Carole Barrowman, English professor at Alverno College, author and book reviewer shares her recommendations for summer thrillers perfect for you beach bag.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen (Morrow)
When the average Birkin bag can sell for up to 200K (feel free to gasp), a Louis Vuitton for up to 10K (cheap by comparison), you’d think someone would have attempted the elaborate scam that’s at the heart of this intriguing story before now. Chen’s fabulous novel is about two well-educated women taking on the world of high-end purse “super fakes” and winning.
Aurora by David Koepp (Harper)
Set in a cul-de-sac in Aurora, Illinois, this riveting thriller has a main character that I really loved. Aubrey’s shifty husband has abandoned her to raise his teenage son. When the power goes out, not just in her neighborhood, but everywhere, Aubrey, an ordinary woman, becomes an extraordinary force in her small community. There’s a few scenes of violence, but mostly it’s about Aubrey and her stepson.
More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez (Morrow)
This is an exquisitely written, seductive novel about a true crime journalist, Cass, who’s obsessed with weird and unusual crimes, and Delores Rivera a “rare female bigamist,” whose two lives collided when one of her husbands shot the other in a motel room. I devoured this book.
We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall (Thomas & Mercer)
Set in the desert heat of Palmdale, California, this twisty mystery will leave you breathless. Yara Gibson, a LA screenwriter, returns to Palmdale to throw her parents a much-deserved anniversary party, but when she receives a series of threatening texts from an estranged cousin, then that cousin is murdered, Yara’s grip on reality begins to deteriorate.