David Baldacci attended law school at the University of Virginia, and went on to work as a trial lawyer, and later as a corporate lawyer, in Washington, D.C. He is now a full-time writer whose bestselling novels include Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth and Saving Faith. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.
Tell Me Something True (2026) Michael Robotham "This novel and its characters will stay with me forever. I ached, cried, and laughed and it felt like I bled right along with them. No one will ever forge a flawless novel, but with Tell Me Something True, Robotham has gotten as close to it as I've ever seen."
Die Famous (2026) Michael Koryta "Michael Koryta, always a stellar read, has really outdone himself. The depth to which he goes for his full panoply of players is remarkable. And the atmosphere he creates made me keep looking around to make sure I was still safely ensconced in the twenty-first century. I rooted for and against so many different characters, which is a mark of the gifted storyteller, in making fiction seem more real than real is. This will be the bar to which other historical crime fiction will be measured, and I do not say that lightly. In fact, I've never said it before, but I will say this: Read Die Famous the moment it comes out."
Children of the Wild (2026) Kevin Powers "Powers never falters in the belief in his creations' flawed humanity, the power of raw goodness, and the fact that redemption is open to any who genuinely seek it. It is a wonderful, poignant novel that deserves to be on as many shelves and reside in as many hearts as possible."
With a Vengeance (2025) Riley Sager "A clever and fun mashup of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. Sager wields a deft hand in bringing all the elements together into a rip-roaring, tension-filled tale of greed, murder, and revenge. Enjoy the ride on the Phoenix."
The Fury (2024) Alex Michaelides "Alex Michaelides hits the trifecta with his third novel, The Fury. The highly original story structure presents the reader with the king of all unreliable narrators, enough twists and turns to power two novels, and a host of characters that bleed right on the page. For fans of erudite, locked room mysteries told with style and theatrical panache, The Fury will deliver, on all counts."
Anna O (2024) Matthew Blake "A wickedly stunning work. Blake's experience as a screenwriter is on full display here as he ramps up the suspense and carves out his cast of wonderful characters with the skill of a real pro. The twist is one of the best I've read and ranks right up there with The Silent Patient. Sure to be wildly popular and to have fans clamoring for Blake's next work."
The Spy Coast (2023) (Martini Club , book 1) Tess Gerritsen "The Spy Coast is a marvellously plotted read with action-packed pages, G-force twists and turns, and a platoon of fascinating characters. I truly hope to see Maggie Bird and her team of silver-haired helpers on the pages again."
Happiness Falls (2023) Angie Kim "There is a freshness and originality to Angie Kim's work that brings joy to the reader . . . Happiness Falls is another superlative effort in what is fast shaping up to be a remarkable career."
All Of Us Are Broken (2023) (DS Saul Anguish, book 2) Fiona Cummins "All of Us Are Broken is a master class in suspense. . . An adrenaline ride with several layers of profound substance, a reader can't ask for more than that."
Zero Days (2023) Ruth Ware "This is Ruth Ware like you've never read her before. A pulse-pounding opening launches you into a cat and mouse game of deadly intrigue that will push Jack Cross, Ware's new, superb heroine, to her absolute limits. A rocket ride that will satisfy the biggest thriller addicts out there."
Silver Alert (2023) Lee Smith "Silver Alert is Lee Smith at the top of her game, and that is a high bar indeed. It's brilliantly paced with some of the most energetic prose I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The characters of Herb Atlas and Dee Dee are a pair for the ages, who you will long remember after the fall of the last page."
The Good Left Undone (2022) Adriana Trigiani "An exquisite gem of a novel, as it flits between present day and the calamitous times of World War II. No one does historical fiction better than Trigiani. You will fall in love with the characters, especially Matelda Roffo. Godere!"
Her Name is Knight (2021) (Nena Knight, book 1) Yasmin Angoe "A crackerjack story with truly memorable characters. I can’t wait to see what Yasmin Angoe comes up with next."
1979 (2021) (Allie Burns, book 1) Val McDermid "Remarkable and compelling . . . the Queen of Crime has delivered another masterpiece."
Choose Me (2021) Gary Braver and Tess Gerritsen "Choose Me is a whirlwind with sharp, fluid prose and fine depth of character, telling an age-old story with powerful and timely relevancy. Told from alternating perspectives, the story is chilly, creepy, nuanced, layered, a puzzler of the first order, and-above all-poignant. This story will hit home for many. Gerritsen and Braver really nailed this one."
Midwinter Murder (2020) (Murder For All Seasons) Agatha Christie "Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible."
Out of Time (2020) David Klass "A gripping, complex and heart-wrenching story that is as provocative as it is thrilling. Klass can weave a tale like few others."
Ghosts of Harvard (2020) Francesca Serritella "Ghosts of Harvard is written with a masterly, focused hand, belying the fact that this is Serritella’s debut novel. The pages burn with frenetic energy and are peopled by memorable, compelling characters. The tension is palatable, the twists and surprises perfectly timed and the stakes as high as humans should be asked to endure. The end result, a novel you will long remember and characters you will want to see again. A triumph in every respect."
