8 Thrillers To Read This Winter

Something She’s Not Telling Us, by Darcey Bell

Pub date: April 2020

If you read her 2017 debut, A Simple Favour (or watched the film adaptation starring Blake Lively) you’ll know that author Darcey Bell likes to play with perceptions of the perfect life. Her sophomore outing is no exception. Something centres on the blissful privilege of Charlotte, an NYC floral designer with a handsome, rich husband and beautiful little girl. When Charlotte’s daughter is abducted by a family friend, the fragile scaffolding of her interior life comes tumbling down and we learn that perfection can be a pretty neat disguise for betrayal.

The City We Became, by NK Jemisin 

Pub date: March 2020

If you’re going to write a novel in which a city gains sentience, then you’re almost obliged to set it in New York City. Hugo Award-winning writer NK Jemisin’s latest novel sees five New Yorkers—each representing one of the five boroughs fight to save their city from an insidious and ruthless extra-dimensional evil. Surreal and laced with sharp humour, City’s "soul" lies in its portrayal of a universe well worth fighting for.

My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell 

Pub date: January 2020

Vanessa Wye’s former high school English teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student, accusations that threaten to end his decades-long career in disgrace. The scandal forces Vanessa, now 32, to reflect on her own troubled history with her former teacher and her perceptions of what went on when she was just 15. Russell’s debut novel—one of the New York Times’ most anticipated of 2020—brings psychological depth to its #MeToo-inflected storyline. Vanessa’s complex relationship with her abuser puts into high relief how sexual abuse can warp an individual’s sexual identity and desire. It’s a story that digs deep into the darkness of its subject matter, shedding light on multiple layers of harm.  

Safe House, by Jo Jakeman

Pub date: March

Charlie Miller has a new home, a new community–even a new identity. Will she be able to start her life anew? Or will she be plagued by the grim connection that saw her spend a year in prison? Count on the latter in Jakeman’s twist-and-turn-dense sophomore novel. Charlie’s trajectory isn’t the only mystery to be solved. Safe is populated by characters who, like Charlie, conceal a dark reality behind a seemingly benign façade. A slow burn, resolution comes thick and fast. A good one to enjoy on a sofa-bound weekend with a steamy cup of tea.

The Wives, by Tarryn Fisher

Pub date: December 30, 2019

“Thursday” is in love with her husband, Seth. Perhaps a little too in love, though, because he’s convinced her that a polygamous union is the key to their longevity. Seth, it turns out, prefers a crowd in the marital bed and settles on having three wives. The system works–sort of, anyway–until Thursday learns the identities of the other two women and starts poking around in their private lives. What she learns about Seth and his partners is almost as disturbing and twisted as what she discovers about herself. The bestselling author’s tenth novel, Wives is dark and slick with operatic passions and surprising twists. I didn’t see the ending coming.

The Other Mrs., by Mary Kubica

Pub date: February 18, 2020

Sadie and Will Foust are the perfect couple. Attractive young professionals raising two kids and taking care of a troubled niece after a family tragedy. But nothing is as perfect on the inside as it seems on the outside, and after a few private marital blips they leave Chicago for coastal Maine in the hope that they’ll be able to start fresh. Bestselling author Mary Kubica’s sixth novel takes a creepy dive into the murky underbelly of the nuclear family. The story seems to have touched a cultural nerve. It’s being adapted for Netflix, and, come to think of it, an indulgent binge is a pretty good way to describe the novel’s appeal. 

How A Woman Becomes A Lake, by Marjorie Celona

Pub date: March 2020

It’s New Year’s Day in a small coastal fishing town of Whale Bay and a man and his two young sons and a woman and her dog are about to cross paths on a snowy nature walk. The results of that encounter will be tragic. The man and his children will return home, bruised and battered. The woman, named Vera, will never be seen alive again. How A Woman Becomes A Lake is Celona’s second novel. Poignant and lyrical, Celona makes finding out what happened to Vera a burning curiosity for the reader. More importantly, she makes what happens to all the characters feel meaningful.