Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Vera Kurian’s A Step Past Darkness, which releases on February 20th 2024.

There’s something sinister under the surface of the idyllic, suburban town of Wesley Falls, and it’s not just the abandoned coal mine that lies beneath it. The summer of 1995 kicks off with a party in the mine where six high school students witness a horrifying crime that changes the course of their lives.

The six couldn’t be more different.

• Maddy, a devout member of the local megachurch
• Kelly, the bookworm next door
• James, a cynical burnout
• Casey, a loveable football player
• Padma, the shy straight-A student
• Jia, who’s starting to see visions she can’t explain

When they realize that they can’t trust anyone but each other, they begin to investigate what happened on their own. As tensions escalate in town to a breaking point, the six make a vow of silence, bury all their evidence, and promise to never contact each other again. Their plan works – almost.

Twenty years later, Jia calls them all back to Wesley Falls—Maddy has been murdered, and they are the only ones who can uncover why. But to end things, they have to return to the mine one last time.

1
August 17, 2015

The mountain had existed long before there had been anyone around to name it, pushed up by the inevitable forces that made the Appalachian Range millions of years ago. Hulking, it stood with a peculiar formation at its apex, two peaks like a pair of horns, giving the mountain its eventual name of Devil’s Peak. The coal mine inside was abandoned long ago.

On the southern side of Devil’s Peak was the town of Wesley Falls, where there were no remnants of the mine except for the overgrown paths crisscrossing up to two entrances, ineffectually boarded up, partially hidden but available to anyone looking hard enough. Down the western side were the steeper paths, far more overgrown with vegetation, leading down to the abandoned town of Evansville. That side of the mountain and beyond grew strange because of the coal fire that had been burning underground for almost a century. The Bureau of Mines had managed to contain the fire to the western side of the mountain so that only Evansville suffered. Only Evansville had bouts of noxious gases, open cracks of brimstone in the roads, residents complaining of hot basements and well water. Over time they left town, leaving behind a ghost.

Unlike its unfortunate neighbor, Wesley Falls had avoided the mine fire and transitioned from a coal-mining town to something not unlike Pennsylvania suburbia. It was the sort of town where one of the billboards outside the Golden Praise megachurch proclaimed, “Wesley Falls: the BEST place to raise a family!” and most adults agreed with that assessment. The sort of place where the city council had voted against a bid to allow a McDonalds to open, arguing that it would “lead to the deterioration of the character of Wesley Falls.” This had less to do with concerns about childhood obesity or dense traffic than it did a desire to keep the town trapped in amber. The sort of town where the sheriff was the son of the previous sheriff.

Jia Kwon, stepping off a train at the station some miles away from Wesley Falls, looked around the crowded station for that son—the sheriff—now in his thirties, though she had trouble picturing this. Sheriff Zachary Springsteen had an air of formality that she couldn’t match up with the image of the boy she knew from high school, whom everyone called Blub. He was an inoffensive, nondescript kid who delivered papers via his clackety bike, who then grew to be the generic teen who stood in the back row of yearbook pictures. She had always been friendly with him, but never quite friends, starting from when she had transferred from St. Francis to the Wesley Falls public school system and Blub sat next to her in homeroom.

Was the fact that she had chosen to keep in contact with this not-quite-friend after she moved away from Wesley Falls an accident? No—she knew that now. Blub had been the perfect person to report back town news over the years because he never suspected her interest was anything more than curiosity. Their exchanges over the years had been just enough for him to feel comfortable, or compelled enough, to make the phone call that had brought her here.

Jia paused to put her phone in her purse, pretending she did not notice any stares. No one looked twice at her in Philly, but here she stood out as the only Asian, drawing even more attention to herself because she had dyed her hair a shade of silvery gray with hints of lavender in it. It would only be worse when she got into town, but even as a kid she had been so used to being stared at that she just exaggerated her strangeness, opting for bright clothes rather than trying to blend in.

“Jia?” said an uncertain voice.

She turned her head and instantly recognized Blub, who stood with the gawky awkwardness of someone uncomfortable with his own height. “Blub!” she exclaimed, coming closer. She embraced him, her head only coming up to his midchest. “You’ve grown two feet!”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, smiling. “Want to ask me if I play basketball?” Their smiles felt hollow, she realized, because of the strangeness of the situation and everything they weren’t saying. “I appreciate you taking the time to come out here. I know you’re probably busy but…” He led her to his patrol car. “Sorry, you’ll have to ride in the back.”

