"It ends with a killer twist." The 9 books we couldn't put down this month.

This month I devoured a fast-paced thriller that reminded me of We Need To Talk About Kevin, and a life-affirming novel that made me stop carrying around the weight of all my life's regrets. 

Big month! 

The rest of the Mamamia team have been reading some fast-paced thrillers from some of Australia's best crime authors, a memoir from one of Hollywood's most intriguing stars, and a couple of Taylor Jenkins Reid's bestsellers. 

Here are the nine books we couldn't put down this month: 

The Push by Ashley Audrain

Image: Penguin/Mamamia. 

"One of my favourite books of all time is We Need To Talk About Kevin. The Push is basically the female version of that. It's an intense thriller about a mum who doesn't bond with her newborn daughter and then begins to wonder whether there might be something not quite right about her. It ends with a killer twist that will haunt you for days after you've put the book down." - Keryn Donnelly, Pop Culture Editor 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Image: Simon & Schuster/Mamamia. 

"I wasn't sure this book would be up my alley, but I was dead wrong. I literally couldn't put this book down and finished it within two days. When I read the blurb, it sounded like a pretty straightforward story about a woman with many failed marriages, but it's about so much more. It has mystery, romance and two impressive female lead characters. I could not recommend this more!" - Maddie Rogers, Partner Integration Executive 

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Image: Hachette Australia/Mamamia. 

"This book shares some really great life lessons through Matthew McConaughey's own funny life experiences. Tapping into that outlaw persona, he has the ability to make beautiful sense of a situation that really is just plain sh*t. This book is the perfect hybrid of a biography and a self-help guide, I highly recommend it. If not for the eye-opening ways to view situations, then for the funny-as-balls stories!" - Rikki Waller, Strategic Partnerships Manager 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Image: Penguin/Mamamia. 

"I know I am LATE to this, but after everyone at work told me to read it, I finally did. To be honest... I wasn't sure when I read the blurb but then I started it and COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. It was like a trashy TV drama but beautifully written and reminded me why I love the ocean so much." - Lily Allsep, Social Media Manager 

Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler

Image: HarperCollins/Mamamia. 

"I love everything Richard Fidler writes and how it makes me want to know even more about that particular part of history... I'm deep into the Byzantine Empire right now!" - Maddie Joannou, Managing Producer 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Image: Allen & Unwin/Mamamia. 

"I avoided reading The Midnight Library for a long time because it felt almost too close to home. 

For years, I've wished that I could go back and redo a large chunk of my life. Make the right decisions. Pick myself up after the failures and turn them into something better. 

In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed gets to do just that. Haunted by her past mistakes and missed opportunities, and feeling isolated from the rest of the world, 35-year-old Nora ends her own life. 

She wakes up in 'The Midnight Library', a place between life and death where she gets the chance to live all the lives she missed out on. 

The Midnight Library is a life-affirming novel about the choices we make, the little moments that make a big life, and the realisation that it's never too late to start over." - Keryn Donnelly, Pop Culture Editor 

Where the Dead Go by Sarah Bailey

Image: Allen & Unwin/Mamamia. 

"Since reading her debut thriller The Dark Lake, I've smashed through all of Sarah Bailey's novels. She's like a hybrid of Gillian Flynn and Jane Harper, AKA my perfect novelist. 

"The Gemma Woodstock trilogy, centreing on a young female detective, is a series of police procedurals about gritty murders that really get into the psychology of how crimes are solved and why they happen in the first place. 

"This last book in the trilogy is set in a coastal town near Byron Bay where a teenage surfer has been murdered and his young girlfriend is missing. The secrets of the town gradually come to light as Gemma faces her own demons. I read it in two sittings." - Tamara Davis, Head of Lifestyle

The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili

Image: Scribe Publications/Mamamia. 

"I didn't even mean to buy this, complete accidental purchase. But I devoured it in about two weeks. It is 913 pages filled with characters who you love, adore, absolutely despise and yet mourn when all is said and done. Historical fiction novel that spans over 100 years. It's so bloody good!" - Shannen Findlay, Editorial Assistant 

The Last Guests by J.P. Pomare

Image: Hachette/Mamamia. 

"I found the premise of The Last Guests a little far-fetched, but maybe that's because it's just so... unsettling. 

"Lina and Cain are strapped for cash, so they decide to put Lina's inherited lakeside house up for rent on the weekends. But letting strangers into their lives might not be the best ideas as they're both hiding some pretty jaw-dropping secrets. 

"This was a taut, twisty thriller and I read it in a single evening. I'll definitely be reading more J.P. Pomare. And I may not stay in an Airbnb ever again." - Polly Taylor, Commissioning Editor 

Keryn Donnelly is Mamamia's Pop Culture Editor. For more of her TV, film and book recommendations and to see photos of her dog, follow her on Instagram . 

For more like this: 

• The 7 books everyone will be reading in September.
• The 9 books everyone will be reading in August.
• The 7 books everyone will be reading in July. 
• The 6 books everyone will be reading in June.
• The 6 books everyone will be reading in May.