Kashif Hussain

A Thousand Natural Shocks By Omar Hussain

A Thousand Natural Shocks is psychological suspense at its finest, tingling with unsettling paranoia and fear of both the ailments affecting the protagonist, and the protagonist himself.

Omar Hussain weaves a complex and layered story about a news reporter, Dash, who is desperate to forget his past. He finds himself in a cult that promises to help him be reborn without the burdens of his past. As Dash begins to lose parts of his memory, he also starts to lose his grasp on reality, unsure if he’s chased by a serial killer or a face from his past. At the same time, he finds that the cult has its own selfish and immoral reasons for wanting to give people a fresh slate. With time running out, can Dash make sense of all that’s happening to him or will his intense desire to forget his past overpower him into oblivion?

The narrative is chock full of surprises and misdirects that grow so authentically that you’re caught completely off-guard by the gut-punches that make their way off the pages. This thriller is best described as a poignant exploration of trauma and grief in the guise of a character-focused thriller where you are following a very flawed, human, and compelling character on a very personal journey into the depths of hell unlike what you’d expect. There’s subtle social commentary about the world we live in, particularly about the extent we’d go to to not feel pain and hurt and sadness, all wrapped neatly underneath the simmering suspenseful atmosphere of trying to make sense of what’s the real deal with the protagonist. Omar Hussain times his reveals superbly for the maximum payoff and even if you somehow saw them coming, the resonating nature of the twists will still hook you in after the fact.

A Thousand Natural Shocks is a brilliant debut that slowly builds a momentum capitalizing on the emotional pain, paranoia, and unpredictability of the protagonist to engage all your senses as you dive into a dark and disturbing world of darkness where we run away from our emotions instead of facing them. It’ll leave you doing some soul searching. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase A Thousand Natural Shocks
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Nightshade By Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly introduces a new hero for our times with a plethora of twists and turns in a riveting narrative. Nightshade is the type of police procedural that embraces the taut pacing that comes with being a bit rogue. 

Detective Stilwell enjoys the low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island after a tumultuous outing in the mainland that drove him out to the relaxing waters. That serenity is broken by the discovery of a dead body weighed down at the bottom of the harbor. This comes in while Stilwell the theft of an artifact from an exclusive club on the island. As Stilwell investigates his original case, it quickly bubbles up to reveal a conspicuous connection to the recently discovered body. Not one to sit on the sidelines, Stilwell launches his investigations on both fronts, following the dangerous threads of the cases to the point of intersection marred by danger.

Connelly aptly builds this narrative as a slow-burn with ample time for readers to get a great feel for Stilwell as a charming protagonist. He’s the right blend of a rule-follower and a rule-breaker for the right and admirable moments that are explored wonderfully in both the small and big moments throughout the narrative. The efficiency of each plotline to advance the story with a simmering pace, woven expertly by Connolly to intersect at the most impactful moments.

A blistering thriller that keeps the police-procedural and suspense genre kicking with gritty twists, exciting sequences, and a kickass new hero, Nightshade is a must-read for all fans of Michael Connelly and those who like to kick back with smart and gritty thrillers. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Nightshade
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Rogue Frontier By Jason Kasper

Rogue Frontier is the most explosive and action-packed tale by Jason Kasper. There’s so much to unpack in this latest entry in the series but the story never loses its momentum in keeping you hooked in from the opening action sequence. 

Shadow Strike team finds themselves on a simple reconnaissance mission in Pakistan when the stakes rise to the point of an all-out war brewing between Pakistan and India. Having gained knowledge of a plot by a nebulous organization pulling strings from the shadows, the team must uncover the actual threat before the warring nations go past the point of no-return.

Kasper continues to evolve his characters as they take on different challenges in their missions and lives and fleshes out strong and immersive emotional arcs for each of the leading heroes even while they are immersed in pedal-to-the-metal action. There’s so much to say about the hardcore action, tactical to the very core. Whether it’s vehicular combat, overcoming ambushes with pistols, or a full-blown door-kicking battle, you’re guaranteed to read this book in a single sitting.