“It’s no problem,” she murmured, surprised to see that he had brought someone along for the ride.

“This is Deputy Sheriff Henry,” Blub said, turning the car on. A smaller man whom she did not recognize half turned and nodded at her curtly, though Jia could see him looking at her in the rearview mirror as they pulled away from the station. What on earth had Blub told him?

That once, in one of their email exchanges, when he complained about having to repair his roof, she made a joke about which team to bet on for the Super Bowl, and he did, and she had been right? That she had one too many stock tips that turned out to be good? That she inexplicably sent him a “You okay?” email at 8:16 a.m. on September eleventh, thirty minutes before American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center? There had been enough incidents as strange as these that when he called her last year asking for help, it felt like something clicking into place. Something that was supposed to happen. Over the years, she had started to feel comfortable with that clicking feeling, rather than being afraid of it. Last winter he had called her saying that Jane Merrick was missing from the old-folks home—she was prone to running— and she was outside in the freezing weather in only a nightgown, and they were worried about her. He did not say why he was asking her, a person who hadn’t lived in Wesley Falls for two decades, a person who neither knew nor liked Jane Merrick. She told him to look in the barn on the Dandriges’ property without providing an explanation of how she knew. She knew because she saw it. She knew because sometimes she could call up things when she wanted to, though not all the time, but this was still significantly better than when she was a kid and she couldn’t control when the visions hit her, or stop them, or even understand them.

And now, in the peak of summer heat, he had called again, saying that there was a missing person, could she help, friends were worried. She did not ask who because she felt something like the deepest note on a double bass vibrating, reverberating through her body. She saw herself walking, her white maxi dress—the one she was wearing right now—catching on brambles as she maneuvered her way down the overgrown path to the ghost town.

She had to go back to Wesley Falls. It was time.

“You all went to school together?” Deputy Sheriff Henry said when they pulled onto the highway.

“Yeah,” she said. “We didn’t overlap with you, did we?” Henry shook his head. “Blub and I go way back,” she said, meeting Blub’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“I’ll never get over the fact that people call you Blub,” Henry remarked. “How’d you get that name anyway? Were you chubby or something?”

“I don’t think there’s an origin story,” Blub said, looking like he wanted the subject to change.

“I remember!” Jia exclaimed. “It’s when you threw up in fourth grade.” She leaned forward, pressing against the grate that divided the car, addressing Henry directly. “It was during homeroom. He threw up on his pile of books. I remember because it was clear and ran down the sides like pancake syrup.”

Henry laughed and Blub flushed. “Jia, you can’t remember that because you weren’t there. You were at St. Francis in grade school!”

She stopped laughing abruptly. “I could have sworn I remember that happening!”

“Sometimes when enough people tell you a story, you start to remember it like you were there,” Henry mused.

Sometimes, Jia thought. But there were other people who could see things that had happened or would happen, even if they weren’t there.

As they drove down the highway and drew closer to Wesley Falls, the mood shifted to an anxious silence. Jia checked her phone for anything work related. She ran a small solar panel company called Green Solutions with her two best friends, both hyper-competent, both probably picking up on Jia’s strange tone when she said she had to go back home for a short trip. They probably thought that it had to do with the settling of her mother’s estate, and Jia, even though she was uncomfortable with lying, allowed them to believe this. When her mother had died, Jia had come to Wesley Falls to liquidate everything in The Gem Shop and sell the store itself to the least annoying bidder: a fifty-something-year-old former teacher who wanted to open a bakery. A significant part of the decision had been not that her baked items were good—they were—but something about her aggressive combinations of spices had seemed witchy, and, most importantly, she did not attend Golden Praise. Jia’s mother, Su-Jin, would have approved.

And now, with Blub turning off the highway, her heart felt torn in different directions. Wesley Falls wasn’t home, but it was, because it was where most of her memories of Su-Jin lived. As the car moved it felt as if they traveled through an invisible veil, something that felt uncomfortable in a way she could not put into words anyone else would understand, but was familiar and, she knew, strange. Strange like how she was strange.

But then it came: the feeling that arose every time she had gone home to visit her mother—the feeling that she shouldn’t be here. Except this time, it was worse. They had just arrived in Wesley Falls, passing Wiley’s Bar, which was on the outskirts of town. It was frequented by truckers stopping for a cheap burger and beer.

“That place is still here?” she murmured.

