 9th
A thrillingly suspenseful debut novel, and a fierce howl of rage that questions the true meaning of justice.
Rafael Zhettah relishes the simplicity and freedom of his life. He is the owner and head chef of a promising Houston restaurant. A pilot with open access to the boundless Texas horizon. A bachelor, content with having few personal or material attachments that ground him. Then, lightning strikes. When he finds Tieresse—billionaire, philanthropist, sophisticated, bombshell—sitting at one of his tables, he also finds his soul mate and his life starts again. And just as fast, when she is brutally murdered in their home, when he is convicted of the crime, when he is sentenced to die, it is all ripped away. But for Rafael Zhettah, death row is not the end. It is only the beginning. Now, with his recaptured freedom, he will stop at nothing to deliver justice to those who stole everything from him.
This is a heart-stoppingly suspenseful, devastating, page-turning debut novel. A thriller with a relentless grip that wants you to read it in one sitting. David R. Dow has dedicated his life to the fight against capital punishment—to righting the horrific injustices of the death penalty regime in Texas. He delivers the perfect modern parable for exploring our complex, uneasy relationships with punishment and reparation in a terribly unjust world.
Why you should be excited about it: Dow’s freshman crime thriller is a gritty, well-written tale that falls somewhere between David Joy and Brian Panowich. If you like darker plotlines set in the south, add this one to your reading list . . . it surprised the heck out of me.
The Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman
Release Date: April 9th
Legendary Navajo policeman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn takes center stage in this riveting atmospheric mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman that combines crime, superstition, and tradition and brings the desert Southwest vividly alive.
Joe Leaphorn may have retired from the Tribal Police, but he finds himself knee-deep in a perplexing case involving a priceless artifact—a reminder of a dark time in Navajo history. Joe’s been hired to find a missing biil, a traditional dress that had been donated to the Navajo Nation. His investigation takes a sinister turn when the leading suspect dies under mysterious circumstances and Leaphorn himself receives anonymous warnings to beware—witchcraft is afoot.
While the veteran detective is busy working to untangle his strange case, his former colleague Jim Chee and Officer Bernie Manuelito are collecting evidence they hope will lead to a cunning criminal behind a rash of burglaries. Their case takes a complicated turn when Bernie finds a body near a popular running trail. The situation grows more complicated when the death is ruled a homicide, and the Tribal cops are thrust into a turf battle because the murder involves the FBI.
As Leaphorn, Chee, and Bernie draw closer to solving these crimes, their parallel investigations begin to merge . . . and offer an unexpected opportunity that opens a new chapter in Bernie’s life.
Why you should be excited about it: Nobody brings the desert to life the way Hillerman does, who continues to honor her father’s (Tony Hillerman) legacy by continuing his series, which she’s now done since 2013. Last year’s Cave of Bones was a big hit with readers, averaging a four-star rating on Amazon and Goodreads with almost three thousand reviews, and those fans will no doubt be excited to see what Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee get themselves into next time around.
The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni
Release Date: April 9th
A pulse-pounding thriller of espionage, spy games, and treachery by the New York Times bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series.
Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, he has a family, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.
Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations—the so-called eighth sister—she is not who or what he was led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else in this deadly game of cat and mouse.
Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life—against his own country.
Why you should be excited about it: Treason, moles, and plenty of misdirection . . . Robert Dugoni’s The Eighth Sister is a high-stakes game between spies, and he doesn’t take his foot off the gas pedal for a second.
Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline
Release Date: April 9th
Bestselling and award-winning author Lisa Scottoline reaches new heights with this riveting novel about how a single decision can undo a family, how our past can derail our present, and how not guilty doesn’t always mean innocent.
Allie Garvey is heading home to the funeral of a childhood friend. Allie is not only grief-stricken, she’s full of dread. Because going home means seeing the other two people with whom she shares an unbearable secret.
Twenty years earlier, a horrific incident shattered the lives of five teenagers, including Allie. Drinking and partying in the woods, they played a dangerous prank that went tragically wrong, turning deadly. The teenagers kept what happened a secret, believing that getting caught would be the worst thing that could happen. But time has taught Allie otherwise. Not getting caught was far worse.
Allie has been haunted for two decades by what she and the others did, and by the fact that she never told a soul. The dark secret has eaten away at her, distancing her from everyone she loves, including her husband. Because she wasn’t punished by the law, Allie has punished herself, and it’s a life sentence.
Now, Allie stands on the precipice of losing everything. She’s ready for a reckoning, determined to learn how the prank went so horribly wrong. She digs to unearth the truth, but reaches a shocking conclusion that she never saw coming–and neither will the reader.
A deeply emotional examination of family, marriage, and the true nature of justice, Someone Knows is Lisa Scottoline’s most powerful novel to date. Startling, page-turning, and with an ending that’s impossible to forget, this is a tour de force by a beloved author at the top of her game.
Why you should be excited about it: Lisa Scottoline shows once again why she’s the queen of suspense, delivering a relentless, gut-punch of a thriller that’s sure to stand among the year’s best.
Metropolis by Philip Kerr
Release Date: April 9th
New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr treats readers to his beloved hero’s origins, exploring Bernie Gunther’s first weeks on Berlin’s Murder Squad.
