Here are 100 books that Shiver fans have personally recommended if you like
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I've been writing for 20 years, and the more I learn about the craft, the less interested I am in big, bombastic thrillers about the end of the world. Now I'm more impressed by books that do a lot with a little. Some talented writers can spin a gripping story out of nothing more than two people in a room (Stephen King's Misery is one of my all-time faves). The domestic noir genre lends itself to this kind of minimalism. Sure, serial killers are scary, but not as scary as the thought that your spouse might not be who they seem.
Okay, you've almost certainly heard of this one. You might even be thinking that The Husband's Secret is a more obvious choice for this list. But I'm including BLL anyway because I couldn't believe how enthralling it was (even though I've been a Liane Moriarty fan since The Hypnotist's Love Story).
Many of the entries on this list have depicted a marriage that looks perfect from the outside but is rotten within. This book inverts this formula, or at least complicates it—Celeste thinks her marriage is perfect (or is telling herself she thinks that), but it's obvious from the reader's outside perspective that her husband is an abuser.
There are many intriguing threads woven through this story (all coming together in a showdown so satisfying that I read it several times), but the scenes with Perry are the most impressive. They left me sick with fear.
*Published as BIG LITTLE LIES in Australia and the United States*
Liane Moriarty, million copy selling author of The Husband's Secret brings us another addictive story of secrets and scandal.
Jane hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste - two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their…
I love to read and write about complex characters and particularly the “unlikeable” female character. Many readers connect with my characters because they are flawed—they don’t always think or do what we want them to, or what we think they should do, which is often (frustratingly) the case with the real-life people we love and care about. Real, complex people exist in real, complex relationships, including friendships that don’t always serve them—or that do serve them, but in unconventional or superficially unclear ways. I think that reading about contradictory, inconsistent, and confused characters in relationships helps us to be kinder and more empathetic people—and, quite possibly, better friends.
Before reaching middle school, I pretty much believed that my friends—who they were and how many I had—determined my value. But my circle could be fickle; girls were ostracized for minor infractions (you bought the same coat as me!) I lived with daily fear of being dropped.
So Cat’s Eye captivated me with its lack of sentimentality in depicting (some) girls’ friendships. Elaine, a middle-aged artist, returns alone to Toronto, the city where she grew up, for a retrospective of her work. The trip gives Elaine space to reflect on her life in that city, and Cordelia, her childhood “friend”, is central to her memories.
Cordelia tormented and humiliated Elaine, even putting her life in danger, yet Elaine remained loyal to her for years. It felt very real to me that this toxic relationship would continue to preoccupy Elaine into her functional adulthood. Girlhood friendships are often fraught, and Atwood…
Elaine Risley, a painter, returns to Toronto to find herself overwhelmed by her past. Memories of childhood - unbearable betrayals and cruelties - surface relentlessly, forcing her to confront the spectre of Cordelia, once her best friend and tormentor, who has haunted her for forty years. 'Not since Graham Greene has a novelist captured so forcefully the relationship between school bully and victim...Atwood's games are played, exquisitely, by little girls' LISTENER An exceptional novel from the winner of the 2000 Booker Prize
I’m not sure where my love of thrillers in dark settings originated. I’ve always loved mysteries – starting out with Nancy Drew as a kid and then graduating to more mature material as I got older – and a setting that feels like a character in itself is fascinating to me. My love of the dark, moody element has developed as I’ve gotten older – I spent my twenties reading a lot of chick lit and upbeat fiction, but something has shifted in the last decade or so that caused me to embrace the darkness a bit more.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here uses one of my favorite literary devices: dual timelines.
We bounce back and forth between Ambrosia (Amb) Wellington’s freshman year of college and her ten-year college reunion, where she is confronted by the secrets she has been keeping for the last decade. I’m a sucker for dark academia, and this book’s setting felt so real, it could have been my own alma mater.
'Gone Girl meets Mean Girls and The Secret History' Guardian
A darkly intoxicating novel of female friendship and obsession that will keep you turning the pages, perfect for fans of My Dark Vanessa and The Virgin Suicides
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Nice girls can do bad things...
When Ambrosia first arrives at prestigious college Wesleyan, she's desperate to fit in. But Amb struggles to navigate the rules of this strange, elite world, filled with privileged 'nice' young women - until she meets the charismatic but troubled Sully, with whom she forms an obsessive friendship.
