Adrenaline-Fueled Summer Reads for Stunt Double Reader Types
Action, War, and True Crime Stories to Keep You on the Edge
If you crave heart-pounding plots, gritty heroes, and dangerous missions, you’re a Stunt Double Reader. At Bookfinity, we match you with stories packed with raw intensity—whether it's military thrillers, survival horror, or true crime that reads like fiction.
This summer, gear up with new releases that bring the heat. From battlefield drama and tactical operations to serial killers and supernatural threats, these June–August reads deliver all the action, suspense, and edge-of-your-seat energy you’re looking for.
August New Releases
House of Monstrous Women
by Daphne Fama
A young woman is drawn into a dangerous game after being invited to the mazelike home of her childhood friend, a rumored witch, in this gothic horror set in 1986 Philippines.
In this game, there's one rule: survive.
Orphaned after her father's political campaign ended in tragedy, Josephine is alone taking care of the family home while her older brother is off in Manila, where revolution brews. But an unexpected invitation from her childhood friend Hiraya to her house offers an escape. . . .
Why don't you come visit, and we can play games like we used to?
If Josephine wins, she'll get whatever her heart desires. Her brother is invited, too, and it's time they had a talk. Josephine's heard the dark whispers: Hiraya is a witch and her family spits curses. But still, she's just desperate enough to seize this chance to change her destiny.
Except the Ranoco house is strange, labyrinthine, and dangerously close to a treacherous sea. A sickly-sweet smell clings to the dimly lit walls, and veiled eyes follow Josephine through endless connecting rooms. The air is tense with secrets, and as the game continues it's clear Josephine doesn't have the whole truth.
To save herself, she will have to play to win. But in this house, victory is earned with blood.
A lush new voice in horror arises in this riveting gothic set against the upheaval of 1986 Philippines and the People Power Revolution.
The Possession of Alba Díaz
by Isabel Cañas
When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn't trust...from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family's isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family's legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin's betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can't help but notice the growing tension between them every time she enters the room...and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon's thirst for blood gets stronger.
In the fight for her life, Alba and Elías become entangled with the occult, the Church, long-kept secrets, and each other... not knowing that one of these things will spell their doom.
The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces
by Seth Harp
"The Fort Bragg Cartel opens like a nonfiction thriller and never lets up. A page-turning investigation into the dark side of our forever wars."
--Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S
A groundbreaking investigation into a string of unsolved murders at America's premier special operations base, and what the crimes reveal about drug trafficking and impunity among elite soldiers in today's military
In December 2020, a deer hunter discovered two dead bodies that had been riddled with bullets and dumped in a forested corner of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. One of the dead men, Master Sergeant William "Billy" Lavigne, was a member of Delta Force, the most secretive "black ops" unit in the military. A deeply traumatized veteran of America's classified assassination program, Lavigne had done more than a dozen deployments in his lengthy career, was addicted to crack cocaine, dealt drugs on base, and had committed a series of violent crimes before he was mysteriously killed. The other victim, Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Dumas, was a quartermaster attached to the Special Forces who used his proximity to clandestine missions to steal guns and traffic drugs into the United States from abroad, and had written a blackmail letter threatening to expose criminality in the special operations task force in Afghanistan.
As soon as Seth Harp, an Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter, begins looking into the double murder, he learns that there have been many more unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg recently, other murders connected to drug trafficking in elite units, and dozens of fatal overdoses. Drawing on declassified documents, trial transcripts, police records, and hundreds of interviews, Harp tells a scathing story of narco-trafficking in the Special Forces, drug conspiracies abetted by corrupt police, blatant military cover-ups, American complicity in the Afghan heroin trade, and the pernicious consequences of continuous war.
Everybody Has a Gun
by William W Johnstone - J a Johnstone
"The Fastest Gun in the Territory " returns--and the ultimate showdown begins--in the latest, greatest Jon Gage adventure from the bestselling Johnstones . . .
Like any gunslinger with a bloodstained past, Jon Gage needs to keep moving to stay alive. Too many people know the legend of "Texas Lightning"--and too many people want him dead. Trying to keep a low profile, he stops at a supply post in Utah Territory to stock up before hitting the trail. There, he meets a wagon train of farmers from Kansas doing the same. They seem like good, decent folks, but they're about to make a very bad decision. The route they've chosen leads straight through the Chosen Valley. Which is like walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death . . .
