Thriller

Mask of the Deer Woman / Laurie L. Dove

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Mask of the Deer Woman
By: Laurie L. Dove, Isabella Star Lablanc (Narrator)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Number of Pages: 336
Published: January 21, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Dates Read: July 15, 2025 - July 26, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

After her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but where she started. Starr’s father didn’t talk much about the reservation he grew up on, but they needed a new marshal and Starr needed a new place to call home.

Many girls and women have either died or disappeared from the rez over the years. Now, Chenoa Cloud is missing and while Starr investigates, memories of her daughter’s murder come to surface. When she begins to see glimpses of a figure from her dad’s stories – a woman with the antlers of a deer, Starr believes she’s being followed by her. She doesn’t know though, if the Deer Woman is there to help and guide her or seek vengeance for the lost daughters of the rez.

I had a little bit of a hard time with this one, mostly because I had a hard time liking Starr because how she handles certain things slows down the novel in what could have been a fast pace thriller. I mean, yes, it did get faster in the later bit of the novel, but throughout a lot of it, I wanted her to deal with a lot of her personal demons (therapy would help so much).

I did just realize writing this review that it now says Carrie Starr #1 so I am curious to see Starr being flushed out a lot more in the upcoming novel(s).

This novel does an excellent, yet sad, job at tackling the lack of assistance Native and Indigenous Persons get when it comes to their lost and missing women and daughters. And also the corruption that happens on the Rez with outside entities as well.

Overall, I think anyone who likes a good mystery/thriller will enjoy this, especially for a debut Indigenous author.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This Girl’s a Killer / Emma C. Wells

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This Girl’s a Killer
By: Emma C. Wells
Genre: Thriller
Number of Pages: 432
Published: October 29, 2024
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Dates Read: February 13, 2025 - February 15, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Cordelia Black lives a double life. By day, she’s an ambitious pharma rep with killer sales. By night, she hunts Southern Louisiana of bad men – ones who think they’ve evaded justice. Sure, maybe the evening news has started calling the mysterious missing men the result of a “serial killer”, but Cordelia knows she’s not a killer – she’s simply the karma these men deserve.

But when Cordelia discovers a flaw in her system of elimination, pressure heightens. It gets even worse when her best friend starts dating a man that Cordelia doesn’t believe is a good person. Soon enough she has to come face to face with all the choices she’s made – the good, the bad, and the murderous, because both her family and freedom depend on it

For someone who falls asleep watching ID Network true crime documentaries nightly, I was kind of all about the female serial killer (since you know, only 16% of serial killers are females). Was this realistic? Due to the way Cordelia gets away with stuff, I would hope not! But, it’s a super fun read, especially in audiobook!

When Cordelia has a bit of a hiccup, it was kind of fun to see how she goes about trying to hide and fix her mistake.

This book has humor, drama, and action all thrown in together alongside witty and fun characters of Coredelia’s chosen family. It’s fast paced and the audiobook narrator is highly entertaining.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the suspense of thrillers but would like a bit of a humorous twist added to their reading.

Under This Red Rock / Mindy McGinnis

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Under This Red Rock
By: Mindy McGinnis
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 336
Published: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Dates Read: January 29, 2025 - January 31, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: Depictions of suicide and suicidal ideation

Neely has been battling her hidden monsters, the disembodied voices that shadow her every move, since she was little. Lately though, they’ve become louder and more mobile.

To try and get some peace from them, Neey takes a job as a tour guide in the one place her monsters can’t follow – the caverns. There she meets Mila. Mila is everything Neely isn’t – beautiful and confident. As the two become closer, Neely’s crush grows. When a staff afterparty exposes Neely to drugs, she follows Mila’s lead, but that causes her hallucinations to escalate.

The next work day, Mila’s body is found brutally murdered in the caverns and Mila’s memories of the party are super fuzzy. With her hidden monsters not so hidden anymore, Mila must figure out who kills Mila… and face the possibility it may have been her.

So I actually went into this book pretty much blind. I started Under This Red Rock as an audiobook without looking into what it’s about and I ended up really enjoying it. The suspension mixed in with Neely’s mental health struggles and not knowing what was real and what wasn’t made it interesting to me. Though I would get slightly annoyed with Neely when she would straight up lie about something that she absolutely knew was real – don’t make life harder for yourself!

