Showing posts with label suspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suspense. Show all posts
Nov 26, 2018
Nov 16, 2018
Jun 1, 2018
Feb 1, 2018
Jun 1, 2017
May 1, 2017
Apr 1, 2017
Dec 1, 2016
Nov 8, 2016
Oct 1, 2016
Aug 2, 2016
Jul 1, 2016
Jun 1, 2016
Oct 16, 2015
Sharp objects - Gillian Flynn
Sharp objects - Flynn, Gillian
Summary: Returning to her hometown after an eight-year absence to investigate the murders of two girls, reporter Camille Preaker is reunited with her neurotic mother and enigmatic, thirteen-year-old half-sister as she works to uncover the truth about the killings.
Booklist Reviews
This impressive debut novel is fueled by stylish writing and compelling portraits of desperate housewives, southern style. Troubled newspaper reporter Camille Preaker is sent back to her Missouri hometown in a bid to get the inside scoop on the murders of two preteen girls--both were strangled and had their teeth removed. Almost as nasty as the brutal crimes are Camille's twisted family dynamics. She intends to stay with her zombielike mother, whom she has hardly spoken to in 8 years; her cipher of a stepfather; and her twisted, overly precocious 13-year-old half sister. Wading back into the insular social dynamics of the town proves to be a stressful experience for Camille, a reformed cutter whose body is riddled with the scars of words such as wicked and cupcake. In a particularly seductive narrative style, Flynn adopts the cynical, knowing patter of a weary reporter, but it is her portraits of the town's backstabbing, social-climbing, bored, and bitchy females that provoke her sharpest and most entertaining writing. A stylish turn on dark crimes and even darker psyches. ((Reviewed August 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.
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Summary: Returning to her hometown after an eight-year absence to investigate the murders of two girls, reporter Camille Preaker is reunited with her neurotic mother and enigmatic, thirteen-year-old half-sister as she works to uncover the truth about the killings.
Booklist Reviews
This impressive debut novel is fueled by stylish writing and compelling portraits of desperate housewives, southern style. Troubled newspaper reporter Camille Preaker is sent back to her Missouri hometown in a bid to get the inside scoop on the murders of two preteen girls--both were strangled and had their teeth removed. Almost as nasty as the brutal crimes are Camille's twisted family dynamics. She intends to stay with her zombielike mother, whom she has hardly spoken to in 8 years; her cipher of a stepfather; and her twisted, overly precocious 13-year-old half sister. Wading back into the insular social dynamics of the town proves to be a stressful experience for Camille, a reformed cutter whose body is riddled with the scars of words such as wicked and cupcake. In a particularly seductive narrative style, Flynn adopts the cynical, knowing patter of a weary reporter, but it is her portraits of the town's backstabbing, social-climbing, bored, and bitchy females that provoke her sharpest and most entertaining writing. A stylish turn on dark crimes and even darker psyches. ((Reviewed August 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.
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May 1, 2015
The kind worth killing - Peter Swanson
The kind worth killing - Swanson, Peter
Summary: "A dark and devious literary suspense novel about a random encounter, sex, and a conversation that quickly turns to murder--a modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith's classic Strangers on a Train--from the author of The Girl with a Clock for a Heart"-- Provided by publisher.
Kirkus Reviews
A chance airport meeting between strangers sets in motion a Strangers on a Train-inspired murder plot. During a delay at Heathrow, wealthy Boston businessman Ted Severson shares drinks with fellow American Lily Kintner, an archivist at a small Massachusetts college. One thing leads to another, but instead of sleeping together, the two confess their deepest secrets: Ted wants to kill his two-timing wife, Miranda, and Lily wants to help him. In case the Patricia Highsmith connection isn't blatant enough, Swanson (The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, 2014) shows Lily reading The Two Faces of January—"not one of her best"—in the airport. While the title implies that Ted's (and Lily's) enemies are the kind worth killing, the reader almost immediately decides it's the cold, heartless protagonists who should ultimately get the ax. Miranda is indeed cheating on Ted with Brad Daggett, the handsome and dim contractor who's building the couple's extravagant Maine vacation home , yet it's hard to feel sorry for a man who tells a complete stranger that he fantasizes about killing his spouse, let alone a woman who openly encourages such behavior. Lily's past is slowly, predictably revealed, and we discover her penchant for violence, but instead of making her character more complex, it merely becomes another layer of frustration. While there are twists, most of them are so clearly telegraphed that only the most careless of readers won't see what's coming, especially since Swanson needlessly doubles back over the same events from different points of view. Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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Summary: "A dark and devious literary suspense novel about a random encounter, sex, and a conversation that quickly turns to murder--a modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith's classic Strangers on a Train--from the author of The Girl with a Clock for a Heart"-- Provided by publisher.
