Hey, it’s Diego.

This week, I read Found by Erin Kinsley.

And it made me realise how some stories take a completely different path from what you expected when you picked them up.

Here are some of the most unexpected ones I’ve read this year.

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Most Unexpected Turns in Thrillers

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

The Last Flight by Julie Clark introduces us to Claire and Eva, two women whose lives intersect at an airport, leading them to switch plane tickets in a desperate bid to escape their dangerous lives.

When I picked this book up, I was expecting these women to be in great danger (which they were), and then a moment in the airport where they switch plane tickets (which they did), and then I expected them to be on the run from their previous lives while their pasts caught up to them.

This last part was what I didn’t get. I won’t spoil it, but it didn’t take the turn I expected at all. Still an interesting read.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

In The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia, two women disappear after they board an airplane, and their loved ones and acquaintances scramble to figure out what happened.

Again, I was expecting the usual from this premise: they had run into foul play, maybe an accident of some sort… I won’t spoil it, it’s one that was slow during the first half, but boy does it deliver on the second half of the book.

Unmissing by Minka Kent

In Unmissing by Minka Kent, an abducted woman escapes after 9 years in captivity to find her husband has built a family with another woman.

I was drawn to this premise. I thought I had it all figured out: a woman is kidnapped and comes back to her husband after being imprisoned for 9 years, you think there’d be police involved in taking her home, the media hounding them every minute, she’s trying to rebuild some kind of life, trying to get the one that did it all behind bars…

Well… there is none of that! The only way to find out what it has is to read it.

And the last one to make the list:

Found by Erin Kinsley (A Review)

When 11-year-old Evan vanishes without a trace, his parents are plunged into their worst nightmare. Especially as the police, under massive pressure, have no answers. But months later, Evan is unexpectedly found, frightened and refusing to speak. His loving family realizes life will never be the same again. DI Naylor knows that unless those who took Evan are caught, other children are in danger. And with Evan silent, she must race against time to find those responsible...

Found by Erin Kinsley is a domestic thriller set primarily in a couple of homes in England.

Kinsley’s writing is invisible, which is the best kind. The dialogue flows naturally, and descriptions are short and to the point.

We follow around 8 characters, which, yes, does get confusing at times. I especially kept mixing up two police officers who worked together. What made matters worse was that Kinsley would hop around characters mid chapter, making things even more confusing. At least it was all done in one single timeline, which I appreciated.

As per the title of this section, the book didn’t take me where I expected it would go. I guess I didn’t think about what would happen once Evan was found and brought back to his family, but I wasn’t expecting a family drama, which is what it mostly is. Don’t get me wrong, I teared up quite a few times, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling.

The characters we follow range between proactive and passive, but the plot moves forward, albeit slowly, towards some resolution.

There is no romance, no swearing, and no scenes of graphic violence.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

The ending was appropriate for the story. We got a long denouement, which I always appreciate.

I enjoyed this book, but I should warn anyone reading it that it blurs the line between family drama and thriller. That said, it was a great read if you are looking for something with feelings in it.

This Week’s Finds

• We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter marks her 25th novel, launching a new small-town thriller series set in Georgia.

• Last Seen by J.T. Ellison comes out this August as well. I enjoyed A Very Bad Thing early in the year, so I’m adding this one to my ever-growing TBR list. It’s about a forensic scientist drawn back into crime when her mother’s death reveals unexpected secrets.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email.