Top Ten Tuesday 2/28/23: Genre Freebie-My Favorite Thrillers

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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Hello and Happy Tuesday. This week’s topic was too fun to miss out on: Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it. It could be a list of favorites, a to-read list, recommendations for people interested in reading books in that genre, “if you like this, try this”, etc.)

I love a good thrilling book to get my heart racing. This genre can branch out in so many different directions, supernatural, mystery, crime and suspense, and I really love a good, gritty, psychological thriller to keep me guessing. Today Otis and I are adding to your TBR mountain, so without further ado, here’s our:
Top 10 Favorite Thrillers with a few extra books snuck in here and there.


1. The Outsider by Stephen King
Was this book phenomenal? Yes it was. And the mini-series was awesome too. I read then watched this at the height of the pandemic and it really helped get my mind off stressful things.


2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
I’ve read all 3 books by this author, watched all 3 film adaptations of her books and I have been waiting, wishing and praying she writes another full-length novel. I wish I could read Dark Places again for the first time, that’s how amazing this book was. It’s dark, twisted, sad and an absolute thrill ride. Gillian Flynn is an easy favorite of mine in this genre.


3. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Another Gillian Flynn novel that had me captivated! I won’t include Gone Girl on this list in order to make room for other authors, but Gone Girl could easily be on this list.


4.The Taking by Dean Koontz, and so many more of his books like the Odd Thomas series and Life Expectancy, because I can always enjoy a dash of science-fiction and suspense in with my thrillers. I never get tired of telling the story about how Dean Koontz is awesome. He personally autographed and mailed me a first edition hard cover copy of The Taking after I wrote him a fan mail with a small crocheted elephant I made for him. I still remember standing in my kitchen completely stunned and silent for several minutes when I opened a package from Dean Koontz himself.




5.Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
I’ve read a few Karin Slaughter books and this is by far my favorite of hers. I was on the edge of my seat late into the night reading.


6.Later by Stephen King
Another King book for my list, this one is a coming-of-age paranormal thriller that had me hooked. I co-read this with my daughter. She’s not a King fan, but she really enjoyed this one.


7.Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
No top crime thriller book list would be complete without Lisa Jewell. This book is one of my favorites of hers.


8.Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan
This is one of 2 books I’ve read by this author, and she tends to have slow starts to her books but once they take off I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.


9.Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler #1) by Nancy Mehl
The protagonist in this one is an FBI behavior analyst who is also the daughter of a notorious serial killer. This one was so good.


10.Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson.
I’m including these together since they kick off the Alex cross series and both were fantastic. I read book 3 in the series but didn’t enjoy it as much.


It was so hard stopping at just 10 so I’m sneaking in one more book.
11. Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke
This one was a creepy, twisted thriller that shocked me at the end. I still remember finishing this book while sitting outside of Starbucks and not wanting to gasp too loudly since I was reading in public.


That wraps up my Top 10+ thrillers. What books would make your list? Have you read any of these?

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is available for download. The photos here are my own and not be to be removed from this post.

When the Day Comes (Timeless Book 1) by Gabrielle Meyer

source: Bethany House / Twitter
title: When the Day Comes
author: Gabrielle Meyer
published: May 3, 2022
pages: 373
genre: Christian historical fiction romance
first line: For as long as I could remember, my mama had told me that my life was a gift.
rated: Sweet historical fiction with a dash of romance and time travel.
4 out of 5 stars



blurb:
Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she possibly decide when she has so much to lose?

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my thoughts:
I meant to read When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer last year and I’m glad I finally got to it. This was a sweet, moving, historical romance with a dash of time-travel in the mix that had me hooked until I turned the final page. This is book 1 in the Timeless Series.

