My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Korede is a hard-working, reliable nurse in Logos, Nigeria. Her sister Ayoola is selfish, beautiful, and has a habit of disposing of boyfriends in a very permanent way. When Ayoola calls Korede to come help her dispose of the body of her latest boyfriend, Korede tells herself this is the last time she cover up for her sister even as she is bleaching the bathroom tiles. It’s not just the physical clean-up, though. Korede has to monitor Ayoola’s social media posts to ensure she maintains the image of a woman mourning the loss of her “missing” boyfriend.

Korede sees her workplace as the refuge from the rest of her life where her smarts and competence will always be eclipsed by Ayoola’s beauty. At the hospital she is respected and valued for the work she does, and she just knows that the handsome Doctor Tade she works with will soon realize that they are a perfect match. When Ayoola shows up at the hospital, everything goes wrong. Tade is immediately smitten with Ayoola, and Ayoola loves the attention she receives from the handsome and wealthy doctor. Korede must decide whether she should warn Tade, try to stop Ayoola, or stand back and hope for the best.

I picked this book up expecting a thriller about a female serial killer, a novel topic but not entirely groundbreaking. What I got was a darkly funny and insightful look at sibling rivalry, love, gender roles, and Nigerian politics. I couldn’t put it down!

-Portia Kapraun

The Gone World

This book almost defies description. It's not for everyone, but it sure checked a lot of boxes for me: time traveling science fiction, thriller crime novel, strong female lead character. It's a genre-crossing, roller coaster ride through time and space. Shannon Moss, when we meet her in 1997, is an investigator with NCIS who has been trained in the Navy's top-secret black ops Deep Waters program, which involves travel to and exploration of Deep Space and Deep Time. She is called to investigate the murder of a family, the wife and children of Navy SEAL Patrick Mursult, and the disappearance of his eldest daughter. Although Mursult is considered the prime suspect, Moss learns that he had traveled to Deep Time on a secret mission back in the 1980s, and his ship never returned home. So he shouldn't even have been alive on Earth to commit the murders. Her supervisors decide to send her into Deep Time, into one of many possible future time streams, to see if she can find any clues to help solve the Mursult murders. Another thread that is always a vital part of Deep Waters investigations is the fact that many trips to Deep Time and Space have revealed what they call the Terminus, the end of the world. The year of the Terminus seems to be receding closer to their own, real time, which they call terra firma (1997). Moss's travels back and forth between 1997, 2015, and 2016 reveal that the family's murders were part of a much bigger plan involving a mutinous group of Navy SEALs who know about the Terminus. She meets many versions of people she knows in these various time streams, and it's utterly fascinating to see how an individual life can play out differently in many disparate scenarios.The descriptions of the science behind time travel could be too much mind-boggling detail for some readers, and the violence depicted is not for the squeamish, but the story is brilliantly written, totally unique, and absolutely
worth the effort. You'll never look at coincidences and deja vu quite the same way again!

Kelly Currie

The English Wife by Lauren Willig

   Set in the Gilded Age of New York, The English Wife is a plot-twisting masterpiece.  I would compare this novel to Downton Abbey or Agatha Christie's, Murder on the Orient Express. Each character is incredibly diverse in terms of personality, and the character development is remarkably done.

  Bayard Van Duyvil is a prominent member of society.  He met a burlesque actress by the name of Annabelle Lacey during his visit to England. Through their friendship, they fell in love and married. When Annabelle became pregnant, Bay focused on building a home for his family.  Bay was introduced to an architect by the name of Daniel and started to plan the re-creation of Annabelle's childhood home in England. The two spent countless amount of hours working together and formed a very close relationship.

   Annabelle persuaded Bay into having Daniel move in so that he could focus on finishing the estate. Rumors of Annabelle and the architect having an affair arose. When Mother Van Duyvil heard about the arrangements, she was outraged and demanded that Bay reconsider. Bay refused to let his tyrannical mother run his household. When finished, Bay and Annabelle held a costume ball for New York's finest to come and celebrate the occasion.  During the ball, Janie found her brother Bay with his dagger in his chest and uttered his last word "George", and Annabelle missing.  Bayard's sister Janie is determined to solve the mystery because something wasn't settling well with the incident. She forms an unlikely alliance with an Irish journalist James Burke and finds out more than she anticipated. Recommended for those who love a great historical thriller.
     