A portrait of Bernie Gunther in his twenties: He’s young, but he’s seen four bloody years of trench warfare. And he’s not stupid. So when he receives a promotion and a ticket out of Vice squad, he knows he’s not really leaving behind the criminal gangs, the perverse sex clubs, and the laundry list of human corruption. It’s 1928 and Berlin is a city on the edge of chaos, where nothing is truly verboten. But soon a new wave of shockingly violent murders sweeps up society’s most vulnerable, prostitutes and wounded ex-soldiers begging on the streets.
As Bernie Gunther sets out to make sense of multiple murders with different MOs in a city that knows no limits, he must face the fact that his own police HQ is not immune. The Nazi party has begun to inflitrate the Alex, Berlin’s central office, just as the shakey Weimar government makes a last, desperate attempt to control a nation edging toward to the Third Reich.
It seems like the only escape for most Berliners is the theater and Bernie’s no exception. As he gets deeper into the city’s sordid underground network, he seeks comfort with a make-up artist who is every bit a match for his quick wit and increasingly sardonic view of the world. But even this space can’t remain untouched, not with this pervasive feeling that everything is for sale in Berlin if you’re man enough to kill for it.
Why you should be excited about it: It’s incredibly sad that this is the end of the line for Bernie Gunther, but there’s no question—Kerr (who passes away suddenly in 2018 after battling cancer) saved some of his best work for last.
Metropolis shows once again why Philip Kerr was one of the most talented novelists of his generation, and his final novel is one his fans won’t soon forget.
The Last by Hanna Jameson
Release Date: April 9th
For fans of high-concept thrillers such as Annihilation and The Girl with All the Gifts, this breathtaking dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into nuclear war—along with twenty other survivors—who becomes obsessed with identifying a murderer in their midst after the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel’s water tanks.
Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push notifications. Washington, DC has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black—and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange.
Now, two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Those who can’t bear to stay commit suicide or wander off into the woods. Jon and the others try to maintain some semblance of civilization. But when the water pressure disappears, and Jon and a crew of survivors investigate the hotel’s water tanks, they are shocked to discover the body of a young girl.
As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl as a way to cling to his own humanity. Yet the real question remains: can he afford to lose his mind in this hotel, or should he take his chances in the outside world?
Why you should be excited about it: Jameson’s The Last has sleeper hit written all over it and should be well received by fans of the hit TV show Lost. It has a lot of similarities, in fact, to Lost, though it’s certainly no copycat. With plenty of twists throughout, Hanna Jameson will leave readers genuinely surprised by the time they turn the final page here. It’s a little outside the normal thriller zone, but it’s also super addictive once the pacing picks up about a hundred or so pages in.
The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
Release Date: April 16th
From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?
Though Chloe was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicky was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.
For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Chloe earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicky married promising young attorney Adam Macintosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ethan. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.
Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Chloe is married to Adam. When he’s murdered by an intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Chloe reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicky—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ethan as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past.
Why you should be excited about it: Burke brings her A-game here, drawing on real-life themes that add a timely and relevant feel to The Better Sister . . . but the real magic lies in the mystery at the heart of this powerful family drama that packs a major twist and an ending that’ll leave readers stunned.
Redemption by David Baldacci
Release Date: April 16th
Detective Amos Decker discovers that a mistake he made as a rookie detective may have led to deadly consequences in the latest Memory Man thriller in David Baldacci’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
Amos Decker and his FBI partner Alex Jamison are visiting his hometown of Burlington, Ohio, when he’s approached by an unfamiliar man. But he instantly recognizes the man’s name: Meryl Hawkins. He’s the first person Decker ever arrested for murder back when he was a young detective. Though a dozen years in prison have left Hawkins unrecognizably aged and terminally ill, one thing hasn’t changed: He maintains he never committed the murders. Could it be possible that Decker made a mistake all those years ago? As he starts digging into the old case, Decker finds a startling connection to a new crime that he may be able to prevent, if only he can put the pieces together quickly enough.
Why you should be excited about it: David Baldacci keeps finding new ways to raise the stakes for Amos Decker, who continues to stand out in an overcrowded genre, and Redemption is one of his better books in the series so far.
Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
Release Date: April 23rd
The bestselling author of Daemon returns with a near-future technological thriller, in which a charismatic billionaire recruits a team of adventurers to launch the first deep space mining operation–a mission that could alter the trajectory of human civilization.
When itinerant cave diver James Tighe receives an invitation to billionaire Nathan Joyce’s private island, he thinks it must be a mistake. But Tighe’s unique skill set makes him a prime candidate for Joyce’s high-risk venture to mine a near-earth asteroid–with the goal of kick-starting an entire off-world economy. The potential rewards and personal risks are staggering, but the competition is fierce and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Isolated and pushed beyond their breaking points, Tighe and his fellow twenty-first century adventurers–ex-soldiers, former astronauts, BASE jumpers, and mountain climbers–must rely on each other to survive not only the dangers of a multi-year expedition but the harsh realities of business in space. They’re determined to transform humanity from an Earth-bound species to a space-faring one–or die trying.
Why you should be excited about it: Daniel Suarez is one of the most entertaining sci-fi writers in the genre and his last book, Change Agent (2017), received high marks from both readers and critics alike. This year, Suarez hits on a timely plotline involving deep-space exploration, which could end up altering human civilization forever . . . either for good or for bad. Like James Rollins, Suarez packs tons of science and innovated tech into his books, giving them a realistic feel, even though we’re probably still many years from watching them play out in real life.
