Thrilling Thrillers! 5 ‘Hidden Gems’ from January 2019
By: Hidden Gems on March 12, 2019
Hidden Gems subscribers had a plethora of thrillers to enjoy in January. We’ve picked five of our reader favorites to share with you today! And, remember – you’ll receive FREE reading copies of the latest thrillers – plus your choice of books from 15 other genres – when you sign up for our program.
Judgment Call by JC Ryan
If you’re a fan of military courtroom drama, you’re in for a treat with this book, by former soldier and lawyer JC Ryan. It tells the tale of brilliant Jamie Gibbons, who relentlessly tries to clear the name of her wrongly-convicted husband, and stumbles into a web of conspiracy as she follows all the clues to get to the bottom of this quagmire of lies and deceit.
“I enjoyed this book about the perfect family with the perfect life until … The husband is charged with murder!” Writes Amazoncustomer in his 5-star review. “Well written with well developed characters and fast paced. I found the story engaging and fit the ‘suspense thriller’ genre beautifully. A few twists and turns in the right places are to the enjoyment. I appreciated that the action scenes weren’t long and drug out as many writers tend to do. You can only read about a punch, a shot, a head bashing, or car chase so many times before you have to start skipping through it. Not a problem with Judgement Call.”
Review graycat98 writes: “A well-written story with plenty of suspense and unanswered plot twists…until the end. The characters are well developed and Judge St. Claire, the younger is sympathetic, but stubborn throughout the story. Highly recommended read.”
The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden
I personally enjoyed Freida McFadden’s daunting thriller because it’s got a really solid, straightforward and frighteningly scary premise – of a woman desperate for a child, who turns to a surrogate who turns out not to be the person she’d presented herself as. The book is fast paced, surprisingly humorous for a thriller, and full of twists and turns.
In her 5-star review, Liz writes: ” I thought the plot was going to be predictable, but there were some unexpected twists and lots of humor sprinkled in. The novel is suspenseful, but not dark and disturbing. I highly recommend this book, along with all of the author’s other novels, especially Brain Damaged.”
Guinevere Tailor also write a 5-star review: “It was my first Freida McFadden novel and I’ll definitely be reading more. I actually read it in one sitting, that’s how much of a page turner it is. I don’t want to give too much away, since like a Hitchcock movie it’s better to know as little as possible going into the story. And I didn’t see the ending coming, which is hard to do in this day and age so bravo author!”
The First Time I Died by Jo Macgregor
Author Jo Macgregor is a counselling psychologist specializing in victims of crime and trauma, which sets her up to paint an incredibly vivid portrait of heroine Garnet, who is seemingly resurrected while attempting to solve a decade-old murder, and begins experiencing chilling paranormal visions afterward.
Jo’s visceral style of writing earned her consistently high praise. Reviewer K Szabo wrote this 5-star review: “I used to chew my nails and I could feel Garnet’s pain whenever she messed with her fingers. Knowing it was a murder mystery, I tried to pay attention to all the clues. Sometimes I forgot because the characters, town and story were so interesting. This is the second book of Jo’s that I have read and her background in counseling brings extra levels of interest to her writing. ”
Reviewer justinliam loved the storyline and pace, writing: “Well developed characters, young love, an unsolved crime, paranormal elements and a really, really, good story will have you staying up to read this well past bed time. I am intentionally leaving out too many details as this story is best left to unfold on the pages. Take it from me you will want to hear more from Garnet McGee, the books protagonist, AND you’ll be searching for other books from this author!”
Hearing Evil by Jason Parent
Jason Parent’s Cycle of Evil series has already won fans among Hidden Gem subscribers (we recommended it in October of last year.) This January, a new audience was given the opportunity to enter Parent’s fast-paced fictional universe and meet clairvoyant teenager Michael; who wishes nothing more than to be free of his ‘gift’ of seeing the future. In this second book, Michael tries to uncover what happened to his parents – and gave him his ability at the tender age of three – but discovers far more than he’d bargained for.
Reviewer K.A.Y. was already a fan of the series, and in her 5-star review writes: “When I began reading this book, I was immediately swept back into the characters’ lives, picking up where they had left off in Seeing Evil. Parent stays true to the characters he’s developed, with decisions that are consistent with what his readers have come to “expect” from them. Overall, a great book that crosses over into the thriller, crime, police-procedural, and supernatural genres. Each scene and character felt necessary to advancing the story–sometimes in more than one direction. The characters that we already ‘know’ stay true to themselves, and their growth and adaption seems a natural process, rather than one forced upon them. Highly recommended, to be read following Seeing Evil.”
meggiepoo is a well-known thriller reviewer, and gave this book 5-stars as well, writing: “I couldn’t put it down, because the plot was moving so fast, it literally felt like I’d miss something if I stopped reading. And there’s no way that I could have predicted how the plot would go – it kept me guessing all the way through! I also liked that the title was Hearing Evil – knowing how Michael’s gift works, the title of the first book made sense to me, and I was curious to see how the “hearing” part would come into play. No spoilers, but trust me, it’s an apt title.”
Seals of Eternity by Edita A. Petrick
Edita Petrick has developed quite the loyal following for her Peacetaker series, which follows the adventures of historian Stella and her husband Carter. In this sixth book in the series, the two of them – and their whole family – travel to Miami; only to stumble into the path of an ancient and eternal evil hell-bent on escaping exile on Earth.
In his 5-star review, Todd Simpson praises the book: “This was such an enjoyable book to read. A great plot, outstanding characters, with plenty of twists and turns. I know how much I’m enjoying a book when I’m disappointed when I must put it down, and this was certainly one of those. I had to stop myself from skipping forward to the end to see what happened, and I’m glad I did as it was worth the wait.”
Amazon Customer was similarly impressed, writing: “Edita has created another great adventure with the lovable main characters Stella and Carter who always keep the action interesting. The story line is extraordinary and the author’s very descriptive style had me hooked! It’s hard to describe without spoiling you and only repeating the blurb isn’t useful either – so I only can highly recommend this book to you. Read it yourself and build your own opinion.”
If you’re a fan of thrillers, you’ll receive the opportunity to read FREE books just like the ones featured above – plus your choice of 15 other genres – when you sign up to Hidden Gems!
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