That’s not to say that Rogue Frontier is only about the action. The unsettling suspense that there’s something more to the story than what’s playing out initially keeps pinging at you until the ending where you connect all the dots for an epic setup for the next book. The stakes are higher than ever as the narrative takes a personal turn for the Shadow Strike team in a way you wouldn’t see coming. I’m terrified for what comes next but equally excited and counting down for the next entry.

Rogue Frontier is the book you want to read when you need to feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins. The action is second to none and the plot continues to twist and turn and pays off handsomely while setting up an even more intense plot for the next entry. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Rogue Frontier
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Senseless By Ronald Malfi

Ronald Malfi writes an eerie and jolting narrative of crime and horror with his signature style of personally elegant storytelling. Senseless is dark, absorbing, and totally engaging.

What do a detective, writer, and a self-proclaimed human fly have in common? Each lives their fair share of horrors and darkness that reside in the night city of Los Angeles. Gruesome murders strike the heart of the city and bring together their stories and lives in a tapestry of mystery and suspense.

Ronald Malfi is one of the most talented writers I’ve come across, one who manages to conjure the rawest and darkest essence of humans while connecting to the supernatural in a way that feels most plausible to our spirits if not to our minds. While he hints at certain supernatural phenomena in this story, he keeps the narrative grounded and twisting, leveraging smart and intuitive plot developments that define more realistic and plausible scenarios and only sprinkling creepy moments of doubt and horror where they bolster the story. The writing is supremely elegant and stays with you with its subtle phrases that speak to you with something akin to magic. It’s the darkness of this story that holds you captivated by the book, whispering to you to flip the page just once more each time.

Senseless is an intriguing story on multiple levels, driven to an unexpected and disturbing conclusion through the eyes of various characters whom you want to trust but just can’t because of their darkest secrets. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Senseless
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Price Of Everything By Jon McGoran

It’s so pleasant to read an action thriller that peels more layers than the average narrative. That’s the feeling I experienced reading Jon McGoran‘s The Price of Everything. It’s an action thriller through and through, but it also punches above its weight to speak about the state of our world and where it’s all heading, no matter how oblivious we may be.

Armand Pierce is a courier working for The Guild under a strict set of rules, chief being that a courier must never allow their package to be snatched. Pierce takes his job seriously. So seriously that when the contents of his package mysteriously disappear en route to his destination, he is highly motivated to find out what happened at the expense of mounting bodies at his feet. When this mystery begins to spiral out of control into a world-changing conspiracy, Pierce finds himself in for a ride, hunted by his own folks as he hunts for the truth.

I commend McGoran for creating an intelligent and effective thriller that walks a fine line between total sci-fi and ultra realistic narrative. The result is a moody and atmospheric thriller that reminded me a little bit of Blade Runner crossed with wondering how Jason Statham’s Transporter would be if set in the near future. The action sequences are vivid in their nature, using much of the modern weaponry to help thriller fans visualize the scenes effectively, maybe too effectively as Pierce uses knives, Glocks, throwing spikes, and a metal chain of his surgically embedded cuff. The action is plentiful and slick with great cinematic sequences to hold your attention.

It’s also more than an action thriller. It’s a cautionary tale of resource exhaustion, human greed, and the desperate desire to reverse the damages which may come at a heavy cost. The book is aptly named as it subtly illustrates the price of everything we must do to protect mankind, the later we act, the costlier it gets. McGoran conveys these nuanced truths without being preachy or overbearing. It’s the right balance of entertainment and education.

The Price of Everything is an exciting, engaging, and all-consuming thriller that is the bestest of what you expect to read in a bona-fide entertainer. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Price Of Everything
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Hard Town By Adam Plantinga

Adam Plantinga takes a page out of John Wick but ensures his own distinctive flavor of writing with just as much badassery. Hard Town is a must-read for action thriller fans seeking that adrenaline rush that comes with cinematic elements of action, suspense, and adventure.