The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden
Release Date: April 23rd
When what appears to be the original Pandora’s Box is discovered in an ancient city, neighboring countries fight for ownership and unleash a terrible plague.
The Pandora Room is New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden’s chilling exploration of what happens when the original Pandora’s Box is discovered in an ancient subterranean city, stirring international conflict and exposing the archaeological team to curses, whispers, and the terror of a legendary plague.
In one ancient variation on the myth of Pandora’s Box, there were two jars, one for Pandora and one for her sister, Anesidora. One contained all the blessings of the gods, the other all the world’s curses. Now, in a subterranean city in Northern Iraq, archaeologist Sophie Durand has discovered a secret chamber covered in writing that confirms that version of the tale―a chamber which contains a single jar. “Weird shit” expert Ben Walker joins Sophie’s team just as the mystery deepens and grows ugly. Those who believe the myth want to know which jar has been found in the Pandora Room, the one containing blessings, or the one full of curses. Governments rush to lay claim, but jihadi forces aren’t waiting for the dust to settle. Whatever the jar contains, they want it, no matter who they have to kill…or what will emerge when they open it. For Sophie, Walker, and the others, the Pandora Room may soon become their tomb.
Why you should be excited about it: In his last thriller, Golden examined what could happen if Noah’s ark was ever found by treating readers to a bloody, hauntingly good thriller that begged for him to take on another long-lost historical artifact. Now, he’s done just that by crafting a thought-provoking story about the real Pandora’s Box. What more do you need to know?
Neon Prey by John Sandford
Release Date: April 23rd
Lucas Davenport pursues a prolific serial killer who has gone undetected for years in the newest nail-biter by #1 NewYork Times-bestselling author John Sandford
It was a relatively minor criminal matter, all things considered, but enough that the U.S. Marshals obtained a warrant to enter the home. They didn’t expect to unearth trophies from a score of killings.
Now Davenport is on the trail of a serial murderer, one who was able to operate for years without notice or suspicion. But there’s even more to this killer than meets the eye . . .
Why you should be excited about it: By now, fans know just what they’re getting when they head out to follow Lucas Davenport around, and John Sandford delivers another intriguing, page-turning plot that’ll hold readers over until next time.
Collusion by Newt Gingrich
Release Date: April 30th
#1 New York Times-bestselling author Newt Gingrich returns with this rollicking tale of high-stakes international intrigue—the first book in a contemporary series filled with adventure, betrayal, and politics, that captures the tensions and divides of America and the world today.
Valerie Mayberry comes from the kind of wealthy family that would be royalty in any other country. Obsessive and compulsive, she’s also the FBI’s counter-intelligence expert on domestic terrorism.
Brett Garrett is a dishonorably discharged ex-Navy SEAL coming off a secret opioid addiction. A brusque, fiercely independent operative who refuses to play by the rules, the seasoned pro is now a gun for hire, working as a security contractor in Eastern Europe.
When a high ranking Kremlin official with knowledge of a plan to attack the US must be smuggled out under the nose of a kleptocratic Putin-like Russian president and a ruthless general, Mayberry and Garret are thrown together to exfiltrate him and preempt a deadly poisonous strike.
As these unlikely partners work to protect their human asset, their mission is threatened by domestic politics: leftist protests, Congressional infighting, and a culture driven by hatred.
Collusion raises many of the most significant issues facing America in real life today. Is Russia our ally, or our enemy? Are American leftist activists susceptible to influence from aboard? How far will our enemies go to disrupt our politics and weaken the nation? Can we trust the media to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys?
Newt Gingrich and Pete Earley have entertained and educated readers with three previous novels of Washington scandal and foreign interference. From its explosive opening through several twists and turns to its heart-stopping end, Collusion is their most timely and powerful novel yet.
Why you should be excited about it: Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, certainly has the political background to pull off such a daring and timely thriller. While the execution isn’t perfect, the story is entertaining enough that fans of political thrillers should enjoy it.
Like Lions by Brian Panowich
Release Date: April 30th
A powerful follow up to multiple award-winning debut Bull Mountain.
Brian Panowich burst onto the crime fiction scene in 2015, winning awards and accolades from readers and critics alike for his smoldering debut, Bull Mountain. Now with Like Lions, he cements his place as one of the outstanding new voices in crime fiction.
Clayton Burroughs is a small-town Georgia sheriff, a new father, and, improbably, the heir apparent of Bull Mountain’s most notorious criminal family.
As he tries to juggle fatherhood, his job and his recovery from being shot in the confrontation that killed his two criminally-inclined brothers last year, he’s doing all he can just to survive. Yet after years of carefully toeing the line between his life in law enforcement and his family, he finally has to make a choice.
When a rival organization makes a first foray into Burroughs territory, leaving a trail of bodies and a whiff of fear in its wake, Clayton is pulled back into the life he so desperately wants to leave behind. Revenge is a powerful force, and the vacuum left by his brothers’ deaths has left them all vulnerable. With his wife and child in danger, and the way of life in Bull Mountain under siege for everyone, Clayton will need to find a way to bury the bloody legacy of his past once and for all.
Why you should be excited about it: Dark, raw, and honest, Brian Panowich’s Like Lions is a beautifully written, powerful crime thriller that’ll have readers begging for more.
