(50) Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (2019, 336 pages) (crime/mystery/thriller). Paper book. Alison seems to have the perfect little family and a career on the rise as a defense attorney. Unfortunately she also has a drinking problem, is sleeping with a shitty coworker, and is being anonymously harassed by someone who seems determined to expose her secrets and ruin her life. This book consisted almost entirely of tropes I'm super over and also just didn't have a lot going for it in terms of storytelling. Also it was so dark as to be actively upsetting. Clearly many others have seen something in this one but I really don't get all the praise.
(51) The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (2022, 360 pages) (crime/mystery/thriller). Audiobook. Broke, alone, and unemployed, Jess is relieved to say the least when her half-brother Ben agrees to let her crash with him for a while at his eponymous Paris apartment. While the apartment is gorgeous, Ben is mysteriously gone when she arrives, with no note, call, or other explanation. The longer he's gone and the more she digs into his situation (and Ben's eclectic set of neighbors), the more concerned she becomes and the more dire the situation seems. Not life-changing but I'd probably put it in at least the top third of books I'd read in this genre.
(52) Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (2022, 448 pages) (crime/intrigue/thriller). Audiobook. Having joined her husband John on a short business trip to Lisbon, Ariel wakes up to find him gone--no note, no explanation, no response to her texts and calls. Portuguese police seem at first unconcerned, then suspicious. Why does Ariel seem to know so little about John? And why is John here in the first place? This book was absolutely riveting and masterfully crafted all the way to the shocking finish. Another contender for my best book of 2022! It was also kind of fun reading this one having just returned from Lisbon in June.
(53) Stay Awake by Megan Goldin (2022, 352 pages) (crime/mystery/thriller). Audiobook. Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no memory of how she got there; in fact, she has no memory of the last two years at all. What she does have is a bloody knife and scribbled messages on skin: "STAY AWAKE. I FORGET EVERYTHING WHEN I FALL ASLEEP." Almost no one at her old job knows her, someone else lives in her house, and in a recent murder the victim's blood was used to scrawl a message on a window: STAY AWAKE! Worst of all, though, is that someone who keeps calling her does know what she did, and is desperate to keep her from remembering. Entertaining enough, and a quick read.
(54) The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager (2022, 349 pages) (mystery, thriller). Audiobook. Recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher has retreated to her family's Vermont lake house, binoculars and bourbon in hand. Without much else to do, she takes up watching charismatic tech exac Tom and his ex-model wife Katherine. She gets to know them a bit after saving Katherine from drowning, but when Katherine disappears with no explanation, things begin to get strange. I have to admit that this was not my favorite Riley Sager, for reasons that I can't explain without major spoilers. As usual, the writing and storytelling are excellent and engaging, but I felt a bit let down in the end, like, "Oh....Okay."
(55) Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (2012, 373 pages) (sci fi thriller). Paper book. This isn't a who-dunnit; we know from the beginning that in all three stories, it's Jack Glass that dunnit. The questions are, how? And why? While this one definitely has the feel of grand-classic sci fi, each of the three stories also follows a classic murder-mystery format. File this one under super-fresh-original-no-idea-where-it's-going-but-it's-fascinating!
(56) Upgrade by Blake Crouch (2022, 352 pages) (sci fi thriller). Audiobook. Logan Ramsay hunts down people who break laws about genetic modification, but after a bust goes wrong, its Logan's genetics that are now quickly being modified as a cutting-edge virus rewrites his DNA. Logan is determined to figure out who created the virus, why, and what its long-term consequences are for humanity--alas he's now now in the sights of any number of ahem "stakeholders" that would like to cut his investigation short. Not bad, but I didn’t love this one as much as I’ve loved some of Crouch’s other work.
(57) The Never List by Koethi Zan (2013, 303 pages) (crime thriller). Paper book. Best friends Sarah and Jennifer spent years developing "The Never List" -- things that they must never, ever do in order to stay alive and safe. Then one night in college, a single exception lands them in the secret dungeon of a cruel sadist. After three years Sarah escaped, but Jennifer was not so lucky. Ten years later, their abductor is up for parole, and Sarah is certain that the letters he's continued to write her are more than they seem. Definitely one of the darkest, most chilling books I’ve read this year.
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