Bringing Credit Where It’s Due

Howdy ho, neighbors! It’s a beautiful day in the ‘Burn and I’m just sitting here mapping out my TBR list for the foreseeable future and something hit me. Why are we almost exclusively focused on the big blockbusters of the season when promoting books? Obviously they’re the buzz-worthy books that are filling our feeds left and right, so it’s natural I suppose, but I feel like I’m missing out on a gold mine of novels that never see the the same exposure because they just don’t garner the same budget as others. While I’m not expecting indie and self-published books to take over the world (but that’s a pretty great plot idea SOMEBODY WRITE THIS DOWN), I wanted to take a minute and highlight 5 books not being published by the “Big Five” this year, just in case they’ve slipped by your gaze. These are high quality writers who deserve some recognition, so scroll below for a little info on each one that I so lovingly picked for you. ❤ Do any catch your eye? Is there one you may not pick up based on the cover but sounds up your alley based on the description?

Plea For Justice by Liz Lazarus
Pub Date: May 1, 2018
Genres: Legal Thriller, Crime Fiction

Jackie Siegel and Aaron Slater were an odd pair in high school. He was the popular jock and she was the introverted geek, but their friendship endured until graduation, when he suddenly dumped her with no explanation. Ten years later, Aaron is arrested for one of the most notorious murders in recent history. Labeled by the media as “The Snapchat Killer,” he is accused of posting videos of a college student before brutally murdering her. Rather than standing trial, Aaron takes a plea deal and is sent to prison. He reaches out to Jackie, who is now a paralegal, and begs for her help, proclaiming his innocence. Jackie is drawn into the case and the opportunity to reconnect with her estranged friend, yet the conflicting evidence and bizarre clues leave her wondering if she is helping an innocent man or being played for a fool. It wouldn’t be the first time.

 

Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea
Pub Date: May 29, 2018
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Suspense Fiction

The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison, and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence.

As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence, additional suspects, and timeline issues that were all overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. But as the show surges towards its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she got it badly, terribly wrong.

Sidney has just convinced the world that Grace is innocent. Now she wonders if she has helped to free a ruthless killer. Delving into Grace’s past, she peels away layer after layer of deception. But as Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career . . . even her life.

 

A Stone’s Throw by James W. Ziskin (Ellie Stone #6)
Pub Date: June 5, 2016
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery

August 1962. A suspicious fire claims a tumbledown foaling barn on the grounds of the once-proud Tempesta Stud Farm, halfway between New Holland and Saratoga Springs, NY. The blaze, one of several in recent years at the abandoned farm, barely prompts a shrug from the local sheriff. That is until “girl reporter” Ellie Stone, first on the scene, uncovers a singed length of racing silk in the rubble of the barn. And it’s wrapped around the neck of one of two charred bodies buried in the ashes. A bullet between the eyes of one of the victims confirms it’s murder, and the police suspect gamblers. Ellie digs deeper.

The double murder, committed on a ghostly stud farm in the dead of night, leads Ellie down a haunted path, just a stone’s throw from the glamour of Saratoga Springs, to a place where dangerous men don’t like to lose. Unraveling secrets from the past–crushing failure and heartless betrayal–she’s learning that arson can be cold revenge.

 

What Happened That Night by Sandra Block
Pub Date: June 5, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense Fiction

One moment Dahlia is a successful Harvard student. The next, she wakes up from a party, the victim of a brutal assault. Her life veers into a tailspin, and what’s worse, her memory of the attack has been ripped away, leaving a cold rage in its wake.

Now, years later, Dahlia is a tattooed paralegal suffering from PTSD, still haunted by that night. Until one day, a video surfaces online, and Dahlia sees her attack for the first time. Now she knows what happened to her. And she knows who to blame. Her rage is no longer cold, but burning, red hot.

And she is about to make everyone pay.

 

Big Woods by May Cobb
Pub Date: July 8, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Thriller

It’s 1989 in the sleepy town of Longview, Texas, when ten-year-old Lucy disappears. Her parents, the police, and the community all brace for the worst, assuming her body will soon be found in Big Woods. Just like the other unsolved kidnappings.

But then Lucy’s fourteen-year-old sister, Leah, starts having dreams about Lucy—dreams that reveal startling clues as to what happened. Leah begins her own investigation, and soon she meets a reclusive widow who may hold the key to finding Lucy . . . if only she can find the courage to come forward.

Delving into the paranoia surrounding satanic cults in the 1980s, Big Woods is an emotionally wrought, propulsive thriller about the enormity of grief, the magical bond between sisters, and a small town’s dark secrets.