Kurt Argento is living the quiet life after the bloody dark events of The Ascent where Argento had to fight his way out of a prison filled with hardened criminals let loose in the claustrophobic setting. He’s minding his business when a woman reaches out to ask him for his help in investigating the disappearance of her husband in the small isolated town of Fenton, Arizona. While he’s initially skeptical of dipping his toe back into the world of danger, the conspiracy behind the town’s funding, supplemented by an overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry leads Argento to believe there’s more at stake. As he finds himself drawn into the vicious circle of violence, he knows there’s only one way out of the sinkhole, he has to unravel the knots even if it may cost him and those close to him dearly.

Adam Plantinga keeps things interesting with his protagonist by putting him in a very different disposition than when we saw him in his debut. The change of scenery and stakes lend themselves to a fun bit of unpredictability as we go on this journey with Argento without any guidance but the clues of the unraveling conspiracy. The visualizations of the environment and the situations expressed through a gentle but pressing prose evoke vivid images that not only make the story feel real but also create a taut atmosphere where you feel you’re right there with Argento as he lays down some well-needed justice. The action takes a while to explode but when it does, it’s well worth the short wait. Adam Plantinga takes the time to set up convincing and lasting motivations for Argento’s burst of violence, capturing the raw emotion that only comes from a place of extreme terror and unbridled violence.

Hard Town packs hard hitting thrills and punches with intriguing moral dilemmas interspersed between suspenseful bits of crime solving and ass-kicking. You’ll be reading this without wanting to take even the smallest of breaks. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Hard Town
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Memory Ward By Jon Bassoff

The Memory Ward is a haunting exploration of how our memories make us who we are and to what extent we may go to hold onto them, even the bad ones.

Hank Davies is a postal worker in the quiet town of Bethlam, Nevada. He’s grown accustomed to the routine and mundanity of the people there. But when a chance encounter leads to a discovery that the letters he has been delivering are all empty, he starts to connect the dots between it and many other unsettling moments that he previously brushed up. When adding it all up, it becomes clear something just doesn’t fit in Bethlam. Whether it’s the people, his bedroom wall, or that faintest feeling that no one is who they say they are, Davies goes down a disturbing path of horrific revelations that’ll give you goosebumps for weeks.

Jon Bassoff superbly weaves together stories within stories, like a Russian nesting doll that continues to unwind a twist that you just won’t see coming. Not only do you feel weirded out by the premise, but the details that Bassoff introduces cleverly through the eyes of the characters make it all the more compelling and real, enough to make you feel you may actually grasp the sheer panic off the pages. The prose is masterfully organized to ensure the final reveal hits you like a freight train at the most opportune moment.

Drawing you in one hook at a time before fully ensnaring you into a paranoid frenzy that subtly explores what our memories mean to us and how we are more shaped by them than we imagine, The Memory Ward is a book you’ll be compelled to finish in one-sitting. Imagine reading a cross between The Truman Show and The Stepford Wives, but made even more bone-chilling that fuels your dreams for nights to come. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Memory Ward
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Where The Bones Lie By Nick Kolakowski

Where The Bones Lie is a terrific noir thriller packed with wit and realism. 

Dash Fuller is a man who’s solved more Hollywood problems than one can imagine. He knows where the skeletons are buried, because he’s shoveled the dirt on most of them. This has left Dash burnt out and cynical, until he comes across a chance for redemption in the form of Madeline Ironwood. She is searching for clues that could lead her  to her father’s killers. Jaded but adamant about doing something right, Dash accompanies Madeline on a treacherous mission through the dark heart of Hollywood, which hides secrets from the city’s bright lights.

