Recommend me a specific thriller!

[TheBookSlug]

Having recently listened to First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston and very much enjoying it I am looking for another thriller to read.

In Particular I would prefer it if:

• It has strong female characters
• It is not ‘cosy crime’
• I prefer thrillers which are cerebral and domestic

Off the top of my head I liked (and have recently read or reread):

Shiver by Allie Reynolds
Degrees Of Guilt by H S Chandler
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce - though I have not liked any of her other novels
Kiss Marry Kill by Laura Marshall
The Widow by John Grisham

As I use Audible I have listened to over 200 books every day for more than a decade, please don’t be offended if I have read your suggestions.

Please can you recommend me some good thrillers, especially with strong female characters?

Have you read / listened to any Steve Cavanagh? The Eddie Flynn series (former con man becomes NY trial lawyer; capers ensue) has a couple of good strong prominent women characters throughout, and they’re well written and reasonably intelligent- Cavanagh is a lawyer himself so there’s a bar set! I find them written for a slightly higher reading level than eg Grisham or Patterson (I forget whether it’s Patterson or Baldacci that I vow each time never to touch again; ditto the andrew Child version of reacher).

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce.

Edit - seen you have read that 🤣

The Last Thing He Told Me. Laura Dave

@VerminI have read (listened to) 8 of Steve Cavanagh’s novels, I have just looked and there are around 5 more. Agree they are really good.
Yikes - I have a real aversion to Reacher, I don’t think I’ll ever need to read them!
Similarly, I am not a fan of Balducci at all.
Recently I listened to a couple of Patterson’s, it was a good, if middling, read. It moved the plot along well and had two female lead characters, as I say it was good.

There is a sizeable cohort of male authors who produce high output, consistent bestsellers but they are so formulaic. At the airport WHSmith I often wonder to myself who buys these? IMO they could all up their game and produce something really good, but why bother? Whatever they are doing is making money.
Not everything is for me, I know that. And that’s ok.

Crikey that was an uncalled for rant 😆

@Boots89 yes! But thank you. If anything I might not have read comes to mind please do come back.

@Blackcountryexile I have read it, though thank you ☺️. I know there is a sequel but I feel as though I don’t need to read the same story again and I do think it will be really similar.

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell and Don’t Let Him In by the same author

Him by JD Kirk

Tentatively popping in with the Helen Grace series by MJ Arlidge. They've become a bit formulaic but I really enjoyed the early ones. Eeny Meeny is the first one

Just stopping by to say that Araminta Hall, Michelle Frances and Sabine Durrant do all of these. As a thriller lover, I get excited if a fellow thriller fan hasn’t read Our Kind Of Cruelty or One Of The Good Guys, both of which I tore through.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I have listened to both of the Lisa Jewell’s and I liked them.
I have been avoiding Him, even though it’s free on Audible, because I think it is a full dramatic cast performance and sometimes all of the sound effects and over-acting can detract from a very good story. However, on your recommendation I have added it to my library. Thank you ☺️.

Well @WinterFrogsI agree with you completely, I have listened to the first 12 Helen Grace novels. When I saw that the 13th in the series came out last year I thought to myself another kidnapping? Again?
So I gave it a swerve. Besides, how many criminals in the South West can afford to have a sound proof, escape proof cellar/outbuilding/building? How many wealthy people can afford to have those things? So the series defies credulity too! Nonetheless, I read your post and bought the 13th in the series because they are very good, I don’t need to reread any of them but they definitely are good thrillers. Thank you 😊.

Thank you @macaroniplease I have read some of the novels by; Araminta Hall, Sabine Durrant and Michelle Frances, I will look at the reviews for others.
The thing about Audible is that the performance can make an average novel excellent and a good novel unlistenable.
That said, the Audible reviews for One Of The Good Guys are not high, though like you I loved it.
I’ll read Our Kind Of Cruelty - I’m excited about it now.

The things that make the Ashley Elston novels stand out are; I would call them domestic and although they are definitely thrillers with non-formulaic plots, they have a dark humour too.
Their focus is on scams, rather than (usually) women or children being physically harmed.
If anyone knows of good thrillers, with a sense of humour, I would be very grateful.

@TheBookSlug I don’t remember it as having a full cast just David Tennant but it’s a while ago now

Karin slaughter (possibly a little graphic depending on tatses)
Claire Douglas
Adele Parks
Mark Edwars
Shari lapena

Oh & John marrs!

Love the Will Trent Books. Quite liked the Grant County books, but could only really get into them after Sarah Linton was introduced into the Trent series. Generally like her standalone books.

Couldn't get into the TV show of Will Trent as the character seemed nothing like her very vulnerable hero, but perhaps I should have persisted.

You could try..Kate Atkinson's.books.

I really like The Descent by Jeff Long. It has a female lead. First chapter is a bit bloody but then it settles into a good read.

362 Belisle Street - I had to read each of the three parts in full before going to sleep.

The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid

If I remember rightly Stuart Macbride does humorous thrillers. Sort of like James Patterson but some had me laughing out loud.

Any of Stella Rimington 's spy novels

I was very pleasantly surprised by Ask For Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli that I read last week. I had low expectations for it but it was actually very gripping!

I wonder if Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson might be a book you'd enjoy

Rounded books with fleshed out female characters
Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Has Anyone. Seen Charlotte Salter Nicci French
The list. Of Suspicious Things by Jenny Godfrey
After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell
and to fit your Wish for something cerebral everyone in my Bookgroup but me enjoyed Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

Absolutely loved this book. It is in the ‘who’s the murderer out of a limited group of people’ genre, but I thought it was superb, and one of the better of these type of books.

The Hide

www.amazon.co.uk/Hide-friends-gripping-psychological-thriller/dp/0008468028/ref=asc_df_0008468028?mcid=7140d48d43cb311590ff9f606b259810&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697202203389&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14015562660704789153&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=2826&hvtargid=pla-1269802037254&psc=1&hvocijid=14015562660704789153-0008468028-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

Am I Guilty

Mother who is accused of accidentally killing get child, but doubts whether she did it. Really well written and fits your criteria.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Am-Guilty-gripping-emotional-surprises-ebook/dp/B07H52VDB5

Three Hours - Rosemary Lupton

A school is under seige with a gunman. Really good book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Hours-Sunday-Times-Bestseller/dp/0241374510/ref=asc_df_0241374510?mcid=f40c6058f97c32529cf1467daea239f8&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697279013014&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12639860258466308128&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=2826&hvtargid=pla-975088527287&psc=1&hvocijid=12639860258466308128-0241374510-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

Stephen booth has written an excellent series with two police detective. Its set loosely in the peak District. Quite dark storyline but the more you read the more complex the relationship gets....diane fry is an excellent character

For funny (in places) read JD Kirk.

Mark Edwards follow you home
ruth ware the death of Mrs westerway
Alice Feeny his and hers
clare Douglas one of the girls

Bella Mackies first one is good, second one less so

Someone like You, about an actress is good

maestra? Strong female lead, an assassin?