The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
The Downstairs Neighbor is my current read, and I just had to add it to the list because even though I am not even done with it, I’d fallen in love with Cooper’s writing style. It feels a bit literary and pulse pounding all at once.
In a converted townhouse in London, there are three apartments and three families who are about to have their lives turned upside down when the daughter of the top floor couple, Freya Harlow, disappears. Told through multiple points of view in both past and present (my favorite kind) every character has a secret and everyone is a suspect. The author connects the current story to a crime that took place twenty-five years ago and as the truth about it unfolds, it will have you whipping through the pages until the satisfying end.
It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. I already have her second, The Other Guest, on pre-order. Coming July 2022.
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
I can’t get enough of Lisa Jewell. I wait quite impatiently for each new book to release, and I am never disappointed.
A teen daughter, Tallulah, goes missing, a desperate mother will do anything to find her which sounds like a familiar plotline, but it’s Jewell’s masterful talent at weaving past and present seamlessly and creating characters so real and relatable that make it feel new and unputdownable.
The plot of the missing teen coincides with a second story thread–that of Shaun and Sophie who move into the grounds of Mayplor house, a private boarding school at which Shaun is taking a head position. While he’s busy with his new job, Sophie notices some strange things on the school grounds that get her poking around in places she shouldn’t and ultimately lead her to Tallulah’s mother, armed with clues to the mystery of missing Tallulah that are deliciously twisty and shocking.
It’s a slow burn work of art that will leave you wanting more.
The Hit List by Holly Sedden
As Marianne grieves for her husband who was killed in a bike accident a year earlier, she stumbles upon his laptop and finds activity that shocks her–he’s been searching things on the dark web. On further inspection she finds her name on a hit list and learns her husband is clearly embroiled in a mess she knew nothing about. He dedicated his life to helping people, and his involvement in the dark world of human trafficking and organ harvesting is unthinkable.
When she discovers that other people on the hit list are already dead, she finds herself at the mercy of some unknown assassin, trying to untangle herself from someone else’s fallout of bad decisions. The stakes are high, the twists are layered and explosive. A great read.
Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham
“When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.”
I think the reason this is a stand-out is not only because it’s an impressive debut novel, but also because of the atmospheric quality. The dripping Spanish moss and stifling heat of Louisiana draw the reader right into the world of the story. As Chloe self-medicates and tries to forget everything about the murders and her father’s arrest, a copy-cat murder surfaces and she finds herself smackdab in the middle of an investigation again. Chloe begins to doubt her memory and suspect that the killer is trying to get her attention, and just when you’re sure you know how it will all play out, you’re wrong.
The Girl I Used To Be by Mary Torjussen
A successful real estate agent, Gemma, owns her own firm, and when a prospective client asks her for dinner, she is regretful that she drank so much…and she begins regretting saying yes to the dinner at all when the blackmail begins.
She doesn’t recall exactly what happened, just that she is dreadfully hungover. Then, the photos start showing up at her workplace. Was she kissing someone? There’s a drunk video of her mocking her husband. She doesn’t remember any of it.
As Gemma goes to great lengths to conceal that night from her husband and protect her family from whoever clearly wants something from her, things take a strange turn and lead back to a fateful night many years earlier–a night she tried to forget.
I love a good blackmail story because there is usually a strong motive attached, and I also love an active and strong protagonist, battling her demons and searching down answers. This ticked all those boxes.
Seraphina Nova Glass is a professor and playwright-in-residence at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches film studies and playwriting. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Smith College, and she’s also a screenwriter and award-winning playwright. Seraphina has traveled the world using theatre and film as a teaching tool, living in South Africa, Guam and Kenya as a volunteer teacher, AIDS relief worker, and documentary filmmaker.
