May reads: 'Black-Eyed Susans' and other thrillers

31 May 2017

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

I hold my hands up. April reads did not happen. I was busy frolicking amongst the empire state building and a stack of humongous pancakes. Hashtag no regrets.

I mentioned back in March that I am loving thrillers/police crime atm and these are some particularly sexy ones for you to sink your teeth into.

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin 

This book. THIS BOOK. It’s a fairy tale thriller, an amnesia thriller and a classic who-done-it thriller all in one. You’ll also learn a lot about exhuming bones and the appalling details of an execution which is, you know, nice.

I can't recommend it enough though. Best book I've read in ages. Sophisticated, eerie and beyond compelling.

Dumped in a grave with bodies and bones, among a field of black-eyed Susans, Tessa alone survived and her testimony helped put a vicious serial killer behind bars. Or so she thought. Now, 16 years later, he is about to be executed but someone is planting black-eyed Susans outside Tessa’s window, there’s a lawyer telling her an innocent man is about to be put to death and Tessa still can’t remember those fateful 36 hours.

Which could mean the real killer is still out there.

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan

The twist in this one was such a good’un. It’s a psychological thriller at its best; creepy, full of suspense, and I really liked the unusual premise.

Margot is an agony aunt for the local newspapers, under the guise ‘Dear Amy’. She’s dealt with a lot of letters before but never one like this. For this is a letter from Bethan Avery, a schoolgirl who went missing twenty years ago. It surely must be a hoax. But as the present-day search for a missing school girl intensifies, Margot becomes entangled up in the search for the sender and must face her worst fears.

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin 

I loved this book. So much so that I read the entire thing in one sitting.

It’s about a little boy who has nightmares, a phobia of water and wants to go home. Because, as well as being four-year-old Noah, he also remembers being nine-year-old Tommy.

It’s a really interesting exploration of the importance of memory, as well as reincarnation and grief. And there’s a murder mystery thrown in for good measure.

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith 

Your mother says your father is a conspirator to murder. Your father says your mother is mentally ill.
Who do you believe?

A ‘Scandi’ thriller, jumping between rural Sweden and central London, with the main character Daniel having to decide which of his parents is telling the truth about the disappearance of a young girl.

Full of stories within stories, this book, as cliché as it sounds, will leave you guessing until the very end (naturally I got it wrong).


Happy reading x

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

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