Mystery and Thriller Books All About Family
If you like your family drama to be deadly or if you enjoy crime stories and suspense books that deal with family themes, then we’ve got eight suspense books that you won’t want to put down. Fair warning: They might make you think about family gatherings a bit differently…
Twenty years ago, Arden Maxwell's father was part of a daring heist that was very nearly pulled off without notice...but it all fell apart, and he was the only one who got away, disappearing for good. Arden returns to her family's hometown for answers, and instead runs into Ledge, who was a teen at the time of the heist and knows more than he's letting on. As the two of them seek answers and tangle with a corrupt DA, they'll expose long-concealed truths about that fateful night.
After losing her mother, breaking up with her boyfriend, and finding out that she's pregnant, Margot decides now is the perfect time to reach out to her biological mom—and learns that she died when Margot was still an infant. Margot connects with her bio aunt, who tells her that her mother was murdered and she believes that the police never caught the right man. Margot doesn't need anymore drama and resolves to take a step back...but then she discovers that she's caught the attention of her mother's killer.
In Afterland, a dystopian thriller, Beukes portrays a country torn apart by a terrible virus that kills men. At twelve years old, Miles is one of the few surviving males and his mother doesn't want him to be taken away from her to be used for nefarious purposes. The two go on the run, disguised as mother and daughter, seeking safety and trying to stay one step ahead of Miles's aunt, who is bent on finding them no matter what.
Ilka Nichols Jensen leads a modest and quiet life in Copenhagen when she receives shocking news: The father she hasn't seen in thirty years has died and left her his funeral home...in Wisconsin. Wanting connection, even though her father is gone, she flies to the U.S. to deal with his belongings and stumbles right into an unsolved murder case.
Atlee Pine is an FBI agent who is forced to face her traumatic past if she's to keep her job—so she returns to her small hometown in Georgia to try and figure out once and for all who kidnapped her twin sister Mercy when they were children. As she digs through the past, a shocking murder occurs in town, and then another. Atlee must balance her hunt for answers from the past with the very real and present dangers of these new murders.
Set in Austin, Never Ask Me explores how the murder of an adoption consultant rocks her suburban community. When Danielle Roberts is killed, her neighbors and friends the Pollitts each find that they have secrets to protect and leverage against one another as suspicions are raised and accusations are made.
Related: Five Domestic Thrillers You'll Love If You Liked Jeff Abbott's Never Ask Me
Set in Appalachia, Brother follows Michael Morrow, a young man whose family hides many dark secrets, including the fact that they're responsible for a recent spate of missing girls. When Michael meets Alice, he takes an instant liking to her, but his brother Rebel notices and decides to intervene. Now Michael must make a decision about what kind of person he wants to be.
Eve Duncan's daughter Jane takes center stage in this novel about a madman who wants her dead, no matter the cost. Jane is entrusted into the protection of Seth Caleb, who would love to keep her from danger but finds it difficult to manage when Jane is determined to confront her stalker herself. Now Jane and Seth must work together if they're both to make it out alive, and plan a future together.
Related: The Best Books in Iris Johansen's Even Duncan Series According To Goodreads
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