Overall, I think this would be a fantastic read for those who like suspense and thrillers mixed with some mystery.

49 Miles Alone / Natalie D. Richards

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49 Miles Alone
By: Natalie D. Richards
Genre: YA, Thriller
Number of Pages: 273
Published: July 2, 2024
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Dates Read: September 10, 2024 - September 14, 2024
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Mention of rape

Desperate to heal from a night that left their world fractured a year ago, cousins Katie and Aster tackle a grueling four day hiking trip through the backcountry of Utah. But this trip is throwing multiple curveballs at them: an illness, an injury, and a freak storm leave them short on both confidence and supplies.

When they come across a couple with extra supplies, they’re grateful and relieved – at first. Later that evening, after getting troublesome vibes from Finn, Kaite and Aster wake up and hear the couple fighting. The cousins watch desperately as the girlfriend, Riley, disappears into the night with Finn chasing after her. In the morning, their camp hasn’t been touched. Katie is sure Riley is in trouble, but with help a two-day hike away, they know they’re the only ones who can offer aid before Finn – or the desert – gets to her first.

I really appreciate the way that Natalie D. Richards describes hiking and the difference between a day hike and a 4 day hike where everything you need is supposed to be on your back. Richards also did a great job at describing the landscape and both the beauty and the ruggedness of Utah’s backcountry. I’ve gone on a trip to the Rocky Mountains where we did a lot of day hiking and that was so much fun – but one of our days, we experienced every type of weather; heat, rain, snow, ice, wind, all in one trip! I don’t think I could even do a day hike in the desert, yet alone a 4 day hike! I hate being hot and sweating, so gross.

Anywho, this was an interesting read. I will admit it’s a bit slow at the beginning because it’s a lot of the cousins refinding their footing with one another after the events of that night nearly a year ago. There’s a weird vibe between them that they’ve got to work through but neither one really knows where to start.

*Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Where Sleeping Girls Lie / Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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Where Sleeping Girls Lie
By: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Narrator Natalie Simpson)
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 416
Published: March 14, 2024
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Dates Read: August 16, 2024 - August 24, 2024
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings (as of author’s website): Death of family members (including parents), grief, murder, sexual assault, rape, suicide and suicide ideation, alcohol consumption, emotional abuse, anxiety, misogyny, rape culture, drugging and drug use, aftermath of C-PTSD

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. She’s been homeschooled her whole life and feels like a magnet for misfortune, but she’s ready for a fresh start. What she’s not ready for is her roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade’s first night.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school and they bring her into their group. Between learning about them, especially Persephone, playing catch-up in class, and working with Bas, Elizabeth’s best friend, to try and find the missing girl, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s dealing with her own grief from the many tragedies in her family.

And then a student is found dead. The more Sade investigates, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its student body than she realized. There are secrets everywhere.

I had a digital ARC of this book but then grabbed the audiobook from my library as soon as I could as I needed one to listen to on my drive to and from my hometown. Let me tell ya, the audiobook was amazing! Natalie Simpson was captivating and even did multiple voices for characters. It made my 2.5 hour drive both ways (almost) enjoyable.

I’ve had Ace of Spades on my TBR shelf for ages but for some reason haven’t gotten around to it. I will tell you, after reading Where Sleeping Girls Lie, I will be moving that up on my list for sure. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is an amazing author and I cannot believe I’ve slept on her as long as I have. I’m usually kind of “meh” when it comes to mysteries or thrillers, but this novel kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing, because it could have gone so many ways and it sometimes was a shock as to which direction it went!

This will be on many recommendations lists for sure. I would say it could be enjoyed by everyone, but there is the angsty-ness of YA relationships, so it may not be for everyone. But, if you’re down for a page turning, or ear turning, read, this is for you!!

*Thank you Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Love Letters to a Serial Killer / Tasha Cornell

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Love Letters to a Serial Killer
By: Tasha Coryell
Genre: Thriller
Number of Pages: 320
Published: June 25, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Dates Read: July 25, 2024 - July 30, 2024
Format: ARC / Paperback

Not happy where she’s at currently in life, thirty-something-year-old Hannah finds community in a true-crime forum that’s on a mission to solve the murders of four women in Atlanta. After a handsome lawyer, William, is arrested for the killings, Hannah begins writing to him – a perfect outlet for her pent-up rage and frustration. But then William writes back.