“They got karaoke now,” Blub offered.

“Please kill me,” Jia responded, trying to sound light. Blub laughed, then turned onto Throckmartin Lane. The street hadn’t changed in twenty years: it still housed Greenbriar Park, which everyone called “The Good Park,” and the larger homes where the wealthier families lived. Built before McMansions had hit this part of Pennsylvania, the houses differed in their architecture—some colonial, some farmhouse—but were all similar with their immaculate lawns, American flags, and WESLEY FALLS FOOTBALL signs.

Blub slowed to a stop, making eye contact with her in the rearview mirror. He was waiting for directions.

She gestured for him to turn onto Main Street, that old, curved road with the bottom half of the C drawn out like a jaw that had dropped wide open—it was impossible to drive anywhere in Wesley Falls without driving on Main Street at some point. They passed the police station, then the row of shops. Some of the mom-and-pop stores that lined Main Street had changed, but Wesley Falls still didn’t have a Target, a chain grocery store, or a reasonable place to buy clothes. Indeed, the best place to raise a family was apparently a place where you had to drive ten miles to the mall to get many of the things people wanted. She gazed at the bakery that used to be The Gem Shop. Spade’s Hardware was still there—her mother had had a grudging friendship with the owners. The candy shop had changed ownership but it was still a candy shop. They drove along the north side of town, by the lake and the Neskaseet River—called Chicken River by locals because of its proximity to and usage by the chicken processing plant at the north edge of town.

Wesley Falls and Evansville had both popped up in the 1800s, their economies at first built entirely around the Wesley coal mine, which resided inside Devil’s Peak. No matter how many times well-meaning adults attempted to close off the entrance of the mine, which had been abandoned in the 1930s when the coal ran out, high school kids always found their way in. Drawn to the allure of ghost stories, rumors that if you found the right path you could find the mine fire in Evansville, and the inevitable urban legends about the Heart.

Jia pointed and Blub turned onto the unpaved road that crossed the Neskaseet and wound up the side of Devil’s Peak to Evansville. From this elevation, she could see the entire tiny, abandoned town. The simple, squared-off eight shape of the town’s few roads, the dilapidated strip of larger buildings at the center, then the rectangles of homes, all identical because they had been provided by the mining company.

The road came to an end, trees and shrubbery blocking their passage. Blub put the car in Park, turning to face Jia. “Can’t drive farther.”

“Then we walk,” she said. She led the way, ignoring the looks from both men as she freed herself from prickly branches that caught onto her dress. Blub used his nightstick to whack away a tangle of vegetation, then Jia found a path that led down to the town.

It smelled like sulfur with a hint of cigar. Jia picked her way gingerly down the main road, which was buckled and cracked in places, then turned a corner behind the old church and stopped. There was someone in the road wearing a bright fuchsia shirt. She could only see the top half of the figure’s body. The lower part, from the stomach down, was trapped inside the road in what looked like a fresh sinkhole.

Jia knew without looking. Some part of her had known from the moment Blub called her. He needed help finding a missing person, but he hadn’t said who. This was the thing that had pulled her back, made her feel an insistent anxiety for the past few months.

Blub and Henry were running to the body, the latter yelling. When Jia finally approached, Blub was trying to get a pulse. She watched the two men huddle over the body, Henry almost making an attempt to pull her from the chasm before Blub stopped him. This could be a crime scene.

Blub sat back on his haunches. The fuchsia T-shirt was soaked with last night’s rain. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, tendrils stuck to the sides of her face. That face. Familiar but different. She’s still so pretty, Jia thought. Her mouth was open and a scratch stood out livid on her pale cheek. Her eyes were closed.

“It’s her,” Blub stated.

“Maddy Wesley,” Henry said, disturbed and awed.

“You knew that Maddy was the missing person? You didn’t tell me,” Jia said, trying to keep her voice stable.

Blub remained crouched, his elbows on his knees with his hands dangling down. “Didn’t think I needed to,” he stated, his voice devoid of the warmth it had had while in the car. He didn’t look at her as he examined the scene, and it occurred to Jia that he was actually the sheriff. Not Blub, the kid who threw up on his pile of books, but an actual agent of the law.

Jia edged backward, fearful that the road could break under her.

“You know her?” Henry asked.

His gaze made her self-conscious. Jia had never been a good liar. Much of the lying she had done that summer so many years ago had been by omission. She was working on a project. She was hanging out with Padma. These things had been true, but misleading.

