The approaching summer has us all thinking about traveling, moving, changing, wanting…all dangerous desires in the world of psychological thrillers, and all well represented on the list below. Enjoy these delightful entries in a consistently stunning subgenre, with a higher-than-usual number of crossovers into horror, gothics, and some general fiction (by which I mean, emotional powerhouses and pathways to empathy—take that, lit heads. I’m trying to get that to catch on as an insult for those who disdain the concept of general in favor of literary. But I digress…).Article continues after advertisement
As always, all blurbs are by me unless otherwise stated.
Leslie Baird, Salome
(Putnam)
Leslie Baird’s debut is a sultry summer thriller sure to thrill and seduce, even as it destroys (what I’m saying is, it lives up to the title). Salome’s dissaffected expat is dreading a visit to her roommate-turned-influencer, whose attention-grabbing antics and constant filming are sure to ruin her beloved Paris. A chance encounter on the plan ride to France leads to a stay in countryside with a new friend, one whose strange family grows increasingly sinister as the oppressive heat and isolated setting slowly turn stifling. Give this one to your niece before she heads off on gap year, or prepare to pull a Liam Neeson. I kid, I kid…but this book is still downright disturbing.Article continues after advertisement
