I love a good thriller book. I love BIG twists and suspense at every corner. I love thinking I have it figured out and being proven completely wrong.
There is one main component for me to always recommend a thriller to anyone and everyone: when I don’t want to stop listening or reading to it.
The thrillers on this list were ones I didn’t want to put down or stop listening to. For me, that means there is enough suspense that I just want more. To me, it doesn’t feel like work to get through it.
The books:
- None of This is True by Lisa Jewell – Lisa is one of my favorite thriller authors. I loved the setup of None of This is True. The story line was different than other books I read. With one of the main characters running her own podcast, it gave that element to the book. By the end, I wanted to cry with a character. For a book to create feelings like that in me is rare.
- Bad Tourists by Caro Carver – I love the Max (HBO) show, The White Lotus and this book gave me those vibes from start to finish. If you like that show too you will love this book. I did not see the twist coming at all.
- His & Hers by Alice Feeney – If you haven’t already watched this on Netflix; I recommend reading it first. Unless watching first then reading doesn’t bother you. I especially like to recommend this one as an audiobook because a woman is narrating “her” chapters, a man is narrating the “his” chapters and an anonymous voice narrates the other chapters. That anonymous voice is so fun to listen to and I feel like it immerses you into the story more. Once again, did not see the twist coming.
- The Housemaid by Freida McFadden – This has been made into a movie. Highly recommend the book though first. If you’ve never read a Freida book, I strongly suggest starting with this one. There are three of them now and they are making a second movie as well.
- My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle – Kimberly is another of my top favorite thriller authors. I have read almost every single book by her and only one of them has been lower than a 4-star book for me. This one in particular was a 5-star for me. It was 5-stars for me because it was gripping from beginning to end. The intensity kept me on the edge of my seat, but also tugged at my heart strings.
- A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham – Gripping from the first page. The twist was SO good. One of my all time favorite books!
- Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter – This was my first Karin Slaughter book and it left me wanting more. This book is technically book number two to Pieces of Her (also a short series on Netflix), but I read this one first not knowing it was the second one at the time. Everything was pieced together nicely though that I didn’t miss anything. When I finished this book I needed a third book. I am still holding out hope. Pieces of Her was good too, but not as good. Also, the Netflix show changed way too much from the book so I was disappointment with that.
- One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose – I love the Real Housewives franchise on Bravo and this book gave me those vibes the whole way through but with some murder mixed in. I loved it!
Even though these are my top ones there are so many books I could add to this list. Some of my top thriller authors that I would read anything by are:
- Kimberly Belle
- Freida McFadden
- Karin Slaughter
- Lisa Jewell
- Riley Sager
- Alice Feeney
- Stacy Willingham
- Jennifer Hillier
- Jeneva Rose
Drop your favorites and recs in the comment below!