With the start of a new year, I’m feeling positive. I’m looking forward to 2024 and starting the year off fresh. To kick off my reading year, I wanted to go back to TBRs. TBRs (To Be Read) is where I will schedule or plan out which books I want to read for the month. I used to do this a few years ago but got out of the habit of pre-planning my books. Each month, I will write a new post detailing which books I will read along with the overall theme of the current month’s TBR. This month, I will be focused on reading thrillers. I’m excited to share my TBR as I had a lot of fun picking out which books I plan on reading.

I have two rules that will be for all TBRs and books that I plan on reading. The first rule is that I will pick three books to read in a month. I won’t plan on reading any more than three, but if for whatever reason, I end up finishing these three books ahead of time, I can always move on to something else. The final rule that I have is that one book in every TBR pile has to come from the library, with no exceptions. In this instance, I ended up renting two books from the library, so look at me being an overachiever.

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

I wrote about The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead in a book haul post I made last year, so I won’t go into detail about this book. It apparently revolves around a sex cult and it’s a dark book. That’s about all I know, but my interest is piqued.

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

I mentioned how I had fun picking out my books this month. I decided to go through my Goodreads TBR shelf and choose the thriller book that’s been on my TBR the longest and one of the thrillers that I most recently added to my shelf. I have had The Vanishing by Wendy Webb on my TBR since July 10th, 2015. I think it’s about time that I take the time to read it.

Julia Bishop has been hit hard by the death of her husband. Her husband was conniving and spent her life savings, so Julia needs a fresh start. She accepts a job offer to be a caretaker for Amaris Sinclair, a renowned horror novelist. When Julia begins staying at the Sinclair estate, she feels unsettled by the place. She investigates further which may reveal some haunting secrets that are meant to stay buried.

As a side note, this book takes place in Minnesota which reminds me that I need to read more from local authors. It’s not often that I get to read a book that takes place in my home state.

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

Gina Royal is a stereotypical, Midwestern housewife. After a car accident, it’s revealed to Gina that her sweet husband is actually a serial killer. Gina moves with her two kids to escape her husband’s morbid notoriety. After settling in a new home, a dead body turns up in the lake that Gina lives on. Gina is being stalked and receives mysterious letters. If there is one thing that Gina is fully capable of doing, it’s taking on someone who is pure evil.

I added Stillhouse Lake to my shelf on November 29th, 2023 which is a stark contrast to The Vanishing. I am a sucker for tropes where a woman finds out that someone close to her is a serial killer and then the story continues from her perspective.

I am looking forward to reading these books. Thrillers tend to be fast reads for me, so these three books could last me the whole month, or I might finish them early. Time will tell.