Good Reads - Fiction

It's All in the Mind: Novels with a Psychological Twist

Most novels have an element of suspense. Psychological suspense, however, is more internal than ordinary suspense. Instead of action sequences, the reader is pulled into the minds of the characters which can be much more chilling.

F/AMBROSE
Ambrose, David - Mother of God - 1995, 352p.
At Oxford University, computer expert Tessa Lambert programs a computer with human artificial intelligence so it can solve problems and make decisions. However, unbeknownst to her, serial murderer Chuck Pierce in California has hacked into her computer program. Both Chuck and the computer target Tessa as the mother they need to destroy. Can she survive two evil forces—one a computer with no sense of right and wrong and one a murderer with no conscience?

M/BECK
Beck, K.K. - Unwanted Attentions - 1988, 220p.
Rebecca Kendall, now 30, has finally found a man she loves, trusts and is prepared to marry, but Benjamin Knapp has once again appeared in her life. Benjamin, who has stalked her since her freshman year in college and who she thought was gone forever, is back. Only this time it becomes more than stalking when she is the one accused of murdering him by witnesses who heard her wish him dead.

M/BLOCK
Block, Lawrence - Hit Man - 1998, 259p.
J.P. Keller is a hit man based in Manhattan, but traveling wherever the job pays him to go. Keller is not an ordinary hit man, though. Each town he visits becomes special to him as he daydreams about moving there and creates backgrounds for the people he encounters. Since hit men seem to have quite a lot of free time, Keller becomes interested in stamp collecting, raising a dog and other mundane activities. Block makes his character appear as simple as the man next door—could he be a neighbor? After all, even hit men must live somewhere.

M/CARLON
Carlon, Patricia - The Running Woman - 1966, 1998, 187p.
When the second questionable death within a year occurs in small town Larapinta, Australia, the townspeople are quite alarmed. Even more so, when the latest death is a drowning and a woman is seen running from the scene. Was this an accident or murder? The running woman is thought to be Gabriel Endicott who has recently moved back to Larapinta, and when she offers to pay for the funeral, the town turns on her. But are there other residents who have something to tell?

F/CHERNOFF
Chernoff, Maxine - A Boy in Winter - 1999, 241p.
Divorcee Nancy Horvath and son Danny move to a new house and quickly become friends with the people next door. Unfortunately, Danny's new friend Eddie is not a model child. Complicating things further, Nancy begins an affair with Frank, Eddie's father. One day Danny and Eddie get into an argument and Danny shoots Eddie with a hunting bow. Told in three perspectives, this is a tragic and thought-provoking story.

F/COMFORT
Comfort, Bonnie - Denial - 1995, 302p.
Thirty-three-year-old psychotherapist Sarah Rinsley is finally reaping the rewards of her years of hard work. Not only is her practice doing well, she also has a radio talk show. Things start to fall apart, though, when a new patient, Nick Belmont, is referred to her. She is totally unprepared for his charm and has to fight her attraction to him. When he begins stalking her and then stealing things from her office, Sarah knows she is in trouble.

F/COOK
Cook, Thomas - The Chatham School Affair - 1996, 292p.
Now an adult, Henry Griswald narrates this story about the summer of 1926 when Miss Elizabeth Channing comes to teach art at Chatham School where his father is headmaster. Henry is a spectator as Elizabeth subsequently has an affair that ends tragically. The reader is pulled in as he slowly reveals the details to his story, peeling away layers to uncover the truth, unable to admit his own mistake.

F/DOBYNS
Dobyns, Stephen - The Church of Dead Girls - 1997, 388p.
Beginning with the discovery of the dead bodies of three girls in an attic, then told in retrospect, the narrator brings this small upstate New York town to life. Like many other communities, Aurelius, New York has buried secrets, but when a crime is committed, the truths seep out. It also becomes obvious as the investigation proceeds how important it is for the town that the perpetrator not be one of their own.

F/EVANS
Evans, Penelope - The Last Girl - 1995, 255p.
When shy college student Amanda moves into the room right below his, Larry Mann is thrilled to have a new neighbor. He has lived in the same rooming house in London for years and can find himself quite lonely. He begins his friendship with Mandy by giving her little gifts, then makes her meals—all the while insinuating himself into her pitiful private life. As Larry spies on Mandy, even opening her mail, poor Mandy doesn't have the courage to speak up and never fully understands what Larry's plans are for her until it is too late.

F/GRINER
Griner, Paul - Collectors - 1999, 174p.
When Boston art director Jean Duprez, meets Steven, a very interesting man, at her cousin Claudia's wedding, she can't wait to see him again. However, after a lovely day of sailing with Steven, he slams her hand in a taxi door and sends her off to the hospital alone. Still wanting to see him, Jean creates an opportunity and runs into him at a flea market. Or did Steven actually engineer this meeting, with something special in mind for Jean?

F/ILES
Iles, Greg - Mortal Fear - 1997, 564p.
Harper Cole works as a commodities trader by day and systems manager of an online sex chat service by night. One by one several of the service members have been murdered over the past year, and Cole fears that someone has accessed his member list. When he becomes a suspect himself, he goes online to try and lure the killer out into the open and ultimately puts his wife and others at risk.

F/JONES
Jones, Melissa - Cold in Earth - 1998, 247p.
Successful television talk show host Zoe is devastated when her baby daughter Beth dies from crib death. Though there are two older sons and Beth was unexpected, Zoe felt this new baby was something very special for their family. After falling into a deep depression, Zoe is found murdered in her bed, and it becomes obvious that one of the family members is the murderer. Was Beth murdered, too?

F/PICOULT
Picoult, Jodi - The Pact - 1998, 389p.
Chris Harte and Emily Gold are high school students planning ahead to college. They've been a couple ever since they were playmates as children. Suddenly, one of them is dead from a gunshot wound. The Harte and Gold families have been next door neighbors and close friends since the birth of their children. They've always encouraged, actually expected, Chris and Emily to become a twosome—they were meant for each other, or so it was thought. But could these expectations have caused this tragedy?

F/RENDELL
Rendell, Ruth - A Sight for Sore Eyes - 1998, 327p.
Rendell tells the story of two physically beautiful young people growing up. Teddy Brex is raised in a dismal house by parents who totally ignore him. Francine grows up in the opposite environment—her parents, especially her step-mother, watch her constantly. When Teddy and Francine meet and are attracted to each other, life forever changes for them and their families.

F/STARR
Starr, Jason - Nothing Personal - 1998, 250p.
Although both couples live in Manhattan, David and Leslie Sussman and Joey and Maureen DePino live in vastly different worlds, linked only by the wives' childhood friendship. David has a good job as a marketing manager while Joey owes money to a loan shark. The couples' lives, however, become inextricably intertwined when Joey plans to kidnap the Sussman's daughter and use the ransom to pay off his bookie.

F/VINE
Vine, Barbara - The Chimney Sweeper's Boy - 1998, 344p.
After his unexpected death, author Gerald McCandless' daughter is asked by his publisher to write a biography. She is surprised to learn her perceptions of her father are far different from the man she encounters in her research. Her memories are of an exceptionally kind and doting father. Meanwhile, her mother's narration of her life with Gerald shows a mean and manipulating husband. How many lives could one man live?

M/WALTERS
Walters, Minette - The Scold's Bridle - 1994, 327p.
When nasty Mathilda Gillespie is found dead in her bathtub, it appears to be suicide, but there are more than a few people who longed to see her dead. When a will is uncovered leaving everything to her physician, Dr. Sarah Blakene, the police are suddenly interested in Sarah who already has enough problems. Walters is a master at misdirection.

Prepared by Lynn McCullagh, January 2001