Nick Kolakowski adroitly captures the mysteriously captivating - both attractive and horrifying - vibe of the underbelly of Hollywood. He makes the city a living breathing creature. There’s a sense of urgency and excitement in every scene as Dash and Madeline tumble down the rabbit hole. Dash resonates as a man who’s broken, but not out. His spirit speaks to how the most damaged of all of us can find redemption. This is how Kolakowski makes the narrative feel both grand and personal.

Buckle up and prepare for a riveting ride through the gritty streets of L.A. with memorable characters involved in numerous twists and turns, which compel you to solve the mystery. Be warned, you will have to dive inside Dash’s mind and wrestle with his pain, suffering and sardonic rage. Noir thrillers have never been better! 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Where The Bones Lie
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Don't Tell Me How To Die By Marshall Karp

Marshall Karp ratchets up his signature dark humor and amps up the twisty, suspenseful turn of events that turn the story on its head in the best way possible. Don’t Tell Me How to Die is Karp in his element.

Maggie Dunn is running out of time. She has a wonderful family and everything she wants, except for time. Before she departs, she wants to set her family up to live wholesome long lives with a new wife to her husband and a new mother figure to her kids. This sets her down a path where things may have started off with good intentions but the execution of Maggie’s plan turns sour and dark just as it did with her past.

Known for writing sarcastic and sardonic characters that use humor to mask the pain and shame hidden underneath, Karp fashions Maggie Dunn as a painful character with her streak of bad decisions that paradoxically make her more relatable as a character. Her checkered past and twisted albeit understandable preparedness for departure from this world create interesting dynamics for the story to naturally evolve from a drama to a crime thriller that slowly simmers, initially without a clear indication of the plot until the narrative goes from 0 - 100 in the blink of an eye. As we follow Maggie’s descent into a dark hole, we can’t tear our eyes away from the book because the suspense is brilliantly cooked on low but palpable heat that slowly gives way to chaotic events unfolding just when you least expect them. 

Don’t Tell Me How to Die is a departure from typical crime thrillers as it ventures down the lane of a family drama before it switches gears and hightails into an intense and creepy story all the while keeping you guessing as to what is really going on. Marshall Karp does not disappoint. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Don't Tell Me How to Die
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Wolf Six By Alex Shaw

Alex Shaw is back with a pedal to the metal action thriller packed with espionage, twists, and suspense with a distinctive hero.

Ruslan Akulov, codenamed Wolf Six, was conscripted into Russia’s most covert Special Forces unit ‘The Werewolves’. A Ukrainian born in Moscow, Akulov breaks out of the corruption and goes to work on his own terms as an assassin targeting those who he deems as evil. When he gets caught up in a bank robbery in Chicago, he’s exposed to the forces that are hunting him, both the bratva and the CIA, for their own reasons. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he must navigate through a blizzard of bullets, twists, and untangled yarns of his past finally catching up to him.

Shaw is no stranger to writing kickass stories and he brings his plethora of experience here with strong action and an emotional character arc for the protagonist who stands out in the sea of similar characters with similar skill sets in the thrillerverse. Akulov echoes the sentiments of the average person stuck in a war they were manipulated into. The narrative becomes less of a national conflict and more of a personal war against good and evil. When push comes to shove, Akulov deploys his special skills to expertly take out his antagonists in finessed yet gritty action sequences that are a blast to read.

Wolf Six keeps you raving for Akulov to escape the most harrowing situations and come out at the top when all odds are stacked against him. It’s bold, strong, and unforgiving in its violent nature and an unnerving mission to entertain you.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Wolf Six
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Midnight Black By Mark Greaney

I remember asking Mark Greaney about The Gray Man’s possible descent into darkness. He is a gritty character, but he manages to maintain his composure in the toughest of situations. But say he loses his cool, if something could do that, how would he react? Mark Greaney may have stretched out a year or two, but he wrote a whole book to answer this line of questioning. And that book is Midnight Black.

