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12 Fast -Paced Books to End Reading Slump
Feeling stuck in a reading rut? If you’re looking for fast-paced books to break reading slumps look no further!
Here is the list of popular fast-paced novels that are just perfect to help you with your bad reading slump.
These books have gripping plots, heart-pounding suspense, and unforgettable characters . Whether you’re craving thrilling mysteries, pulse-pounding plot, these books are guaranteed to get your heart racing and your mind engaged.
Fast-paced Novels To Break Your Reading Slumps
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

This book is like a whirlwind of suspense and intrigue that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. With its fast-paced plot and shocking twists, it’s the kind of book that’ll have you staying up way past your bedtime just to find out what happens next.
Blurb: Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He’s a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’re hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are inseparable.
Some might call this true love. Others might wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. Or why she never seems to take anything with her when she leaves the house, not even a pen. Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows.
Some might wonder what’s really going on once the dinner party is over, and the front door has closed.
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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Imagine waking up in space with no memory of who you are or why you’re there. That’s exactly what happens to Ryland Grace in this pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller. As he races against time to save humanity, you’ll be on the edge of your seat, devouring each page to see if he can pull off the impossible.
Blurb: Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
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Recursion by Blake Crouch

Get ready for a mind-bending ride with this one. As Barry Sutton delves into the mysteries of False Memory Syndrome, you’ll be drawn into a world where nothing is as it seems and reality itself is up for grabs. With its gripping plot and thought-provoking themes, it’s the kind of book that’ll break your reading slump in minutes.
Blurb: That’s what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.
That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.
As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.
But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?
At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.
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Red Rising by Pierce Brown

If you’re in the mood for action-packed adventure, look no further. Set in a dystopian future where society is divided by color, this book follows Darrow as he fights to overthrow the oppressive ruling class. With its epic battles and high-stakes drama, it’s the perfect remedy for a reading slump, guaranteed to keep you hooked until the very end.
Blurb: I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
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The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

This psychological thriller is like a rollercoaster ride of suspense and tension. From the moment you start reading, you’ll be swept up in the mystery of a missing child and a house full of secrets.
Blurb: You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall.
Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying.
Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour.
Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She’s gone.
You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there.
What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?
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The Guest List by Lucy Foley

This book takes you on a dark and twisted journey into the secrets of a wedding celebration gone horribly wrong. Set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, it’s filled with resentment, jealousy, and ultimately murder. With its atmospheric setting and a cast of unforgettable characters, it’s the perfect book to sink your teeth into and break free from any reading slump.
Blurb: A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.
The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
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The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

If you’re a fan of horror and the macabre, this one’s for you. With its chilling tale of love, lust, and unbridled desire, it’s a book that’ll haunt your dreams long after you’ve turned the last page. Barker’s vivid imagination and masterful storytelling make this a must-read for anyone craving a dark and twisted tale to shake up their reading routine.
Blurb: In a quiet house on a quiet street Frank and Julia are having an affair. Not your ordinary affair. For Frank it began with his own insatiable sexual appetite, a mysterious lacquered box- and then an unhinged voyage through a netherworld of imaginable pleasures and unimaginable horror… Now Frank – or what is left of Frank – waits in an empty room. All he wants is to live as he was before. All Julia can do is bring him her unfulfilled passions… and a little flesh and blood.
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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This gripping psychological thriller is a fast-paced book with mind-blowing twists. As you go deep into the mind of Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who murdered her husband and then fell silent, you’ll be drawn into a web of lies, deceit, and ultimately redemption.
Blurb: Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….
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The Teacher by Freida McFadden

This book is a rollercoaster ride of suspense and intrigue that’ll leave you breathless. As Eve delves into the secrets of a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, she uncovers a tangled web of lies and deception that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. With its fast-paced plot and unforgettable characters, it’s the perfect book to snap you out of any reading slump.
Blurb: Lesson #1: Trust no one.
Eve has a good life. She wakes up each day, kisses her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except…
Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.
Addie can’t be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that’s what everyone says.
But nobody knows the real.
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Verity by Colleen Hoover

This is a dark and twisted tale of love, obsession, and betrayal. As Lowen delves into the secrets of bestselling author Verity Crawford, she uncovers a truth so horrifying it could destroy everything she holds dear. With its shocking twists and heart-pounding suspense, it’s the kind of book that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
Blurb: Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.
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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

So if you’re looking for a fast-paced ya thriller that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, look no further than “We Were Liars”.
Blurb: A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
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Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

This gripping thriller takes you on a journey of suspense and mystery as Jen races against time to prevent a devastating crime. With its clever premise and heart-pounding twists, you would absolutely want to never stop reading books.
Blurb: Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger.
She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered.
After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up… it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.
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