Suspenseful Resolution Pairings

The silliest rec post we could come up with to start 2024!

Oh, it’s hard to get into the 2024 swing of things. We are in that liminal space between holidays and non-holidays, and I for one had an unrealistically long list of things I expected to get done while I had “time off.”

NGram Viewer, which tracks word popularity over time. (A really great tool for writers by the way, if you want to make sure people used certain words frequently during the period in which you set your novel.) Why did “liminal space” take off in the 2000s and when will the madness stop? Can no one just say “in-between” or “in transition” anymore, especially when we’re not talking about something eery or exceptional?

But we will not break our perfect weekly posting streak¹ and we will not leave you without reading recs to accompany your resolutions. Didn’t you realize you needed that sort of pairing?

Here’s the rules. Our resolution pairings come only from books we have mentioned in the last year. When you nominate yours—and yes, you are going to invited to play this game, too—you can ignore that restriction. Any suspense novel will do. Let’s do it!

THE PERFECT READING COMPANION IF YOU…

#1. PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN DRY OR DRY-ISH JANUARY!

Ever wonder if those extra glasses of wine are aging your brain, leading to even more forgetful moments? This genuinely disturbing thriller/speculative hybrid about a sociology professor who experiences blackouts—even though she quit drinking many months ago—is just the thing to scare you straight! Even if alcohol is not your problem issue, this novel will make you think about all the ways in which your flaws might cause trouble for your children, your spouse, and anyone else you love. Resolve to fix that shit, quick, with Erin Flanagan as your nonjudgmental author companion.

#2. ADMIT YOUR MARRIAGE NEEDS A LITTLE SPICE AND YOU’RE READY TO DO THE WORK.

Okay, so maybe you’re not ready to indulge any serial killer fantasies with your quietly psychotic spouse (oh my Lord, Samantha Downing, you have a fascinatingly dark mind!) but this novel could give you perspective. If this couple, married fifteen years, is willing to risk it all to keep love alive, surely you could cook your partner a nice dinner or buy some candles and bubbly? I mean, come on! (Honestly, this is the only suspense novel I had to set down for a break one night because it creeped me out. But then I happily picked it up again when daylight returned.)

Another title in this category: The Spare Room by Andi Bartz, about polyamory with consequences. Which doesn’t mean she (or we) are dissing polyamory! Just choose your multiple partners wisely, folks.

#3. RESOLVE TO FINALLY MEET THOSE NEIGHBORS!

What’s the worst that could happen? They could start inviting you to boring parties or torture you with lawn care and deck-staining talk anytime you step outside. Or they could expect you to keep their deepest, darkest secrets! Debut novelist Melissa Adelman invites you into a picture-perfect DC suburb where neighborly friendship may have consequences. Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the risk!

#4. ARE DETERMINED TO EMBRACE AGING FEARLESSLY.

Four retired assassins are forced to trust in their age and experience when they go on a cruise and discover that full retirement isn’t always a choice! Not when you have been marked for death. For those of us who feel marked with saggy skin and receding gums rather than total elimination, this book might help bolster the “you’ve still got it” vibe.

#5. ARE READY TO LEVEL UP AS A WRITER BY ATTENDING A WRITING RETREAT

Okay, really, what could go wrong? You’re only opening your soul to a dozen or so strangers with their own secrets and vulnerabilities. I mean, if writing retreats stopped people from wanting to write—or live—they wouldn’t be so popular. Right? If nothing else, reading this book will help you thicken your skin in advance. Then go…enjoy…really! And let us know how it went.

(The Deepest Lake will be published by Soho Crime in May 2024 but if you’re on NetGalley, you can request a free advanced digital copy. Yes, this is a shameless plug by one-half of the Present Tense team.)

YOUR TURN

Did you think we’d list ten or twenty? Naw. This liminal space just isn’t big enough. And we’re early-January-tired. (More sun. Please!)

But we would really love to hear your creative pairings. Tell us your true or imaginary resolution and then suggest a suspense novel that matches. We can’t wait!

ALSO, COMING TO A PRESENT TENSE NEWSLETTER NEAR YOU: TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE MEGAN ABBOTT BOOK!

The Left Coast Crime conference is coming to Seattle April 11-14, 2024, and Megan Abbott, author of Beware the Woman, The Turnout, and many more works of suspense will be keynote.

We’d like to run a special feature in which you convince us which Megan Abbott novels are must-reads and why. Contact Andromeda via the contact page at her website with your submission of one to two paragraphs. We can’t wait to read your words!

(Also, is anyone in our audience attending Left Coast Crime? Let us know!)

Thanks for sharing 2023 with us and we hope to enjoy reading, writing, and sitting on the edge of our seats together in 2024!

1. This post went out to paid subscribers Thursday but due to operator error (Andromeda!) didn’t go out to everyone until Friday. Doh!