Thriller Archives - The Litertarian

Book Review:: The Last Mrs. Parrish | Liv Constantine

This book is a master weaving of deception, twists, psychological turns, and a rug-pull that will have your eyes popping out of your head. It’s a wicked tale with a wicked narrator we hate to love (or love to hate?) and a family who takes her in…exactly as she planned.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine Book Cover

I’m having trouble thinking of another book I’ve read with such a tightly woven plot that engaged me on a dozen different levels at the same time. Maybe Jeneva Rose, The Perfect Marriage/The Perfect Divorce, actually. We’re talking that level of *umph*.

No one is who you think they are, except the one of them, and the unfolding of their story is utterly captivating.

Even if you don’t normally read the thriller genre, I think this is widely accessible and highly compelling. There’s nothing gory or high-crime here. Just run-of-the-mill immaculate manipulation.

If you’re in a book slump, this is an excellent contender to pick up next. You won’t be able to stop turning pages—AND, there’s a book two, which I can’t wait to get into myself!

Details

Title::The Last Mrs. Parrish (Mrs. Parrish #1)
Author::Liv Constantine
Genre::Domestic Thriller
Publisher::Harper Paperbacks
Length:: 416 pages
Published::July 3rd, 2018
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

My Husband’s Wife | Alice Feeney
Remain | Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan
Something in the Water | Catherine Steadman
The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline

Book Review:: Every Exquisite Thing | Laura Steven

After reading and adoring Our Infinite Fates, Laura Steven’s new book Every Exquisite Thing was a pleasant enough surprise. While Fates is about an endless love story (my absolute weak spot), and Every Exquisite Thing is about a young woman coming to terms with herself and the forces that have acted upon her short life, they are both about curses.

Twisted, awful, curses.

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven Book Review

More than anything this book reminded me of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, or even more so its creative progeny, If We Were Villains. It is dark academia, certainly, and there is a violent mystery to solve. Actually, you know what? This is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (my fav).

Dear Penny is the daughter of a world famous actress, trying to live up to her standard so that she might earn what should be freely given: a mother’s love. She was granted a prestigious position at Dorian Drama School (yes, that Dorian is very relevant as well), and she’s sure she’ll win the top role in Macbeth, when a rival comes in a swoops it up instead, giving Penny a formative choice: what exactly is she willing to do to get it back?

The pages here are dripping with a gothic style tension. Every storyline is ratcheted with drama and choices that will define the story, and as the mystery is slowly revealed, it is fascinating. And the themes are powerful and important as well.

Penny struggles with an eating disorder, so for those who are sensitive to that topic, please be aware that is a very big part of this story.

Overall, I was impressed, again, with Laura Steven’s talent for weaving a compelling story, and I look forward to reading what she comes out with next!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Every Exquisite Thing
Author:: Laura Steven
Genre:: Fantasy Thriller
Publisher:: Wednesday Books
Length:: 384 pages
Published:: May 26th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Our Infinite Fates | Laura Steven
We Were Villains | M.L Rio
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross

Book Review:: This Story Might Save Your Life | Tiffany Crum

If you have the chance to read This Story Might Save Your Life, do.not.waste.it. It is frigging phenomenal. I was hooked immediately and giddy the entire way through.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum Book Cover

When Benny’s best friend and podcast co-host disappears, he stops at absolutely nothing to find her. She may have been the one that got away, romantically, but she’s still the most important part of his life, despite her overbearing husband, who happens to manage the podcast empire they’ve been building for years.

The tension is fabulous. Not just the present timeline urgency to find Joy, who has severe narcolepsy, but also as we learn the backstory of their friendship and how they ended up in the situation they’re in. The format is absolutely perfect, and I ate up every single word.

It’s really hard to talk about a story that is about the unfolding of it, but I love these characters. I mean, I’d have them over on a weekly basis, best-friend, talking-late-into-the-night, kind of love. I could not stop turning pages to figure out what happened to them. If things resolved, and resolved in a way I could accept, spiritually, you understand.

Though I received a free digital copy through netgalley to review, I pre-ordered my own hardcover copy for my shelves before I was halfway through. Tiffany Crum, you may be my next favorite author to watch!! With a debut like this…I seriously can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Whatever it is…cowboy western, travel diary, space opera…I’m going to read it.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::This Story Might Save Your Life
Author::Tiffany Crum
Genre::Mystery Thriller (Romance)
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 357 pages
Published:: March 10th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book Review:: All You Took From Me | Lisa Kenway

You’ve got to love an unreliable narrator, and who could be more unreliable than an amnesia patient?

