Denise Mina

A breathtaking thriller about a wealthy housewife who successfully conceals her dark past until a true-crime podcast and a photo posted on social media send her running across Europe, with a faded rock star by her side and extremely dangerous enemies on her trail. Anna McLean loves to revel in life's unsavory details. When she's keeping up appearances as an upper-class Edinburgh housewife, there's no better escape than other people's sordid stories retold in true-crime podcasts. Until the day it all falls apart. A new podcast turns out to have a connection to Anna's own dark past--the secret history she's taken great pains to conceal. Hours later, her husband announces he's leaving her--for her own best friend. And when the best friend's husband--who happens to be former rock star Fin Cohen--shows up on Anna's front stoop, a nosy neighbor plasters their photo all over the internet. Her cover well and truly blown, Anna's only choice is to run--and take Fin along for his own protection. Reigning queen of Scottish crime fiction Denise Mina deftly weaves the classic thriller elements of a woman with a secret past, an average citizen thrust into a high-stakes international chase, and a cheating spouse, with online life--internet sleuthing, true-crime podcasts, insta-celebrities, and Twitter--to craft a modern, propulsive page-turner like nothing you've read before.

Conviction

EVERYBODY LOVES A MURDER MYSTERY . . . UNTIL THEY HAVE A STARRING ROLE. *SELECTED AS A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK* *SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TIMES, OBSERVER & TELEGRAPH* *SELECTED AS ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BOOKS OF THE MONTH* 'Denise Mina is the cream of the crop, an author who pushes the crime novel in new and exciting directions' Ian Rankin ‘You won’t be able to put Conviction down’ Reese Witherspoon 'Denise Mina brilliantly manages to be funny, heart-wrenching, gut-punching and addictive all at once: a fabulous, captivating novel' Nicci French From 'the woman who may be Britain’s finest living crime novelist' (Daily Telegraph), Conviction stars a strong female protagonist who is obsessed by true-crime podcasts and decides, one day, to investigate one of the unsolved crimes herself. It’s just a normal morning when Anna's husband announces that he's leaving her for her best friend and taking their two daughters with him. With her safe, comfortable world shattered, Anna distracts herself with someone else's story: a true-crime podcast. That is until she recognises the name of one of the victims and becomes convinced that only she knows what really happened. With nothing left to lose, she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, Anna's past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall. Conviction is the compelling and unique new thriller from multiple award-winner and author of The Long Drop, Denise Mina. 'A twisting, darkly comic, thrill-a-minute ride across Europe. If you loved Killing Eve, you'll devour Conviction' Erin Kelly 'Such a delight: playful, fast-paced, and entirely compulsive' Ann Cleeves 'A dark star of a novel, blazingly intense, up-to-the-minute fresh, and exciting as all hell' A. J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window

A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick

Caitlin Moore

Not quite 4 stars

This book was interesting as far as the plot goes, but the writing was difficult to read/understand at some points.

An enjoyable crime novel that’s darkly comic in places, which had me gripped from start to finish. The podcast observations are spot on.

Laura Dobie

Cheri McElroy

This was quite a ride. I found it to be a unique book as thrillers don’t usually make me laugh this much. Anna, the main character, and Finn, her sidekick, are both unlikeable, but in a sympathetic way because of how scarred they are. Their relationship was fantastic and added depth to this thriller. 4.5 stars.

Kelsey Holtaway

This is honestly probably around a 4.5 for me. 

I didn’t love how this started, and i felt it was moving a bit...slow at first? But once it takes off it takes OFF and i ended up really loving this one.

Chelsea White

This book was so engaging, had well built characters and a solid story, and enough twists and turns to keep me hooked. I loved Anna (Sophie) from the jump, and her partnership with Finn to get to the truth of a podcast was delightful. Anna was hilarious, smart and honest (most of the time), and really had me rooting for her by the time Finn ran into the car to save her. The betrayals kept me shocked, and I did NOT see the twist at the end!

Emily Christensen

This book started a bit slow but with the action it picked up a bit! It was a little like reading two mysteries at once because Anna’s past needed to unfold a bit. Quick and easy read. I would say the last 10% gets a bit dramatic and unrealistic but I feel like that’s how most suspense/mystery books are these days to try to wrap them up. Not my favorite of Reese’s book club but a decent read.

Jessie Summa Russo

Meredith McMillin

olivia campbell

nono reads

Aine Meehan

michelle cardone

Erna Björg Smáradóttir

Grace Rogers

Jean Linehan

Manuel J. Rivera

Alexandra Sklar

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A true-crime podcast sets a trophy wife's present life on a collision course with her secret past in this thriller from Denise Mina. The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone. Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people's problems are much better than one's own -- a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna's problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she's taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened. Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, she goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide. "Daredevil storytelling at its finest...Offers plot twists and zig-zags that take readers on a wild ride...A giddy celebration of the art of storytelling itself." --NPR's Fresh Air

A true crime podcast sets a trophy wife's present life on a collision course with her secret past in this "blazingly intense" Reese Witherspoon book club pick and New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year (A. J. Finn). The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone. Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people's problems are much better than one's own -- a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna's problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she's taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened. Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and they're in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide. Conviction is "daredevil storytelling at its finest" (NPR's Fresh Air), a breathtaking thriller from one of the most "superbly talented" writers of our time (Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of Trust Me).

Conviction

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