The Kremlin Strike by Dale Brown
Release Date: May 7th
In this exciting, visionary, and all-too-plausible next chapter in the legendary Dale Brown’s New York Times bestselling techno-warfare series, Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron must fight the Russians on a dangerous, untested battlefield: outer space.
The previous administration’s ineffective response to the growing Russian threat has left America vulnerable. Setting a bold course for America’s defense, the decisive and strong new president, John Dalton Farrell, intends to challenge Russian aggression head on. Brad and Patrick McLanahan and the formidable Iron Wolf Squadron—including the recently injured Nadia Roz, rested and back to fighting form thanks to a pair of state-of-the-art prosthetic legs—are ready and eager to join the battle.
But even with their combined forces, the Russian menace may prove too great for the Americans to overcome. Done with provocative skirmishes and playing for small stakes, the Russian president has set his sights on the ultimate prize: controlling the entire world. Expanding beyond earth’s bounds, the Russians have built a new high-tech space station and armed it with weaponry capable of destroying US satellites as well as powerful missiles pointed at strategic targets across earth.
Devising a cunning plan of attack, Brad, Nadia, and the Iron Wolf warriors will take to the skies in their advanced space planes to destroy the space station, check the Russians’ plan for dominance, and save the world. But is it already too late?
Why you should be excited about it: Brown’s last few books have received mixed reviews. If anything can re-energize his series, taking it into space might just do the trick. The writing is solid, and the characters are still fun to follow around.
Black Mountain by Laird Barron
Release Date: May 7th
Ex-mob enforcer Isaiah Coleridge has hung out a shingle as a private eye in New York’s Hudson Valley, and in his newest case, a seemingly simple murder investigation leads him to the most terrifying enemy he has ever faced
When a small-time criminal named Harold Lee turns up in the Ashokan reservoir–sans a heartbeat, head, or hands–the local Mafia capo hires Isaiah Coleridge to look into the matter. The Mob likes crime, but only the crime it controls…and as it turns out, Lee is the second independent contractor to meet a bad end on the business side of a serrated knife. One such death can be overlooked. Two makes a man wonder.
A guy in Harold Lee’s business would make his fair share of enemies, and it seems a likely case of pure revenge. But as Coleridge turns over more stones, he finds himself dragged into something deeper and more insidious than he could have imagined, in a labyrinthine case spanning decades. At the center are an heiress moonlighting as a cabaret dancer, a powerful corporation with high-placed connections, and a serial killer who may have been honing his skills since the Vietnam War . . .
Why you should be excited about it: Laird Barron switched genres last year, and fans loved it. Now, he’s bringing back his ex-mob enforcer Isaiah Coleridge for another go-around. Personally, I thought it was much better than last year’s Blood Standard and enjoyed seeing Coledrige more fleshed out here. Barron is a talented writer, and his gritty style matches the book’s setting and themes perfectly.
Robert B. Parker’s Buckskin by Robert Knott
Release Date: May 7th
Itinerant lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch pursue a vicious killer in the grittiest entry yet of the New York Times-bestselling series.
After marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch lay Appaloosa’s sheriff to rest, an emerging handful of men eagerly vie for the deceased sheriff’s vacant office. No sooner are various campaigns under way when gold is discovered in the foothills just outside of town, sending Appaloosa buzzing with excitement.
With the strike, a slew of new problems develop for Cole and Hitch. Two shrewd mining factions and their hired gun hands square off over the claim. And on the eve of the new sheriff’s appointment, a powerful snowstorm blankets Appaloosa. As the town braces for the severe weather, Cole and Hitch’s problems multiply with the emergence of anonymous letters to the editor of the Appaloosa Star, leading the duo to a series of murders and the pursuit of a vicious serial killer.
Why you should be excited about it: Originally, this book was set to come out in 2018 but was pushed back. Then came the announcement that Sunny Randall, another one of Robert B. Parker’s beloved characters, was being resurrected by Mike Lupica. So, Blood Feud came out instead, and Buckskin was delayed until 2019. If absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say, then plenty of readers will welcome the return of Virgil and Cole this year.
The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone
Release Date: May 7th
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Expats. Kate Moore is back in a pulse-pounding thriller to discover that a massive terror attack across Paris is not what it seems – and that it involves her family
American expat Kate Moore drops her kids at the international school, makes her shopping rounds, and meets her husband Dexter at their regular café: a leisurely start to a normal day, St-Germain-des-Prés.
Across the Seine, tech CEO Hunter Forsyth stands on his balcony, perplexed that his police escort just departed, and frustrated that his cell service has cut out; Hunter has important calls to make, not all of them technically legal.
And on the nearby rue de Rivoli, Mahmoud Khalid climbs out of an electrician’s van, and elbows his way into the crowded courtyard of the world’s largest museum, in the epicenter of Western civilization. He sets down his metal briefcase and removes his windbreaker.
That’s when people start to scream.
Everyone has big plans for the day. Dexter is going to make a small fortune, finally digging himself out of a deep financial hole, via an extremely risky investment. Hunter is going to make a huge fortune, with a major corporate acquisition that will send his company’s stock soaring. Kate has less ambitious plans: preparations for tonight’s dinner party—one of those homemaker obligations she still hasn’t embraced, even after a half-decade of this life—and an uneventful workday at the Paris Substation, the clandestine cadre of operatives that she’s been running, not entirely successfully, increasingly convinced that every day could be the last of her career. But every day is also a fresh chance to prove her own relevance, never more so than during today’s momentous events.
