Escape into the drama and exhilarating plotlines of these 5 thrillers

With the fast-approaching election, record-breaking temperatures and much more going on, brain space is hard to come by these days.

But a good mystery can be a much-needed escape, helping us leave the problems of our real lives behind as we immerse ourselves in the exhilarating plotlines of imagined drama and problems. You could watch “Love Island” instead, but this route will provide a more enriching departure. 

It’s prime vacation season, and Caro Carver’s “Bad Tourists” (Avid Reader Press, $28.99) makes the perfect accessory for those trekking to the sandy landscape of a beach getaway.

Previously penning gothic thrillers under the name C.J. Cooke — 2021’s “The Lighthouse Witches” is one of her most notable — this debut under the Carver pseudonym centers on three best friends on a lavish postdivorce trip in the Maldives.

As Darcy, Camilla and Kate, bonded following a mass murder over two decades ago, settle in at the exclusive Sapphire Island Resort, a body is discovered on the beach, and waves of dark secrets begin to wash up during what should be a relaxing 5-star vacation. Companionship, tragedy and deceit color this savory, locked-room whodunit with an explosive bombshell ending. 

In 2021, Ellery Lloyd — a pseudonym for married co-authors Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos — broke into the thriller/mystery world with the juicy and suspenseful debut “People Like Her,” a New York Times bestseller. This was followed by the even more titillating “The Club” in 2022, which Samantha Downing, author of “My Lovely Wife,” dubbed “a clever blend of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ and murder.”

Now, Lloyd is back with another gripping romp into the lives of the elite. “The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby” (Harper, $29.99) unfolds as an artfully layered gossamer of scandalous lies, love, craft and female power as fictional artist Juliette Willoughby’s painting, “Self-Portrait As Sphinx,” braids together the stories of women in three diverse eras: Paris in 1938, Cambridge in 1991 and present-day Dubai. 

Judge, crime fiction writer and James Patterson co-author David Ellis returns with a gripping thriller featuring a very slippery truth.

At the forefront of “The Best Lies” (G.P. Putnam, $29) is attorney Leo Balanoff, also known to be a pathological liar. So you can bet the odds are not in his favor when the FBI names Leo one of its top suspects in the brutal murder of local drug dealer Cyrus Balik.

The stakes have never been higher as the FBI gives Leo two options. He can either go to prison for the rest of his life or go undercover to expose the entire mob syndicate. “Law & Order” gets a cynical twist, with plenty of drama to keep the pages turning until the sun rises. 

Following the success of “The Diamond Eye” and “The Rose Code,” Kate Quinn is back with “The Briar Club” (William Morrow, $28.99), a McCarthy-era thriller where secrets are brimming in a 1950s Washington, D.C., boardinghouse.

In this novel focusing on female relationships and women’s evolving roles in the U.S. following the war, a widow finds surprising companionship in her neighbors of various backgrounds, including a picture-perfect stay-at-home mom, the daughter of a policeman who also happens to be dating a gangster, a baseball star at the end of her career and a woman in the throes of the Red Scare. A murder threatens to turn the group’s weekly warm and sweet get-togethers sour, however, as the five women must discern who in their found family isn’t to be trusted.

Rich historical details and deep character-building drive this slow-burning tale that flawlessly balances pulpy entertainment with a tear-inducing storyline. 

Returning authors seem to be the trend this month. My final recommendation stays in the historical fiction realm and comes from Jacqueline Winspear, who, last month, closed out her early aughts-born Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series with “The Comfort of Ghosts” (Soho Crime, $29.95).

Throughout the years, psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs has taken readers through the postwar battlefields of World War I France to the end of World War II, uncovering heartbreaking pasts and curious motives while allowing readers to grow older with Maisie and the series’ beloved cast of characters. This final novel in the 18-book collection wraps up the series in a satisfying bow but doesn’t skimp on the sentiment. Long-standing fans would be wise to read with tissues.