At the heart of the story is Libby who is turning 21 in about a year. Libby is a time-crosser which means she lives simultaneously in two different time periods. She wakes up 1774 Colonial Williamsburg one day and then goes to sleep at night and wakes up in 1914 as a socialite in New York City the next day. She awakens daily alternating between these two time periods, which are so different from one another. In one time frame she is wealthy but unhappy, in the other time period her family struggles financially but she’s happy. On her 21st birthday, which is 13 months away, Libby needs to pick a time period to stay in permanently. This means she will have to leave one of her lives behind, including her friends and family in that life. In the timeline Libby chooses to leave behind she’ll pass away in her sleep on her 21st birthday, so it’s a hard choice for her to make knowing she’ll be breaking her loved one’s hearts in the process.

I can’t really say too much without including spoilers but the American history nerd in me loved this book through and through. The author does a fantastic job at doing her research in setting the story up in Williamsburg Virginia 1774 on the cusp of the American Revolution and in New York City and England 1914 as WW1 is about to begin. The 1914 and the 1774 settings both jump to life within these pages. Libby is pretty much experiencing two pivotal wars in history at the same time. American history and the sacrifices people have made for liberty is also at the center front of the story. Libby works hard to help others in both of her timelines.

The story flowed and the descriptive settings transported me through time and place. The cast of supporting characters like Libby’s mom and her father and her 1774 love interest Henry, all added to the storyline. The story had plenty of twists and turns and I wondered how Libby would choose a permanent era to stay in.

This is also Christian fiction and the main theme in this story is that what is meant to be, will be. Libby’s faith gets her through the tough times and on looking back in the end, she sees why things turned out the way they did. As Libby’s story comes to a conclusion, the ending also leaves it wide open for the next book in this series.

I loved the heartfelt way the story turned out and how the author wrapped it all up and gave us a nice surprise at the end. In reading the afterword I discovered Gabrielle Meyer began writing When the Day Comes in 2020 while having some health issues herself and I can see how this influenced the way the story went. I recommend When the Day Comes if you enjoy well researched historical fiction with faith, romance, time travel and family drama in the mix. I really enjoyed this one.

“Just ahead, the Raleigh Tavern loomed. It was a large establishment by Williamsburg’s standards, but it was even larger in my imagination. It was one of the most important places in American history and would play a part in the outcome of democracy.
A group of men exited the building as I approached, including George Washington and Henry Montgomery, among others.”– p,150, When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

“Freedom isn’t stagnant or guaranteed. It lives and breathes and must be defended constantly. Don’t take it for granted. Fight for it, both in the public and private spheres of your life. And always look for ways to help.”- p. 311 When the Day Comes

about the author
Gabrielle Meyer grew up above a carriage house on a historic estate near the banks of the Mississippi River, imagining real and make-believe stories about the occupants who had lived there. She went on to work for the Minnesota Historical Society and loves writing fiction inspired by real people, places, and events. She currently resides in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River, not far from where she grew up, with her husband and four children. By day, she’s a busy homeschool mom, and by night she pens fiction and non-fiction filled with hope. Learn more about Gabrielle and her writing by visiting http://www.gabriellemeyer.com. – quoted from Goodreads

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Special thanks to Bethany House for my copy of When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer.

My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife

source: purchased
title: My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife A Library of America Special Publication
genre: historical non fiction
published: October 18, 2018 by Library Of America
pages:166
first line: My Dear Julia

about:
The Civil War’s greatest general as you’ve never seen him before—a revealing collection of letters written by Ulysses S. Grant to his wife Julia, introduced by Ron Chernow.

Ulysses S. Grant is justly celebrated as the author of one of the finest military autobiographies ever written, yet many readers of his Personal Memoirs are unaware that during his army years Grant wrote hundreds of intimate and revealing letters to his wife, Julia Dent Grant.

Presented with an introduction by acclaimed biographer Ron Chernow, My Dearest Julia collects more than eighty of these letters, beginning with their engagement in 1844 and ending with the Union victory in 1865. They record Grant’s first experience under fire in Mexico (“There is no great sport in having bullets flying about one in every direction but I find they have less horror when among them than when in anticipation”), the aching homesickness that led him to resign from the peacetime army, and his rapid rise to high command during the Civil War.

