Feature image credit: @isabelwriter09

Summer is a time for relaxing and soaking up the sun, sitting poolside with a good book in hand. It is the perfect opportunity to invite a little suspense into your life in contrast to the long, lazy days. Here are some of the hottest thrillers coming out from June to August that are sure to chill your bones in the summer heat. 

July

Hurry Home by Roz Nay

Taking place in a gorgeous resort town in the Rocky Mountains, Hurry Home focuses on a curious relationship between sisters who are bonded by past traumas they do not speak of. Alexandra Van Ness is living the life she’s always dreamt of, in a beautiful loft, working for child services and doing as much as she can to save troubled children. However, her life begins to shift as her estranged sister with a penchant for getting into messes, Ruth, shows up at her door asking for help. The two agree to not bring up the past that has troubled them so much, but it must be inevitably drudged up as the case of a local endangered child comes into play. Hurry Home explores familial love and falsehoods, written in a sharp, suspenseful way that leaves readers guessing at every twist and turn. 

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

After losing her job and her home, Emily Proudman is desperate to make it out of her mess. Scott Denny is a wealthy CEO who is looking for a solution to his own problem. He meets Emily and offers her a summer job as a housekeeper at his French estate, where she lives among his wife, Nina and daughter, Aurelia. Emily lives the carefree life of lounging poolside with endless wine. But, not everything is as idyllic as it appears on the surface, as Emily soon uncovers the secrets of Scott and Nina, which put her life in danger. The “perfect” summer job is never an easy one, as told in this wildly intense thriller. 

All the Broken People by Leah Konen

What is it about fresh starts that always seem to lead to twists and turns? When Lucy King heads upstate to a rustic cottage and befriends her new neighbors Vera and John, she gets an interesting proposal: help them fake John’s death so the couple can start over, too. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Woodstock, All the Broken People will keep you reading all night long to see what happens when starting over means ending it all.

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

A story of heist, crime, and a man just trying to escape his past, Blacktop Wasteland is the classic getaway driver story with a twist. Beauregard “Bug” Montage does mechanic work to provide for his family, but he left behind a past as an infamous getaway driver of the South. Although he never thought he would have to revisit his criminal past, one more heist job is in store for Bug and he has no choice but to face the past that continues to haunt him. Blacktop Wasteland is an exhilarating read that exposes topics on poverty and race.  

He Started It by Samantha Downing

Three siblings are forced to reconcile their differences on a road trip to secure their inheritance from their late grandfather. Hostilities and tension are high as the siblings must try to play nice with a dead body in the trunk and killer among the three of them. Their mutual desire for money, however, drives them to complete the mysterious request of their grandfather. A road trip unlike any other; join the Morgan siblings this summer on their turbulent journey. 

August

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Rachel Krall’s true crime podcast helped to set an innocent man free, making her a face of justice across the nation. This time around, Rachel is enigmatically called to a small town in shambles over a rape trial that follows a golden boy swimmer destined for the Olympics, accused of assaulting the granddaughter of the town’s police chief. Determined to maintain her podcast’s success, Rachel dives into a full investigation of the case, but her progress is thwarted as someone is following her and sending letters about Jenny Stills, their sister who drowned 25 years ago. In this electrifying thriller, two cases connect and truths are uncovered that will change the atmosphere of the town forever. 

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan

A haunting story that depicts the intricacies of motherhood, centering on a stay-at-home mom whose decade-long friendship brings her to revelations about her dear friend and herself. Although not many details are disclosed, this novel is said to be a “thought-provoking” page turner. Dark truths are revealed in Sarah Vaughan’s Little Disasters and it presents itself as a thoughtful piece brimming with suspense.

When I Was You by Amber Garza

Obsession, jealousies and suspicion invade the life of Kelly Medina, a lonesome mother whose only son left for college. She gets a call from a pediatrician about a baby check-up appointment, a mistake made due to someone else having the same name. This call continues to affect Kelly with feelings of curiosity and jealousy that someone with her name gets to experience the stages of early motherhood. Kelly has a run in with this woman who shares her name outside the pediatrician office and swiftly develops a friendship with her, where she begins to look after this young woman and her baby. The obsession grows thicker however, and Kelly goes missing under suspicious terms that only the other knows about. 

And don’t miss these June picks:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (June 2nd)

It all started with a wedding on a remote island, planned out to the last, intricate detail. While the ceremony and reception seem to be taken straight from a magazine, the guests themselves are flawed. Jealousy, resentment and disguised intentions put a damper on the day for the couple, but it’s the icing on the wedding cake when someone is found dead. Foley captures the style of Agatha Christie in this mystery thriller; The Guest List is sure to keep readers on their toes this summer. 

They Did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry (June 2nd)

The past can find ways to catch up to you. Six university students held a party in 1995 at their shared house, which resulted in the death of one of them. While everyone else believed it to be an accident, only the remaining five knew the truth. Twenty years pass and somehow the five ex-housemates find themselves back at the house where it all happened, forced to confront their crimes. In this psychological thriller, Lauren A Forry explores how truly evil the human mind can become. 

Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle (June 9th)

Everything is smitten between Charlotte and her new husband, Paul, the wealthy widower of their small, lakeside town. Despite rumors that circulate over the class differences between the two, they could never seem happier. Charlotte’s lovely life begins to darken, however, when she discovers the body of a young woman in the same pool of water where Paul’s previous wife had drowned. As Charlotte begins piecing observations together, she begins uncovering something sinister beneath the surface of her husband. Stranger in the Lake dives into deep, dark waters as not everything is what it seems. What is more perfect for summer than a bone-chilling thriller at the lake?

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (June 30th)

Mexican Gothic is a horror suspense novel that takes place in 1950 Mexico and focuses on Noemi Taboada, a debutante who is the vision of glamour. Noemí’s cousin is in danger, and she heads to High Place, a lone house in the countryside in order to save her. Her cousin’s new husband and his father appear as menacing, yet mesmerizing hosts in this mysterious house, where dark secrets hide in its foundation. Noemí must use a steel will to keep her focus on what she’s there for in the first place and to get her cousin and herself out of this house that holds terrors.