"I don't bother myself about gossip. What is it that they call it? The last resort of the idle? I am surprised that you pay attention to such things, Mother Van Duyvil." 

~Annabelle Lacey

~Dani Green

Camp So-and So by Mary McCoy

The cover of this novel immediately drew me in and I could tell that it would be an entertaining and mysterious story. The description also intrigued me as it described a camp that apparently doesn’t actually exist yet letters were sent out that included pictures of teens rock climbing, playing sports, and having a wonderful time at a lakeside camp. What is this camp and why are they inviting teens to come stay? Who is the person who created this camp and what are their intentions?

The author tells the story through several voices and each of the five camp cabins has a completely different story and they all intersect at certain points. It can be confusing deciphering between the stories but it adds to the mystery of what is actually happening to these campers. Every type of typical teen character can be found in this book which gives a variety of emotions and views on what is happening.

Not only do we hear the stories of each of the cabins that are located at Camp So-and-So, there is a secretive and luxurious camp across the lake from Camp So-and-So. Both camps participate in certain games to see who will win the opportunity to stay at the luxurious camp and the games get intense, strange, and possibly dangerous.

Written like a play and separated into acts, the story begins with introducing different characters from the cabins of Camp So-and-So and some of the cabins experience violence and difficult situations that create suspense for the reader. Tension is felt after the campers immediately start noticing strange things happening, such as a girl who disappears, horrible food that is barely edible, and accommodations that are barely livable. This is not the camp that they thought they would be at. The story starts to get intense after you find out there are stage hands and other adults who are roaming around behind the scenes.

If you enjoy camp stories, mysteries, or suspenseful stories, check out Camp So-and-So from the teen room today. You will stay up all night trying to find out what is going to happen to these campers. 

-Lauren

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Mind bending and mind boggling, this is a unique take on the traditional suspense thriller. I loved trying to stretch my brain around Jason Dessen's predicament, existing in the "multiverse." Can you imagine another version of you operating in a parallel universe? The idea is that every time you make an observable choice, another version of you branches off into another universe. Infinitely. One taking the choice, and the other making a different choice. Think of the trunk of a tree branching off over and over. And then imagine that you could access all those infinite worlds. It's enough to give you a major headache, right? Well, don't worry, you don't have to figure it out; the genius physicist Jason Dessen can do that for you. Jason Dessen is pulled into the multiverse and then struggles mightily to find his world again. This means traveling to all these worlds and seeing versions of himself and his family, sometimes behaving badly. When you read Dark Matter you're just along for the ride. And it's a thrilling one. This book will be published in July, but you can get your name on the hold list at the library NOW! P.S. Blake Crouch is the author of the Wayward Pines books and tv series. He likes weird stuff.

Submitted by Kelly Currie

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

After the death of a family member and former pen pal, Delia and her family take a trip to renovate the house Aunt Cordelia left for Delia. This is no ordinary house and the family has no idea what horrors this former mental institute for unstable women holds beneath the surface.

Formerly the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females, known by locals as “Hysteria Hall”, is filled with spirits of former residents and employees who have been trapped for decades. This building also houses something dark and sinister that traps Delia on the property forever.

This horror story is filled with mystery and thrills. You get to know the history of “Hysteria Hall” and follow Delia’s journey in the afterlife. When family and former friends visit the house, she must fight the strong, dangerous force that is responsible for her untimely demise. Will she be able to save the ones she loves from an eternity at this asylum? What will become of the poor souls who have been trapped for decades? Why does Delia possess powers that nobody else does? To find the answers to these questions, pick up Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall from the Teen Room today.

-Lauren

"Thriller" is an understatement!

Wow! That's my review. Wow! I don't really need to say more. However, I will add that this book is one of those that makes you stay up later than you should because you just have to read the next chapter. Yes it is about the plague, and rats and fleas, but you also get an interesting glimpse of a part of WW2 history you might be totally unaware of-Japanese biological warfare and human testing. That's what I love- a fiction book that holds your attention and is educational at the same time.

You won't be disappointed when you read, Plague Maker by Tim Downs. I promise you, the characters are endearing, believable, and the writing is superb. Would make a great motion picture.