In the explosive finale of The Chaos Agent, Zoya Zakharova was kidnapped by the Chinese and delivered to the Russians who had been hunting her for her allegiance to The Gray Man. With his lover spirited away to a harsh winter-ensuing Russian gulag, The Gray Man will stop at nothing to get her out of there, even if it means going into the abyss of death and destruction without any hesitation. But he may just be walking into a deadly trap orchestrated by an ambitious man looking to claim the sweet reward of being the one to deliver the fatal blow to the legendary assassin.

We’ve seen Gentry bruised, shot, and sullen before, but never this dark and unhinged. Greaney shakes things up for the characters and the readers who’ve been following The Gray Man on his escapades across the world. Something inspiring could be said about how the Gray Man sticks to his guns (metaphorically speaking, he can even kill with bare hands when he’s not sneaking his way in) as he tries to get into a police state that’s waging a war. Yet at the same time, Greaney sets a very somber and chilling tone from the very first chapter that’s certainly one of the most badass openings to an action thriller with a touch of noir that takes a master of the craft to truly nail.

Speaking of badass, this book is packed with great cinematic action that only raises that awareness of grittiness you feel just from reading the synopsis of the book alone. I was mesmerized by playing out the opening action sequence in my mind, thinking of how it feels like the perfect blueprint to adapt to the big screen (They really oughta make Gray Man 2 now). Midnight Black is a literary juxtaposition: grand and explosive in scale, yet it is so personal and intimate. From icy car chases to foot chases on trains to visceral shootouts, it’s a whole bucket of fun!

I wish I could say more but then it would be spoiling a lot. I will say, be prepared for friendly faces to pop back in to lend The Gray Man a hand when he needs it the most. The way Greaney fuses the lone solitary nature of Court Gentry with his ultimate acceptance of relying on those he can trust is one of the major reasons that Midnight Black is a thriller with emotionally- bruising gut punches. I am so excited to see how Mark Greaney continues the arc of his characters from this point onwards. It has to be one of my favorite Gray Man stories yet, with a nostalgic sprinkle of the old school Gray Man but with the nuanced evolution of his foundations over the years.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Midnight Black
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Cold Hit By Cole Chase

Cole Chase brings back the awesome band-rocking lethal team we’ve come to know as Shadowfast in Cold Hit, facing against white supremacists and a bond-villain plan.

Coming on the heels of the Shadowfast’s last adventure, they’re in cahoots with an ex-POTUS as means to stay out of jail after being implicated in more than a few con jobs. This time, they’re facing off against well-dressed bad guys and gals who will stop at nothing to roll out their plan of chaos at the push of a button.

Cold Hit brings back all that made the previous Shadowfast trilogy so fun to read; wise-cracking humor, bone-crunching action, wild twists, and a crazy-fast momentum. Cole Chase excels at grasping your attention throughout the narrative because there’s always something exciting happening, whether it’s cool action sequences, or intriguing drama, or hilarious comedy. It’s a launchpad for this new trilogy and the narrative closes at such a crazy cliffhanger that you’ll wish you could time travel ahead to read all three books as fast as possible.

Start a new adrenaline-pumping journey with Cold Hit and get immersed in the pedal to the metal rocking narrative with tons of quips and shocking moments to keep you hooked. If you think Netflix shows had the best cliffhangers, you’ve yet to read Cold Hit! 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Cold Hit
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Wolf Tree By Laura McCluskey

The Wolf Tree is a meticulously crafted and hair-raising thriller that creeps you out while hooking you in deeper and deeper. Laura McCluskey delivers a Nordic thriller worth every krona.

Two detective inspectors are assigned to the very remote, barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. Their directive is to investigate the death of a young man at the base of the same mystery-laden lighthouse. While initial clues drive Detective Inspectors George and Richie to the conclusion that the young man committed suicide, their interactions with the townsfolk and a deeper understanding of a sinister history lurking underneath the happy facade quickly lead the detective inspectors down a dangerous and haunting unraveling of the truth hidden behind closed doors and hushed in low voices. Could it be that something sinister exists in this part of the world that’s so removed from the outside world?