Hannah’s interest in the case turns to obsession and she ends up losing her job. With nothing keeping her where she’s at, Hannah drives down to Atlanta to attend the trail. There, she meets other true-crime junkies like herself. When a fifth woman is found murdered, the jury has no choice but to find William not guilty. As soon as he’s released, William calls upon Hannah and the two of them quickly fall into a normal, domestic routine. Well, as normal as one can be while still secretly investigating their partner for serial murder…

The entire time reading this, I kept thinking of the fact that Hannah was mentally unwell and she needed loads of therapy. I honestly kept reading to just see what she got herself into and how she would “justify” it. I also had pinpointed it to two characters pretty early on, and then narrowed it down to one shortly after.

I don’t know if I could tell you exactly why I kept reading this book, especially since I figured it out pretty early on. But in all honesty, I think it was the trainwreck that was Hannah. As much as she annoyed the crap out of me with her decisions (seriously, she gets fired from her job and then goes to the trail of the reason she got fired), I couldn’t help but to keep turning the pages.

I feel like there may be quite a few people that are turned off by Hannah, so this won’t be for everybody. But I enjoyed it and will be keeping the ARC of it on my shelf.

*Thank you Berkley and NewGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Sugaring Off / Gillian French

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Sugaring Off
By: Gillian French, Caitlin Davies (narrator)
Genre: YA, Thriller
Number of Pages: 352
Published: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Dates Read: June 20, 2024 - June 23, 2024
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Left partially deaf by an early childhood tragedy that ended with her father incarcerated, seventeen-year-old Owl lives with her aunt and uncle on their maple sugar farm. Owl and her aunt and uncle never speak of the attack that brought her to them, but Owl is perfectly content with hiking the steep forested acres surrounding their farm. After meeting a stranger trespassing among the maples, Owl’s sheltered life is blown wide open by Cody – the new farmhand hired to help with the sugaring off. 

Cody seems to see her, the real her, and the duo challenge each other. But, when Owl learns that Cody always seems to head towards self destruction, she must reevaluate their relationship at the same time her father is released from prison and requesting contact. When a motiveless murder draws attention to Cody, Owl realizes that Cody is in far more serious trouble than first realized – and he’s brought it up the mountain.

This book deals with a lot more than the description gives off truthfully (much like life), such as Owl trying to figure out how to best utilize both the help from her ASL tutor at school, and using ASL in general. The author also did an excellent job at showing how someone who is partially deaf might feel. Including how Deaf she is. Owl also deals with attempting to figure out how a new romance can teeter the balance of other relationships.

My only thing is – I wouldn’t really market this as a mystery. It can definitely be a thriller, but any “mystery” that was happening in the novel, I feel like readers were given enough information to piece everything together rather quickly.

I really enjoy Caitlin Davies as a narrator. I think she did an amazing job at the different voices and the pacing.

Overall, I loved being inside Owl’s head during this journey. I’ve got another book to add for my Rep: Deaf or Hard of Hearing character titles.

The Beautiful and the Wild / Peggy Townsend

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The Beautiful and the Wild

By: Peggy Townsend

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

Number of Pages: 304

Published: November 7, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Dates Read: December 5, 2023 - December 12, 2023

Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warning: murder, death, rape, wilderness survival

Following her husband into the Alaskan wilderness after he “died”, Liv Russo ends up in a shipping container-turned-storage shed by her husband and his new lover. She vows to do anything to protect her son and escape. Carrying her own secrets, Liv must navigate the tough(er) world around her with the extreme weather, one bad incident away from starvation, and the dangerous wildlife. With winter’s arrival knocking on the door, Liv knows she must face her past and be sneaky in order to make it out alive.

I originally wanted to read this title because I was trying to step outside my usual reading comfort zone and also I wanted a book set in Alaska. This was… okay. It’s marked as a mystery but I guess maybe I don’t read enough mystery to know the feeling of a mystery (if that makes sense). Definitely felt the thriller aspect of it though, especially when it dealt with the survivalist parts of the story.

This book also went back and forth in time, but would still sometimes be in “Present” when the chapter would be marked as “Then” and that kind of threw me off a little bit.

