Five Book Faves: Murder Mystery is a Winner

At the beginning of quarantine last year, I decided that I needed some new hobbies. I found myself watching way too much tv and figured I could spend my time better. I’ve always been the type to say I’m going to read more, but never get around to it. With all of this extra free time during quarantine, I figured now is the time to actually start reading. One year later and I’ve read 21 books! And they were surprisingly all really good. To make the list a less overwhelming, I’m sharing my top five book faves.

All About that Suspense

Let me preface this list by saying that pretty much every book I’ve read has been in the category of murder mystery/thriller. If that isn’t your thing, then you might not like my five book faves – which I totally get, it’s not for everyone. It’s actually kind of weird that I enjoy these books so much because I can barely get through a thriller movie. I’m such a baby when it comes to watching scary movies, but it’s different when I’m reading them. I can only visualize so much, so it doesn’t stick with me like a scary movie does. I don’t know if that even makes sense, but it does for me!

My Five Favorite Books from the Past Year

Now let’s get into the list of my top five favorite books from the past year. This has actually been kind of difficult to decide what order to put these in. Pretty much all of the books I’ve read have been total page turners that I can’t put down.

Number 1

Verity by Colleen Hoover. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I could not put it down! I’m pretty sure I finished it in less than a week. Verity is so juicy and twisted and really well written. It was a hard choice but I think this one is number one on my top five book faves.

Number 2

Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber. I had a hard time deciding if this book or Pretty Girls should go as number two on the list. They are both so good and maybe almost a tie. Are You Sleeping was also made into an Apple TV series called Truth Be Told. I read the book before I watched the series and I’m so glad I did. The book is definitely better and the story lines are way different between the show and the book.

This thriller is about a trending podcast that reopens a murder case about the Buhrman family. The Buhrman daughters have grown up without a father after he was murdered when they were young. Their whole lives they’ve been led to believe that the killer was one person, but as the podcast delves deeper into what happens, one of the sisters has questions.

Number 3

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. This was another book recommended by a friend. I want to say it’s one of the most twisted books on the list, but to be honest, they’re all pretty twisted. The opening of Pretty Girls starts out super intense so you know it’s going to be good. The book is about two sisters who lost touch after their third sister went missing. The family basically fell apart after that. One sister went on to marry a billionaire and the other struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction. The two remaining sisters aren’t reunited until the billionaire husband is killed. What happens from there is completely nuts. You won’t be able to put this one down, I definitely couldn’t – so it obviously had to make the five book faves.

Number 4

Find Her (Detective D.D. Warren, #8) by Lisa Gardner. Find Her was one of the first books I read during quarantine – and I think one of the books that made me realize how much I like the murder mystery/thriller genre. This book is about a young woman who is kidnapped for over 400 days and everything she endures during that time. Again, probably no surprise here, but super twisted and messed up. But like I’ve said with the others, it’s a page turner, especially when you’re so eager to find out what’s going to happen.

Number 5

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I swear these are all so good. This one honestly shouldn’t even fall into fifth place, but I had to do my best to rank them. The Silent Patient is another book that will keep you guessing and then throw a twist at you out of nowhere. This book is about a glamorous couple – one of which ends up dead and the other in a mental hospital. In the institution, a psychotherapist becomes obsessed with the case and finds a way to treat the patient and reveal new secrets. Again, you won’t be ready to put this one down until the very end!

That wraps up my five favorite books from the past year! A couple of other honorable mentions are: The Au Pair, Behind Closed Doors, and The Woman in the Window. I still have a long list of books to get through, so I’ll be sure to follow up with another post in a few months.

You can shop all of my favorite books, outfit, and bedding below:

xoxo,

Whit

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