Books For Your Parents To Read
Do you have parents? Do they like to read?
Do they HATE to read and you want them to enjoy the thrills of literature but don’t know where to start?
Good news, I have book recommendations for both mom and dad.
In my humble opinion, a crime thriller is the cheese pizza of the literary world.
A classic. Universally enjoyable. Can’t go wrong.
Having a party and don’t know what everyone likes to eat? Just grab a cheese pizza.
Need a book recommendation for your mom? Give her a crime thriller.
Not all crime thrillers are created equal, but here are the ones your mom will like.
These first two suggestions are by Ruth Ware because she is the definition of ‘crime thrillers for your mom’. She writes a good, no nonsense, no frills, straight-to-the-point crime thriller. She's not reinventing the wheel here. You read Ruth because you know exactly what you're going to get with her.
The characters aren't police or detectives trying to solve a crime, instead the main character witnesses a crime (murder) and then has to embark on her own journey to discover the clues and unlock the truth. And the clues are fun to try and follow along with and guess the twists because she gives so many hints and possibilities, you're like ok it could be this… or it could be this… or actually it could be this instead! She keeps you guessing right up until the very end.
The It Girl by Ruth Ware is her most recent release and IMO her best one. A woman is haunted by An Event™ from her past (a murder) and now, years later, must reluctantly unbury all her trauma and go digging once again to try and finally solve the mystery of what happened all those years ago.
In The Woman in Cabin 10, a woman on a cruise witnesses the murder of a fellow passenger. But when she reports it, all of the other guests are accounted for, nobody is missing, and therefore, nobody believes her. But she knows what she saw. So, what really happened? Like I said, Ruth keeps you guessing and hits you with twists right up to the very end.
Did someone say an unstable, unreliable narrator? An extremely popular and classic theme. It seems like there was a point a few years ago when all the new crime thrillers involved this sort of plot. And I ATE. THEM. UP.
When the main character is unhinged in some way (usually, abusing alcohol or drugs), there is the added element of “but can I even trust what she is saying?” Since the narration is solely from their POV, the reading experience has a deeper layer of mystery and intrigue.
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is one of my favorite books from any genre, but especially tops the list of crime thrillers. A woman with an extreme case of agoraphobia cannot leave her house at all and witnesses, from her window, the murder of her neighbor across the street. The next day said neighbor shows up alive and well. So, what's really going on? What did she really see happen? It's so psychological, twisty, and gripping.
In The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, a woman becomes fixated on a couple she passes by and watches from the window on her daily train commute. When the wife of the couple goes missing, she is obsessed with trying to solve the case herself. And yes she is unstable! It wouldn't be any fun if she wasn't!
Give these a read and you, too, will be convinced “unreliable narrator” is one of the best tropes.
A few more recommendations for mommy dearest.
(I realize I'm talking about ‘your mom’ a lot but I know YOU, dear reader, could be the mom. Plus, I’ve (obviously) read all these books and I'm no one's mother :)
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. Are you ready for this premise? A woman (!) witnesses a murder (!!) from her window (!!!). Are you sensing a theme? It’s literally one of the most classic and popular plot templates. Only this one has an added sci-fi element. Ever since the murder, each day she wakes up and it is the day before. So, it's Wednesday, then Tuesday, then Monday, and so on. Therefore, she is trying to solve this crime backwards and put the clues together in reverse order! It was incredibly original and completely engrossing.
If your mom is edgy then give her a lil’ Tana French, as a treat.
These are more of a detective drama rather than a crime thriller. Instead of a fast-paced plot with twists, you get a wordier, deeper characterization where French is really trying to Say Something™.
Not a spoiler, but a word on what you’ll be getting with these books: You’re not here to solve a mystery and then everyone goes home and lives happily ever after. No. French is giving drama. She is giving real world obstacles and hardships. There is no nice, neat bow tied at the end for you to put the book down and say “ah what a happy ending”. In fact, everyone is generally worse off at the end than when the book started.
But trust me, you’ll love it.
First recommendations are her two standalones. In The Witch Elm, after narrowly surviving a violent burglary, our main character returns to his family home to recover. When a gruesome discovery is (literally) dug up from the past, he must confront the reality that life is not what it seemed and will never be the same again.
In The Searcher, a retired detective moves to a remote village to finally get some peace and privacy. But when a local boy goes missing and nobody, including the police, seems to care, he must uncover the truth himself.
Next, two recommendations from her Dublin Murder Squad Series, which is really more of an anthology. You don't have to read them in order because they aren't connected. Each book follows a different detective from the Murder Squad where a side character briefly mentioned in passing in one book is the main character in another.
In The Likeness, our main character is a detective who is shocked when the body of a murdered woman is her exact doppelganger. Like, exact. Before news of the woman’s death gets out, she assumes the identity of this identical double in order to infiltrate her core group of friends to solve the case from within.
In Broken Harbour, two children and their father are brutally murdered and the wife is in critical condition. At first, it appears it was the father/husband who committed a murder/suicide, but too many variables don’t add up. Our main character detective must take on the case all while tackling his own personal issues.
These two were my personal favorites from her Dublin Murder Squad series, but if you like these, check out the others as well.
Now, on to Papa. What if you have a DAD who needs a recommendation? More challenging but still doable.
Dad’s pizza? Sci-fi action.
These first two recommendations are the novels Dark Matter and Recursion by Blake Crouch. They are the perfect dad rec because they read like a Christopher Nolan action movie!
Blake Crouch is an incredible science fiction writer because the science is totally accessible and so well explained. He’s not trying to sound pretentious or act like he's a science genius by introducing convoluted and challenging concepts. Instead, the sci-fi is so well explained and easy to grasp and understand all while still being interesting and exciting.
I don't want to say too much about the plots because I think most of the fun is just going in blind and uncovering the journey for yourself. They deal with alternate realities, parallel universes, time travel, and all the mind bending twists and suspense that comes with it! Trust me, you can't go wrong with these.
Don't worry, dad doesn't have to miss out on the detective crime thriller fun. If dad wants his own murder solving detective drama, then that’s what he shall get!
Might I recommend The Trees by Percival Everett. Now let me tell you, sure, there is a detective solving a murder case, but it is SO. MUCH. MORE. THAN. THAT!
The crime solving plot is at the forefront of the action but the deeper social themes are the real heart and soul of this book. This is actually one of my most recent reads so stay tuned for a more indepth review in my upcoming monthly book review.
Again, I don’t want to spoil too much about the plot so all I’ll say is… WHEW! This is a Book capital B. It is fast-paced, shocking, and gruesome. Highly recommend.
Is your dad edgy? Then might I suggest Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (yes, it's the book the Christopher Nolan movie starring Leonardo DeCaprio was based on!) Technically, it is also a detective crime mystery, but it is wayyyyyy more psychological, twisty, and dark.
And when I say twist, I mean TWIST twist, honey.
A U.S. Marshall is sent to a remote island that contains a hospital for the criminally insane in order to investigate the disappearance of one of their dangerous patients. With each new twist and discovery, the already sinister case gets even darker and more psychologically unnerving, culminating to one of the most astounding endings I have ever read. Dad will probably eat it up, just like I did.
Those are all my recommendations for your parents, or honestly for anyone who just loves a good book :) Who else needs a recommendation or what types of books do you want me to recommend next? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be back soon!