Often written in haste, sometimes within the sound of gunfire, his wartime letters vividly capture the immediacy and uncertainty of the conflict. Grant initially hoped for an early conclusion to the fighting, but then came to accept that the war would have no easy end. “The world has never seen so bloody or so protracted a battle as the one being fought,” he wrote from Spotsylvania in 1864, “and I hope never will again.”

my thoughts:
I purchased a copy of My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife this summer while visiting Grant Cottage. This is a collection of 84 letters that Grant wrote to his wife Julia while he was in active service. The letters begin while he and Julia were engaged and he was fighting in the Mexican American War and go on through the Civil War up until his final letter to Julia that he wrote at what is now known as Grant Cottage.

I’m a history buff and I find anything Civil War related to be really interesting. I’m a fan of Ulysses S. Grant, he’s a fascinating historical figure. What makes him a favorite is that when I first started reading and learning more about him, his love for his wife Julia and for his family really stood front and center.

I enjoyed this collection of his letters because they provide a first hand/in real time account of what was going on during these battles. I found it fascinating that Grant was taking the time to write these letters to his wife from battlefields, with everything that was going on around him. I suppose writing to her was therapeutic for him during immensely stressful and scary times. The first letters were written during his 2 year engagement to Julia, and you see him really focusing on her getting her parents permission to marry him and he keeps bringing up his speaking to her father about it. You can tell Grant was worried her family wouldn’t approve of him. As the letters go on they are married with children and the loving tone of the letters is the same, but he’s worried about her and the children and he’s always writing about seeing them, whether Julia can visit him etc. He sends her money he wants her to make sure the children have a good teacher and are learning etc. You see Grant as a father and husband in these letters.

I found this to be a great collection, I’m glad Julia saved the letters. I wish the publisher would have included maybe a note as to where the letters were taking place. I wound up googling certain dates for context. For example, each letter starts with Grant naming the date and place: “Tacabaya Mexico, January 9th 1848”, so I would search dates and places to get an idea of where Grant was at that time and what was going on. I wouldn’t be able to rate someone’s letters, but I’d give this a 5 out of 5 because you get an intimate and interesting glimpse into Grant’s personal life. You also see what a great writer Ulysses S. Grant was. The last letter included is one of Grant’s final ones to Julia when he knew the end was near and it once again shows you how till the very end Grant was all about his family. Do I have a slight Ulysses S. Grant crush? Perhaps.

“I hope dearest that you had a very pleasant trip. I know that you have thought of me very often. I have dreamed of you several times since we parted.” Detroit Michigan April 27th 1849– My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife, p. 65

In going away now I feel as if I had some one else than myself to live and strive and do well for. You can have but little idea of the infulance you have over me Julia, even while so far away.” N. Orleans Barracks La. July 11th 1845– My Dearest Julia p. 19

“I feel proud of the Army at my command. They have marched day and night, without tents and with irregular rations without a murmur of complaints. I write in very great haste.” Grand Gulf Miss. May 3rd 1863– My Dearest Julia p. 121

“The world has never seen so bloody or so protracted a battle as the one being fought and I hope never will again. The enemy were really whipped yesterday but their situation is desperate beyond anything heretofore known. To loose this battle they lose their cause. As bad as it is they have fought for it with a gallantry worthy of a better.” Near Spotsylvania C. H, Va. May 13th 1864 – My Dearest Julia p. 133


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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife.

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

source: purchased
title: Interview with the Vampire author: Anne Rice
genre: paranormal horror
published: 1976
pages: 350
first line: “I see…”
rated: 5 out of 5 stars

book blurb:
This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside….