“She was in our year,” Jia managed. “We all went to high school together.”

Blub’s eyes went from the body to Jia. “You weren’t friends, though, were you?” Maddy ran with the popular crowd, the Golden Praise crowd. Jia had been the opposite of that.

“No,” she said finally. “We weren’t friends.”

Excerpted from A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian, Copyright © 2024 by Albi Literary Inc. Published by Park Row Books.  

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We chat with debut author Vera Kurian about Never Saw Me Coming, including its inspiration and challenges, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!

Hi, Vera! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m a psychologist and writer living in Washington DC. I read avidly, both literary and genre fiction, and love film, TV, and podcasts. My favorite genres are literary, thriller, and horror, but I love work that can transcend genre. I have a small, elderly dog. I’m an avid weightlifter, foreign policy buff,  and (retired) multi–championship winning skeeball player. I retired because I grew bored of winning.

When did you first discover your love for writing?

Probably around 4^th grade when I started writing in my school notebooks and it looked like I was working. I started writing a horror short story that combined Greek mythology with the sort of gore I had been raised on—classic horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 14^th. I worked on a novella in 8^th grade and later had the opportunity to take writing classes in high school. I started submitting things seriously right when I graduated college.

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. We had an entire year in English based on this book, with its odd illustrations, and like many 4^th graders, I became obsessed with the activities of capricious Greek gods.

Your debut novel Never Saw Me Coming is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Sardonic, viral, fast, psychopath, funny

What can readers expect?

I think this book will be really satisfying to several different audiences. For one, thriller readers who know the tropes well—because I think this novel plays with those expectations. Secondly, although this is a plot-driven novel, everything I write is centered on character—you can expect the main characters to be fully fleshed out people who drive the story. I think you will be pulled into a mystery that has some unexpected turns, and you might find yourself surprised by wanting to root for some psychopaths. I also didn’t intend to write a funny book, but I think it’s pretty funny.

Where did the inspiration for Never Saw Me Coming come from?

I had heard about a behavioral modification program to treat young psychopathic boys where everything was phrased in terms of what reward they could get for doing the desirable behavior. In other words, it’s not “don’t hit that boy because it will hurt him” but more like “if you can refrain from hitting that boy, you can watch TV for half an hour.” I thought it was fascinating because psychopathy is so difficult to treat. Initially I had the idea of an entire school filled with psychopaths, but then dialed it back to 7 embedded within a university—it sort of has a locked room mystery feel, even though it technically isn’t one.

Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?

Personally I don’t really struggle with the writing itself, but the peripheral stuff surrounding the business of writing. At first I found it hard to deal with rejections for short stories, but after the first dozen or so I got used to it. Then it was rejections from coveted summer workshops I wanted to get into, but then eventually I started getting in. Then it was dealing with some pretty intense envy I felt about the best writers in those programs. I often felt like somewhat of an outsider in the literary scene because many literary writers are either the MFA crowd or people who work in or adjacent to publishing. But it wasn’t like I was regretting my career choice: I am not a full time writer and don’t intend to be. The process of getting an agent was the most psychologically distressing for me—Never Saw Me Coming is the third novel I queried, so I went through a few hundred rejections from agents before I got to where I am. There were many, many times where I wanted to give up. Other times where I was confused by positive feedback coupled with a rejection. Or seeing books I thought weren’t that great getting picked up. But all along the way, I always kept researching more about the industry and the market, so that by the time this stuff started happening to me, I knew what to do, what to ask, how the business worked.

Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Chloe is an incredibly fun character to write. As women, we are told to be modest, nonviolent, selfless, and kind, so it was very fun to write a character who is completely devoid of morality, is hedonistic, and thoroughly thinks of herself as amazing. Without getting into spoilers, I really enjoyed writing scenes with the “triumvirate”—the group of three lead characters who try to solve the murders. They are each posturing and have their own agendas, but also its just funny when they are hanging out together.

What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

In some ways very traditional, in some ways not. I did everything by the book: I wrote some stories, took some classes, and got better and eventually got them published. I did a lot of research about the industry. Everything I’ve gotten published was off the slush pile. I got an agent off the slush pile. I didn’t “know a guy.” A lot of my writing friends look to me as an example of “this is a person who just put her nose to the grindstone and did it.” But in many ways I’m not traditional. My entire book deal went down during COVID lockdown. We went out on submission while I was locked in my apartment. When I got my book deal I couldn’t even hug anyone. The entire process, from getting my agent, doing revisions with my editor, organizing the publicity and marketing campaign for this book, was done virtually. I didn’t even meet my agent or editor until a few weeks ago and we have been working together for more than a year!