I have such mixed feelings about this overall though, and I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be able to explain why. I both liked and hated the story and its setup, but I enjoyed the ending and how it was finished. It felt more of a survivalist story, but we still didn’t have a lot of survival stuff. I would have loved to know more about Rudy and what all he knew and understood about what was happening…

Overall though, I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it quite enough. I feel like I will end up recommending this as a survivalist story moreover than a mystery though.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Warrior Girl Unearthed / Angeline Boulley

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Warrior Girl Unearthed
By: Angeline Boulley
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 400
Published: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Dates Read: August 6, 2023 - August 10, 2023
Format: Hardcover

After a bear and her cub cause Perry Firekeeper-Birch to get into a fender bender with a metal gate, she’s had to kiss her chilled out Summer of Slack goodbye in order to pay her Auntie Daunis back for the repairs. Now, she’s working in The Kinomage program, at the museum with Cooper Turtle. It’s not all bad though, she’s with the other outcasts in the group, Team Misfit Toys. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer can still be fun.

While working with Cooper Turtle, Perry attends a meeting at a local university where she meets the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives. After finding out how her ancestors are treated, Perry is determined to help return Warrior Girl to her tribe. She learns everything she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The law was passed back in 1990 and museums all over the United States have found legal loopholes to hold onto remains like Warrior Girl and others. The college has twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains and Team Misfit Toys are determined to bring them home through a heist.

I absolutely adored Firekepper’s Daughter and am constantly recommending it. This book is no different. This is another powerful and beautifully written story that really focuses on the injustices that happen within the Indigenous Communities both here in the United States and around the world. I always learn so much reading these books. Like, I know America has a horrible relationship with Indigenous and Native tribes, but to hear just how badly and cruel museums are handling the NAGPRA is so horribly sad. This book is set in 2014 and talks about how long it was taking museums to do something that was issued into law 20 years ago – it’s over 30 now and it’s probably not any better.

Perry is a bit impulsive and immature, but so works so well for this story. She loves her community and culture so much and will do everything she can for them. Perry grows so much in this story and I adore her so much.

This book is a 10 year follow up to Firekeeper’s Daughter but could totally be a stand alone too. Though I would highly recommend reading both because you really get the depth to the community, history, characters, and practices mentioned.

*Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

El Flamingo / Nick Davies

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El Flamingo
By: Nick Davies
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 206
Published: March 15, 2023
Publisher: YBK Publishers
Dates Read: March 17, 2023 - March 20, 2023

Lou Galloway is a failed LA actor and he’s come to accept that – by drowning his sorrows in cheap mezcal down in Mexico. Here, at a small little tiki bar, a stranger leaves his fedora and Luo gets taken away to the mansion of internationally wanted crime lord, Diego Flores. They think he is a rogue assassin known as El Flamingo and Lou’s too far in to deny it now, especially after meeting Maria-Carla. Now, Luo is swept up into the dangerous world of espionage in Latin-America that will take him on a crazy journey from desert fiestas of Mexico to the jungle-clad salsa bars of Colombia. To make it out of this alive, Luo must partake in the biggest role of his life – El Flamingo.

This book was fun. A little cheesy here and there, but it worked with Lou’s whitty character and I enjoyed it. This isn’t something I usually find myself reading, but I’m trying to branch out more this year, and this was perfect.

At first, I was worried Lou Galloway was going to be a little much for me (a tad bit full of himself), but that quickly turned around for me as soon as he put on the fedora hat. I also can’t get the monologue scene out of my head he did at a checkpoint with some bad guys as he kind of fully, in my opinion anyway, took on the role of El Flamingo for the first time. I can’t stop laughing thinking about this failed LA actor just taking on this role with full reigns and giving it his all. I hung out with a lot of theater kids in high school, I remember how they can be and this book was just fantastic.

I can see so many readers enjoying this crazy, four day journey that Lou Galloway goes on. This book does have a little bit of everything for everyone: action, witty humor, plot twists. The characters are also well thought out and those that needed background were given it. You can also tell the research Nick Davies did for this about Latin-America and its culture – it comes across wonderfully on the pages and I could almost feel myself on the warm beaches or running for my life from rapid gun fire.

I highly recommend this book – I think readers will have fun with it and won’t be disappointed.

*Thanks to the author for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.