All You Took From Me by Lisa Kenway Book Cover

My favorite thing about All You Took From Me, was how meticulously it unfolded. We are in the story with Clare, who has awoken from a coma with no memory of what happened to get her there.

We go through it all along with her, within her psychology. Something catastrophic has happened in her life, and while she scrambles to resume what little normalcy she may, the lack of memories surrounding the accident haunt her. Things she thought she knew may not have been so true after all, and she is willing to risk more and more in order to find out the truth—no matter what.

This book gripped me from the very first pages and I was locked in through the entire thing. Twists, turns, suspicions, and rash actions…all of it. And what a ride it was! If you’re a fan of books like Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney and Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister, you’re going to love this one!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: All you Took From Me
Author:: Lisa Kenway
Genre:: Psychological Thriller
Publisher:: Transit Lounge
Length:: 330 pages
Published:: August 1st, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

Where He Left Me | Nicole Baart
Something in the Water | Catherine Steadman
Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera

Book Review:: The Storm | Rachel Hawkins

You can rely on Rachel Hawkins to deliver a compelling story replete with tension you can feel in your chest. This one is about murder in a tiny coastal town.

In 1984 there was a famous murder in St. Menard’s Bay. Well, probably. When a body turns up after a hurricane, probably someone murdered him and let the storm take care of the evidence. But no one can prove it. The accusation, though, follows around the girl everyone suspects. We get flashes of the timeline of events leading up to that supposed crime of the past, while the contemporary story takes place on top of it: a crime podcaster coming around to poke his nose into the case.

You can feel the tension in this book like you are there, waiting in the dense, still humidity, waiting on the hurricane to hit. The dual timeline structure isn’t new for Hawkins (The Villa felt fairly similar for structure), but boy, it’s effective. For me there was enough intrigue to pull me through both timelines without losing momentum, and the finale was surprising and also completely inevitable, the way the best ones always are.

I will read anything Rachel Hawkins publishes. She’s a wonder, and this story was no exception. Do with that what you will!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::The Storm
Author::Rachel Hawkins
Genre::Mystery Suspense Thriller
Publisher::St. Martin’s Press
Length:: 258 pages
Published::January 6th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book Review:: Handle With Care | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

This book is like, if locked-room mystery was a thriller, and the psychology of everyone in the room is the story. In other words: excellent.

Handle With Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen Book Cover

This is my second title by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, and I already knew after Every Moment Since that I’d read everything she put out. This one is a very different vibe, but still under the same sort of suspense umbrella. (Also, LOOK at that cover! *drools*)

This is a story about an impromptu hostage situation at the united states postal service. It’s told by an omniscient, present-tense narrator that give the entire thing a very unique vibe, and it is organized into the parts of a letter.

If you read the ‘header’ you won’t be able to stop. It’s too good. It’s stunningly good. I’d even say an intro like that is a masterwork. It got me, hook, line, and sinker.

In a thriller, it’s especially important to avoid any spoilers. Discovering the story is the joy of it. So I won’t. Maybe I’ll just stop here, actually. The shortest review ever written! But if you do read it, and I really think you should, just don’t forget…

This is a story of hope.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Handle With Care
Author:: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Genre:: Suspense Thriller
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 288 pages
Published::April 14th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline
The Night We Lost Him | Laura Dave

Book Review:: Caller Unknown | Gillian McAllister

Love makes fools of us all, and we all know nothing is stronger than a mother’s love. Simone and Lucy just wanted to have a nice mother-daughter holiday camping in the west Texas desert.

Note to self: never book a holiday in west Texas.

Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister Book Cover

Lucy is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, with nothing but an outdated flip phone in her place. When it rings, it’s an unknown caller, and they’ve ransomed her daughter. Simone and Lucy are in a time of transition. Lucy is preparing to go off to college, and Simone is feeling the absence of her more than ever, making the ache of intense love only a mother can understand more tender than ever. Perhaps it is this specific texture of feeling that leads to what happens next.

What would you do, when pressed into a corner, to recover one you love?

Gillian McAllister is so good at what she does. Her thrillers have an atmosphere and a desperation and a logic that propels you through the pages relentlessly. It’s a story about familial love, it’s a story of desperation, it’s a story about having to move without knowing if it’s safe, where it’s safe, or who is safe.