Kirkus Reviews
A chance airport meeting between strangers sets in motion a Strangers on a Train-inspired murder plot. During a delay at Heathrow, wealthy Boston businessman Ted Severson shares drinks with fellow American Lily Kintner, an archivist at a small Massachusetts college. One thing leads to another, but instead of sleeping together, the two confess their deepest secrets: Ted wants to kill his two-timing wife, Miranda, and Lily wants to help him. In case the Patricia Highsmith connection isn't blatant enough, Swanson (The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, 2014) shows Lily reading The Two Faces of January—"not one of her best"—in the airport. While the title implies that Ted's (and Lily's) enemies are the kind worth killing, the reader almost immediately decides it's the cold, heartless protagonists who should ultimately get the ax. Miranda is indeed cheating on Ted with Brad Daggett, the handsome and dim contractor who's building the couple's extravagant Maine vacation home , yet it's hard to feel sorry for a man who tells a complete stranger that he fantasizes about killing his spouse, let alone a woman who openly encourages such behavior. Lily's past is slowly, predictably revealed, and we discover her penchant for violence, but instead of making her character more complex, it merely becomes another layer of frustration. While there are twists, most of them are so clearly telegraphed that only the most careless of readers won't see what's coming, especially since Swanson needlessly doubles back over the same events from different points of view. Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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Gattaca (DVD)
Gattaca (DVD)
Summary: As one of the last "natural" beings born into a genetically engineered world, Vincent Freeman has none of the 'pre-ordered' DNA that will guarantee him success. Desperate to realize his dream of exploring space, Vincent assumes the identity of a genetically superior athlete. Avoiding detection using the athlete's genetic markers, Vincent becomes a rising star at Gattaca Aerospace, attracting the attention of a beautiful co-worker. When a flight director is brutally murdered, a clue left at the crime scene threatens to shatter Vincent's plans.
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Summary: As one of the last "natural" beings born into a genetically engineered world, Vincent Freeman has none of the 'pre-ordered' DNA that will guarantee him success. Desperate to realize his dream of exploring space, Vincent assumes the identity of a genetically superior athlete. Avoiding detection using the athlete's genetic markers, Vincent becomes a rising star at Gattaca Aerospace, attracting the attention of a beautiful co-worker. When a flight director is brutally murdered, a clue left at the crime scene threatens to shatter Vincent's plans.
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Mar 10, 2015
Dick Francis's Refusal - Felix Francis
Dick Francis's Refusal - Francis, Felix
Summary: "Dick Francis's beloved investigator Sid Halley returns in the riveting new mystery by New York Times-bestselling author Felix Francis. Six years ago, investigator Sid Halley retired for good. He'd been harassed, beaten, shot, even lost a hand to his investigating business, and enough was enough. For the sake of his wife and new daughter he gave up that life of danger and uncertainty, and he thought nothing would ever lure him back into the game. He thought wrong. Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the racing authority, begs Sid to investigate a series of dodgy races. Sid adamantly refuses, but the following day, Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances. And then a man with an Irish accent contacts Sid, telling him to deliver a whitewashed report about the suspected race-fixing. or else. At first Sid ignores these warnings, knowing that once he submits to this criminal bully, he will forever be under his control. But as the intimidation tactics escalate-and Sid's own family comes under threat-Sid realizes he must meet his enemy head-on. or he might pay the ultimate price for his refusal"-- Provided by publisher.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* In the steeplechase world, "refusal" means that a horse will not take a jump. Dick Francis' son Felix, collaborator with his father on several novels and now the heir to his father's line of mysteries, extends the equestrian definition to the massively banged-up (physically and emotionally) Sid Halley, who stars in a Francis novel for the first time since 2006. Halley, a champion steeplechase jockey who lost his left hand to the double whammy of a fall from a horse and an attack by a thug, long ago turned his insider's knowledge of the race world into private investigative work. But an intense fear campaign directed at his girlfriend made him retire from the track altogether at the end of Under Orders. When the chairman of the British Racing Authority asks Halley to investigate his strong suspicion that races are being fixed, Halley refuses. Even after the chairman is found dead, threats made to Halley's family, and his daughter placed in danger, Halley still refuses, holding onto the safety of his family, which he knows would be blown apart by his investigating the case. What finally tips Halley into changing his mind is entirely convincing, even though it ratchets up the danger for Halley and his family. This is fascinating reading on every level, from the neatly calibrated plot, moving from suspense to terror, to all the details of the racing world Francis provides. Halley is now, as before, an utterly complex, interest-holding character. And the final, moral turn that Francis makes of "refusal" is brilliant. A heroic return for Sid Halley. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.
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Summary: "Dick Francis's beloved investigator Sid Halley returns in the riveting new mystery by New York Times-bestselling author Felix Francis. Six years ago, investigator Sid Halley retired for good. He'd been harassed, beaten, shot, even lost a hand to his investigating business, and enough was enough. For the sake of his wife and new daughter he gave up that life of danger and uncertainty, and he thought nothing would ever lure him back into the game. He thought wrong. Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the racing authority, begs Sid to investigate a series of dodgy races. Sid adamantly refuses, but the following day, Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances. And then a man with an Irish accent contacts Sid, telling him to deliver a whitewashed report about the suspected race-fixing. or else. At first Sid ignores these warnings, knowing that once he submits to this criminal bully, he will forever be under his control. But as the intimidation tactics escalate-and Sid's own family comes under threat-Sid realizes he must meet his enemy head-on. or he might pay the ultimate price for his refusal"-- Provided by publisher.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* In the steeplechase world, "refusal" means that a horse will not take a jump. Dick Francis' son Felix, collaborator with his father on several novels and now the heir to his father's line of mysteries, extends the equestrian definition to the massively banged-up (physically and emotionally) Sid Halley, who stars in a Francis novel for the first time since 2006. Halley, a champion steeplechase jockey who lost his left hand to the double whammy of a fall from a horse and an attack by a thug, long ago turned his insider's knowledge of the race world into private investigative work. But an intense fear campaign directed at his girlfriend made him retire from the track altogether at the end of Under Orders. When the chairman of the British Racing Authority asks Halley to investigate his strong suspicion that races are being fixed, Halley refuses. Even after the chairman is found dead, threats made to Halley's family, and his daughter placed in danger, Halley still refuses, holding onto the safety of his family, which he knows would be blown apart by his investigating the case. What finally tips Halley into changing his mind is entirely convincing, even though it ratchets up the danger for Halley and his family. This is fascinating reading on every level, from the neatly calibrated plot, moving from suspense to terror, to all the details of the racing world Francis provides. Halley is now, as before, an utterly complex, interest-holding character. And the final, moral turn that Francis makes of "refusal" is brilliant. A heroic return for Sid Halley. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.
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Sep 1, 2014
The Farm - Tom Rob Smith
Summary: After learning his mother was committed to a mental hospital, Daniel receives a call from her, claiming that his lying father is part of a crime conspiracy.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
At the start of this superior psychological thriller from Thriller Award–winner Smith (Child 44), the narrator, a Londoner known only as Daniel, receives a phone call from his father, who has retired with his wife to a farm in Sweden. The father tells Daniel that his mother is in the hospital. For months, she has been "imagining things—terrible, terrible things." Before Daniel can fly to Sweden, his father calls again to inform him that she persuaded the doctors to authorize her discharge and has disappeared. As Daniel struggles to accept that news, his mother phones to announce that she's flying to Heathrow and that everything his father has told him "is a lie." When she arrives, she offers a complex tale to buttress her conviction that she has been plotted against, leaving Daniel uncertain as to whom and what to believe. Smith keeps the reader guessing up to the powerfully effective resolution that's refreshingly devoid of contrivances.
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