Happy Thriller Thursday with Sharon! I hope everyone who is celebrating has a very happy and safe holiday. I cannot believe the year is over in a week and a half and that this is my last Thriller Thursday of 2023. I have read some great books this year and was so happy to share my thoughts with you all. I look forward to sharing even more great thrillers in 2024.  For my final Thriller Thursday of 2023 I am excited to share my reviews on two greats books from two great authors; Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates and Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry.

Author: Darcy Coates

Publication Date: November 7, 2023

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

I read my first Darcy Coates’ book, Dead of Winter, a few months ago and loved it. It was right up my thriller loving mind, so when I read the synopsis for her latest book, Where He Can’t Find You, I knew it was going to be another winner for me. And I was right!

In the small town of Doubtful, people have been disappearing for decades. Some are lost forever, but the bodies that are found are unrecognizable. Those bodies have been dismembered and then sewn back together in unnatural ways. Some are even more than one body sewn together. There are rules to live by in Doubtful, 1) Don’t walk alone.  2) Don’t stay out after dark. 3) Keep your windows and doors locked. Follow these rules and maybe The Stitcher won’t get you. Abby Ward, her sister Hope and their friends, Rhys, Riya, and Connor, live by these rules, so when Hope is taken Abby is shocked. Abby is desperate to get Hope back before The Stitcher can do to her what he has done to others. Knowing the police cannot help, Abby and her friends race against time to find Hope and possibly put an end to The Stitcher once and for all.

Wow! This is another Darcy Coates book that would make one great thriller movie. I don’t want to say a lot and spoil anything. But I will say this was one intense book that had my heart racing the whole time I was reading.

I loved Abby and her friends and how they had each other’s backs and the lengths they would go to help keep each other safe, as well as the lengths they went to help Abby save Hope. They were not only best friends, but they were family, willing to put themselves in danger for each other.

I also loved how dark and grey Coates created the town of Doubtful. Her descriptions were great and I could just picture the town as almost a ghost town. It really added to the creepiness of the book. Coates also did a great job with the vivid descriptions of what the victims looked like when they were found and stitched back together. I got chills while reading.

The whole story had a definite horror vibe and as we learned more about the origin of the town and when the disappearances started, it also took on a supernatural vibe. I kept getting Stephen King’s It, vibes but have also seen that people compared this to Stranger Things.

I know nothing I have said did this book justice, but if you are looking for a supernatural horror read that will leave your skin crawling, then definitely pick up a copy of Where He Can’t Find You.  4 ½ stars

Author: Christina Henry

Publication Date: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

I love Christina Henry’s books and her latest, Good Girls Don’t Die, is no exception. This story follows three different women, who find themselves fighting for their lives. Each woman is in a unique setting that mirrors the genre of books they love to read. I thought this was such an interesting way to set the book.

Celia is standing in a strange kitchen with a man who is supposedly her husband, and a young girl who is her daughter. Celia cannot remember her real life, but she knows this is not it. As she tries to go about her day, she realizes this life actually resembles the cozy mysteries she loves, right down to the nasty neighbor that nobody ever likes and who ends up dead. Celia is determined to figure out what is going on and as she starts to piece things together, she learns that someone has deliberately done this to her, and she needs to find a way out of this town.  I like cozy mysteries as well, and I loved how everything that happened to Celia is just what happens in those types of books.

Allie is a college student and a lover of horror stories. She is supposed to be going on a girl’s weekend with her two best friends, but instead they end up at a remote cabin in the woods with the boyfriends of her friends tagging along. Allie is sure something is not right about this trip and when an ax-wielding man attacks the group, Allie needs to take everything she has learned from those horror books to stay alive. You all know me and my love for horror stories, so no surprise this was my favorite part of the book. LOL! I really liked Allie and how she was trying to do whatever she could to keep herself and her friends alive, though that was tough at times, as her friends did not follow the “rules to surviving a horror story”.

Maggie has been kidnapped and wakes up tied to a chair in a room with a bunch of other women. In order to survive they must navigate a series of obstacles that are full of boobytraps, just like the YA Dystopian books Maggie loves to read.  This is another genre I like, so I was right there with Maggie as she tried to make her way through.

I loved each section of this book and all three of these women. They were all strong, badass, and were determined to make it out alive. As well as enjoying each of their stories, I was also trying to figure out how they ended up in the situations they were in. I didn’t figure anything out until it was revealed in the end. And all I will say is WOW! I thought they were bad-asses before, they certainly kicked it up at the end and I was cheering them on the whole time.  I also loved how each chapter had on-line chats at the beginning of them. That just really added to the mystery of the story.

If you are a fan of Christina Henry or are looking for a unique mystery, then I think you should definitely check out Good Girls Don’t Die.      4 stars