Ruled by a notorious and powerful cult--known for their cruel and unusual punishments--the Chosen Valley is worse than a dead end. It's a trap. Especially for a wagon train of farmers, who are easy targets in a brutal ambush by black-robed zealots. Alerted by the gunshots, Gage tries to help the farmers by donning a robe and infiltrating the cult. What he learns shocks him. The cult plans to kill the farmers, steal their supplies, and force their children into slave labor. Gage is not about to let that happen--even if has to take on the entire cult himself.
Every one of them has a gun. But none of them are as fast--or as deadly--as Texas Lightning . . .
Sheepdogs
by Elliot Ackerman
Two Misfits. One Mission. Zero Back-Up. - When a high-stakes heist goes wrong, an ex-CIA operative and a special operations pilot find themselves in the middle of a game of espionage and survival as they navigate a treacherous web of deception and shifting loyalties in a globe-spanning, action-packed thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of 2034.
"Move Sheepdogs to the top of your list!"--Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"A thriller and comedy in one, it's a wild ride."--Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Skwerl and Cheese are down on their luck and about to find themselves tangled in the heist of their lives. Skwerl, once an elite member of the CIA's paramilitary unit, was cast out after a raid gone wrong in Afghanistan. Big Cheese Aziz, a former Afghan pilot of legendary skill, now works the graveyard shift at a gas station.
Recruited into a shadowy network of "sheepdogs," they embark on a mission to repossess a multi-million-dollar private jet stranded on a remote African airfield. But as they wind through a labyrinth of lies and hidden agendas, they discover that nothing is as it seems. Their contact vanishes, their handler's motives are suspect, and the true source of their payday remains a mystery.
With the stakes skyrocketing and the women in their lives drawn into the fray, this unlikely spy duo find themselves deep in the underbelly of modern war and intelligence.
From the jungles of Kampala to the glitz of Marseille, they'll need to be as cunning as they are bold to survive in a game where the line between the hunters and the hunted is razor-thin.
July New releases
The Bewitching
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
"In Silvia Moreno-Garcia's sure hands, every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror."--Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Reformatory
"Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches" That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva--stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that's why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
Girl in the Creek
by Wendy N Wagner
Girl in the Creek is a pulse-pounding story about the horrors growing all around us, perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and T. Kingfisher.
Buried secrets only spread.
Erin's brother Bryan has been missing for five years.
It was as if he simply walked into the forests of the Pacific Northwest and vanished. Determined to uncover the truth, Erin heads to the foothills of Mt. Hood where Bryan was last seen alive. He isn't the first hiker to go missing in this area, and their cases go unsolved.
An Inside Job
by Daniel Silva
Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon must solve the perfect crime in the dazzling new tale of murder, greed, and corruption from #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Daniel Silva.
Sometimes the only way to recover a stolen masterpiece is to steal it back . . .
Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.
Edge of Honor: A Thriller
by Brad Thor
#1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor returns with an exhilarating new Scot Harvath thriller.
After six months abroad, America's top spy returns to a new administration, a new set of global priorities, and a power struggle--the likes of which the United States has never experienced.
Drawn into a web of deceit and deadly politics, Scot Harvath is thrust into a high-stakes conspiracy that could change the course of history. A cabal of shadowy elites is maneuvering for control and if they succeed, they will bring the country to its knees.
The Man from Blood Gulch
by William W Johnstone - J a Johnstone
In this blazing new series from the bestselling Johnstones, the sole survivor of a bloody massacre turns his rage to bounty hunting--and a new Western legend is born. . . .
They call him Ghost. A hard man with a hard past, Garret "Ghost" McCoy will never forget the day his family was brutally attacked by vicious marauders. It forced him to grow up fast, get tough even faster, and sharpen every skill to survive--by gun, by knife, or by fist. A true loner and silent stalker, Ghost is the kind of no-nonsense bounty hunter who always gets his man. Dead or alive. But it's only a matter of time before his reputation catches up with him--in a dusty dead-end town called Coyote Flats . . .
The List
by Steve Berry
In the vein of David Baldacci, John Grisham, and Harlan Coben--this is Steve Berry like you've never read him before.
After a ten-year self-imposed exile, Brent Walker is returning home to Concord, a quaint town in central Georgia nestled close to the Savannah River. Two years ago, his father died, and now Brent, hired by Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company as its assistant general counsel, is returning to care for his ailing mother.
For decades, Southern Republic has invested heavily in Concord, creating a thriving community where its employees live, work, and retire. But the genteel sheen of this quiet town is deceiving, and when a list of cryptic code surfaces, Brent starts to see the cracks.
