In case you missed it:
(21) The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi (2020, 304 pages) (psychological drama). Audiobook. Definitely one of the leading candidates so far for my best read of the year! Book editor Julia Hart has sought out hermit-like mathematician Grant McAllister with the goal of republishing a unique collection of mystery stories he wrote years ago. Each of the seven "perfect" murder mysteries were constructed in such a way as to demonstrate one of the "mathematical boundaries" of such stories--for example, there must at a minimum be a victim, a detective, and at least two suspects. So how small can this set be and still qualify as a murder mystery? In what ways can the different roles potentially overlap? But the more the two discuss the stories, the more Julia begins to realize that some things about the stories don't add up. She may turn out to have an odd mystery of her own on her hands.
(22) Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (2020, 384 pages) (psychological thriller/drama). Audiobook. This year I've been slowly working my way through Riley Sager's back catalog of deliciously entertaining psychological drama/suspense/thrillers. Sure, the premises can sometimes be a little out there, but when a book is decently well-written and keeps me guessing, I can happily overlook a bit of bolognium.
A hallmark of Sager's is constructing stories that often pay a kind of homage to a classic work of horror/suspense/etc., and if you know anything about The Amityville Horror, you'll immediately recognize the nod. When she was a girl, Maggie's parents bought a ramshackle Victorian mansion with a dark reputation with the intent of fixing it up; instead, they fled in the middle of the night just three weeks later. Her father later published a widely-acclaimed account of the supernatural events that drove them out of the house. Twenty-five years later, jaded and cynical Maggie has inherited the house and returned to fix it up and sell it. Of course just a short time into her work on the house, Maggie begins to experience--what else!--chilling occurrences that suggest maybe her dad wasn't making it all up for a paycheck. If you think you know where things are going, though, think again.
(23) The Farm by Tom Rob Smith (2014, 369 pages) (psychological suspense/drama). Audiobook + a re-read. Re-reading books has been such a joy over the last few years! I first read this one when it came out eight years ago and ran across it again recently; it had been long enough that I couldn't remember much about it, so I decided to re-read it.
(23) The Farm by Tom Rob Smith (2014, 369 pages) (psychological suspense/drama). Audiobook + a re-read. Re-reading books has been such a joy over the last few years! I first read this one when it came out eight years ago and ran across it again recently; it had been long enough that I couldn't remember much about it, so I decided to re-read it.
Daniel's parents have left city life in London for a peaceful retirement on an idyllic-sounding farm in rural Sweden. Two phone calls suddenly change that--one from his dad ("Your mother isn't well, she's has a psychotic breakdown and been having terrible hallucinations, she's been committed to a mental hospital, don't believe anything she tells you") and one from his mom ("Don't believe anything your father tells you. I don't need a doctor, I need the police. Terrible things have happened, meet me at Heathrow.")
We're then treated to a story within a story--Daniel's mother telling him a harrowing tale of life in Sweden over the past year and desperately trying to convince him of her sanity and trustworthiness, while playing for time with his father in order to gather enough information to decide who he believes. Either way, it seems like the outcome will not be a good one for one of his parents.
(24) His & Hers by Alice Feeney (2020, 416 pages) (mystery, crime, psychological drama/suspense). Audiobook. Alice Feeney is another recent discovery of mine and I'm loving working through her back catalog as well. A woman has been found dead, and newsreader Anna Andrews has been assigned to the case, as has Detective Jack Harper. Both are suspicious of the other's involvement, with good reason. Whose story is more credible, his or hers? Or both? OR NEITHER? The story is told from alternating perspectives--Anna's, Jack's, and the killer's, though of course the identify of the killer(s) (Anna? Jack? Both? Someone else entirely?) isn't revealed until the very end. This one kept me guessing all the way to the last chapter which is quite a feat.
(25) Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (2008, 240 pages) (really not sure how to categorize this, honestly). Paper book + a re-read. Another one that I ran across while organizing the bookshelves and went, "Hey, I remember being intrigued by that book but not what actually happened." So a re-read it was.
Dr. Leo Liebenstein is convinced that his wife Rema has disappeared and been replaced by a doppelganger and embarks on a question to find where she is hiding, why, and who the mysterious identical woman is who has replaced her. The central questions of the story include: Is the mysterious doppelganger *really* a mind-bendingly accurate replacement, or is she actually just Rema? Does Leo know his wife's mannerisms and idiosyncrasies so well that he has uncovered a sinister plot, or is he slowly losing his mind? Is Rema really who she thinks he is? Was she ever? And what does the mysterious meteorologist Tzvi Gal-Chen and his work on Doppler radar have to do with all of this? A strange book that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but you certainly can't say it's boring!
(26) Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney (2021, 304 pages) (psychological drama/domestic suspense). Audiobook. Another Alice Feeney and another candidate for my best book of the year! It's so hard to say much about this book without giving away spoilers, but we begin with a couple on a drive for a Scottish weekend getaway they've won, a last-ditch at saving their rapidly disintegrating marriage. The story cuts back and forth between present-day chapters narrated by face-blind Adam or his wife, as well as letters she has written each year of their marriage and never shown him. As the couple's present-day weekend getaway progresses, they are plagued by mysterious happenings that lead us to believe that not all is what it seems, either with their marriage, the weekend getaway, or the letters. Riveting and kept me guessing until almost the end!
(27) Nine Lives by Peter Swanson (2022, 320 pages) (crime, mystery, suspense/thriller). Audiobook. Nine apparently unconnected people have received a list of nine names on a sheet of paper in the mail, including their own, which is weird but not all that concerning until those people starting dying. FBI agent Jessica Winslow--whose name is on the list--is determined to find the connection, preferably before something terrible happens to her. Not one of the most riveting I've read this year, but a solidly entertaining mystery.
So yes! Some solid recommendations for April reads! Check back soon for May reccs.
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