The best psychological suspense and thriller novels to keep you turning pages

By Danielle M. Wong

Who am I?

While I appreciate a variety of genres, my love of psychological suspense and thriller novels has only intensified over time. I often devour these books in one sitting—eyes darting across each page as my mind tries to guess the next pivotal twist! As an author, I aspire to create the same electrifying rush for my readers that my favorite stories give me. My debut novel, Swearing Off Stars, was inspired by my travels and received an Independent Press Award, a Benjamin Franklin Award, and an International Book Award. My writing has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, HuffPost, PopSugar, and Writer’s Digest. I hope you enjoy the recommendations on this list!

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The books I picked & why

Your House Will Pay

By Steph Cha,

Why did I love this book?

While this novel is a suspenseful psychological thriller in its own right, the story also tackles racial tensions and contemporary family dynamics. I admire the way Steph Cha explores grief, revenge, violence, racism, and justice over the course of Your House Will Pay’s fast-paced plot. This is absolutely a must-read.

Your House Will Pay

By Steph Cha,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Your House Will Pay as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two families. One desperate to remember, the other to forget.

Winner of the LA Times Book Prize, Best Mystery/Thriller
Winner of the California Book Awards' Gold Medal for Fiction
Shortlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger
Shortlisted for the Macavity Awards, Best Mystery Novel
Shortlisted for the Anthony Awards, Best Novel
Finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award

'Masterful.' Ruth Ware

'A searing examination of racial and family politics that is also an immaculately constructed whodunit.' Daily Telegraph, Summer Reads

'Writing a page-turner about racial politics in the U.S. is a delicate enterprise fraught with pitfalls, but Cha…

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Rebecca

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why did I love this book?

Suspenseful and chilling, Rebecca is a quintessential piece of gothic literature. Daphne Du Maurier’s classic novel has gone on to inspire several retellings and adaptations in the decades since its publication. I love how the story deftly weaves together mystery and noir elements with exquisite atmospheric writing and cleverly executed twists.

Rebecca

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

31 authors picked Rebecca as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* 'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY
* 'One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century' SARAH WATERS
* 'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .'

Working as a lady's companion, our heroine's outlook is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she meets a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. She accepts but, whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory…

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Bitter Orange

By Claire Fuller,

Why did I love this book?

This book is eerie and unnerving, from its first few pages to the alarming revelations that ensue. I started reading this late one night and couldn’t resist the urge to stay up and finish it! Claire Fuller’s detailed prose will entice, grip, and haunt you well beyond the final scene.

Bitter Orange

By Claire Fuller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bitter Orange as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An NPR Best Book of the Year

"Unsettling and eerie, Bitter Orange is an ideal chiller." —Time Magazine

From the author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange is a seductive psychological portrait, a keyhole into the dangers of longing and how far a woman might go to escape her past.

From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them—Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens.…

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Behind Her Eyes

By Sarah Pinborough,

Why did I love this book?

Some of the most interesting psychological thriller and suspense novels have divisive endings, and Behind Her Eyes is definitely no exception. I found this novel to be compulsively readable and addictingly disturbing. Sarah Pinborough masterfully combines shocking plot points, supernatural elements, and dark twists that readers will not see coming.

Behind Her Eyes

By Sarah Pinborough,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Behind Her Eyes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don't Trust This Book Don't Trust These People Don't Trust Yourself And whatever you do, DON'T give away that ending...

Louise

Since her husband walked out, Louise has made her son her world, supporting them both with her part-time job. But all that changes when she meets...

David

Young, successful and charming - Louise cannot believe a man like him would look at her twice let alone be attracted to her. But that all comes to a grinding halt when she meets his wife...

Adele

Beautiful, elegant and sweet - Louise's new friend seems perfect in every way. As she…

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Mexican Gothic

By Silvia Moreno-Garcia,

Why did I love this book?

The compelling premise of Mexican Gothic drew me in instantly. Silvia Moreno-Garcia brilliantly incorporates horror, racism, and colonialism into the haunting plot of this novel. The pages are simultaneously intriguing, bizarre, and unsettling in the most memorable way possible. Moreno-Garcia’s eloquent writing and complex, character-driven storyline make for a truly fascinating read.

