Tag: Psych Thriller

K.L. Slater is fast becoming another favorite author when I need a psych thriller fix. The Narrator is definitely one of her best.

There are just enough questions thrown out about each of the characters that the reader is as off-balance as the main character.

Additionally, the author is clever in setting this story in the book world because it instantly adds relatability and awareness to situations.

Even the final, last gasp, jaw-dropping surprise is entirely plausible.

I guess, in some ways, that makes The Narrator a unique psych thriller. It is one of the few times I can remember thinking, “I could absolutely see this happening in real life.”

Obviously, I’m not going to give any plot points away. But again, the author is smart in the storytelling. The action unfolds from multiple perspectives in multiple time frames. And it is never confusing at all.

In fact, I think it was one of the most seamless books I’ve read recently. Everything flowed smoothly. I particularly liked that there were a couple of characters who popped up occasionally who may or may not have anything to do with the overall plot.  (I’m not telling).

But it was effective storytelling because they did just enough to throw suspicion on themselves.

If I had to nitpick, the only thing that didn’t exactly fit for me was the thread about Eve’s father. I get it in the overall plot picture, but it seemed forced to me, while everything else seemed natural.

Regardless, The Narrator is still a fantastic psych thriller. I didn’t guess the big reveal until literally the last moment. For that reason alone, it earns high marks – but everything else is pretty darn good too!

The Nursery by Sue Watson is a psych thriller that seems fairly simple on the surface, but there are actual currents of something darker underneath.

I love that in a book.

Emily and her daughter have settled down to a quiet life. We learn this after a prologue that shows everything leading up to their arrival in town was anything but calm.

After that intriguing prologue, the author wastes no time in showing the reader that the peaceful existence they’ve enjoyed is about to disappear. The first chapter definitely grabs the reader and makes it clear that nothing is as it actually seems.

A lot of the story is cat and mouse as Emily tries to simultaneously hide the truth about her past and keep her daughter (Sofia) safe from impending danger. When the two inevitably collide, the story really takes off.

There are a lot of red herrings, some legit clues that are easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention, and more than a few interesting twists.

Nothing that any of the characters did really jumped out at me as being abnormal – aside from the usual psych thriller drama stuff, of course.

And just when you think that all of the loose ends are tied up, the author still has one big surprise at the end.

Love it when an author does that.

Sue Watson has written a solid psych thriller in The Nursery, one that actually lives up to the “jaw-dropping twist” you so often see advertised.  

Let me catch my breath. The Wife Next Door by Rona Halsall is a psych thriller that kept me guessing the entire time.

That’s no lie. I was at about 80% of the book and still didn’t know where the author would take the story. It’s a difficult feat these days to keep me that engaged, but I honestly had no clue.

I mean, I had several theories, but just when I was certain I was right, the author would drop something that made me re-think my position.

Because of that, Jess (the main character) is inherently relatable. She lives in a pinball machine, with one thing after another pushing and spinning her around until she pretty much starts to even question her own sanity.

That’s not to say that she is a shrinking violet heroine who thinks she’s going nuts. But the author does a great job of crafting the events in Jess’s life in a way that makes her (and the reader) suspicious of everyone and everything.

It is very entertaining.

There are a few parts that I feel were a bit overdone. Ruby, for example, seems more like a plot point or caricature at times. And her part in the bigger scheme was….well, I was going to say something, but I just realized why the author wrote her the way she did.

So, scratch that – because now I realize that everything that happens in the book has a point. Whether it is an actual point, a red herring, a clue to something later…there is nothing that is unimportant in this story.

And when you think you know what is really going on, I guarantee you don’t. Trust me. You really don’t.

I’m going to stop there because I could dig myself a hole. But I loved how Jess finally figured everything out, and I loved this book. Rona Halsall has written an absolute stellar psych thriller in The Wife Next Door. It should vault to the top of your TBR list.

The Ex-Wives by Jenna Kernan is a tale of two halves of a psych thriller.

Let me try to explain.

Elana is an interesting character. It’s obvious she is desperate by nature, which causes her to make some bad decisions. But she really has no idea how bad her choices are.

Until one day, she does. And she makes a decision to extricate herself from a dangerous situation. What follows for the first half of the book is a cat-and-mouse game of Elana trying to leave and her husband foiling every plan.

Does he do so knowingly, or is it coincidence and he’s just that controlling? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

The second half of the book ramps up the tension and the pace. The reader feels Elana’s urgency as the danger she is facing becomes more constant. In more than a few places, it appears that Elana will never escape.

I don’t want to give anything away (I say that a lot, I know), but the author does create a satisfying narrative that will keep the reader turning the pages, especially in the second half of the book.

I am not bothered by most things – I can remove myself from a fictional book and read “from a distance.” However, it should be mentioned that this psych thriller is heavy on the psych. And that comes in the form of extreme psychological abuse. There are also themes of spousal and child abuse.

Fair warning.

Ultimately, The Ex-Wives is a story about resilience and finding strength in the face of looming danger when the people you love most are threatened. Jenna Kernan has crafted a discomfiting tale.