Skulls, feathers, claws and winged flight—all are part of an ongoing scientific controversy about the evolution of birds that winds through the pages of Danish author S.J. Gazan’s absorbing debut thriller, The Dinosaur Feather. When the bones of this contentious argument get mixed up with the time-honored academic battles for tenure and research grants, it all leads to murder.

Postgraduate biology student Anna Bella Nor is ready to defend her Ph.D. thesis, one she hopes will add significantly to the argument in the science community about whether contemporary birds evolved from dinosaurs. But her thesis supervisor is found dead with a copy of Anna’s dissertation in his lap, while her second advisor, a brilliant but eccentric specialist at a Copenhagen museum, has taken to hiding from the world in his dark office full of fossils and avian bones.

The murder, committed by means of an ugly parasitic infection that took months to develop, introduces a lengthy timeline of premeditation and sends in police superintendent Søren Marhauge, who sets out to penetrate this academic world full of jealousies and murderous intent. Dubbed by Anna as the “World’s Most Irritating Detective,” he haunts the sacrosanct halls of academe, widening his search to include experts in parasitology. Another death, this time one of Anna’s young colleagues, throws her into a tailspin—and it seems she may be in danger as well, after neighbors report a strange man lurking near her apartment.

The Dinosaur Feather contains lengthy excursions into the characters’ backstories. In some books these flashbacks might make an unwelcome break in the action, but here the earlier frames provide substance and connections to bring this compelling story to life. Each character’s intriguing history rounds out the whole, and they combine for a spirited and satisfying conclusion.

Occasional odd cadences of language and mood are a reminder to readers that the book is translated from the Danish by Charlotte Barslund. Far from being a distraction, however, the sometimes-singular turns of phrase provide a distinctive slant that enhances readers' appreciation of the story—and make the reader refreshingly aware that the author created all this in a different language. The Dinosaur Feather was named the Danish Crime Novel of the Decade, and it seems sure to attract rave notices here.

“All love is desperate.” With this phrase, celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates manifests love gone wrong in Evil Eye, four novellas ringing of Gothic horror. Taking a page from du Maurier’s Rebecca, Oates puppeteers her childlike heroines through scenes of despondency set in the twisted, delusional reality that can be love, with the backdrop of oppressive circumstances and possessive men with gnarled secrets.

In the first novella, “Evil Eye,” Mariana has been subdued after her parents’ death and is tended to like a bird with a broken wing by a highbrow gentleman much her senior. His adoration and care result in her becoming his fourth wife. When his first wife visits, unsettling secrets come to light between his fits of rage, challenging both Mariana’s marriage and sanity.

In “So Near Anytime Always,” unassuming Lizbeth begins an innocent courtship with charming Desmond, a man with an air of elegance and worldliness. Their promising romance turns menacing after Desmond’s delusional outbursts of control.

The book crescendoes with “The Execution,” a grotesque tale of a well-to-do family and their resentful son. Bart seeks bloody retribution against his parents, and his plan is perfect by design: the layout, the execution and the getaway. Only his mother’s resilient love threatens to get in the way.

In the last novella, “The Flatbed,” the sexual oppression Cecelia endured as a child haunts her and threatens her relationships as an adult, lacing any sexual experience with overpowering tremors and bouts of hysteria. It isn’t until she discloses her unfathomable past to the love of her life that justice is served.

Through gripping stories that entertain and chill, Oates breeds psychological horror in our most vulnerable emotion: love. A fantastically unnerving read, the dazing darkness in Evil Eye comes from the possible reality of the circumstances.

In Paula Daly’s debut novel, Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, a mother’s nightmare unfolds over the course of four days. Four days may seem short to the average person, but for Lisa Kallisto, they are sickening, worry-laden and guilt-ridden. She is responsible for the disappearance of her best friend’s only daughter, and this isn’t the first teenage girl to vanish in the quaint Lake District. The first girl resurfaced in a nightmarish state after a horrible ordeal.

How could this happen? The answer may lie in the blind spots created by a stress-filled life, as Lisa is the epitome of an overworked woman. She is stretched thin between managing a struggling animal shelter, being a mother of three and trying to sustain a marriage. Balancing an extra chaotic week is all it takes to set off a terrifying series of events.

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? is a haunting, fast-paced suspense novel, outlined by a mother’s anxiety and a friend’s guilt. Subplots simmer to the surface, breaking characters’ boiling points and shattering porcelain perceptions, and leaving Lisa and the reader in a wide-eyed state of bewilderment and rage. The story becomes a disconcerting testament to domestic life and the potential deceit lying within every household.

Daly skillfully weighs the book with layers of emotion, seizing the reader’s empathy and ensuring the resounding effect of guilt, anger and fear. Daly binds insecurity with fear in this buzzing thriller to leave parents with a burning question at the forefront of their minds: Could this happen to me?