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My thoughts: *slight spoilers*
Interview with the Vampire is my favorite vampire novel because it’s beautifully written, dramatic and it really is unforgettable. This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed every minute of it. I can see myself reading it again one day.
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about this one plus I don’t want to include spoilers so I’ll keep my review short and to the point. The story starts off in modern day as Louis de Pointe du Lac is telling his life story starting from New Orleans 1791. He tells of how he met Lestat de Lioncourt who turns him into a vampire and everything that unfolds after this event.

I loved Interview the second time around even more than the first. I had almost forgotten how creepy Claudia was, the descriptions of her were chilling. Louis describes her as a demonic doll at one point. I loved to hate Lestat as usual. He’s so nonchalant about many things yet you see how much he needs Louis although he tries to hide it. The relationship between this little vampire family was intriguing and messed up on many levels.

Anne Rice does a fantastic job at bringing these characters to life to the point where the reader can almost see and hear them. If I had to pick a favorite I think I’d pick Louis because he is so dramatic but because he also tries so hard to hang onto his humanity. He spends so much time searching for answers as to his existence and he feels guilt at having to drink human blood. He loves Claudia and don’t get me started on Armand.

This one is a classic, I’ve only read the first 2 in the Vampire Chronicals but I plan on reading more. And of course the film version is a favorite and was perfectly cast. Have you read this one or seen the movie?

“It was as if all figures walked and talked on the desolate home of my damned soul.” p.77, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

“For I was so attuned to her; I loved her so completely; she was so much the companion of my waking hour, the only companion that I had, other than death.”p.105, Interview With the Vampire

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.

Later by Stephen King

source: purchased
title: Later
author: Stephen King
published: March 2, 2021
pages: 264
genre: crime fiction/paranormal horror first line: I don’t like to start with an apology-there’s probably even a rule against it, like never ending a sentence with a preposition-but after reading over the thirty pages I’ve written so far, I feel like I have to.
rated:
5 out of 5 stars

Blurb:

SOMETIMES GROWING UP MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine—as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King’s classic novel It, LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.

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My thoughts:

Out of the hundred or so books on my TBR I randomly grabbed my copy of Later by Stephen King and wound up nearly finishing it in one sitting this past Sunday.

Although this is advertised as one of his hard case crime books like Joyland and The Colorado Kid I’d say Later is more a mix of coming of age story, horror and a paranormal ghost story. Inside this book were some of the creepiest scenes I’ve read and I’ve read a decent amount of horror over the years.

The story centers around young Jamie Conklin who lives in NYC with his single mother who is a literary agent. Adult Jamie narrates his story. He has an ability that sets him apart. Without giving too much away, the book revolves around Jamie and his mom while his unique gift is at times an odd blessing in disguise but also a curse. King has a way of writing child characters who are endearing to the reader and I was rooting for Jamie as I read. The story is really mainly about him.

Reminiscent of the film The Sixth Sense Later was an engaging and thrilling story that I found hard to put down. There’s nods to It in the storyline and the creepy plot twisted and turned and shocked me more than once. I also enjoyed the NYC setting. While I read some mixed reviews on this one, I really enjoyed it. I was entertained throughout and nearly finished it in one sitting which is what I expect from a good book. This was a solid scary read and I recommend it to fans of paranormal horror. It was not too long at just a little over 250 pages so it was a nice quick dose of horror during a busy week.

“I thought of asking her if it freaked her out to look up at night and see the stars and know they go on forver and ever, but didn’t bother. I just said no. You get used to marvelous things. You take them for granted. You can try not to but you do. there’s too much wonder, that’s all. It’s everywhere.-p 90, Later by Stephen King

About the author:
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, MR MERCEDES, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both MR MERCEDES and END OF WATCH received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.

King co-wrote the bestselling novel Sleeping Beauties with his son Owen King, and many of King’s books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald’s Game and It.

King was the recipient of America’s prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine. -quoted from Amazon.com

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of Later by Stephen King. Some of these links are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. The first book photo here is my own.