Top list: Suspense

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a new dark mafia romance.

I’m out for revenge.

He’s out to rule the world.

Kirill and I are as different as day and night. We shouldn’t have been in the same frame or universe.

But we meet under the strangest circumstances.

He’s my superior in the military and the man who’ll introduce me to carnage.

His charm and exterior perfection shouldn’t have tempted me.

Behind the smokescreen lurks a manipulative emotionless monster.

And that monster might find out all my secrets, including the reason why I’m pretending to be a man.

He might also lure me to the point of no return.

This book is part of a trilogy and can't be listened to on its own.

©2023 Rina Kent (P)2023 Rina Kent

Winner of the 2023 Audie Award for Best Male Narrator

Master storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this #1 New York Times bestselling and spellbinding novel about a young man who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a horrific accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from that shed.

Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.

“I don’t just want to hear her laugh, I need to earn it. Every time I gain a little ground, I want more. I want to break out of the shade and back into her light. Without even realizing it, I’ve become addicted to it. To her.”

From the author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird comes the second book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy—a hate-to-love dark romantic comedy packed with danger, chaos, and heat.

Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.

And they can’t stand each other.

Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to hide inside. The surly older brother of her best friend’s soulmate, Lachlan thinks she’s just a privileged princess, but Lark has plenty of secrets hiding in the shadows of her bright light. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend’s happiness on the line, she’s willing to make a vow to the man she’s determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be.

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the dark world that binds them together, it becomes impossible to discern their fake marriage from a real one. But it’s not just familiar dangers that haunt them.

There’s another phantom lurking on their doorstep.

And this one has come for blood.

Tropes:

Hate-to-love

Marriage of convenience

Grumpy / sunshine

He falls first

Groveling, but make it psycho

Touch her/him and die

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a thrilling mafia romance with Mulan vibes.

In our brutal world, there’s no such thing as the truth.

Lies overflow until they become a reality.

But I’m determined to uncover what happened to my family.

One problem, though.

My monster, Kirill.

We are not the same anymore.

It’s become hard to trust one another.

But it’s downright impossible to stay away from each other.

It’s mad, chaotic, and wrong, but it’s us.

And we might have to pay for it with blood.

This audiobook is part of a trilogy and can't be listened to on its own.

©2023 Rina Kent (P)2023 Rina Kent

*SOON TO BE A MAJOR NETFLIX TV SERIES STARRING TESSA THOMPSON AND PRODUCED BY JESSICA CHASTAIN*

‘Stunning, addictive … this book should not be missed!’ Samantha Downing, Sunday Times bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

‘This is great … Keeps you guessing all the way through’ Jane Fallon

‘Alice writes the twisty sort of novel that leaves you breathless and unsure about everything and everyone… Warning – could cause sleepless nights!’ Adele Parks, Platinum

‘The ultimate rollercoaster reading experience’ Woman & Home

‘Dark, twisted, and oh-so-good’ Prima

‘We gulped down this intense thriller in one heart-in-our-mouth afternoon – it's that good!’ Sun on Sunday Fabulous

'Cleverly plotted and tightly written, this deliciously dark thriller will leave readers breathless… Feeney’s best book yet’ Daily Express

‘A pacy thriller full of lies’ My Weekly

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If there are two sides to every story, someone is always lying…

Jack: Three words to describe my wife: Beautiful. Ambitious. Unforgiving.

Anna: I only need one word to describe my husband: Liar.

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Anna’s ex-husband, DCI Jack Harper, is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.

Someone is lying, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

**************************************************

Readers LOVE Alice Feeney:

‘An absolute must for thriller fans!’

‘I loved every page of this book’

‘Absolutely enthralling’

‘Best psychological thriller I have read’

‘This book completely sucked me in. I couldn’t put it down’

‘It's dark, disturbing, beautifully written and finished it in almost one sitting’

She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.

Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She's seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.

Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.

Then the brutal murder of a young woman―the latest in a string of deaths across the coast―confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.

Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can't shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn't get to the truth, she'll be the killer's next victim…

From BookTok sensation J. T. Geissinger comes Carnal Urges, a sexy-as-sin dark romance about a powerful mafia king who kidnaps the one woman who will threaten to bring him to his knees.

Carnal (adjective):

1) Relating to the pleasures of the body

2) Given to sensual indulgence

3) The man who kidnapped me

The devil has blue eyes, an Irish accent, and a hatred for me that runs deep.

He blames me for starting a war. Consorting with his enemies. Getting his men killed. Though I’m innocent on all charges, he wants his pound of flesh. With an eye on revenge, he makes me his captive.