Why you should be excited about it: Keeping with his one book every two years pace, Pavone is finally set to follow up his 2012 thriller, The Expats, which introduced readers to American expat Kate Moore. Now, Kate is back, an automatic win for readers who’ve begged to see more of her over the last six years, and she’s taking on her biggest challenge yet.
The 45th by D.W. Buffa
Release Date: May 7th
What if a political party in disarray turned to a man to lead them with no political background?
What if a country torn apart by ideology turned to a man whose charisma belied a complete lack of governing experience?
What if a country elected a President based not on qualifications, but on hope?
Would this man lead the country into a new era of fortune and prosperity? Or would he lead them into total and complete chaos?
D.W. Buffa has proven himself as one of the absolute best political writers working today, and in THE 45TH he creates a work of compelling fiction that’s as timely as this morning’s news. THE 45TH will leave you breathless, enraged, and unable to forget it once the last page is turned.
Why you should be excited about it: While fans fatigued by 24/7 political coverage might not be looking to jump into something as politically-charged as this one, Buffa’s latest is a fast-paced thriller that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.
Theater of Spies by S.M. Stirling
Release Date: May 7th
The second novel in an alternate history series where Teddy Roosevelt is president once more right before WWI breaks out, and on his side is the Black Chamber, a secret spy network watching America’s back.
After foiling a German plot to devastate America’s coastal cities from Boston to Galveston, crack Black Chamber agent Luz O’Malley and budding technical genius Ciara Whelan go to California to recuperate. But their well-deserved rest is cut short by the discovery of a diabolical new weapon that could give the German Imperial Navy command of the North Sea.
Luz and Ciara must go deep undercover and travel across a world at war, and live under false identities in Berlin itself to ferret out the project’s secrets. Close on their trail is the dangerous German agent codenamed Imperial Sword, who is determined to get his revenge, and a band of assault-rifle equipped stormtroopers, led by the murderously efficient killer Ernst Röhm. From knife-and-pistol duels on airships to the horrors of the poison-gas factories to harrowing marine battles in the North Sea, the fight continues–with a world as the prize.
Why you should be excited about it: Stirling’s books are really well done, and tons of fun. Re-imagining the past with a few changes can be hard to pull off, and plenty of authors have failed at it in recent years, but Stirling excels at taking readers back in time and presenting juicy conflicts. History buffs will love this one.
The Never Game by Jeffrey Deaver
Release Date: May 14th
From the bestselling and award-winning master of suspense, the first novel in a thrilling new series, introducing Colter Shaw.
“You have been abandoned.”
A young woman has gone missing in Silicon Valley and her father has hired Colter Shaw to find her. The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a “reward seeker,” traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America’s tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video gaming industry.
“Escape if you can.”
When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past–The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life?
“Or die with dignity.”
Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims even as he pursues the kidnapper across both Silicon Valley and the dark ‘net. Encountering eccentric game designers, trigger-happy gamers and ruthless tech titans, he soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast.
Why you should be excited about it: Slide over Lincoln Rhyme, hello Colter Shaw. Well-plotted and built on an intriguing premise and an exciting new character, The Never Game delivers in a big way and is one of Jeffery Deaver’s best thrillers in years.
If She Wakes by Michael Koryta
Release Date: May 14th
Discover the electrifying new novel from New York Times bestselling author Michael Koryta, the “master” (Stephen King) of thriller writing, the story of two women fighting for their lives against an enigmatic killer.
Tara Beckley is a senior at idyllic Hammel College in Maine. As she drives to deliver a visiting professor to a conference, a horrific car accident kills the professor and leaves Tara in a vegetative state. At least, so her doctors think. In fact, she’s a prisoner of locked-in syndrome: fully alert but unable to move a muscle. Trapped in her body, she learns that someone powerful wants her dead–but why? And what can she do, lying in a hospital bed, to stop them?
Abby Kaplan, an insurance investigator, is hired by the college to look into Tara’s case. A former stunt driver, Abby returned home after a disaster in Hollywood left an actor dead and her own reputation–and nerves–shattered. Despite the fog of trauma, she can tell that Tara’s car crash was no accident. When she starts asking questions, things quickly spin out of control, leaving Abby on the run and a mysterious young hitman named Dax Blackwell hard on her heels.
Why you should be excited about it: Stephen King called Michael Koryta the “master” of thriller writing. Do you really need anything else to run out and buy this one? Add in the fact that this book appears to examine most people’s worst fear of being trapped in their own body when everyone else thinks they’re in a vegetable state, and Koryta’s latest has everything in place to be another heart-thumping thriller from the master.
Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen
Release Date: May 21st
For fans of C.J. Box and Michael Koryta, a new thriller set in remote Washington State, where a widowed ex-Marine and a misanthropic ex-convict grudgingly team up to save the only thing they have in common–the rescue dog who changed both their lives.
Widowed while deployed overseas, former US Marine Jess Winslow reenters civilian life with little more than a falling-down house, a medical discharge for PTSD, and a dog–specifically Lucy, a black and white pitbull mix trained to help Jess cope with the crippling memories of her time in Afghanistan. But Jess also inherits a heap of trouble, of her late husband Ty’s making. A corrupt deputy sheriff comes looking for a mysterious package — and leaves with Lucy, threatening to have the dog destroyed unless Jess delivers the goods allegedly stolen by her husband before his untimely death.
