Tag: psychological thriller

Believe Me: A Novel by Molly Garcia

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Believe Me: A Novel by Molly Garcia

Believe Me is the kind of novel that defines its genre. It is the perfect psychological thriller, with all the twists and turns and impossible possibilities that make readers clench their teeth while reading.

The novel begins with an explosive arrest; Carrie is carted off while doing her weekly shopping. She is accused and then convicted of murdering three young children in the woods. But did she really do it? The novel revolves around the psychiatric report ordered for her parole hearing several years later, and the investigation Dr Quinn, her appointed psychiatrist, discovers he must conduct to properly write his assessment of her.

Did she do it? Why? Where are their little bodies buried? These are the questions that haunt the compassionate doctor — and the reader.

For readers who enjoy psychological thrillers in the vein of Tana French or Sue Grafton, Believe Me will deliver abundant satisfaction. I found myself comparing Garcia’s novel to Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, though this novel is set in the contemporary moment, and a far shorter read. Believe Me is a compact 184 pages, and very well-written. I found myself especially drawn to Garcia’s dialogue. The characters come alive through their conversations; their voices are clear and distinct. Garcia’s prose was smooth and evocative. This reader could feel the tension between Dr Quinn and his patient, between the doctor and the staff at the prison where Carrie is an inmate. The mood Garcia creates is a veil obscuring the truth, one the doctor and the reader will claw at.

Believe Me kept me tilting on the edge throughout its 184 pages — and the ending! What a twist!

Freshwater Fire: A Novella by Hubert L. Mullins

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Freshwater Fire: A Novella by Hubert L. Mullins

If you’re looking for a creeping, eerie read for the wintry months to come, Freshwater Fire must be on your to-be-read list. Forget Halloween, with its flashy, trashy gore, Mullins’ slim novella, with its sparse and evocative prose, and its fog-shrouded terror, brings out of the deepest of our fears as the decay of winter descends. This is a book to curl up to with candle light when the storm takes out the electricity. Or… maybe, that might just send you over the edge into madness. Read at your own risk, right?

I took this risk on this novella. I usually hesitate to spend money or time on independently published fiction; the gamble so often doesn’t pay off. But Mullins is a talented writer. With very few words, Freshwater Fire summons the smell of decay and manifests humanity’s darkest fears: that we are not alone in this world and worse, we are not as invincible as we would like to believe. Mullins builds a devastating sense of futility that the reader cannot shake off. This is a classic gothic horror.

The tale revolves around a lighthouse and its new keepers, sailors who quickly find the isolation of their task is more than a mental exercise in surviving entrapment. Their fears are more than simply psychological, they are real and monstrous. For readers who enjoy mythology, paranormal elements, and psychological thrillers, Freshwater Fire will deliver a satisfying reward.

The story aside, Mullins’ characters are fleshy, their dialogue and fear is palpable. Their reactions to their circumstances are more than plausible, revealing Mullins’ deep understanding of the human psyche and the lengths we will go, not only to survive but must do to overcome our fears. Terrifying as this novella is, it is also inspiring.

I look forward to Mullins’ other novels! They are on my wish list!

The Blackout of Markus Moore: A Psychological Thriller (Novel) by Dan Grylles

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The Blackout of Markus Moore: A Novel by Dan Grylles

As I expand my literary horizons out to self-published and independently published novels, I find myself also drawn to genres I wouldn’t normally choose for myself, in this case, thrillers. I’ve only ever occasionally read mysteries and thrillers, though in retrospect, after reading them I find I’ve deeply enjoyed the suspense.

Suspense is one of the appeals of The Blackout of Markus Moore and it has it in abundance. Indeed its mystery is spun out to the very end. For readers who enjoy domestic thrillers, reflective and tortured unreliable narrators, and edge-of-your-seat urgency, this is the novel for you.

The novel opens — and reads — like a blockbuster film, with a bang (literally) and the blackout of the its eponymous protagonist. Markus is blind to his past, to his present, and finds himself chasing who he is just as much as he finds himself being chased relentlessly by others. This is a man born under an unlucky sign, but there is the possibility that he has designed this complicated constellation himself — and is now the victim of his own making. Readers may find themselves both rooting for and against Markus; even he himself isn’t entirely sure of his role in all this mess. I will leave it to the reader to discover the outcomes themselves.

But they should know there is little time to catch their breath; the novel accelerates, rather than slows down. There is no lull in this thriller. Moreoever, it culminates in an unpredictable, surprise ending. At 256 pages, the novel delivers its payload quickly, which, for some readers who dread heart palpitations, this will be a relief. Though, I imagine, most readers who favor thrillers will love the breath-catching factor of this novel.

Grylles’ prose sets the quick pace of the novel; it is straightforward and succinct, even while it permits the reader — and the novel’s characters — time to ruminate and reflect on events. This is a plot driven novel which proceeds much as a film of its genre would, with one thing leading catastrophically to another. That said, its characters — Markus, Maria, Clark, and even Jackie — are fully fleshed out individuals, visible to the reader both in terms of their physical representations and as players in the fatal cat and mouse game that runs Markus into a frenzy.

Overall, The Blackout of Markus Moore is well-crafted, both in its delivery and conceptualization, a true seat-gripper of a thriller. Readers who would like to purchase it may find it on Amazon here in paperback for $11.99 or read it as an ebook via Kindle Unlimited (subscription required).