Five Thrillers For The Summer

Written by Jeff Ayers. A more detailed version of this article can be read at The LA Review of Books.

It doesn't matter whether the setting is a foster home or an attorney's office or the Texas scrubland, the great thriller writers know how to worm their way into our most hidden fears and anxieties, and the truly great authors can give us some new ones.

Even when the devices - like a person buried alive, a missing child, a serial murderer on the loose - have been seen many times before, the best writers can make them brand new, sometimes by adding a twist (a video camera inside the coffin, for instance), but always by giving us strong, compelling characters and nonstop suspense. You may not have heard of all these authors before, but you’ll be a fan by the time you turn the last page.

The Los Angeles Review of Books recommends these five to kick off your summer reading list, and click here to read more from these reviews.