McCluskey masters the art of suspenseful investigation that emphasizes a natural turn of events complimented by a grounded tone and a gloomy atmosphere where you’re sure something doesn’t fit yet you along with George can’t really pin down just what that something is. Not until some really well-timed and grand reveals that elevate the narrative without deviating away from the slow-burn realism of this investigative storytelling. I found myself utterly invested in finding out the truth about the island, almost as if I was one with George in her burning quest for answers and resolution. Laura McCluskey excels at creating this bond between the reader and the protagonist.

The Wolf Tree is everything you wish to read in a smart, creative, and atmospheric crime thriller that thrives on weaving and tangling more and more webs of obscurity and mystery only to reveal a twist at the opportune moment. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Wolf Tree
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Nemesis By Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Hurwitz pushes the boundaries on his Orphan X series in terms of both the grand style of storytelling as well as the limits of the protagonist who finds himself on the opposite side of where he started on his path for justice.

Evan Smoak finds himself on opposite ends of a moral quandary Tommy Stojack. More than just his armorer, he’s become a friend over the years and the more emotions come into play, the more Evan begins to lose his grip over his own morality when facing into the abyss. What follows is a battle of morally gray fronts with Evan leading his one man crusade against Tommy who has cast his die with some misguided youths in hopes of redeeming the youngsters.

Hurwitz writes some of the most cinematic and vivid action sequences that make your heart pound with each gunshot and well-placed martial arts move. It’s almost sad that we haven’t seen an action packed movie or a tv series featuring Orphan X in action but Hurwitz leaves as little to imagination as possible with his descriptive prose that walks readers excitingly through the stupendous combat sequences.

While the high-caliber action is certainly a treat, it’s the character evolutions for Evan and Tommy particularly that truly take the cake. With moralities muddled in gray and bonds fringed with secrets and uncomfortable conversations, one can’t help but feel caught between two sides that both have their merits as well as their hesitations. These ambiguous beliefs are built up bit by bit in a superb manner by the author as he compels readers to take both sides of the equations into consideration before we see the momentous clash between the titans that won’t leave your memory soon for certain. It’s bold, raw, and tinged with an anxiety so natural that it’s hard to beat.

Nemesis is an excellent turning point in the Orphan X series with great story arcs that embrace meaningful and engaging themes distinct to each character and also opens the door for an even rawer and emotionally beaten Evan like you would never expect by the end of the narrative. Hurwitz throws a curveball that will leave you stunned for the better part of a day when you finally reach the end.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Nemesis
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Blood Ties By Jo Nesbø

Every single time I pick up a Jo Nesbø book, I am transported across time and space to a world where violence and danger and horror and drama mesh together to form an experience I can’t entirely describe as completely beautiful or completely horrifying. It’s something in the limbo and that’s why his books always resonate with me. Blood Ties is one of such stories that you’ll keep in the back of your mind as you go about your day, constantly wondering about the characters and their actions that you may not agree with, but just may understand on a very primal level.

Against all odds, Carl and Roy Opgard have made a profitable business for themselves in the small town of Os. While Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, Roy runs a nearby gas station with grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park. What’s hidden beneath the grand aspirations and seemingly close bond between the two brothers is a labyrinth of suffocated secrets and truths that simmer under the facade until they can deceive each other no more when new faces  and new alliances come into the picture.

Jo Nesbø’s writing invokes a sentimental response to events and situations that haven’t happened to you. He does so through resonating and flawed characters that you can’t help but imagine yourself in their shoes. The locations themselves come to life in this expressive tale, with each tree and road in the small town charged with vivid energy. The story being told through Roy’s perspective adds a layer of urgency and connectivity as you feel compelled to participate in the narrative rather than just passively read a book. It’s an energetic and somber experience with some incredibly dark moments that are typical of Nordic crime thrillers with chilly settings and nebulous characters.

