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This seems to be the season of thrillers and mysteries, so let's continue on with it!
A teen historical mystery follows a young nurse as she attempts to clear a friend's name in "The Red Palace" by June Hur.
Baek-Hyeon is a nurse at the palace in 18th century Korea. Having left her tumultuous childhood behind, she is driven to continue on her path, but everything changes the night she is summoned to watch over a member of the royal household. Later, she learns a massacre has happened at her former school and her teacher Nurse Jeongsu has been named the culprit. Baek-Hyeon doesn't believe the right person was arrested, and decides to investigate herself, and that puts her into the path of inspector Seo Eojin. As the two begin to work together, what will they uncover and how much danger are they now in?
An interesting blend of mystery and historical fiction, the characters work together with the suspenseful plot to bring an enjoyable story.
"The Red Palace" is published by MacMillan Children's Publishing Group.
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A true crime writer finds her story coming close to home in "The Overnight Guest" by Heather Gudenkauf.
Wylie has retreated to an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere that was the scene of a crime decades ago to write her latest true crime book. Two were killed in the house and a girl disappeared, but where did she go? As Wylie is writing, she is interrupted by a terrible storm and finds a young child outside that seemingly appears out of nowhere. Meanwhile, a woman and child locked up in a small room are trying to find their way out of a deadly situation, and this is the night everything will happen…
A creepy story of abduction, murder and a hard look at our obsession of true crime, this one ties everything up nicely at the end as all the characters learn the truth hidden from their past.
"The Overnight Guest" is published by Park Row Books.
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A lush house in California is the setting for several wealthy people and the games they play in "Good Rich People" by Eliza Jane Brazier.
Lyla thought she had it all when she married the wealthy Graham, but then she found out her new husband and his mother, who lives in part of the sprawling complex of houses atop a hill, have a sick game they play – choosing a tenant for the property below them literally and then tormenting them until they either kill themselves or run away screaming into the night. Lyla is in trouble because she actually befriended and warned the last tenant, so she is the one who is supposed to be playing the "game" this time – against Demi, a wealthy woman in her own right, just not as wealthy as them. Except…who is living at the house isn't Demi. And the story behind that involves homelessness, overdoses, opportunists and much more. As everyone begins to face off, the danger is just increasing.
A twisted thriller, there are plenty of psychopaths to go around in this book, as all the major characters appear to be one. Which one will win? You'll have to read to find out.
"Good Rich People" is published by Berkley.
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Shared history comes into play in this story about best friends in "The Accomplice" by Lisa Lutz.
Owen and Luna have been best friends since the moment they met in college. But they were never a couple. While people might question that, the better question is why have they been involved in unexplained deaths, first one in their friend group in college, and now Owen's own wife, whom Luna finds dead. As Luna begins to question things that happened in both her and Owen's shared past, she also begins to wonder who they both have become.
Told in two alternating timelines of college life and 2019, there are plenty of twists and turns to this mystery of enmeshed friends.
"The Accomplice" is published by Ballentine.
Amy Phelps can be reached at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com.