The next person to appear on her doorstep is a newly released ex-convict. Surprisingly, he’s there to help. The only good thing to come of Mason Burke’s fifteen years in prison was the dog he trained there for a service-animal program–Lucy. She helped keep him sane; now he’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Forced into an uneasy alliance in order to save Lucy, Jess and Mason must learn to trust each other. But finding Ty’s package is only the start of their battle. To avoid becoming collateral damage in someone else’s private war, they’ll have to fight back–and conquer their own doubts and fears.
DECEPTION COVE is a gripping story of survival and redemption set in the Pacific Northwest’s most beautiful and most dangerous coastal terrain.
Why you should be excited about it: Over the past few years, Laukkanen has expanded his resume to include several new genres. Last year’s Gale Force was maybe his best book yet, and now he’ll pivot to a more outdoorsy crime thriller in the vein of Paul Doiron and William Kent Krueger, built around a former Marine and an ex-con who team up for the most unlikely of circumstances.
Dead Man’s Mistress by David Housewright
Release Date: May 21st
An investigation of missing property takes a darker turn near Lake Superior in Dead Man’s Mistress, the next mystery in David Housewright’s award-winning McKenzie series.
Louise Wykoff is arguably the most recognizable woman living in Minnesota, known for her presence in over one hundred paintings by the late and brilliant Randolph McInnis. Louise, known better as “That Wykoff Woman,” was just a young apprentice when her intimate representation and the fact of the McInnis’s marriage caused rumors to fly―and Louise to hide away for decades.
All of McInnis’s paintings are in museums or known private collections, until Louise confesses to having three more that no one has ever heard of―and now they’ve been stolen. Rushmore McKenzie, an occasional unlicensed private investigator, agrees to look into the theft. As he investigates, following clues that appear far too straightforward, he finds himself on the wrong side of the bars wondering if the trail might be deeper and darker than he’s been led to believe. Hours away from St. Paul, deep in the nature of Grand Marais, the truth seems murkier―and deadlier―than usual.
Why you should be excited about it: P.I. Mac McKenzie returns to take on his 16th case, and while Housewright has two good series going, McKenzie is a more developed character than Taylor, and Housewright continues to capture the Minnesota setting perfectly.
Reaper: Threat Zero by Nicholas Irving and A.J. Tata
Release Date: May 21st
The next book in the explosive new thriller series by former special operations sniper and New York Times bestselling author of The Reaper.
A convoy of cars carrying several family members of the President’s cabinet to Camp David for “Family Day” is ambushed, killing and wounding wives, husbands and children.
Immediately in the aftermath, Vick Harwood watches a Facebook live feed of his former ranger buddy Sammie Samuelson’s apparent suicide and confession in his Thurmont, Maryland apartment, just one mile from Camp David. Remnants of a firefight are in the background: sniper rifle, rocket launchers, and ammunition. Simultaneously, an intruder breaks into Harwood’s house.
Harwood arrives in Thurman to investigate the suicide and, with the help of his whip-smart and attractive neighbor, traces evidence left by Samuelson to a transnational terrorist group.
Meanwhile, the president wants retribution and will stop at nothing to get it. Harwood and Stone aren’t sure about his plan for revenge but are forced to enact its first steps. With an unknown tracker following them, the team journeys from Tehran to Afghanistan to North Korea, Harwood struggling to balance his order with his sense of right and wrong―without losing his life in the process. It is a race to find Samuelson’s family, as Harwood attempts to protect them while also clearing his name
Why you should be excited about it: Vick Harwood could be described as a combination of Bob Lee Swagger and Pike Logan, but really, there’s nobody else like him in the genre right now. If you’re looking for the next great action series, here it is.
Oracle by Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell
Release Date: May 28th
Husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team Sam and Remi Fargo return for a new adventure as they hunt for ancient treasure–that may or may not be cursed–in this thrilling addition to Clive Cussler’s bestselling series.
In 533 A.D., the last King of the Vandals still rules in Northern Africa–but a prophecy reveals that his reign is doomed. Years before, sacred scrolls had been stolen from a high priestess, who cast a curse on the kingdom unless they were returned. The Vandal kingdom falls before the scrolls are ever found–leaving their location a mystery–and their discovery is the perfect challenge for Sam and Remi Fargo.
However, before they can hunt for the scrolls, the Fargos must tend to problems within their charitable foundation. When they learn that a shipment of supplies intended for a school in Nigeria has been stolen, they travel into the heart of Africa to deliver new supplies themselves. However, their mission becomes infinitely more complicated when they run afoul of a rival bands of robbers. One of these groups later take Remi and a group of students hostage, and there are signs that the kidnapping is related to missing scrolls. The Fargos will need all of their skills to uncover the hidden treasure and to protect everything they have worked for–and their lives.
Why you should be excited about it: Clive Cussler works with a number of co-authors, but none are better than Robin Burcell, who has helped make the Fargo books required reading for thriller enthusiasts. With Burcell in the mix, Sam and Remi have thrived, and that’s certainly the case here.
Dark Site by Patrick Lee
Release Date: May 28th
From the author of Runner, Sam Dryden comes under attack from unknown forces as an unremembered episode from his past threatens more than just his life.