Blood Ties is bound to be one of the most engrossing and harrowing thrillers of 2025 with all the dark and gritty elements you expect from Jo Nesbø as a master of his craft, including wild twists and stellar characters. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Blood Ties
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

All The Time By Lincoln James

All the Time by Lincoln James is a philosophical, thought-provoking, and mind-bending thriller that takes you on a fantastic journey through time like one you’d never expect. It’s the kind of 80’s movies and books you wish would exist today too.

Carter is a teen with a lot of complicated emotions swirling in him. He’s trying to make it home to his dying mother but a chance encounter with a storm pulls him into his destination, just decades earlier.  With a dwindling lifeline to his present in the form of his iPhone, Carter must navigate the new parameters of time and space and absorb the lessons he faces on the way, for they might be the key to his salvation.

Lincoln James lays a quirky touch to the narrative, one that you may not be able to completely capture in words. The time-traveling element feels so different from those in other stories that you can’t help but feel completely invested in finding out what happens. The story becomes more of a journey than a straight path and that’s what caught me off-guard, with its heart and soul in the characters that James writes like old friends. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the time-travel much like Carter, James throws a wrench in the works in the form of a beautiful if somber lesson that you take away into your own life as much as Carter does.

All The Time is an excellent example of finding a good book when you just go with your gut. I can’t wait to read more of Lincoln James’s work.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase All The Time
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Oligarch's Daughter By Joseph Finder

The Oligarch’s Daughter is the first thing I’ve read by Joseph Finder and it immediately made me realize that I need to start rectifying my mistake by reading up on all that he has written. The sheer suspense and unpredictability of the plot with an espionage aura that took me back to the days of Red Sparrow.

Paul Brightman is a man on the run. He’s hiding under a fake name and he makes a life for himself in isolation until his past catches up to him when Russian operatives get on his trail and force him to go on the run again, for the last time. As Paul tries to hide and evade his pursuers, we find out more about his past life as a rising star in Wall Street where he falls in love with a woman whose father is a Russian oligarch under the keen eyes of US Intelligence agencies. The more he finds out about the world running parallel to ours, the dire his consequences. Ultimately, it’s down to him to expose a decades-long conspiracy if he has any chance of saving himself.

Finder packs a multitude of genres in this narrative, as the book starts off with a dash of thriller and action before it shifts gears into a romantic and financial drama and then it kicks up in high gear as a suspenseful thriller where something’s just lurking under the surface and the protagonist is drawn to discovering it, not clearly knowing it may be upend his life. It’s these shifting lines that make this book so exciting and intriguing because you’re not able to predict when the winds will change, but you do know that once they do, it’s going to be a huge leap.

Once the narrative shifts into the corporate espionage and thriller transmission, it’s one unsettling revelation after another and all you can do is keep your eyes on the pages as the protagonist’s life spirals with captivating precision and supremely high engagement.

The Oligarch’s Daughter is one of the stories where the more oblivious you are to the plot going in, the more satisfying the payoff. It thrives on suspense and thrills by interspersing these elements in between seemingly mundane and domestic drama elements and the frequent peaks and troughs work to keep events and dialogue refreshing. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Oligarch's Daughter
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Mailman By Andrew Welsh-Huggins

We’ve come across action icons with seemingly banal titles such as The Beekeeper, The Transporter, and now we’ve got The Mailman. But this is not your average mailman. So strap in for a world of action and suspense that serves as the debut for a new hero in the thrillerverse.

Mercury Carter is a man who takes his job very seriously. He delivers his packages come hell or high water. It’s on one of his deliveries where he comes across the intended recipient and her family under threat by a syndicate of criminals. What starts off as a normal delivery turns into a violent and brutal chase to hunt down the criminals and make his delivery to the person who’s being held by folks who severely underestimate Mercury Carter.