June New Releases
So Far Gone
by Jess Walter
"A warm, funny, loving novel. . . . It's an American original."--Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
"So Far Gone is a marvel."--Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins--and in the propulsive spirit of Charles Portis' True Grit--comes a hilarious, empathetic, and brilliantly provocative adventure through life in modern America, about a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren.
Rhys Kinnick has gone off the grid. At Thanksgiving a few years back, a fed-up Rhys punched his conspiracy-theorist son-in-law in the mouth, chucked his smartphone out a car window and fled for a cabin in the woods, with no one around except a pack of hungry raccoons.
The River Is Waiting
by Wally Lamb
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks--She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True--Wally Lamb comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable.
Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that's before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother's enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?
Proof: A Thriller
by Jon Cowan
"Cowan has combined the best parts of classic legal thrillers, with an unexpected new lead character that brings the genre into a new generation." --JAMES PATTERSON
From a writer and executive producer of Suits comes a riveting and gritty legal thriller about murder, cover-ups, redemption, and Los Angeles--perfect for fans of #1 bestselling authors John Grisham and Scott Turow.
As a disgraced lawyer with a drinking problem that he doesn't view as a problem, Jake West is coasting on what's left of his charm and money. He used to be the kind of lawyer who could convince anyone of anything--until he decided to take on his father's biggest client and prove his dad was corrupt. Now Jake finds himself almost at rock bottom, and that's before his ex-best friend is murdered and Jake is accused of the crime.
King of Ashes
by S a Cosby
Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.
When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father's car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family--and the family business--together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante's recklessness has placed them all in real danger.
Cry Havoc: A Tom Reece Thriller
by Jack Carr
From the "hottest author on the thriller scene today" (The Real Book Spy), #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr brings the worlds of special operations and CIA paramilitary units into direct collision in the jungles of Vietnam with his explosive new thriller introducing young Navy SEAL Tom Reece, a man torn between the blurred lines and allegiances of the military and the increasingly murky world of intelligence. This is how it all began...
1968. A time of division. A time of civil unrest. A time of war.
Just before the Tet Offensive, before President Johnson announces he will not run for reelection, before the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, as riots and protests rage across the nation, a spy ship is captured by communist forces off the coast of North Korea.
The crew thought they had destroyed everything of intelligence value. They were wrong.
As a KGB "illegal" elicits information from a high-ranking NSA official, and teams of special operators infiltrating into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam disappear without a trace, an ambitious Soviet advisor launches an ingenious plan that could forever alter the world balance of power.
The First Gentleman: A Thriller
by James Patterson - Bill Clinton
America has a powerful new president... And her husband's on trial for murder.
Clinton and Patterson are back. And they're better than ever.
The President of the United States is up for reelection.
Her husband is on trial for murder.
Is the First Gentleman a killer?
A pair of brilliant investigative journalists set out to answer that burning question about the NFL star-turned-political spouse.
The First Gentleman has all the twists and turns, and the authenticity, one expects from the #1 bestselling authors of The President Is Missing and The President's Daughter.
Never Flinch
by Stephen King
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by The New York Times Book Review, AV Club, Variety, The Boston Globe, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vulture, Men's Health, Book Riot, The New York Post, Goodreads, AARP, Paste, and more!
From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines--one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker--featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.
When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to "kill thirteen innocents and one guilty" in "an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man," Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.
With a Vengeance
by Riley Sager
One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.
In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson's family. Twelve years later, she's ready for retribution.
Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family's downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of thirteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who've wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.
Kill Your Darlings
by Peter Swanson
"A dazzlingly clever murder mystery, told backwards, asking the question: why would this loving wife murder her husband?"--Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Famous Last Words and Wrong Place Wrong Time
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders comes an inventive, utterly propulsive murder-mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret at its heart.
Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well...except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.
What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom's marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple's lives--their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason's birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague--all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.
Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks
by Geoff White
The thrilling examination of how the new generation of money launderers, from the acclaimed investigative journalist and author of The Lazarus Heist.
For as long as people have been stealing money, there has been an industry ready to wash it. But what happened when our economy went digital? How does the global underworld wash its dirty money in the Internet age?
Rinsed reveals how organized crooks have joined forces with the world's most sophisticated cybercriminals. The result: a vast virtual money-laundering machine too intelligent for most authorities to crack. Through a series of jaw-dropping cases and interviews with insiders at all levels of the system, Geoff White shows how thieves are uniting to successfully get away with the most atrocious crimes on an unprecedented scale.