Books

Need A Beach Read? These Thrillers Will Have Your Heart Racing

by Zoraida Córdova

Treat yourself to some chills and thrills this summer. While I certainly enjoy my romances when I'm hanging out at the beach or poolside, I always leave room for something a little darker — like one of these seven new thrillers perfect for the beach.

Take a walk through any Mystery & Thriller section in a book store. There's bound to be fiction about missing girls, troubled girls, or something bad happening to girls. With sensations like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train and All the Missing Girls, women are the forefront of the genre.

There's a power in thrillers — they get deep into our worst fears and leave us wondering "What if that happened to me?" The novels on this list force us to consider unreliable narrators, revenge plots, psychopathic tendencies, and delicious intrigue. In Violet Grenade, Victoria Scott creates a kickass heroine with an explosive secret. Into the Water is Paula Hawkins's much anticipated sophomore novel, and plays with your mind from start to finish.

From YA to adult, these must-read thrillers keep the pages turning and your heart pounding.

1'Violet Grenade' by Victoria Scott

Domino is a runaway who finds a place to stay at Madam Karina's secluded girls' home in West Texas. After weeks of rising to the top of Madam Karina's favorability, Domino escapes and sets off a dangerous sequence of events.

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2'Wake the Hollow' by Gaby Triana

The headless horseman might be just a tale, but Sleepy Hollow is very much a real town. Mica returns to the small town and unravels the truth of her mother's death before she meet the same fate.

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3'My Sister Rosa' by Justine Larbalestier

Che Taylor has always loved and protected his ten-year-old sister Rosa. But when he discovers she's a psychopath who loves playing our disturbing games, how will he protect the world from her?

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4'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins

After her mother and best friend drown in the same river, Lena is put in the care of her estranged and fearful aunt, who swore she'd never return to their small town.

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5'The Perfect Stranger' by Megan Miranda

Failed journalist Leah Stevens and her friends Emmy Grey move to rural Pennsylvania for a fresh start. After Leah is attacked and Emmy goes missing without a trace, the police are left wondering if Emmy existed at all.

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6'Lost Girls' by Merrie Destefano

Rachel wakes up in a ditch with a year missing from her life. She's not the only missing girl, but she's the only one who returned. Now she must find out what happened to her, and find the rest of the Lost Girls.

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7'A Psalm For Lost Girls' by Katie Bayerl

Everyone in town believed the tragically deceased Tess da Costa was a saint, except her sister Callie. When a missing girl turns up at Tess's shrine, Callie sets off on a dangerous plot to uncover the truth about her sister and the kidnapped girl.

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