What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?

Nothing specific, but the worst advice comes from the blind leading the blind on the internet. If you’re in a workshop where there isn’t a person there who’s a better writer than you, odds are you’re wasting your time. The best writing advice has been from workshop instructors who fundamentally understood that each person’s piece was ultimately theirs; workshopping shouldn’t be creating a story or novel via committee. At some point you need to develop your own voice and instincts. I like workshopping, but it can’t be your crutch—you shouldn’t feel like you can’t send a story out without workshopping it first. My best writing advice would be to read voraciously. I’m also a meticulous plotter and think that not plotting out novels is a terrible idea.

What’s next for you?

Right now I’m extremely busy with publicity for this book, but once that calms down I’m working on a book that is more of a mystery than a thriller, which goes back to my roots.

Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

If you’re in a mood for a thriller with a technology angle, I’d suggest Sarah Zachrich Jeng’s The Other ME. I’m also currently reading a clever literary novel called The Portrait of a Mirror by A. Natasha Joukovsky.

You can find Vera on Twitter and Instagram, along with at her website.

Will you be picking up Never Saw Me Coming? Tell us in the comments below!

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There are some exciting debut authors, much-anticipated continuations in a series, domestic suspense, cults, detectives, spies, old secrets, and so much more. Without a doubt, there is something for every mystery/thriller reader coming in the next few months. This is only a sampling of some of our most anticipated!

The Night Village by Zoe Deleuil
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Determined to start a new life in London, despite some unexpected circumstances, Australian expat Simone moves in with her boyfriend Paul. When Paul’s cousin Rachel arrives, however, Simone feels much more unease than relief. Something doesn’t seem right about Rachel’s motives for moving in, as well as just what secrets these cousins share.

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The worst nightmare a mother can imagine comes true in this highly suspenseful tale of Whitney, a mother who drops her teenage daughter off at a sleepover, only to return to pick her up and find that the elderly couple living there have never seen the teenagers and they have no idea what Whitney is talking about. As she begins following what turns out to be a trail of lies, she has to wonder if she ever really knew her daughter at all. 

The Night We Burned by S.F. Kosa
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Dora’s job, and in fact her life itself, depends on her ability to separate fact from fiction as she struggles to outrun the secrets of her past. Old secrets, a cult, a fire, and a murder fit together to make a truly exciting psychological thriller! 

The Receptionist by Kate Myles
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Emily’s tough, ruthless persona in her work life does not match that of her personal life, but a chain of shocking scandals throws Emily’s life into chaos. It becomes a fight for survival in this thriller full of sex, ambition, pregnancy, affairs, and disaster. How far will Emily go to protect what she loves most?

These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A serial killer that has been dormant begins leaving messages for Mickie who makes “digital scrapbooks” of precious items for clients. But when Mickie began this task for her latest client, an apparent suicide, threats began arriving and Mickie is determined to solve the mysteries about her client even as the answers she finds become more sinister.

Dark Things I Adore by Katie Lattari
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An exciting debut tale of manipulative men and fierce women. Beginning in 1988, there are secrets and there are witnesses, and in 2018 there is a woman who has woven the perfect web to exact revenge. This psychological thriller of dark academia and vengeance has been described as seductive and captivating!

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Chloe is not just a regular college student – she is also part of a clinical study for psychopaths. Chloe is actually one of seven students at the college who fall into this category, unable to feel (or even understand) emotions like regret, guilt, or fear. When one of the students in the study is murdered, Chloe may need to figure out how to trust, who to trust, and whether or not someone can trust her.

Nice Girls by Catherine Dang
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

After an uncomfortably awkward childhood and adolescence in Minnesota, Mary saw an Ivy League school as her ticket into a different life. Three years later she is back, and definitely different, but refusing to explain what happened at Cornell and why she was kicked out as she started her senior year. She soon becomes obsessed with the disappearance of her childhood best friend, though they haven’t spoken in many years. Mary certainly knows about secrets and knows her missing friend is likely not who everyone believes she is…and that her disappearance may have ties to yet another missing girl.

