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Adrenaline Pumping Thrillers for Dad This Father’s Day 

There's no shortage of action or muscles on this list. 

silhouette of a father holding his son where the son is pointing to 5 thriller book covers
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  • Photo Credit: Ante Hamersmit / Unsplash

It’s been five months since the second season of Jack Reacher ended and dads everywhere wandered into their garage looking for something to fill the muscle-shaped hole left in their schedule. And we get it.

There’s nothing worse than having to wait for your favorite show to release a new season. While we can’t make season three premiere any faster, we can help you gift him the next best thing.

Here are ten adrenaline pumping thrillers filled with plenty of action and muscles to keep your dad on the edge of his seat this Father’s Day. 

Laws of Depravity

Laws of Depravity

By Eriq La Salle

For thirty years a serial killer has brutalized members of the clergy. Known as “The Martyr Maker”, every twelve years he murders twelve clergymen and leaves them in grotesque displays symbolizing the martyrdom of Jesus and his disciples.

And now he’s back. 

All of New York is on alert as detectives work around the clock to catch the killer before he finishes this latest cycle and disappears. 

But the case gets even more complicated when each of the clergymen are revealed to be less than godly, threatening to derail the investigation enough for the murderer to slip away. 

laws of annihilation eriq la salle

Laws of Annihilation (Martyr Maker Book 3)

By Eriq La Salle

It’s summer in New York and the sidewalks aren’t the only thing heating up. Tension between the Hasidic and Black communities is on the rise after a tragic accident left a Black teen dead.

But when two rabbis are killed in a gruesome attack, the tension threatens to explode. With hate crimes and body counts rising with the temperature, detectives work overtime to solve the rabbi's murder and offer justice for all involved.

Only time is running out—in more ways than one. 

And There He Kept Her: A Novel (Ben Packard Book 1)

And There He Kept Her: A Novel (Ben Packard Book 1)

By Joshua Moehling

When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake, they think the owner is just a helpless old man.

That means two things: he isn’t a threat and he might have some prescription drugs to steal. But Emmett Burr has been keeping secrets in his basement for over twenty years. 

And he’ll do anything to keep them. Sheriff Deputy Ben Packard leads the search for the missing teens. For him, it’s personal.

But as the leads dry up and time runs out, Packard has to confront his own secrets and confront the dark history of the town he now calls home.  

Where the Dead Sleep: A Novel (Ben Packard Book 2)

Where the Dead Sleep: A Novel (Ben Packard Book 2)

By Joshua Moehling

When Deputy Ben Packard is called to investigate a home invasion, he finds Bill Sanderson shot in his bed.

Bill appeared to be well-liked, but a slew of debt and broken relationships tells another story. Any of them could be guilty.

Sandy Lake has a deep history filled with bad blood. One an outside like Packard can’t easily see.

But when Packard’s life is threatened, he knows he’s getting close to discovering a secret someone wants to keep buried. 

The Power of the Dog (Power of the Dog Series Book 1)

The Power of the Dog (Power of the Dog Series Book 1)

By Don Winslow

An obsessive DEA agent. A pair of brothers heir to a drug empire. A high-class hooker. An incorruptible priest. A merciless hitman.

 All of these individuals live worlds apart and yet are all caught in the tangled web of the Mexican drug Federaci. Winslow weaves an adrenaline-fueled thriller that spans the streets of New York City to the jungles of Central America. 

This is a war on drugs like you’ve never seen before. And you won’t be able to put it down. 

Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

By James Lee Burke

Clete Purcel is a private investigator, former New Orleans cop, and war veteran with a troubled past. When his car gets ransacked by gang members tied to the drug trade, it feels personal to Clete.

His grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose thanks to dealers just like this. As he looks into the criminal enterprise, a woman hires him to investigate her ex-husband.

 But when Clete starts experiencing vivid hallucinations, he finds out there’s a dangerous new substance that might have devastating effects.

Suspicious that his car was vandalized for ulterior reasons and that even Clara’s motives aren’t what they seem, he soon finds himself in a scheme far darker than he ever imagined. 

UNSUB: A Novel (An UNSUB Novel Book 1)

UNSUB: A Novel (An UNSUB Novel Book 1)

By Meg Gardiner

Caitlin Hendrix is a Narcotics detective when a killer from her childhood reemerges. The Prophet terrorized the Bay Area for years before disappearing.

His cryptic messages and mind games nearly drove her father, the lead investigator of the case, to his breaking point. But the eleven unsolved murders were the nail in his career. Now, the Prophet is back and has his sights set on Caitlin. 

Despite her father’s warnings, Caitlin is determined to solve the case.

Is it a copycat killer? And if it’s not, can Caitlin actually redeem her family name? Or is she opening the door to drag everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss?  

No Exit: A Novel

No Exit: A Novel

By Taylor Adams

Darby Thorne is on her way to Utah to visit her dying mother when she gets caught in a snowstorm. When the roads become impassable, she has no choice but to wait at a highway rest stop with four other strangers.

As she tries to find a signal to call home, Darby sees a little girl locked in an animal crate in the back of a van parked next to her car. 

One of the strangers at the rest stop is a kidnapper. But which one? Darby races against time with her life and a little girl’s on the line as she tries to figure out how to rescue her and escape before things turn deadly for them all. 

Intensity: A Novel

Intensity: A Novel

By Dean Koontz

Chyna Shepard can’t sleep the first night she’s staying in her best friend’s Napa home. Only, perhaps that instinct saved her life. 

Edgler Foreman Vess, a murderous sociopath has broken in. And he intends to kill everyone inside.

But Chyna is a survivor and manages to not only stay out of Edgler’s grasp but learn who his next victim is going to be. With no time to lose, Chyna is the only person who can save this targeted girl.

Even if that means staying in the orbit of a terrifying killer to do it. 

The Black Jersey: A Novel

The Black Jersey: A Novel

By Jorge Zepeda Patterson

Marc Moreau is part of top Tour de France team. Team lead and Marc’s best friend are favored to win. The race is going as expected until cyclists start suffering from violent accidents. 

Everyone is on edge and paranoid as they continue to race but as the mountain grows steeper, the accidents turn deadly. Using his military experience, Marc agrees to help the French police investigate from the inside. 

It’s clear the murderer is one of the cyclists determined to win. But with each death, the number of suspects—and champions—narrows.

And when he realizes that it’s his own team that has gained the most from the murders, he faces the sickening possibility that his best friend might be the killer—and Marc might be the next victim. 

Featured image: Ante Hamersmit / Unsplash

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