Don’t miss it.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::Caller Unknown
Author::Gillian McAllister
Genre:: Thriller
Publisher:: Willam Morrow
Length:: 336 pages
Published::May 5th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book Review:: My Husband’s Wife | Alice Feeney

This is my second Alice Feeney novel, and it is just as twisty and confusing and unreliable as the last one! If you’re a fan of high stakes puzzles and layers of mystery and suspense, you’re going to love her new release, My Husband’s Wife.

My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney Book Cover

Eden Fox comes home from a run to find a stranger in her house. Her key doesn’t work, and there’s a lookalike there, dressed in her clothes, kissing her husband. It’s impossible, but it’s happening. Even the police don’t believe her, and everything she might have had for proof was left inside the house before her run.

This is the start of one of the most complex webs of confusion, mystery, and deception I’ve ever read. There is twist after twist and no shortage of suspicions, and just when you think you know what happened, everything turns on its head all over again.

This is the kind of book the term ‘page-turner’ was invented for. Though at times it was so shrouded in so many layers that it took awhile for the clarity to sink in, it is very good at what it does, which is satisfy your craving for a compelling story.

I was able to experience the audiobook version of this novel. It is produced to a slightly higher level than a typical book, and overall I really enjoyed all those additions. However, as someone who listens at a faster speed than 1x, the running sound effect was really frantic. For that reason I would recommend reading it on 1x speed.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: My Huband’s Wife
Author:: Alice Feeney
Genre:: Mystery Thriller
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 58m
Audiobook Narrator:: Bel Powley, Henry Rowley, and Richard Armitage
Published:: January 20th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Where He Left Me | Nicole Baart
Remain | Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan
Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera

Book Review:: Anatomy of an Alibi | Ashley Elston

For me, the fun of reading thrillers is that grabs-you-by-the-throat, have-to-turn-the-next-page, I-have-no-idea-what-happens-next feeling. It’s a different sort of reading experience than I have with other fiction, because I know…I’m probably not going to reread them insufferably (which is a usual affliction that plagues me). Once I take the whole ride, and find out all the twists, that’s really it. And for that experience? The single-serve page-turning twist-heavy unexpected pleasure? This book was exactly that.

Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Alston Book Cover

If you’re looking for something deeper, something with a message that’s going to hang around long after the pages have left your hands, this one might not be it. You’re not going to get to that point where the characters feel like real people you care about. But as far as an entertaining and satisfying story? This book checks that box quickly and easily.

There is no doubt that this is a compelling thriller. For some, the sheer amount of twists and turns and misdirects may border on too-much territory, but really, it’s not that deep. Like I said, I pick up thrillers to keep me turning the pages, to give me that fast-paced all-in palette cleanse I need between other genres. If that’s how you enjoy your thrillers too, this one will serve you well!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Anatomy of an Alibi
Author:: Ashley Elston
Genre:: Psychological Thriller
Publisher:: Pamela Dorman Books
Length:: 340 pages
Published::January 13th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera
Something in the Water | Catherine Steadman
Remain | Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan
The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline

Book Review:: The Ministry of Time | Kaliane Bradley

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is a fascinating, captivating, historical – sci-fi – romance – adventure – thriller. Ha. It’s a mashup of multiple genres that will have you enthralled and delighted and leaving you wondering what-if…

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley Book Cover

A young woman begins a highly secretive new job with the Ministry of Time. She is tasked with working with a specific time refugee named Graham Gore, who was rescued just before his historic death, to acclimate him to their ‘modern’ time. The shock of moving from 1847 and learning the fate of everyone and the world itself you knew, and knowing you can never return is quite the shock. There is a lot he needs to learn, and he has a lot of questions.

This book is exactly what you want in a sci-fi novel. Through an undeniably clever premise, so many ideas are introduced that will have you scrunching your brow in thought. Through a historical lens, is our modern society as advanced as we think? Or are there things we have unwittingly lost through the ages by our constant innovations and moral superiority? Methinks there has done.

Whenever one plays with time, things are bound to get messy. What begins as a thoughtful, contemplative book quickly turns into a mystery thriller with an unknown danger in pursuit of our beloved characters. Something bigger is happening, and there’s not much time to figure out what.

This book is immaculate. I loved every minute of it. I’d love recommendations of books with a similar vibe. I know I’ll be returning to The Ministry of Time many times over the years. Absolutely brilliant. I’ll be keeping my eye on Kaliane Bradley!

Details

Title:: The Ministry of Time
Author:: Kaliane Bradley
Genre:: Sci-Fi / Historical / Thriller
Publisher:: Simon & Schuster
Length:: 339 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 22m
Audiobook Narrator:: George Weightman & Katie Leung
Published:: May 7th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars