Takes the reader on an exciting, page-turning, roller coaster of a journey (sub-genres include adventure, thriller, suspense) Typically shows an event or series of events that happen outside the course of the protagonist’s ordinary life; plot often high-paced, involves danger and physical action
by Dan Brown
What begins as a murder mystery, ends up in a quest for the Holy Grail. Renowned symbologist Robert Langdon has been framed for a heinous crime at the Louvre, and must race across Paris to clear his name and uncover a conspiracy that spans centuries. Come for the suspense, and stay for the unique intrigue of alternate history - readers who enjoy the likes of Indiana Jones, conspiracy theories, and code-breaking will enjoy the fast-moving narrative of The Da Vinci Code.
By Stephen King
Dr. Louis Creed is offered a new job in the idyllic rural town of Ludlow Maine. Leaving their home in Boston Massachusetts, Louis packs up his wife Rachel, their two young children Ellie and Gage, and their cat Church in hopes of having a new beginning. However, this new beginning may seem too good to be true. The road in front of their home is dangerous and has claimed the lives of many household pets, evidence of this can be found at the nearby “Pet Sematary”. Louis can sense there is something off about this place, that there is more to the cemetery than what meets the eye. What Louis does not know is that a blood-chilling fate happens to anyone who tampers with the cemetery. After a tragedy befalls Louis, he turns to his neighbor Jud Crandall for help setting off a chain of perilous events.
by Rick Riordan
Fast pace, heart racing story about two kids Carter and Sadie Kane who have been separated from each other since their mother’s death, unknown to them the reasons for this separation. They spend Christmas Eve at the British Museum with their Egyptologist father Dr. Julius Kane, and he unleashes a chain of events to help “make things right” for his family and the world. In a world where Egyptian Gods awake and a battle between order and chaos takes place where the children are thrown in a dangerous journey of fighting gods, magicians, and a secret society that isn’t ready to embrace unity with humans and gods. Carter and Sadie learn who they are, what talents they have, and save the world from utter destruction and absolute chaos.
By Dan Brown
The night before the United States presidential election, White House intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton finds herself in the Arctic working alongside NASA. She is there as part of a team tasked with verifying the potential existence of an extraterrestrial insect within a meteorite.
The fate of NASA as well as the fate of her father’s presidential run are intertwined in the outcome of this discovery. Unfortunately for Rachel, one cannot succeed without the demise of the other. Even more concerning, as members of her team begin to be killed off, Rachel realizes there is something much bigger at play. Follow Rachel on this action-packed and suspense-filled adventure where she struggles to stay alive while seeking the truth in a world of deception. Readers who enjoy a fast-paced story with twists and turns will love this novel.
by Ralph Hayes
Mark Stoner: salvage diver, smuggler, treasure hunter. When noted historian Johann Strasser is murdered days after receiving a mysterious golden idol, it is up to Mark Stoner and Strasser’s daughter, Ursula, to journey deep into the Peruvian jungle to search for the lost city of gold from which the idol came. Along the way they’ll encounter thieves, betrayal, and a rival treasure hunter who wants the gold for himself. Who will get to the treasure first and who will make it out of the jungle alive? A fast-paced and gritty read, readers may enjoy works in a similar writing style by Don Pendleton, Max Allan Collins, or Elmore Leonard.
by Daphne de Maurier
Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel Rebecca follows the story of a young woman who marries an older, wealthy widower while working abroad. After a rapid romance, the couple returns to the widower’s English estate where the woman becomes increasingly obsessed with his first wife, Rebecca, whose memory casts a palpable shadow on the estate and on the people who live and work there. In this intensely psychological and gripping novel, the unnamed protagonist struggles as she is haunted by the thought of Rebecca, preoccupied with piecing together who she was, and how she met her untimely end. If you are a fan of Charlotte Brontë, Agatha Christie, or Alfred Hitchcock, it might be time to try Rebecca.
by Colleen Hoover
Lowen Ashleigh enters the Crawford house with the intention of staying for two days. She has to read through famed author Verity Crawford’s notes to complete her Virtues series as the ghost writer, and Lowen knows she shouldn’t take anymore from this family that has lost so much. Something about Jeremy Crawford keeps her there, though. His kind words, caring spirit, and dedication to his comatose wife create an allure for Lowen, but any love she feels is tainted by Verity’s autobiography which she’s been reading in secret. Days turn into weeks, and Lowen no longer feels like she’s intruding, but she does feel eyes on her, and sees curtains moving when only Verity is in the house. With intertwining perspectives and masterful plotting, you too will question everything you think you know about the happy family on the lake and what happened to them in the wake of their daughters’ death.
by Chetan Bhagat
An unexpected call changed the lives of six employees and friends working at the Call Centre in India supporting a USA client. They all are trying to make it through life as each one of them is going through some personal and professional tragedy while also managing their work shifts. While the USA is celebrating Thank Giving, this group of people received a call from ‘God’ one evening. A real call in which ‘God’ speaks in English! This one call changed everything about their beliefs, and they tried to put together the pieces of their lives. This real-life escaping story will take you to an unexpected world and inspire you in a strange way. One can carry this book anywhere and read it quickly without paying much attention.
by Rivers Solomon
Sorrowland is a dark, fast-paced story that follows Vern, a powerful young woman who escapes the horrors of the Cainland compound and survives in the woods with her two young children. Equal parts thriller, science fiction, body horror, and queer romance, this futuristic book illuminates the war waged on Black women's bodies in the here and now. Solomon offers a story of strength and resilience through an intersectional queer lens.
by Sophie Lark
Twisted, disturbing and horrifying, There are No Saints provides a glimpse into the mind of San Francisco’s premier artist-serial killer Cole Blackwell and his feud with similar multi-hyphenate Alastor Shaw. Their rivalry turns more deadly when the two meet Mara Eldritch, an up-and-coming artist who piques Cole’s interest and becomes a pawn for Shaw to use against him. Shaw wants to use her to prove that Cole has the same uncontrollable lust for blood as him, while Cole becomes increasingly obsessed with her and cannot seem to let her go. This dual perspective thriller provides gore, suspense, vivid depictions of art and a dark romance. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s You, or anyone who loves a twisted anti-hero with a questionable moral compass.
by Hillary Rodham Clinton
As a series of terrorist attacks hits Europe, Ellen Adams, US Secretary of State, finds herself enmeshed in a conspiracy spanning rogue nations, arms dealers, the highest levels of the US government, and, worst of all, her own family. State of Terror brings together the talent of an experienced thriller writer with the deep (or Deep State?) experience of a real former United States Secretary of State and presidential candidate, melding fast-paced thrills with nearly-ripped-from-the-headlines political intrigue and statecraft. Strongly-defined characters and a reflection of real-world tensions lend a surprising depth to the non-stop action. This might be the book for those wishing that Tom Clancy was just a bit less Tom Clancy.
by Blake Crouch
Fans of Blake Crouch’s previous books Dark Matter and Recursion will love his newest novel Upgrade. Upgrade is set in a dystopian future in which climate change has created a bleak landscape on earth and gene altering has become a lucrative black-market business. After being exposed to an unknown virus, agent Logan Ramsay soon realizes that his genome has been hacked and his mind is becoming clearer, while his body is becoming stronger. With Logan’s family connection to a brilliant geneticist, he begins to wonder if this was a targeted attack and must work to find out what the ramifications may be. This fast paced, science fiction thriller will have you up all night. With just the right amount of action and suspense, Upgrade will have readers wishing for more and hoping for a better future than the one described within its pages.
by Stephanie Meyer
After years spent in hiding from her former employer, an ex-spy with a dozen names and identities decides it’s time to get her life back. The nameless protagonist of The Chemist was a molecular biologist recruited to spy for the US government because of her specific chemical skillset. Now, years later, she fears she’ll be killed after the death of a co-worker in a poison gas attack. When her former handler reaches out to offer her one final job, she takes the opportunity to prove that the death was actually an assassination by their employer. With unexpected twists, intense action sequences, and some chemical torture, The Chemist is perfect for fans of classic spy-thrillers like those by Tom Clancy and John le Carré. Don’t let Stephenie Meyer’s name fool you; there are no sparkly vampires in this book.