5 books not to miss: Thrillers ‘The Kill Club,’ ‘A Small Town’ and ‘Relentless’
In search of something good to read? USA TODAY's Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases.
1. “The Kill Club,” by Wendy Heard (MIRA, fiction, on sale Dec. 17)
What it’s about: Twenty-eight-year-old Jasmine “Jazz” Benavides will do anything to save her little brother from their dangerous foster mother. When the law fails her, she’s contacted by an underground group of “helpers” who will eliminate the abuser in her life – if she agrees to kill a stranger herself.
The buzz: “Fans of ‘Stranger on the Train’ scenarios will find much to like,” says Publishers Weekly.
2. “A Small Town,” by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press, fiction, on sale Dec. 17)
What it’s about: A plan is hatched by 12 conspirators to open the gates of a prison, loosing hundreds of convicts on the small town of Weldonville to rob, rape and murder. Two years later, the prison-break plotters still haven’t been caught. Now it’s Detective. Lt. Leah Hawkins’ job to find them – and kill them.
The buzz: “A superior live-action version of the Road Runner cartoons with 12 coyotes and noncartoon violence,” says Kirkus Reviews.
3. “Relentless,” by Shawn Wilson (Oceanview Publishing, fiction, on sale Dec. 17)
What it’s about: It’s cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C., and the city is packed with sightseeing tourists when a young woman’s naked body is found floating in the Tidal Basin. Detective Brian “Brick” Kavanagh is on the case in this solid police procedural.
The buzz: “Wilson … has created a protagonist with the full complement of angst-inducing problems and an appealing white knight sense of decency,” says Publishers Weekly.
4. “Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things,” by Jacqueline Firkins (HMH Books for Young Readers, YA fiction, on sale Dec. 17)
What it’s about: This modern YA retelling of Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park” finds bookish, orphaned Edie Price reluctantly taken in to live with her rich aunt and uncle and their two bratty daughters in Mansfield, Massachusetts. But soon, she’s got two Mansfield boys vying for her attention.
The buzz: “A sweet, gentle modernization of Jane Austen that packs a little subversive punch," says Kirkus Reviews.
5. “Nowhereville: Weird Is Other People,” edited by Scott Gable and C. Dombrowski (Broken Eye Books, fiction, on sale Dec. 17)
What it’s about: An anthology of 19 short tales of speculative urban fiction that blur the line between genres. Featured authors include Cody Goodfellow, Nuzo Onoh, Maura McHugh and Mike Allen.
The buzz: “Remarkably powerful urban tales, each one brilliantly in harmony with the others,” says a starred review in Kirkus Reviews.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New books: Thrillers ‘Kill Club,' 'A Small Town,' 'Relentless'
