Summertime
Armchair Adventures
Written
by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Whether you’re relaxing at the beach
or in your own backyard, summertime is the perfect time to read a good mystery
or thriller…especially if you’re looking for an armchair adventure.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and
Patti Kishel pulled out all the stops with these books for your reading lineup.
So, settle into your favorite chair or hammock, grab a cool drink, and get
ready for a wave of excitement and thrills.
Above the Bay of Angels, by Rhys Bowen, “is intriguing and mysterious,” says Sunny.
Patti loved the historical novel’s story of a young woman who assumes another
woman’s identity to become a cook in Queen Victoria’s palace – a recipe for
blackmail and murder. Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award and Anthony Award
for Best Historical Mystery, Bowen “is a master of her genre,” says Library
Journal
American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins, about a mother and her young son being
chased by a violent Mexican drug cartel as they try to get to El Norte, is
“extraordinary,” says Stephen King of this novel selected for Oprah’s Book
Club. Patti was swept up in the story and the suspense as the pair struggles to
elude its pursuers with nothing but courage and their wits to guide them
Camino Winds, by John Grisham, puts a group of mystery authors together
on Camino Island, Florida, in the middle of a hurricane – and a murder…of one
of their own, a successful thriller writer. With no shortage of suspects and
the police busy with the aftermath of the storm, it’s up to the authors to
figure out whodunit. Grisham fans are sure to enjoy this chance to return to
Camino Island for more mayhem.
A Dangerous Man, by Robert Crais, is a mystery you can bank on, starting
with the kidnapping of a bank teller that pulls detecting buddies Joe Pike and
Elvis Cole into a case that includes corporate whistle-blowing and the witness
relocation program. As the plot unfolds, nothing or anyone is as it seems. The
Wall St. Journal calls the book a “tense and involving saga...of relentless
suspense.”
Elevator Pitch, by Linwood Barclay, is a book that will have you taking
the stairs…at least until you’ve finished reading it and know who’s rigging
high-rise elevators to plummet to the ground. Fast-moving from the first page, The
New York Journal of Books says, “Linwood Barclay delivers another
high-octane thriller.”
The Fox, by Frederick Forsyth, is the latest spy novel from a grand
master of espionage stories, who knows how to deftly weave a plot and tie the
strings together. Forsyth, the author of
The Day of the Jackal, sets his sights on government secrets this time with a
teenage computer hacker at the center of the action and geopolitical dominance
in the balance. The Washington Post lauds it as “a fast, tremendously
entertaining read.
Freefall, by Jessica Barry, keeps the pace going. After a woman
survives a plane crash in the Colorado Rockies, she not only has to contend
with the wilderness, but the ruthless killer who’s stalking her. Patti’s sister
Eileen Ferris says the book “is so good. There’s lots of action, some
clever escapist moves, and a plot that could happen in real life."
The Guest List, by Lucy Foley, has an unexpected addition to the wedding
party – a dead body. Set on an island off the coast of Ireland, Foley “builds
her suspense slowly and creepily, deploying an array of narrators bristling
with personal secrets,” says The New York Times of this mystery that’s
being compared to Agatha Christie’s classics. A June pick of Reese’s Book Club,
it’s perfect for cozying up with a glass of iced tea.
The Holdout, by Graham Moore, picks up ten years after Maya Seale, a
holdout juror, changed the course of a murder trial with her not guilty vote.
But, was she right? Now, when a true crime docu-series shines the light on the
jurors and one of them is found dead in Seale’s hotel room, she’s the one
facing trial. Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline loved the “page-turning legal
thriller with a twisty, absolutely riveting plot.”
Stop at Nothing, by Michael Ledwidge, starts the action when a Gulfstream jet
goes down in the Bahamas carrying a fortune in cash and diamonds. When diver
Michael Gannon finds the wreckage, he’s focused more on the loot than the six
dead men on the plane…or the bad guys coming after him. Ledwidge – a writing
partner with mega-selling author James Patterson – weaves a plot that doesn’t
stop.
With so many exciting books to read,
there’s a sea of adventure waiting for you to discover.
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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to
this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them
at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to
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