Chapter 41 - Best Seller

I have mentioned in previous posts how much I like new books and by "new" I mean ones that have come out in the current year. There is something so satisfying about reading the latest and greatest. There are some authors, though, who have no appeal to me. No judgement here, they just aren't my cup of tea. Some of those authors are ones who pop out with a new book every week or whose hardback you buy at full price only to be confronted with the paperback version three months after.

The best new books this year, in my opinion, have been suspense books. While British authors have traditionally been quite skilled at these types of books, American authors have stepped up their game as well. Scandinavian authors are becoming favorites of mine too.

Here are the books I've been recommending to customers lately.

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh - Anna Johnson has lost her parents, both by suicide, within the last 18 months On the anniversary of her mother's death she receives an anniversary card indicating that the suicides might not be suicide. Murray MacKenzie, a retired detective, is filling in for the desk officer when Anna comes in. He listens to her, reopens the case and that is where it gets really interesting because someone is dead set on stopping the investigation.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman - This sequel to Beartown doesn't fail. Peter Andersson is given a vote of confidence and is staying as the General Manager of the Beartown team although most of his star players have defected to the neighboring town of Hed. Using the raw and yet, untrained talent of the junior team, a new coach builds the group into a dominating force. Add in an ambitious politician who manipulates the team, the town, and Peter. This was a truly satisfying tale.

Believe Me by JP Delaney - The author of The Girl Before has another win with his new novel. Claire Wright, a British acting student in New York, is desperate to stay in the US but has no money with which to support herself. She takes side jobs for a law firm that uncovers unfaithful husbands. After one of her employer's clients is murdered, Claire is asked to try to trap the murder suspect - the husband. As the investigation progresses it is unclear who is trying to trap whom.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware - I learned about this author from her book The Woman in Cabin 10 but all the subsequent books of hers I have read since then have been better. The story is about a young woman who reads Tarot cards on a pier at Brighton Beach. She has been struggling to make ends meet since her mother was killed three years ago. She receives a letter in the mail that her grandmother has left her a bequest and that she must travel to the family home to claim it. She knows there is a mistake but a few thousand pounds would go a long way to helping her financially. So she goes.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena - Lapena wrote the bestselling The Couple Next Door. Her latest one is pretty good too. Twelve people are guests at a lovely inn in the Catskills when a blizzard causes them to be stranded with no electricity or telephone service. Even so, the cozy inn should be a lovely retreat until one guest turns up dead. All the guests are nervous and suspecting until another guest is killed and nervousness becomes panic.

Have you read any 2018 suspense books that you recommend? Let me know.

You can buy these and other books at www.bookendsonline.com.