10 Canadian thrillers and mysteries to check out
CBC Books | | Posted: August 13, 2019 3:22 PM | Last Updated: September 13, 2019
Winding mysteries, psychological thrillers, big plot twists you didn't see coming — these 10 books will take you on an adrenaline-inducing adventure.
Wherever She Goes by K.L. Armstrong
Wherever She Goes is a thriller about a woman, Aubrey Finch, who sees a child being abducted. But when no one reports a kidnapping, no one believes Aubrey. Aubrey, a single mother surrounded by whispers about her past and the state of her mental well-being, decides to take matters into her own hands and solve the crime herself.
K.L. Armstrong is a pseudonym for popular fantasy and thriller writer Kelley Armstrong.
A Dance of Cranes by Steve Burrows
Inspector Domenic Jejeune returns home to Canada to learn that his brother, Damian, has disappeared during his whooping cranes research trip in Buffalo National Park. Meanwhile, Jejeune's estranged girlfriend Lindy is abducted in Europe. Jejeune heads to the wilderness to find his brother and sergeant Danny Maik works to track down Lindy, leading them both into dangerous territory.
Steve Burrows is a birdwatching enthusiast from Oshawa, Ont. A Dance of Cranes is the sixth book in his "birder murder" mystery series.
Though the Heavens Fall by Anne Emery
Though the Heavens Fall is the latest instalment in Anne Emery's popular Collins-Burke mystery series. The book takes place in Belfast of 1995, as the Irish Republican Army calls for a ceasefire to the violence that has ripped through the city, which lures Collins and Burke to town.
The Halifax writer won the the Arthur Ellis Award for best crime novel for this book.
A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan
In A Deadly Divide, the fifth book in Ausma Zehanat Khan's Getty and Khattak mystery series, Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty are sent to Quebec, where a community is reeling in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a mosque. Fuelling tensions is the arrest of a young Muslim man who was reported to be assisting the wounded, while a priest found holding a weapon was let go.
Khan is also the author of the fantasy series the Khorasan Archives, which includes the books The Bloodprint and The Black Khan.
A Matter of Malice by Thomas King
Trudy Samuels's death was ruled accidental, but Nina Maslow, the producer of a true-crime television show, is determined to prove otherwise. After ex-cop Thumps DreadfulWater declines her request for help, Maslow ends up dead in the exact same way as Samuels. The coincidence prompts Thumps to take on the case.
A Matter of Malice is the fourth book in Thomas King's popular DreadfulWater mystery series.
King is also the author of the novels The Back of the Turtle and Green Grass, Running Water and the memoir The Inconvenient Indian.
Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
In Someone We Know, a quiet well-to-do community in upstate New York is rocked by a series of break-ins. Somebody in their neighbourhood has not just been breaking into their homes, but their computers, and sharing the scandalous secrets they've uncovered. As tension mounts, a woman is found dead.
Shari Lapena is the author of bestselling thrillers including The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House.
The Kingfisher Secret by Anonymous
The Kingfisher Secret revolves around a beautiful Czech expat who's a longtime Russian spy. Her mission is to seduce wealthy and powerful men and learn their secrets. Her next target is an egotistical man running for president of the United States. Many of the details of this fictional story parallel facts that are known about Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump, and the publisher of the book says that the author has chosen to remain anonymous to protect his sources.
Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan
In the thriller Hideaway, Rowan runs away from home in the wake of his father's abandonment. He's terrified to be the main target of his mother Gloria's dark side. He bonds with a homeless man named Carl and they make themselves at home in an isolated cottage. Gloria uses everything at her disposal to track Rowan down, playing up her reputation as a loving suburban mom while also viciously manipulating her daughter Maisy.
Nicole Lundrigan, based in Toronto, is also the author of the psychological thriller The Substitute.
Your Life Is Mine by Nathan Ripley
Your Life Is Mine is a page-turning thriller about Blanche, the daughter of a notorious murderer and cult leader. Her father killed himself after a shooting spree more than 20 years ago, but when Blanche learns her mother was murdered, she must return home and learns there's more to her family's story than she could have ever imagined — and that the cult her father founded might be making a comeback.
Your Life Is Mine is the second thriller from Nathan Ripley, who is also the author of Find You in the Dark.
Vantage Point by Scott Thornley
In Vantage Point, a gruesome murder scene is discovered in the master bedroom of a Dundurn mansion. Across town, a body is discovered underneath the Devil's Punch Bowl waterfall. In both cases, the bodies are purposely arranged with different props — a female mannequin, a doll with blood red cotton insides and a papier mâché donkey's head. The scenes trigger an old memory in detective MacNeice.
Scott Thornley is based in Hamilton, Ont. Vantage Point is the fourth book in his MacNeice series.