6 Page-Turning Thrillers for Your Next BookCation

July 19 2019
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Summer is heating up and my TBR stack just keeps growing! When the days get longer and the sun is shining, I try to balance things out by diving into a dark mysterious read. Who doesn’t enjoy flipping through the pages to find out who the killer might be—the best friend, the brother, the cute boy next door? You never know which of the seemingly innocent characters are really hiding skeletons in their closet (or under the floorboards). 

These books will make any vacation or staycation the perfect BookCation! 

This post was originally published on GetLiterary.com.

The Last House Guest
by Megan Miranda

If you are looking for a thriller to drop in your beach bag this summer, Megan Miranda’s latest book should be at the top of your list! Take a trip to Littleport, Maine—an ideal vacay hot spot for the wealthy crowd (think the Hamptons or Martha’s Vineyard).

Avery Greer grew up in Littleport and worked around the town for many summers with her friends. Usually the locals and the rich summer kids didn’t really interact and become friends, but over the years Avery forms a strong bond with Sadie Loman—one of the wealthiest summer guests. The girls become inseparable, until the night that Sadie is found dead. The cops rule Sadie’s death a suicide, but Avery can’t shake the feeling that there is something more to her friend’s mysterious death, and tries to uncover what really happened.

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The Last House Guest
Megan Miranda

From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, a suspenseful new novel about an idyllic town in Maine dealing with the suspicious death of one of their own—and her best “summer” friend, who is trying to uncover the truth…before fingers point her way.

Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.

Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl—but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable—until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.

Another thrilling novel from the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read with a strong female protagonist determined to make her own way in the world.

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The Arrangement
by Robyn Harding

Fans of Caroline Kepnes’s YOU won't want to miss this book. Like Beck, Natalie is a college student living in New York City, struggling to pay the bills. She works part-time as a bartender, but it’s not quite enough to make ends meet. One of her classmates suggests becoming a sugar baby (sexual favors optional) to help with her financial problems.

Troubles with her roommates lead Natalie to sign up for a site through which she meets Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney who is 30 years older than she. Gabe is charming and protective, and Natalie quickly falls for him. But what starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement turns into an obsession—and soon a body is found outside Gabe’s posh Manhattan apartment.

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The Arrangement
Robyn Harding

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Temper
by Layne Fargo

If you loved Black Swan, you won’t want to miss Layne Fargo’s suspenseful debut! After years of working in the Chicago theater scene, Kira finally gets her big break with the role of a lifetime. The only problem is that the director, Malcolm, has a reputation for pushing performers to their breaking points.

Kira thinks she can handle anything Malcolm throws her way, but her real threat is another person behind the curtain—the theater’s cofounder, Joanna Cuyler. As opening night approaches, the tensions between the two women build, but the show MUST go on.

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Temper
Layne Fargo

For fans of the high-stakes tension of the New York Times bestsellers Luckiest Girl Alive and The Lying Game, a razor-sharp page-turner about female ambition and what happens when fake violence draws real blood…

After years of struggling in the Chicago theater scene, ambitious actress Kira Rascher finally lands the role of a lifetime. The catch? Starring in Temper means working with Malcolm Mercer, a mercurial director who’s known for pushing his performers past their limits—onstage and off.

Kira’s convinced she can handle Malcolm, but the theater’s cofounder Joanna Cuyler is another story. Joanna sees Kira as a threat—to her own thwarted artistic aspirations, her twisted relationship with Malcolm, and the shocking secret she’s keeping about the upcoming production. But as opening night draws near, Kira and Joanna both start to realize that Malcolm’s dangerous extremes are nothing compared to what they're capable of themselves.

An edgy, addictive, and fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deceit, and power, Temper is a timely, heart-in-your-throat psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.

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Whisper Network
by Chandler Baker

This page-turning suspense is the July Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick! I’ve always been a fan of the thrillers that Reese recommends, so I can’t wait to read this book!

Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked together at Truviv, Inc. for years and have become close friends. When the CEO of the company suddenly dies, their boss, Ames, is the most likely candidate to step into that role. But there have always been rumors about how Ames interacts with the other female employees. The whispers have largely been ignored and hidden away by the people in charge. But the TIME IS UP!

When the women find out that the rumors are true about Ames, they decide enough is enough and take matters into their own hands….

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Whisper Network
Chandler Baker

This page-turning suspense is the July Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick! I’ve always been a fan of the thrillers that Reese recommends, so I can’t wait to read this book! Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked together at Truviv, Inc. for years and have become close friends. When the CEO of the company suddenly dies, their boss, Ames, is the most likely candidate to step into that role. But there have always been rumors about how Ames interacts with the other female employees. The whispers have largely been ignored and hidden away by the people in charge. But the TIME IS UP! When the women find out that the rumors are true about Ames, they decide enough is enough and take matters into their own hands….

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The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware

If you are a fan of a mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you won’t want to miss the latest from Ruth Ware! The story begins with Rowan Caine writing to her lawyer from a jail cell… she’s been arrested and is awaiting trial for murder of a child.

Through her letter Rowan shares the events that lead to her being in prison. She had been working as a live-in nanny for a “picture-perfect” family in their smart-tech home in the Scottish Highlands You just know when a family is described as being perfect, that they have some really big secrets swept under the rug….

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The Turn of the Key
Ruth Ware

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Verity
by Colleen Hoover

Verity is not the kind of book you would expect to have been penned by Colleen Hoover. Colleen definitely took a dark turn with this book, but I’m here for it!

Verity Crawford is a bestselling author, but after a terrible accident she is no longer able to finish her successful series. Her husband, Jeremy, and her publisher decide to hire another writer to complete the series. That’s where Lowen Ashleigh comes into the picture….

Lowen is a writer who is struggling financially when the opportunity to finish the Noble Virtues series falls into her lap. She heads to the Crawford home to review Verity’s notes for the previous titles in the series so that she can start writing the next book. While digging through Verity’s office she comes across a manuscript of what appears to be Verity’s autobiography. Lowen can’t resist reading the manuscript, thinking it could help with the writing of the new novel, but she soon discovers the shocking secrets that the Crawfords may never want revealed to the world!

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Verity
Colleen Hoover

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