Welcome back to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five
lists!
Tonight we have the top five Thrillers! My definition of a thriller for this list is a novel
written by a single author that would obviously not fall under a category like
horror or romance. Some books that I would class as a thriller will have other
elements in the story, such as crime, mystery or even the paranormal. To me thriller covers a very large range of
writing as you will see in my list.
This
list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily
have been published this year.
I have judged these books purely on the basis of how much
they entertained me individually. The books will be listed first, with links to
reviews and links you can use to buy them. At the bottom of the page you will
find all the info you need on the individual authors.
In reverse order:
Evil
Games (D.I. Kim Stone #2), by Angela Marsons, is the second book
in her D.I. Kim Stone series. This is gritty crime, set in England in the
present day. This book is quite honestly mesmerising. Although not my favourite
in the series, it should tell you something that it still makes the top five
books of the year for me. If you like a crime book that will thrill you, scare
you and make you smile all at the same time then this is one for you.
You can read my review of Evil Games, here.
You can buy Evil
Games, here:
Time
To Die (Detective Jennifer Knight #2), by Caroline Mitchell is
another gritty British crime story with a paranormal twist that would keep many
a horror fan rooted to their seat, as it did with me. This has so many
different elements to it that it can’t be kept in one single genre. It’s brutal
and bloody and harrowing and it will keep your heart pumping at its maximum at
the same time.
You can read my review of Time To Die, here.
You can buy Time To
Die, here:
Lost
Girls (D.I. Kim Stone #3), by Angela Marsons is the latest in the
series. Again, using much the same characters, this is British crime at its
very gritty best. Again, this one is full of intrigue and mysteries to solve
and good old fashioned police work. At the same time though it has the brutal,
sometimes harrowing scenes Ms Marsons writes so well.
You can read my review of Lost Girls, here.
You can buy Lost
Girls, here:
Seeing
Evil,
by Jason Parent is another thriller with a paranormal twist. This one could
have fallen under the horror banner as well but I think thriller suits it best.
This story is just absolutely superb. Fast paced from the beginning and
throughout, this also sometimes deals with subject matter that is on the edge.
Brutal and harrowing, this is a story that will literally have you on the edge
of your seat the entire time you are reading it. A must buy.
You can read my review of Seeing Evil, here.
You can buy Seeing
Evil, here:
And so to the Confessions of a Reviewer number one
thriller of 2015!
For the first time this week we have joint winners. I
just could not decide between these two so decided that they both deserved a
crack at the top spot.
Method
15/33, by Shannon Kirk, totally blew me away when I read this
early in the year. This is a thriller with what sounds like a straightforward
kidnapping plot. It isn’t. It soon becomes clear that the kidnappers are the
ones that should be worried. The writing in this is absolutely superb. Meticulous
and methodical, just like the main character, this will surprise you in ways
you just would never expect. With two or three killer twists during this story,
this is one thriller that I will not hesitate to recommend to people for many
years to come.
You can read my review of Method 15/33, here.
You can buy Method
15/33, here:
Silent
Scream (D.I. Kim Stone #1), by Angela Marsons is the first in the
series and the one that set me on the road of loving this woman’s writing.
You’ve heard it before, gritty British crime with characters that are just
superbly written. One thing that I love about Ms Marsons writing is that she
never shies away from subject matter that is on the edge. By that I mean it’s
harrowing. It’s the sort of stuff that if we saw something on the news we would
take a sharp breath through gritted teeth and shake our heads. Stuff we don’t
really want to deal with. The fact she has three in the top five should make
you go buy them!
You can read my review of Silent Scream, here.
You can buy Silent
Scream, here:
With this one being a tie, it means that both Method 15/33 and Silent Scream will be going through to the overall winners list on
Saturday.
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night when I will be
listing the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five Horrors of 2015!
The Authors!
Originally from Ireland, Caroline lives with her husband, four children and two dogs in a pretty village on the coast of Essex. Five years ago Caroline and her family encountered real life paranormal activity in their home. Paranormal Intruder is her best-selling true story.
Caroline's new novel, Don't Turn Around has recently been published by Bookouture in a three book deal as part of her DC Jennifer Knight series. These edge of your seat crime thrillers are infused by Caroline's experience in both the police and the paranormal. To find out more please subscribe at www.caroline-writes.com.
And for more about Caroline, visit her site or find her on social media:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it's harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he's back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that's another story.
When he's not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in on knot or takes somebody's head off - he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.
And for more about Jason, visit his site or find him on social media:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page
Angela Marsons is the author of Amazon #1 Bestseller SILENT SCREAM.
She lives in the Black Country with her partner, their bouncy Labrador and a swearing parrot.
She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read "Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people's".
After years of writing relationship based stories (My Name Is and The Middle Child) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.
She is signed to Bookouture.com in an 8 book deal.
And for more about Angela, visit her site or find her on social media:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page
Shannon Kirk is the awarding-winning author of Method 15/33 (psychological thriller) and Heavens (Literary Fiction, TBP 2016). Method 15/33 has received multiple accolades: Winner of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, Best Suspense; 2015 USA Best Book Finalist; School Library Journal's Best Adult Books for Teens (2015); and Finalist in 2013 William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (when a Novella). Method 15/33 is optioned for a major motion film and has sold to multiple foreign rights.
Shannon enjoys writing in many genres of fiction and poetry. When not writing, she is a practicing lawyer and law professor, residing on Massachusett's Cape Ann with her husband and son and two cat writing accomplices, Marvin Marquez (in honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) and Stewie Poe (Edgar Allen Poe).
Shannon writes in several genres: literary fiction, psychological thriller, young adult, and poetry. She has been honored three times by the William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for various works.
Shannon is a member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.
And for more about Shannon, see her website or find her on social media:
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page
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