On an otherwise normal morning, former Special Forces operative Sam Dryden is the target of an unsuccessful attempted abduction. Using his attacker’s cellphone, he learns that another person, a woman named Danica Ellis, is also being targeted. Dryden arrives just in time to save Danica from the assault team sent after her. But neither of them recognize the other, or have any idea why they are being targeted. The only clue is a heavily redacted, official-looking document given to Danica by her stepfather before he was killed.
Dryden immediately recognizes it as a “scrub file.” A scrub file is a record of what a subject knew before their memories were chemically destroyed. The redacted document refers to witnesses to a secret military site in Ashland, Iowa in 1989. Both Dryden and Danica Ellis lived in Ashland in 1989, when they were both twelve years old, though neither of them has any memory of the other.
Switching back and forth between the present day, when Dryden and Danica try to elude the forces that are after them, and the past in Ashland, Iowa, when both were twelve, making a discovery that forever changed their lives, this latest Sam Dryden novel proves yet again that Patrick Lee is one of the most original, compelling thriller writers today.
Why you should be excited about it: Patrick Lee’s third Sam Dryden novel has the former Special Forces operative squaring off with dangerous unknown forces, pulling him deep into a high-stakes conspiracy. Lee’s stuff is pretty underrated. If you enjoy hard-hitting action and haven’t given him a try, don’t wait any longer.
Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland
Release Date: May 28th
She knows her teenage son isn’t perfect. But when the FBI starts investigating the kid she thought she knew, will she jeopardize her own career at the Bureau to keep her child safe?
From the New York Times bestselling author of Need to Know. . . .
Stephanie Maddox makes tough decisions every day. She has her hands full heading the FBI’s Internal Investigations division, policing wrongdoers within the Bureau. But, as a single mother, the most important thing in her life is her teenage son Zachary, who’s anxiously awaiting college acceptance letters. So when she discovers a gun concealed in Zach’s room, her world reels. And then an FBI agent on the domestic terrorism squad shows up at her door and utters three devastating words: “It’s about Zachary…”
Has she been wrong about her near-perfect son? Is Zach embroiled in something criminal–something deadly? And, if so, what is her greater duty: To protect him? Or to betray him?
Why you should be excited about it: While it’s not as good as her well-received debut, Keep You Close is another fast-paced thriller that twists and turns its way to an exciting conclusion.
Rogue Strike by David Ricciardi
Release Date: June 4th
Jake Keller finds himself in a familiar position—on the run for his life and desperate to find the shadowy figures behind a global conspiracy.
CIA agent Jake Keller and his partner, Curt Roach, are in Yemen on an important mission. They’ve been tipped off to a secret meeting of top al Qaeda leaders. The plan is to interrupt the meeting with a few unexpected visitors—a pair of Hellfire missiles from an orbiting drone. But the drone stops responding to their signals and soon disappears over the horizon. When next seen, the drone is attacking innocent pilgrims in Mecca.
Jake and Curt are staggered. The U.S. government is desperate to disavow this atrocity. Who better to blame than a couple of rogue CIA agents? With all the governments of the Middle East looking for them and no help from their own side, they are in a desperate race to stay ahead of the mob and find out who’s actually behind the crime.
Why you should be excited about it: Not since the early days of Tom Clancy has an author taken a young, inexperienced CIA analyst and dropped them into the field with such page-turning results. Warning Light was pretty special, but Ricciardi kicks it up a notch here.
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Release Date: June 4th
Death, deception, and a detective with quite a lot to hide stalk the pages of Anthony Horowitz’s brilliant murder mystery, the second in the bestselling series starring Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne.
“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . “
These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.
Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?
Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.
But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .
Why you should be excited about it: Horowitz is one of the premier mystery writers on the planet, doing such heavy lifting as keeping iconic characters—like Sherlock Holmes and James Bond—alive and well without breaking a sweat. Last year, he wrote himself into the story, playing Watson to Hawthorne’s Holmes, and the end result was nothing short of incredible. Same goes for this one.
Tom Clancy Enemy Contact by Mike Maden
Release Date: June 11th
The final wish of a dying friend leads Jack Ryan, Jr., to the jungles of South America, where an unexpected confrontation will have shocking international repercussions in this latest entry in the New York Times-bestselling series.
Jack Ryan, Jr., has faced death before, but sitting at the bedside of a college friend who is wasting away from cancer is almost more than he can endure. When the man asks Jack to scatter his ashes on a beloved hillside in Chile, of course Jack’s answer is yes.
The first hint of trouble comes when an expat, former U.S. Army Ranger tries to warn Jack off. Then a group of thugs break into his room, beat him, and tell him to leave. They don’t know Jack. He won’t be intimidated, and he’s never turned his back on trouble. But just how much can one man do against an army?
Old enemies and new reveal themselves everywhere, from the jungle to the halls of Congress. Only a ruthless hunter can take down these predators. Jack will need every skill he has to survive.
Why you should be excited about it: In 2017, Mike Maden breathed life back into the Jack Ryan Junior franchise with Tom Clancy Point of Contact, which, at the time, was the best book in the series. Then he topped himself with Tom Clancy Line of Sight. Smart money says he’ll do that again here.
The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
Release Date: June 11th
From Sandie Jones, the author of the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and USA Today Bestseller The Other Woman, comes an addictively readable new domestic suspense about a wife, her husband, and the woman who is supposedly her best friend.
THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.
HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.