Power Play (2020) (Dempsey/Devlin, book 3) Tony Kent "An intricate, twisty minefield of geopolitics and absolute power gone rogue. Kent has outdone himself with this one."
Hour of the Assassin (2020) Matthew Quirk "Quirk has earned his spot in the front ranks of thriller writers. Opens with a bang and keeps exploding for three hundred pages."
Hide Away (2020) (Rachel Marin, book 1) Jason Pinter "Pinter is in fine form with Hide Away. You’ll burn through the pages."
A Conspiracy of Bones (2020) (Temperance Brennan, book 19) Kathy Reichs "This is Kathy Reichs as you've never read her before. The story starts like a pistol shot and fires nonstop through over three hundred layered pages. The twists are meticulously planned and thrown like bamboozling curves on the edge of the plate. But you will see new layers to the brilliant Tempe Brennan that may surprise you. Read this book. It was created by a master of the genre who knocks it out of the park."
Just Watch Me (2019) (Riley Wolfe, book 1) Jeff Lindsay "Another blockbuster from a can’t-miss master. Enjoy the ride."
The Long Call (2019) (Two Rivers, book 1) Ann Cleeves "As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. She easily exceeded those expectations with The Long Call. Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."
A Dangerous Man (2019) (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 18) Robert Crais "Bob is like a Porsche when it comes to writing. Indeed, it's quite fitting that he drives that model of car. Like the Porsche, his writing is elegant, stylish, funny, can fire on turbos when need be and dive deep when the plot demands it, but this is far and away some of the smoothest writing and best storytelling you'll ever read. He's written a lot of books, but just keeps getting better and better."
This Is Not a Love Scene (2019) S C Megale "Terrific...Megale's prose is refreshingly original, her pacing already at a master level, and her storytelling...will pull hard on every emotion you have."
Raymond Khoury "An alternative history tale that will blow your mind. A story strung along the centuries that is thoroughly engrossing and one you will long remember."
The Escape Artist (2018) (Zig and Nola, book 1) Brad Meltzer "This novel is like a launched torpedo slashing through 400 pages of deep water before reaching impact. Enjoy one of the best thriller rides ever."
Barbed Wire Heart (2018) Tess Sharpe "A terrific novel of suspense, heartbreak, morality and family. Harley McKenna is a remarkable character. The pages will turn themselves and stay with you for a long time."
Orphan X (2016) (Orphan X, book 1) Gregg Hurwitz "Orphan X blows the doors off most thrillers I've read and catapults the readers on a cat-and-mouse that feels like a missile launch. Read this book. You will thank me later."
The Drifter (2016) (Peter Ash, book 1) Nick Petrie "The Drifter is a stunning debut. Peter Ash is one of the most complex characters I've come across in a long time. The pace is like a sniper round, extraordinarily fast and precisely calibrated. The prose is fluid, original and frequently brilliant, the story heart-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. There is grit in this tale that will stay with you for a long time. Perhaps forever. I eagerly await Nick Petrie's next creation."
The Killing Kind (2015) (Michael Hendricks, book 1) Chris Holm "With 'The Killing Kind,' Chris Holm has created a story of rare, compelling brilliance, with a concept so high you'll need oxygen to finish it. Hit man against hit man, one pure silk and evil, the other not exactly good, but we root for him anyway as the classic antihero. This is a one-sitting, extravagant, mind-blowing reading pleasure with a stable of characters who come across as all flesh, bone and folly. You will never look at men hired to kill other humans the same way. You won't merely read this book, you will inhale it."
I Am Pilgrim (2013) Terry Hayes "Hayes delivers muscular prose, sniper-round accurate dialogue and enough superb and original plotting to fill three volumes. He balances it all with the dexterity of the accomplished storyteller that he so obviously is. I Am Pilgrim is simply one of the best suspense novels I've read in a long time."
Breach of Trust (2011) (Jason Kolarich, book 2) David Ellis "A triumph for Ellis and a sheer pleasure for the reader."
Next of Kin (2011) (Scott Finn, book 5) David Hosp "Brilliant, brawny and totally believable."
Think of a Number (2010) (Dave Gurney, book 1) John Verdon "Remarkable... The writing is haunting and quotable, the twists expertly placed and infinitely plausible... You can read the book as a game of cat and mouse, a ride of chilling suspense, or a literary repast, since it provides all in abundance."
Rules of Deception (2008) (Jonathan Ransom, book 1) Christopher Reich "RULES OF DECEPTION packs a wallop. Christopher Reich is at the top of his game."
(Omar Yussef, book 2) Matt Rees "Matt Beynon Rees has taken a complex world of culture clash and suspicion and placed upon it humanity."
The Hundredth Man (2004) (Carson Ryder, book 1) J A Kerley "The Hundredth Man has a crackerjack plot and wonderfully original rapid-fire prose. Jack Kerley is a writer to watch. And read."
The Hunted (2001) (OPSIG Team Black, book 1) Alan Jacobson "A classic cat-and-mouse with enough twists to enthrall even the most veteran thriller reader."
At All Costs (1998) John Gilstrap "That rare beast: A superior page-turner that manages to pull at your heart."
(b.1960)