Intoxicated by Sully's charm and determined to impress her,…
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
Thrillers with female leads and complex relationships are crammed into my bookshelves. As an only child whose school was an hour’s bus ride away with many friends living further away than that, I would have killed to have had a tight group of friends to hang out with. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have gone that far but it has left me fascinated by groups of friends who’ve known each other since the first day of school, ones who have each other’s backs through thick and thin. And I’m even more interested in what happens when they turn on each other.
I can’t list thrillers that shine the spotlight on female relationships without featuring siblings. In this book, four sisters go to spend the summer with their aunt and uncle who haven’t recovered from their daughter’s disappearance five years previously. The main driver of the story is to uncover what really happened to Audrey Wilde but I was drawn in by the special relationship between the four sisters. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have any siblings that the bond intrigues me.
Discover the spellbinding mystery from the Richard & Judy bestselling author of The Glass House
'An enthralling story of secrets, sisters and an unsolved mystery' KATE MORTON 'One of the most enthralling novelists of the moment' LISA JEWELL ______
When four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to spend the summer, all is clearly not well.
They find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. No one seems any closer to finding out the truth.
Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret?
I’ve spent a lifetime in search of the coziest ski village, the most spectacular mountaintop view, and the ultimate powder descent, and for the past 35 years, I’ve been writing about and photographing my experiences for ski and travel magazines. I am one of the world’s most published ski journalists, with more than 600 feature articles with photos having appeared in 20 countries. I’ve skied about 4700 days in my life, and have managed to ski in 650 ski resorts, in 75 countries, and on all seven continents. I have also written an unusual multi-media novel with photos and music called Coming of Age.
Arnie Wilson is a man with as long a history as a ski journalist as anybody alive. He is a passionate skier who skied his way into the Guinness Book of Records by circumscribing the globe while skiing 365 consecutive days back in 1994, and he also spent 15 years as the ski correspondent for the Financial Times and twelve years more as the editor of the British magazine, Ski and Board. This book is a coffee-table book that is divided into chapters on Arnie’s choice of the 40 best ski resorts in the world.
From Chamonix and St. Moritz in the European Alps to Aspen, Colorado, and Lake Louise, Canada, this beautifully illustrated volume features 40 of the most celebrated, fashionable, and diverse skiing destinations in the world. Each resort is treated individually, with the author's vivid and lively description, handsome color photos, and an information panel that tells readers how to get there, the site's altitude, number of lifts, types of pistes or ski runs, the resort's special advantages, and its drawbacks. Each description also features a small map showing nearby cities and approaches by highway. The resorts and sites described encompass the…
I’ve spent a lifetime in search of the coziest ski village, the most spectacular mountaintop view, and the ultimate powder descent, and for the past 35 years, I’ve been writing about and photographing my experiences for ski and travel magazines. I am one of the world’s most published ski journalists, with more than 600 feature articles with photos having appeared in 20 countries. I’ve skied about 4700 days in my life, and have managed to ski in 650 ski resorts, in 75 countries, and on all seven continents. I have also written an unusual multi-media novel with photos and music called Coming of Age.
Patrick Thorne is one of the ultimate authorities on ski resorts. He has over 6000 ski resorts in his database, and most websites about skiing are founded on information that Patrick has gathered over the years. In this book, he chooses and describes some of the classic ski descents in the world. It is an excellent book from which to create your own bucket list.
The most impressive, thrilling and scenic ski runs from one of the world's leading ski experts.
Long descents, big verts, challenging pistes and stunning scenery, Powder is the definitive guide to the best and most feared ski runs on the planet.
Whether you're a serious off-piste skier or a novice with alpine ambitions, this visually stunning guide will undoubtedly inspire the winter Olympian in all of us. Along with classic runs in Chamonix, Whistler and Jackson Hole, Powder will also take you to offbeat and exotic locations such as the Himalayas, the Atlas Mountains and the 2014 Olympic destination of…
Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.
Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As…
I adore suspense, mystery, and romance, but more so, I love books that inspire me and also aren’t necessarily easy to figure out. I’m a published and Christy award-winning author in this genre myself, but I have been reading this genre for over thirty-three years. I would definitely have to say my qualifications as a reader of suspense and mystery far outweigh those of an author. When I read suspense and romance, I look for two key elements: hard-to-figure out suspense and believable romance. I’m not out for bells and whistles as a reader, but instead look for well-crafted stories that are more like a puzzle that must be solved.
