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Psychological fiction

  • Author:
    Collins, Wilkie
    Summary:

    When Walter Hartwright encounters a solitary, terrified, beautiful woman dressed in white on a moonlit night in London, he feels impelled to solve the mystery of her distress. The story, full of secrets, locked rooms, lost memories, and surprise revelations, features heroine Marian Halcombe and drawing-master Walter Hartright as sleuthing partners pitted against the diabolical Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde. This gothic psychological thriller, a mesmerizing tale of murder, intrigue, madness, and mistaken identity, has gripped the imagination of readers since its first publication in 1860. The breathtaking tension of Collins's narrative created a new literary genre of suspense fiction, which profoundly shaped the course of English popular writing.

  • Author:
    Abe, Kobo
    Summary:

    The Woman in the Dunes, by celebrated writer and thinker Kobo Abe, combines the essence of myth, suspense and the existential novel. After missing the last bus home following a day trip to the seashore, an amateur entomologist is offered lodging for the night at the bottom of a vast sand pit. But when he attempts to leave the next morning, he quickly discovers that the locals have other plans. Held captive with seemingly no chance of escape, he is tasked with shoveling back the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten to destroy the village. His only companion is an odd young woman. Together their fates become intertwined as they work side by side at this Sisyphean task.

  • Author:
    Hepditch, Emily
    Summary:

    On the coast of rural Newfoundland, Hannah Fitzgerald's mother has lived her life in near total isolation. When Hannah returns to the lonely saltbox house to prepare her mother for the transition into assisted living, her childhood home is anything but welcoming. Dilapidated from years of hoarding and neglect, the walls are crumbling, leaving Hannah's wellness crumbling along with them. While packing her mother's things, Hannah discovers a trap door to the house's attic, the one she believed for most of her life had been permanently sealed shut. Blinded by curiosity, Hannah enters the attic and finds a mysterious bedroom riddled with dark secrets. Desperate to know more, Hannah begins to scramble for answers, combing the house for clues that may lead her to the truth. Hannah must navigate through the violent outbursts of her senile mother, the prying questions of a nosy hospice nurse, and the rage of the coastal wind that threatens the structure of the house. Piece by piece, she assembles a picture of her mother's not-so-distant past-a twisted tangle of infatuation, lies, and maybe even murder. The Woman in the Attic is a claustrophobic psychological thriller wrought with suspense. This novel will put you on the edge of your seat . . . and make you wary of the unused spaces collecting dust in your home.

  • Author:
    Fisher, Tarryn
    Summary:

    Imagine that your husband has two other wives. You've never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don't care. Or at least that's what you've told yourself. But one day, while you're doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket-an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it's another of the wives. You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can't help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then, Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realize she's being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you've never known him to be violent, ever. Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you go to find the truth? Would you risk your own life' And who is his mysterious third wife?

  • Author:
    Macintyre, Linden
    Summary:

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER. A thrilling new psychological drama from Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Linden MacIntrye, weaving threads of crime, disability and dementia together into a tale of unrequited love and delusion. Two old friends, who first met in university, get together for a weekend of golfing: Allan, a football hero, worldly and financially successful, and his quieter friend, nicknamed Byron, lame from a childhood injury, a smart fellow who became a lawyer but who has never left home, staying put so he could care for a mother with Alzheimer's. During a long night of drinking, the fault lines between them start to show. One of the biggest: the two men married sisters, though Allan was the one who walked down the aisle with Peggy, the sister both of them loved, and Byron had to settle for Annie. Out on the course the next morning, Allan suffers a stroke. In one traumatic moment, he loses control of his life, his wife and his business empire, which turns out to have been built on lies and the illegal drug trade. And Byron has to suddenly confront his own weaknesses and strengths, his tangled relationship with Allan and the Winter sisters—both the one he married and the one he thought was the love of his life. No one will anticipate the lengths to which Byron will go to make sense of his life.

  • Author:
    Michaels, Anne
    Summary:

    Engineer Avery Escher and his wife Jean live in Egypt as he works on rescuing the temple of Abu Simbel from the waters of the Aswan Dam, but after observing the displacement of Egyptians settlers and losing a child, their marriage seems to fall apart.

  • Author:
    VanSickle, Vikki
    Summary:

    Marivic Stone lives in a small world and that's just fine with her. Home is with her beloved grandfather (Gumps) in Darby, New Mexico, a small town that just happens to be famous for a medical discovery that saved humankind--though not without significant repurcussions. Marivic loves her best friend, Saren, and the two of them promise to stick together through thick and thin, and especially through the uncertain winnowing procedure, a now inevitable--but dangerous--part of adolescence. But when news of Saren's death thrusts Marivic into a world of conspiracy, rebellion and revolution, for the first time in her life, Marivic is forced to think and act big. If she is going to avenge Saren and right a decade of wrongs, she will need to trust her own frightening new abilities, even when it means turning her back on everything, and everyone, she's known and loved. For junior and senior high readers. Winner of the 2018 Red Maple Fiction Award. 2019 MYRCA Northern Lights Honour Book Winner.

  • Author:
    Murakami, Haruki
    Summary:

    In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.

  • Author:
    Harvey, Samantha
    Summary:

    After he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Jake Jameson retires from his architectural firm and begins reflecting on his life. As the hazy recollections come forth, Jake emerges as an unreliable--and perhaps unsympathetic--narrator.