HER BEST FRIEND: When Alice met Beth, her best friend, it was the icing on the cake. A friend without judgment, to celebrate with, commiserate with, Beth is the most trustworthy and loyal person that Alice knows. So when Nathan starts disappearing for stretches of time, Alice turns to Beth. But soon, she begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced…
Why you should be excited about it: Sandie Jones left readers stunned after landing one of the best twists of the year in 2018 with her page-turning debut thriller, The Other Woman. That one was excellent, but this one’s better. I read the whole thing in one sitting and absolutely loved it.
A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais
Release Date: June 18th
A brilliant new crime novel from the beloved, bestselling, and award-winning master of the genre–and Joe Pike’s most perilous case to date.
Joe Pike didn’t expect to rescue a woman that day. He went to the bank same as anyone goes to the bank, and returned to his Jeep. So when Isabel Roland, the lonely young teller who helped him, steps out of the bank on her way to lunch, Joe is on hand when two men abduct her. Joe chases them down, and the two men are arrested. But instead of putting the drama to rest, the arrests are only the beginning of the trouble for Joe and Izzy.
After posting bail, the two abductors are murdered and Izzy disappears. Pike calls on his friend, Elvis Cole, to help learn the truth. What Elvis uncovers is a twisted family story that involves corporate whistleblowing, huge amounts of cash, the Witness Relocation Program, and a long line of lies. But what of all that did Izzy know? Is she a perpetrator or a victim? And how far will Joe go to find out?
Why you should be excited about it: Pike is the lead here, which gives readers plenty of reasons to be excited when considering that past Joe-driven books (such as The Watchman) have been among Crais’ most popular books.
Your Life is Mine by Nathan Ripley
Release Date: June 11th
Instant national bestseller Nathan Ripley follows up the success of Find You in the Dark with another suspenseful page-turner—this time about a woman whose notorious father died when she was a child, but whose legacy comes back to haunt her.
Blanche Potter never expected to face her past again—but she can’t escape it.
Blanche, an up-and-coming filmmaker, has distanced herself in every way she can from her father, the notorious killer and cult leader, Chuck Varner. In 1996, when she was a small child, he went on a shooting spree before turning the gun on himself.
Now, Blanche learns that her mother has been murdered. She returns to her childhood home, where she soon discovers there’s more to the death than police are willing to reveal. The officer who’s handling the case is holding information back, and a journalist who’s nosing around the investigation is taking an unusual interest in Blanche’s family.
Blanche begins to suspect that Chuck Varner’s cult has found a new life, and that her mother’s murder was just the beginning of the cult’s next chapter.
Then another killing occurs.
Why you should be excited about it: Find You in the Dark, Ripley’s 2018 thriller, was as good as it gets. This one’s different, so it’s hard to say which one is better, but fans of nail-biting suspense will get their fill here.
False Horizon by Joseph Reid
Release Date: June 18th
The Amazon Charts bestselling series continues as ruthless ecoterrorists, heavily armed miners, and cold-blooded drug smugglers clash in the Appalachians, where air marshal Seth Walker is investigating a mysterious plane crash.
A commuter flight has fallen from clear skies over West Virginia, its wing sheared off at twenty thousand feet. Air marshal Seth Walker is called to the mountains of Appalachia to investigate. But what he stumbles into is a ground war as unpredictable and combustible as a mason jar full of nitroglycerin.
Before he can even start searching for what might have downed the plane, Walker finds himself caught in the confounding—and deadly—crossfire between drone-deploying ecoterrorists, unstable frackers, ruthless drug smugglers, and armed miners pushed to the breaking point.
The escalating mystery takes a personal turn as Seth gets closer to the truth about the money, power, and politics motivating everyone involved—including those Seth believed he could trust. Can he dodge the danger lurking in every hill and holler long enough to discover what may be the biggest threat of all?
Why you should be excited about it: Joseph Reid’s debut, Takeoff (2018), was a strong start to a noteworthy new series that fans of action thrillers should keep an eye on. This one’s just as good, maybe even a better.
The Perfect Plan by Bryan Reardon
Release Date: June 18th
From New York Times bestselling author Bryan Reardon comes a tense, twisting story about two brothers locked together in a dangerous game—and an unforgettable tale of a family’s dark secrets.
Liam Brennan teeters on the edge. Early one morning, he snaps, kidnapping a young woman who works for Drew Brennan, Liam’s older brother and the upstart candidate in a heated election. This sudden, vicious attack appears to be the beginning of an unthinkable spiral. But when it comes to the Brennan brothers, nothing is what it seems.
To the rest of the world, Liam is the troubled problem child who grew up to be his brother’s enforcer, while Drew has always been the perfect son and a charismatic leader who has his sights set on the governor’s mansion with his charming and beautiful wife, Patsy, by his side.
Now, as Liam tries to stay one step ahead of the authorities and his brother, every passing minute provides a deeper glimpse into the brothers’ past, long hidden behind a picture-perfect suburban veneer. With the threat of the truth surfacing, Liam and Drew are driven toward one final, desperate act.
Why you should be excited about it: The Real Michael Swann was one of the more surprising hit domestic thrillers of 2018. Packed with tons of suspense and nonstop twists and turns, Reardon showed readers what he can do. This one’s different, so it’s hard to compare them, but it’s faster and has tons of surprises that’ll keep readers guessing right up until the very end.