Wolf Point by Ian K. Smith
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The follow-up to last year’s The Unspoken, continues to follow former Chicago Police Department detective Ashe Canyon as he fights corruption on the streets, and in the underbelly, of Chicago, now as a private investigator. Smith’s extensive research into the historical (and current) inner working of the city of Chicago, its politics, and its criminal justice system always give his writing a “ripped from the headlines” feel!

Litani by Jess Lourey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Inspired by a terrifying true crime story, the author of Unspeakable Things and Bloodline is back with a story set in the rural Midwest. Fourteen year old Frankie can just feel that something is amiss when she has to move to live with her estranged mother in Litani, Minnesota. She is soon bullied by some of the local girls into ignoring her mother’s warnings to stay out of the nearby woods. Secrets, hysteria, and paranoia abound as Frankie begins to fear that those living around her truly are monsters.

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A father and his young daughter are living in isolation in a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains while the father hides from the secrets of his past. While his daughter has been content living with her books and her imagination, she is beginning to push back against living a life disconnected from the outside world. When the pattern they have lived by all these years is disrupted it sets off a chain of events that exposes the reality of their lives. A shocking disappearance may be the end of the father’s ability to hide in this tension-filled story of survival and sacrifice.

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Fans of the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris will find a lot to enjoy in this tale of a Seattle detective and a psychic travel agent working together to solve a murder. Premonitions, cold cases, secrets, a murdered fiancée, and karaoke…what’s not to love?

Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Police transcriber and aspiring writer Hazel Greenlee becomes captivated by the investigation (and the lead detective) of a suspicious death linked to a notorious drug dealer. Before she knows it, Hazel is about to go a step too far in the chase for a good story.

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this uniquely told true crime documentary-style thriller there is a missing girl, a writer drawn into the story years later, and troubling inconsistencies in the official version of what happened to Zoe Nolan. In a unique twist, Joseph Knox puts himself into the story when revelations of a secret life and a stalker begin to show that, while she is missing and presumed dead, this may only be the beginning of Zoe Nolan’s real story.

The Secret Next Door by Rebecca Taylor
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In an exclusive neighbourhood near Denver, rapidly flowing gossip, on-going personality conflicts, and deep divisions boil over when a thirteen year old is found dead beside the neighbourhood lake. The long-held belief in the importance of a beautiful exterior pales in comparison to the secrets being kept in each house.

Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Past and present collide in this family drama. Juniper had only just graduated from high school when a couple who lived on a nearby farm were brutally murdered. With Juniper’s brother named as the prime suspect, she left town promising never to return. But now she is back, and believes that solving the murders will put everything right. But it is never that easy…

Darkness Falls by Robert Bryndza
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I will readily admit that my favourite time of year is when a Kate Marshall thriller from Robert Bryndza comes out. This time, the heroine from Nine Elms and Shadow Sands investigates a journalist’s disappearance. It’s a cold case and most people have moved on. There are no new leads and no new suspects, but that does not mean Kate and Tristan are stuck at the same dead ends as previous investigators. The journalist may have been looking into something far darker and more disturbing than anyone previously realised.

The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Detective Natalie Lockhart is back, but the events that occurred in Trace of Evil and The Wicked Hour have taken a terrible toll on her well-being. Living at the centre of two well-known murder cases has just been too much, and she is thinking that the police force may not be where she belongs. But a shocking murder unlike anything she has seen before changes everything and she is back on the case with her boss and childhood friend Detective Luke Pittman.

Safecracker by Ryan Wick
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This much-anticipated debut novel about a professional safecracker (obviously) and the incredibly high stakes involved in his latest job is full of action and has received many glowing early reviews. Michael Maven was hired to steal a rare coin, but that job gets unexpectedly complicated and Michael is soon coerced into much more dangerous work, and the lives of his family hang in the balance. Hopefully, there are plans for this to begin a whole new series!

My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A happily married couple with adorable kids, a beautiful home, and a thriving business have their lives turned upside down when they are confronted one night by a home invader. The husband has been a good father and a loving spouse, but there are secrets he has kept that now put them all in danger and it is all about to become a very public scandal. Early reviewers have repeatedly mentioned the incredible pacing and breakneck speed of this domestic suspense thriller.

There are many other exciting thrillers coming in the next few months, by some of our long-time favourites like Alice Feeney, Kimberly McCreight, Catherine Ryan Howard, and the list goes on! 

What has been your favourite thriller this year so far, and what are you most excited about reading as 2021 winds down? Tell us in the comments below!

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