Andrew Welsh-Huggins writes an enthralling story that takes a lot of detours, albeit very intriguing and captivating, with a simple premise. It’s this ingenuity that hooks you in more than anything else. The narrative starts off as something you might have read a couple of times but within a few pages you’re treated to novel executions of the genre tropes, keeping what works best and innovating what must be challenged to keep the story and characters interesting. Case in point, Mercury Carter. He’s badass but his demeanor is caused by trauma that the author wonderfully teases with suspense to keep you guessing for the full picture. 

Combining action with old school detective work, The Mailman is a memorable read with exciting twists and turns that will make you want to read more of Mercury Carter even before you’ve finished with this book. It’s fresh, fun, and an excellent addition to the armada of action heroes in thrillers. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Mailman
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Dead Money By Jakob Kerr

Dead Money is a taut corporate-espionage thriller that dives into the murky world of Silicon Valley where competition can get a little too cutthroat for comfort. 

Jacob Kerr takes us deep into the trenches of the digital frontier where up and coming technology is created by most passionate and at times secretive minds. Mackenzie Clyde is a fixer of the highest caliber who knows exactly how to make deals happen. When a hotshot billionaire CEO is murdered, Mackenzie’s boss puts her to work uncovering the secrets behind the scenes for until the murder is solved and the murderer found, there are billions in investments - all of it frozen. Luckily, high-stakes corporate investigations and takeovers are where Mackenzie shines the brightest. 

It’s hard to fathom that Dead Money is Kerr’s debut. Kerr weaves a complex tale of nebulous characters, jarring twists, and exciting developments that give you a masterclass in the R&D projects in Silicon Valley and the extent to which power can drive passionate people into committing actions that outsiders can’t comprehend. Mackenzie Clyde is a fascinating character who doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. Instead, Kerr carefully unravels the layers of her psyche bit by bit much like Mackenzie uncovers the secrets behind the murder, painting a vivid picture with each brushstroke until we finally get the truth behind both Mackenzie’s past and the gruesome murder that she investigates. 

Dead Money sinks its talons in you and captures your attention completely as you follow the characters along in a whodunit suspenseful tale where, through stellar writing and meaningful dialogue, you’re kept in the dark as to who you can really trust and if there’s really such a thing as black and white in a world filled with personal ambitions and aspirations. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Dead Money
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Shock Front By Aiden L. Bailey

Aiden Bailey takes his explosive series to South Asia with a barrage of cinematic action sequences and a conspiracy tying together multiple entities from recent headlines.

Shock Front takes CIA operative Mark Pierce, codenamed Trigger Man, to India and Pakistan as he steps in to extract a high value asset targeted by Pakistan’s FIA and a paramilitary group vying to capture the asset holding sensitive information pertinent to a dangerous mission taking place in Russia. It’s a melting pot of dangerous characters and Mark Pierce is caught in the eye of the storm. But that’s where Pierce works best.

The narrative catapults readers straight into choppy waters as Pierce guns his way into the first chapter. Bailey’s research of the locales make for a truly engaging and consuming read as you follow Pierce through the streets and slums of India bustling with chaotic life, being both a blessing and curse for Pierce to work his way through bullets and explosions in shanty towns and on top of mining trucks. If that does not whet your appetite enough, Pierce also faces off against komodo dragons before an explosive action packed finale that will satisfy both hardcore thriller fans and casual readers looking for a cool action thriller to devour.

Shock Front is a terrific spy thriller that superbly balances the fine line of gritty realism with escapist fun. On one hand you’ve got characters and situations that mirror real world espionage crises, complemented by a protagonist who takes the fight to the bad guys in cool fashion with his trusty Glock 19 like a modern day Western. Aiden Bailey keeps elevating the Trigger Man series to new heights of awesomeness.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Shock Front
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Meet The Review Team