suspense and thrillers

  • Interview with Robert Dugoni, local author of “A Killing on the Hill”

    Curious about what goes on in the mind of an author? Check out this deep dive with local author Robert Dugoni! Tell us a bit about your new book, A Killing on the Hill, coming out on Tuesday, April 9. What inspired you to write a book set in this specific time and place? I… Continue reading

  • Back to School, with Dark Academia

    Back to School, with Dark Academia

    If you’re anything like me, when September rolls around, you wind up lost in nostalgia for school. It’s hard to forget the excitement of new school supplies and getting to see friends you haven’t seen all summer. Combine that with a lack of adult responsibilities and the time to learn new stuff all day? It’s… Continue reading

  • Icy Isolation

    Ok, I know Spring is sprung and we’re all ready for flowers, more daylight, and sunnier days, but I’m taking one last look back at winter with this trio of recent suspense novels that find characters trapped in remote, snowy mountain lodges in the Alps. One by One by Ruth WareThe eight shareholding employees of… Continue reading

  • Girl, someone is out to get you

    “Woman in peril” is a plot device as old as time, and one that enjoys continued popularity. In this reader’s opinion, when it’s done well you get a great female character with agency to make her own decisions, fighting to save herself. Here are three suggestions for recent thrillers that follow women as they puzzle… Continue reading

  • The Year’s Best Crime Writing: The 2019 Edgar Awards

    The Year’s Best Crime Writing: The 2019 Edgar Awards

    Pulitzers, Bookers, Nobels – bah! For crime fiction fans it’s all about the Edgars. Last night the winners in several categories of crime and thriller books were announced at the Mystery Writers of America’s annual Edgar Awards ceremony: here’s a full list of these titles in our catalog, including non-fiction, books for children and teens,… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Tales is Off to the Races!

    Thrilling Tales is Off to the Races!

    This summer, Thrilling Tales (the Library’s Story Time for Grown Ups) takes listeners off to the races with a pair of horse racing tales,  and then out into the rose garden with Shirley Jackson to dig into dark underside suburbia, before heading to the seashore to grapple with aliens from another world, and from the… Continue reading

  • March Literary Holidays

    Aside from calendar noted holidays in March like Purim and Saint Patrick’s day, there are a few literary days of note that might peak your interest.   On March 2nd there is Read Across America day, which also happens to be Dr. Seuss’ birthday. It was created by the National Education Association as a day to… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Tales, All Summer Long.

    For over a decade, every other Monday at noon listeners have flocked to Thrilling Tales, the Library’s story time for grownups, spending their lunch hour rapt in suspenseful narratives. Janice Leadingham, a local bookseller said in a recent article in City Arts: “Especially for impatient people, it’s good because it slows things down a bit. For one hour, you can… Continue reading

  • Suspenseful Summer Storytimes

    Remember gathering around the campfire on a warm summer night to listen to gripping stories? Recapture the magic during your lunch hour, twice each month this summer at Thrilling Tales, our Library’s much lauded story time for grown ups. Listen to inspired readings of a variety of strange, devious and wonderful tales at our Central Branch, Mondays at 1 2:05 –… Continue reading

  • Thrillers for every taste, part 2.

    In last week’s post featuring ninety diverse suspense writers, I made the point that there are many different kinds of thrillers out there. Here are eighty more of today’s best and most thrilling writers grouped for various tastes, and still we’ve only scratched the surface: Sophie Hannah writes contemporary British crime stories suffused with taut psychological suspense and a haunting mood. Also try:… Continue reading

  • Thrillers for every taste, part 1

    A thriller’s a thriller, right? Wrong! Very different things set each reader’s pulse racing. Here are some of our favorite writers in a wide array of suspenseful fiction, with suggestions for further reading; tune in next week for part 2. Jeff Abbott writes relentless, high octane intrigue with action on every page. Also try: Robert Ludlum, James Patterson, Thomas… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Chilling Winter Stories, Live!

    This Winter, Thrilling Tales (the Library’s storytime for grownups) has got some great tales of crime and suspense lined up by masterful storytellers of today and yesteryear. We’ll have arctic adventure, unspeakable terror, hitmen, con-men, stick-up artists and librarians! Yes, that’s right – on Monday January 28 we will be having a special storytime dedicated to libraries and librarians, and coinciding with the… Continue reading

  • SPL Discoveries: Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

    I’m a big fan of the Hardcase Crime imprint, which has been publishing a succession of luridly jacketed vintage pulp fiction alternated with contemporary noir ever since their premiere title – Grifter’s Game by Lawrence Block – in the sultry summer of 2004. I also love Stark House, a small press publishing a steady stream of vintage crime fiction by… Continue reading

  • Crime: Presidential Thrills

    As if this election season wasn’t thrilling enough, we’ve compiled a little list of Presidential Thrillers for your reading delight. Can fiction possibly be stranger than truth? Continue reading

  • Crime: Blood and Circuses.

    Recently I read a story as part of Thrilling Tales, Seattle Public Library’s storytime for grownups, that was a bit out there even for me: “Spurs,” by the obscure pulp writer Tod Robbins. (You can listen to it here – Fair warning: I had a cold, and I really chewed the scenery on this one). Published in 1923,… Continue reading

  • Murder at the Olympic Games

    I foolishly tried to resist getting caught up in the fervor, but it’s no use: once again my attention has been totally dominated by the Olympic Games. Such is the case for many of our patrons if the small talk at our service desk is any indication. There’s also been a run on all of our books about the Games,… Continue reading

  • If You Like Daniel Silva… (he’s coming to the Library!)

    Come see #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva in conversation with Warren Etheredge at the Central Library’s Microsoft Auditorium, at 7 p.m., Monday, July 23. I love July for the warmth and light to read a good book in the evening on the porch, and the sure and certain knowledge that I’ll have… Continue reading

  • A Thrilling Tale’s Best for Winter

    Actually, the quote – from Shakespeare – is “A sad tale’s best for Winter,” but I tend to disagree; I think we have plenty of S(easonal) A(ffective) D(isorder) around these parts already during the too-short days of Winter. So the stories I select for Thrilling Tales: the Storytime for Grown-Ups, our regular lunch hour story readings at the Central Library,… Continue reading