But as we'll both soon discover, there are more powerful urges than that for revenge.

When the devil meets his match but she’s his sworn enemy, that’s when the real war begins.

Discover Savage Hearts, the next book in the addictive Queens and Monsters series.

From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a new dark mafia romance.

I’m a man with no morals or feelings.

The only reason I made it this far is to reign.

Nothing and no one will stop me.

Or that should’ve been the plan.

Now, my only goal is to get back the woman who belongs to me.

Sasha thinks it’s all over, but we’re only getting started.

She’s my woman. My partner. My wife.

Mine.

This book is the final part of a trilogy and can't be listened to on its own.

©2023 Rina Kent (P)2023 Rina Kent

NOW A HIT NETFLIX SERIES

A NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

“Hypnotic and scary.” —Stephen King

“I am riveted, aghast, aroused, you name it. The rare instance when prose and plot are equally delicious.” —Lena Dunham

From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age.

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.

The Number One Global Sensation

*Foyle’s Fiction Book of the Year*

*Amazon Book of the Year*

*Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year*

*Fiction Book of the Year 2024 – British Book Awards*

‘Addictive’ Grazia

‘Hugely entertaining’ Observer

‘Provocative’ Mail on Sunday

THIS IS ONE HELL OF A STORY.

IT’S JUST NOT HERS TO TELL.

When failed writer June Hayward witnesses her rival Athena Liu die in a freak accident, she sees her opportunity… and takes it.

So what if it means stealing Athena’s final manuscript?

So what if it means ‘borrowing’ her identity?

And so what if the first lie is only the beginning…

Finally, June has the fame she always deserved. But someone is about to expose her…

What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault.

‘The book that everyone is talking about’ Glamour

‘Ingenious, astute, hugely entertaining’ David Nicholls

‘Breathtakingly clever on jealousy, talent, success, and who gets to tell which story’ Elizabeth Day

‘Hard to put down. Harder to forget’ Stephen King

R.F. Kuang’s book Yellowface was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23

R.F. Kuang’s book Yellowface was a #5 New York Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23

From the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark comes the final book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy—a friends-with-benefits dark romantic comedy packed with murder, mayhem, and spice.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancé and his derailed surgical career. It’s a simpler life: head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

He’s the most powerful man in Dublin, and he’ll do anything to keep what’s his.

My name is Madelaine Moneta and I am a survivor. I fought my way up from the streets of Chicago to claim a spot at one of the top-tier criminal defense practices in the city, but when the looming shadow of the local mob threatens to engulf the firm, I make a life-altering decision.

Carrying my mother’s ashes, I escape to Ireland, intent on starting anew in my mother’s homeland.

Dublin seems the perfect place to reinvent myself until Tag Quinn—a dark and dangerous charmer at the local pub—sets his sights on me.

Tag Quinn is trouble. As leader of the Quinn family, he’s the King of the Irish Mafia.

A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel from the author of the “innovative, unexpected, and absolutely chilling” (Mira Grant, Nebula Award–winning author) The Twisted Ones.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.

With her distinctive “delightfully fresh and subversive” (SF Bluestocking) prose and the strange, sinister wonder found in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, The Hollow Places is another compelling and white-knuckled horror novel that you won’t be able to put down.

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams. But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end. In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance. Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels. And then Tricia reaches the final cassette. The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.

***KITTY'S BACK! I BET YOU'D LOOK GOOD IN A COFFIN IS OUT NOW***

Meet Kitty Collins.

FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER.

He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone.

I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it.

That’s where my addiction started…

I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

A deliciously dark, hilariously twisted story about friendship, love, and murder. Fans of Sweetpea, My Sister the Serial Killer, How to Kill Your Family and Killing Eve will love this wickedly clever novel!

Don't miss Katy Brent's new wickedly witty novel, The Murder After the Night Before, available now!

Readers LOVE How to Kill Men and Get Away With It!

‘I literally couldn’t put this book down, I was just so engrossed in Kitty and what the heck she was going to do next!!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This book has got to be my favourite so far this year.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘There are just so many good things I could say about this book. I absolutely tore (pun intended) through this read. Everyone needs to go read it.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Being a man I really shouldn't like this book. Well I didn't like it. I loved it! Oh I just couldn't stop reading this.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘How to Kill Men was an absolute treat to read, sending out American Psycho and Promising Young Women vibes.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘AMAZING!!! Where has Kitty been all my life?’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This is one of the most clever books I have read in quite a while.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A well-rounded cast of characters, quick pace, and thrilling twists make this one of my favourites of the year!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A high-octane, tautly-written dark romance with an unforgettable twist that will leave readers gasping, Pen Pal is a story of undeniable love from superstar J. T. Geissinger.

