One of the best things about reading really propulsive fiction is watching characters do the things we sensible, practical readers would never do…and thinking to ourselves, but what if we DID? Pick up any of the novels below and within ten pages, we bet you’ll be along for the ride of your life.
One. More. Page recommends the books you’ll love reading on the beach, on your porch, curled up with a glass a wine, or with your friends. Sending reads for your best book life straight to your inbox.
Lying at the intersection of Herman Koch’s The Dinner and Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door is this subtle, seductive thriller about a Sag Harbor doctor who seemingly has it all…until an unwelcome houseguest has him second-guessing his perfect life. What starts as a sneaking suspicion quickly spirals into murder…but by whom? You’ll be sure you know, until the rug’s pulled out from under you and you’re as baffled as our honoree. And the ending will leave you reeling and delighted in this author’s skills.
Beware the Man of the Year. You may praise him, resent him, even want to be him: but beneath the elegant trappings that define him, danger looms. Caroline Louise Walker’s stunning debut novel, for fans of Herman Koch’s The Dinner and Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door, delves into the increasingly paranoid mind of a man whose life as the most upstanding of citizens hides a relentlessly dark heart.
Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house and a beautiful new wife and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school, finally worthy of his father’s attentions. So when Jonah’s troubled college roommate, Nick, needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guest house. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity.
But when he begins to notice his new houseguest getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor’s veneer begins to crack. All the little lies Robert tells—harmless falsehoods meant to protect everything he holds dear—begin to mount. Before long, he’s embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, destroying the lives that stand in his way. It’s only the women in his life—his devoted office manager, his friends, his wife—who can clearly see the truth.
Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, with a wicked twist that you won’t see coming.
The first meeting was a simple networking drink—that’s just good business when you’re an entrepreneur still barely scraping by. But Zuri works on commission, and her artist boyfriend doesn’t have it any better, so it’s easy to accept the advice—and attention—of a powerful, successful businessman at first. But as the wining and dining continues, has Zuri gotten in too deep? If you’re still watching Indecent Proposal whenever it comes on TV, the third in Murray’s Seven Deadly Sins series will not disappoint.
Passion, money, and a deliciously devious twist: Greed is the newest novel in award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray’s Seven Deadly Sins series—“the drama of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (Booklist)—and soon to be a Lifetime movie.
You can’t put a price on love…
Zuri Maxwell isn’t happy. Her job is a grind, and money is always tight. Her boyfriend Stephon is the best part of life, but between his income as an artist and her commission-based paycheck, they are barely scraping by.
When Zuri meets a sleek entrepreneur eager to pick her brain, she jumps at the chance to talk business with someone who has everything she wants. As he wines and dines her, Zuri starts moving in elite circles, and she faces a crossroads: Will she give up the stable, loving life she knows for one that glitters, but may not be gold?
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What’s more daring, charging into a burning building or charging back into a broken relationship? In this heart-pounding book from bestselling author J.R. Ward, you don’t have to choose. Firefighter Anne Ashburn nearly pays the ultimate price when she lingers too long at a five-alarm fire…and her teammate (and onetime lover) Danny can’t get over what he had to do to save her. Now she’s trying to rebuild her life as an arson investigator, and Danny’s trying to blow his up—can the two ever be anything but matches and gasoline together?
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and “master of contemporary romance, with heroes so hot they set the pages on fire” (Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author), a steamy romantic suspense novel about arson investigator, Anne Ashburn, who is consumed by her troubled past, her family’s scorched legacy, and her current case: chasing a deadly killer.
Anne Ashburn is a woman consumed…
Strong-willed and brash, Anne relished the thrill of fighting fires. But when one risky decision at a warehouse scene changes her life forever, she must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.
Despite the desire to move on, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for all the adrenaline-fueled buzz she left behind. She doesn’t believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for a job again—until a string of suspicious fires endangers the lives of her former colleagues.
Danny McGuire is the best fireman in the city but in the midst of a personal meltdown. He’s taking risks like never before thanks to a reckless death wish—until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. Passion flares between them—not for the first time—but as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist marks her as the next victim in this firestorm of a novel.
With heart-pounding suspense and sizzling romance, Consumed is a compulsively readable novel that “you won’t be able to put down” (USA TODAY).
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This debut novel of ambition, deceit and power will leave your head spinning with its mix of artistic intensity that slides back and forth into abuse. If you were fascinated by Black Swan or Whiplash, this is the summer read for you! Chicago actress Kira has finally landed her big break, the lead in an experimental theatre company’s new show, but it means working with drama’s bad boy, Malcolm Mercer, known for getting the best from his leading ladies, or breaking them entirely. Kira’s sure she can handle it, but before long she may be in over her head—will she make it until the final curtain?
For fans of the high-stakes tension of the New York Times bestsellers Luckiest Girl Alive and The Lying Game, a razor-sharp page-turner about female ambition and what happens when fake violence draws real blood…
After years of struggling in the Chicago theater scene, ambitious actress Kira Rascher finally lands the role of a lifetime. The catch? Starring in Temper means working with Malcolm Mercer, a mercurial director who’s known for pushing his performers past their limits—onstage and off.
Kira’s convinced she can handle Malcolm, but the theater’s cofounder Joanna Cuyler is another story. Joanna sees Kira as a threat—to her own thwarted artistic aspirations, her twisted relationship with Malcolm, and the shocking secret she’s keeping about the upcoming production. But as opening night draws near, Kira and Joanna both start to realize that Malcolm’s dangerous extremes are nothing compared to what they're capable of themselves.
An edgy, addictive, and fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deceit, and power, Temper is a timely, heart-in-your-throat psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.