  • Author:
    Morgan, Phoebe
    Summary:

    A group of four friends reconnect on a planned African safari. They hope to put away that horrible night, all those years ago. But after arriving, they find themselves completely alone.

  • Author:
    Lansens, Lori
    Summary:

    In Leaford, Ontario, love and grief combine to awaken an obese woman from her loneliness. When her husband doesn't come home on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Mary Gooch, who has never learned to be self-sufficient, sets out on a remarkable journey of self-discovery.

  • Author:
    Constantine, Liv
    Summary:

    Joanna is determined to find something, anything, to use against the woman who has stolen her life and her true love. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save her husband and children?

  • Author:
    Koontz, Dean
    Summary:

    Jane Hawk-fiction's most relentless, resourceful, stunning new heroine-continues her battle against a murderous conspiracy in the riveting sequel to The Silent Corner. "No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this." These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun-just before she takes her own life, and many others', in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better. In the wake of her husband's inexplicable suicide-and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals-Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But the ruthless people bent on hijacking America's future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue-and become the nation's most wanted fugitive-in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

  • Author:
    Jackson, Joanne
    Summary:

    A year after the early death of his wife, John Davies comes hesitantly out of retirement to take a job at The Wheaton, a senior's residence. Having resisted 'getting involved' for his entire life, John is immediately out of his comfort zone. The Wheaton is a boundary-free environment, and he is immersed in the kinds of sticky matters he usually does his best to avoid. Surrounded by mortality and the ghosts of regret haunting many of the residents, John begins to do the unthinkable: relate to his fellow creatures and reconsider his past. After a life of being a selfish husband and a distracted absentee father, is it too late to try to make amends?

  • Author:
    Swan, Susan
    Summary:

    "The Western Light, the prequel to the international bestselling The Wives of Bath, is Susan Swan''s long-awaited return to the life of the beloved narrator Mary "Mouse" Bradford. Mouse''s world is constrained by a number of factors: her mother is dead, her father -- the admired country doctor -- is emotionally distant, her housekeeper Sal is prejudiced and narrow, and her grandmother and aunt, Big Louie and Little Louie, the only life-affirming presences in her life, live in another city. Enter Gentleman John Pilkie, the former NHL star who''s transferred to the mental hospital in Midland, where he is to serve out his life-sentence for the murder of his wife and daughter. John becomes a point of fascination for young Mary, who looks to him for the attention she does not receive from her father. He, in turn, is kind to her -- but the kindness is misunderstood. When Mary figures out that the attention she receives from the Hockey Killer is different in kind and intent from the attention her Aunt Little Louie receives, her world collapses. Set against the beautiful and dramatic shores of Georgian Bay, the climax will have readers turning pages with concern for characters they can''t help but love."--Publisher.

  • Author:
    Smith, Amber
    Summary:

    In the tradition of Speak, this extraordinary debut novel shares the unforgettable story of a young woman as she struggles to find strength in the aftermath of an assault. Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn't change who she was. But the night her brother's best friend rapes her, Eden's world capsizes. What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved-who she once loved-she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she's supposed to tell someone what happened but she can't. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be. Told in four parts-freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year-this provocative debut reveals the deep cuts of trauma. But it also demonstrates one young woman's strength as she navigates the disappointment and unbearable pains of adolescence, of first love and first heartbreak, of friendships broken and rebuilt, and while learning to embrace a power of survival she never knew she had hidden within her heart.

  • Author:
    Overton, Hollie
    Summary:

    Perfectly poised to exploit the criminal justice system she knows so well, single mom Kristy Tucker sets out to permanently rid herself of Lance, the abusive monster she's become shackled to.

  • Author:
    Woods, Jane
    Summary:

    A CNQ Editors’ Book of the Year. Does faith insist upon the spotless soul? Can intellectual integrity and an honest search for the holy in this world survive a collision with religious mania? Is heavenly forgiveness possible this side of the River Styx? In this boisterous, witty, manically paced novel, Maggie Prentice is resolved to find out, even if it costs her everything. A true original, capable of brilliant verbal contortions, Maggie Prentice won't give up. Haunted by her past, chafing under the tutelage of her born-again, cult-figure brother, coping with the double devils of alcoholism and disconnectedness, she is pursued by the Tanteek, an armchair prankster out of a Dylan song that incarnates her questions, uncertainties, and fears, and dogs her every move. In her wild, over-the-top, yet eerily familiar universe, Maggie is forced to confront life's big questions -- faith, fear, love, and death -- does life have meaning? In this daring, intelligent, whip-smart debut novel, Jane Woods has created unforgettable characters that live in what might be an alternate reality. She has also written a captivating, deeply affective story that grabs the reader and won't let go.

  • Author:
    Stibbards, Shawn Curtis
    Summary:

    Listless, bored, alienated, and mistrustful, Trace Patterson has finished his first year of university and is living with a drunken aunt in North Van. He divides his nights between slasher films and high school house parties. When two old buddies resurface, however'one in a psych ward, and the other on a paranoia bender'Trace's careless-if-not-carefree existence becomes paralyzed by self-doubt. Does he actually want to help his friends, or is he secretly hoping they'll go over the edge? With its cast of brutally shallow characters, The Video Watcher is an American Psycho for the age of social disaffection.

  • Author:
    Julavits, Heidi
    Summary:

    A power struggle between a leading student at an elite institute for psychics and her jealous legendary mentor culminates in the student being forced to relive her mother's suicide during a brutal psychic attack.

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