Now with an original bonus chapter, this BookTok sensation is not to be missed!

It all began with just one line. . .

The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary and contained a single sentence:

I’ll wait forever if I have to.

It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?

You.

I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.

We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then, one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late.

Dante was at my doorstep.

And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.

A mysterious private investigator embodies the darkness hidden within a small town in this spellbinding thriller that will “make you a Scott Carson fan for life” (Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

Marshall Miller would’ve remembered her face even if he hadn’t seen it on a MISSING poster.

When a young woman disappears in his small town, the investigation hinges on Marshall’s haunted sighting of her, crying in the back seat of a police car driven by a cop named Maddox.

There’s only one problem: no local cop named Maddox exists.

But the speeding ticket he handed to Marshall certainly does.

Dealing with police and media is heady stuff for a teenager, the son of a single mother, but Marshall is sure he can handle it, until the shocking day when his reliability as a witness implodes. Now scorned and shamed, he finds unlikely allies as he confronts the ancient secrets behind his small town’s peaceful façade—and learns the truth about his own family.

Lost Man’s Lane is a coming-of-age tale that proves why its author has been hailed as “a master” by Stephen King who consistently offers “eerie, gripping storytelling” (Dean Koontz).

The Martian meets Interstellar in the new sci-fi thriller from A.G. Riddle, the worldwide bestselling author with over FOUR MILLION COPIES SOLD and translations in two dozen languages. * * * A new ice age on Earth. A mysterious object in space. And a desperate mission to save humanity from extinction. * * * Each month, Earth grows colder. Snow falls in summer. Glaciers trample cities across North America, Europe, and Asia. Chaos erupts. Around the world, people abandon their homes, fleeing the cold, flocking to regions where they can survive the new ice age. Nations prepare to go to war for the world's last habitable zones. NASA and other scientific organizations search for answers. Why is the world cooling when they expected it to grow warmer? They send probes into the solar system to collect readings. Out there, in the dark expanse of space, they find something no one expected: a mysterious object, drifting toward the sun. Could it be responsible for the new ice age? And if so, can we stop it? Or is the artifact merely an observer? Or neither? Could it be a relic from a long-extinct civilization? One thing is certain: investigating the object is humanity's best hope of survival. As the ice age claims more lives and the world slides into anarchy, an international consortium launches a mission into space to study the object and make contact. But the first contact mission doesn't go as planned. What the crew discovers out there is beyond anyone's imagination. Two members of the first contact mission may hold the keys to humanity's salvation. Dr. Emma Matthews is the commander aboard the International Space Station. For months, she has watched the world below freeze and civilization unravel. The headlines tell only half of the story. The messages from her sister tell the rest, of a world witnessing mass migrations, fighting for survival, struggling to provide a future for their children. When a catastrophe strikes the ISS, Emma faces her own fight for survival. Dr. James Sinclair is one of the greatest scientists alive. A mind before his time. Years ago, he invented something with the potential to change the world--an invention that would upset the balance of power in the world forever. Fearing that change, his enemies sent him to prison for a crime he didn't commit. But with humanity's future at stake, NASA asks him to join the first contact mission. His expertise is vital to the mission's success--and to saving Emma. With the clock ticking down to humanity's final days on Earth, James makes a decision that will change his life forever and may determine the fate of the entire human race. * * * Praise for A.G. Riddle ".reads like a superior collaboration between Dan Brown and Michael Crichton." -- The Guardian on Pandemic "I finished the book fast because I just couldn't wait." -- WIRED GeekDad on Departure "Riddle. keep(s) the focus on his characters. rather than the technological marvels" -- Publisher's Weekly on Departure "Well-constructed and tightly-wound as a fine Swiss watch-DEPARTURE has non-stop action, an engaging plot and, of course, wheels within wheels." -- Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of Outlander

On any day our paths would never cross. Then I was forced to go to the Ruthless Disciples. Every month they do something called the hunt. I didn't plan to ever attend an event, but I needed the money. I thought it was nothing more than an adult version of hide-and-seek. I had no idea how wrong I was. Nor did I know I’d meet my worst nightmare that night: Andrew “Drew” Marshall, popular-as-hell football star and a Greek god among mere mortals. To anyone else, he would appear to be normal, a good guy. But that night I saw the cruel, dark monster hidden underneath. He was the epitome of evil, the leader of the Disciples, and I was his newest obsession. This is a dark enemies-to-lovers romance with many triggers. It is a complete standalone that contains a happily ever after.