Mexican Gothic

By Silvia Moreno-Garcia,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Mexican Gothic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The award-winning author of Gods of Jade and Shadow (one of the 100 best fantasy novels of all time, TIME magazine) returns with a mesmerising feminist Gothic fantasy, in which a glamorous young socialite discovers the haunting secrets of a beautiful old mansion in 1950s Mexico.

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me.

When glamorous socialite Noemi Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it's clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but…

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5 book lists we think you will like!

The best crime novels that double as travel books

The best books to take you into another world

The best gothic novels for a perfectly haunting fall

The best books with haunting and unconventional love stories

The best books to get your Sherlock Holmes fix

Interested in secrets, family secrets, and romantic love?

9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about secrets, family secrets, and romantic love.

Secrets Explore 179 books about secrets

Family Secrets Explore 139 books about family secrets

Romantic Love Explore 657 books about romantic love

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like My Sister, the Serial Killer, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The Great Gatsby if you like this list.

My Sister, the Serial Killer

By Oyinkan Braithwaite,

From the list on celebrating sisterhood through time.

By Kelly McClymer Author

Why did Kelly love this book?

The title and all the glowing reviews made me pick this book up, but the sisters Korene and Ayoola kept me reading. This book actually made me wonder exactly how far I’d go for one of my sisters. It also made me think about how much many women give up to be the caretakers (as Korene the nurse is), especially of the men in our lives. Korene not only figuratively has to clean up after her little sister, she has to literally don plastic gloves and grab the bleach. Is it horrible to think a little Ayoola-style “self-defense” would make the world a better place? Yes. Yes, it is. But I’m so glad this book took me there, right to the darkest edge of that thought…fictionally.

My Sister, the Serial Killer

By Oyinkan Braithwaite,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked My Sister, the Serial Killer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sunday Times bestseller and The Times #1 bestseller

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
Winner of the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller
Capital Crime Debut Author of the Year 2019
__________

'A literary sensation'
Guardian

'A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious'
New York Times

'Glittering and funny... A stiletto slipped between the ribs and through the left ventricle of the heart' Financial Times
__________

When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber…

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The Talented Mr. Ripley

By Patricia Highsmith,

From the list on sociopaths and liars.

By Angela Lam Author

Why did Angela love this book?

Tom Ripley, the original sociopath upon whom many other literary characters are based, is both a sycophant and a social climber, eager to scale the heights of society at any cost, even murder.

His dubious sexual orientation coupled with his devil-may-care attitude leaves both the characters and the reader always guessing about his next move until it’s too late. I never saw the movie, but I enjoyed the book with its twists and turns in an era long before DNA, surveillance cameras, and forensics made catching criminals a lot easier.

Ripley is a chameleon and a charmer. Man or woman, you can’t help but fall under his spell…and become his next prey. Why is it that sociopaths are so seductive?

The Talented Mr. Ripley

By Patricia Highsmith,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked The Talented Mr. Ripley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring"…

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The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald,

From the list on mysteries that take place in a grand manor house.

By Sung J. Woo Author

Why did Sung love this book?

You can make a pretty convincing argument that one of the most celebrated books in American history is actually a mystery novel.

You have all the requisite components: the femme fatale (Daisy), a murder victim (Myrtle), a shady rich man (Gatsby), and the narrator/amateur detective in Nick Carraway. The writing is gorgeous, but it’s the thick and juicy plot that drives these pages. This is the first novel I read in school that I actually liked!

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked The Great Gatsby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the summer unfolds, Nick is drawn into Gatsby's world of luxury cars, speedboats and extravagant parties. But the more he hears about Gatsby - even from what Gatsby himself tells him - the less he seems to believe. Did he really go to Oxford University? Was Gatsby a hero in the war? Did he once kill a man? Nick recalls how he comes to know Gatsby and how he also enters the world of his cousin Daisy and her wealthy husband Tom. Does their money make them any happier? Do the stories all connect? Shall we come to know…

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The best psychological suspense and thriller novels to keep you turning pages

Who am I?

I wrote...

Last Liar Standing

What is my book about?

The books I picked & why

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in secrets, family secrets, and romantic love?

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

Who am I?

Kelly's book list on celebrating sisterhood through time

Why did Kelly love this book?

Who am I?

Angela's book list on sociopaths and liars

Why did Angela love this book?

Who am I?

Sung's book list on mysteries that take place in a grand manor house

Why did Sung love this book?