Beach Reads
We have reached the last month of summer, and this year more than ever I keep thinking, “Summer, please don’t go!” Hopefully, you have had a chance to tackle some of the great titles on your summer reading list. If you haven’t, that’s OK – August is the perfect month to sit back and lose yourself in a good book. That’s because it’s usually too hot to do anything else! If you need any help cooling down, these thrillers are sure to give you the chills.
“The Last Flight” by Julie Clark
On the outside, it looks like Claire Cook has the perfect life. She lives in Manhattan, is married to the descendant of a political dynasty, has a staff of 10, and the future looks bright. However, once the doors are closed, her charming and wonderful husband is anything but. He’s manipulating, abusive, controlling, and uses the staff to track every move Claire makes. Claire’s only way out is to disappear, and she has been secretly working on a plan for months. Claire heads to the airport with a ticket to Puerto Rico. A chance meeting at the airport brings her together with Eva, another woman desperate to disappear and start over. The two women agree to swap tickets, each posing as the other, to throw off anyone who might be looking for them. Claire takes Eva’s ticket and heads to Oakland, Calif. Eva is on her way to Puerto Rico when the plane crashes, and there are no survivors. Claire realizes this is her chance to start over as someone else. What she doesn’t plan on is that Eva’s secrets and the things that she was running from are Claire’s problems now.
“The Half Sister” by Sandie Jones
Losing their father was devastating for sisters Kate and Lauren. They meet every Sunday for lunch, without fail, ensuring that they always stay close. Then Jess, a complete stranger, shows up at their door, threatening to change everything. She claims that she is their half-sister, with the DNA results in her hand to prove it. Losing their father might not be nearly as shocking as finding out that he wasn’t the person they thought he was. Is their perfect family life built on a web of lies? As the fallouts begin, it’s clear that they are all hiding secrets. New truths are brought to the surface, shattering everything Kate and Lauren trusted.
“Long Bright River” by Liz Moore
It’s every parents’ worst nightmare. In a Philadelphia neighborhood torn apart by drugs, two sisters who used to be incredibly close find themselves on different sides of the fence. Kacey lives on the streets, an opioid addict. Mickey is a cop and walks the same streets where Kacey hangs out. Although they don’t talk to each other, Mickey is always worried about her sister. And then Kacey goes missing at the same time that a mysterious string of murders is happening within Mickey’s district. Mickey can’t focus on anything but finding the killer and hopefully, Kacey, before the unthinkable happens. “Long Bright River” alternates between the present day and the sisters’ childhood, giving the reader the opportunity to feel the closeness that only siblings can share.
“The Shadows” by Alex North
Twenty-five years ago, Charlie Crabtree committed a murder so gruesome and scary that it achieved notoriety in the dark recesses of the Internet. Unfortunately, it also inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams will never forget what happened. Both Charlie and the victim were his friends. It took time, but Paul finally got his life back together. Now his mom is suffering from dementia and has taken a turn for the worse. As much as he has tried to stay away, he knows that he must go home. He isn’t there very long when things start happening. Horrible things. A copycat has struck in a nearby town and Detective Amanda Beck is investigating. Paul’s mother keeps insisting that there is something in her house, and someone is definitely following Paul. All of this is bringing to the surface that horrible day 25 years earlier, and the most unsettling thing to Paul is the fact that Charlie Crabtree was never seen again.
“You Are Not Alone” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Everyone wants to find love, including Shay Miller. It hasn’t been easy for her, though. She wants to feel complete but even her job has hit a dead end. Each day she gets more and more lonely. Shay helplessly watches a woman commit suicide by throwing herself in front of a moving subway train. She becomes obsessed with that woman, Amanda Evinger, and even shows up at her memorial service. There she meets the Moore sisters, Cassandra and Jane, who seem to have it all. Their lives are glamorous, and they always get what they want. They invite Shay into their lives and everything seems to get better for her. Except that Amanda was a part of their little circle and the sisters begin to wonder if Amanda confessed to Shay that the women are involved in a plot in which they take revenge on people who have wronged them. Shay would die to be a part of their world, and she just might have to.
“The Cabin” by Natasha Preston
What teenager wouldn’t want to go on a getaway with close friends to a remote cabin in the woods? After losing two close friends in a tragic accident, this group of friends can’t wait to just let loose and forget it all. But one crazy night leaves two of them dead. With no forced entry or signs of a struggle, all five of the survivors immediately become suspects. As interviews are conducted and secrets are revealed, it turns out that pretty much everyone had a motive that night. Mackenzie doesn’t know who to believe or who to trust, and just when she thinks the murders are over, she’s wrong. With many plot twists and surprises you weren’t expecting, “The Cabin” will keep you up at night!