This was the first book I read from Natalie Walters and it was fabulous! She is an auto-buy for me with a riveting story that is not only crime-centric but with relatable and real characters! Her romance is light and expertly woven through a story that will keep you guessing, biting your fingernails, and skipping dinner!
In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.
Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.…
As a Chicago native, the Great Lakes area is part of my identity. My family spent summers in Michigan and, one year even went up to Sault St. Marie on the border between Michigan and Canada to spend a week on Lake Superior. A knitting retreat in Petosky was another Michigan adventure I enjoyed. The idea of writing about Northern Michigan turned out to be a fascinating exploration of an area I barely knew. And I’ve been able to meet other writers from there and enjoy their varied mysteries set in the region. From Minnesota to Ohio, I hope you enjoy the many faces of the Great Lakes.
Best Kept Secrets by Great Lakes author Tracey Phillips is a psychological mystery set in and around Indianapolis, Indiana. When I met Tracey at the Writers’ Police Academy in Appleton, Wisconsin, we ended hung out together and became fast friends. We bought each other’s books. And became fans.
Morgan Jewell is a homicide cop with a dark secret. Her best friend, Fay, was murdered years ago and Morgan, who can barely remember what happened that night, worries that she was somehow to blame. Now, as other bodies start surfacing, Morgan and her partner try to piece together the puzzle that might lead to catching a serial killer and resolve the mystery of Fay’s death. The twists and turns and the breakneck pace meant I could hardly put it down.
Even their deepest, darkest secrets--pinky promise.
Right?
Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay's yin. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan's entire world crumbles.
Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend's life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind.…
I was born on Halloween, so I’m officially a card-carrying member of all things creepy, right? However, I’m definitely drawn to books with mood and atmosphere over outright horror and gore. I find the subtle aspects of fear so much more interesting—how is it that one person’s reality can be so different than another’s? I write domestic suspense because I think the people we are closest to and the places we think are safest are often the ones that can hurt us the most. Where a story takes place is so very important. I need to know the geography, the feel, the history of a place—then I can put people in it and make bad things happen.
Ever been to a bad dinner party? I can bet it wasn’t as bad as the one in this book! I adored the spooky small-town insular setting in this book, and the mood contributes to the claustrophobic feel of the plot. As you read to try to figure out who did it, you realize that everyone has secrets—and no one can be trusted.
Who do you turn to, when everyone's a stranger and you stop believing what your own eyes see?
Finnie Doyle and Paddy Lamb are leaving city life in Edinburgh behind them and moving to the little town of Simmerton. Paddy has landed a partnership in a local solicitors and Finnie's snagged a job as a church deacon. Their rented cottage is quaint; their new colleagues are charming, and they can't believe their luck.
But witnessing the bloody aftermath of a brutal murder changes everything. They've each been keeping secrets about their pasts. And they both know their precious new start…
After solving her first case, private eye Siobhan O’Brien is hired by Phillip Ahn, an octogenarian billionaire with his own personal island in the Pacific Northwest. Ahn, a genius in artificial intelligence, swears that Duke, his youngest child and only son, is an impostor. Is Ahn crazy, or is Duke…
I was an English major in college. In pursuing my love of books and language, I fell into a love of history. The passion for history began with author biographies as I tried to understand how the culture affected various authors’ writings. This is why my history strength resides in European history, because most of my favorite authors come from Europe. The more I read of the biographies, I often came across historical events I wasn’t knowledgeable about and so fell down a rabbit hole of historical research. The more I learn, the more I love history!
I love true crime and I love history. This book combined the two in an enthralling, often poetic read.
It’s about the case of Lizzie Borden. In this multi-POV story, Schmidt gets into the characters of Lizzie, her sister, a housemaid, and Lizzie’s uncle to explore how the crime unfolded.
It leans literary in its narration style, but I personally like that. The details used in the story really make the reader feel present in the scenes and get into the minds of the characters.
Haunting, gripping and gorgeously written, SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE by Sarah Schmidt is a re-imagining of the unsolved American true crime case of the Lizzie Borden murders, for fans of BURIAL RITES and MAKING A MURDERER.
'Eerie and compelling' Paula Hawkins 'Stunning' Sunday Times 'Gripping... outstanding' Observer 'Glittering' Irish Times
Just after 11am on 4th August 1892, the bodies of Andrew and Abby Borden are discovered. He's found on the sitting room sofa, she upstairs on the bedroom floor, both murdered with an axe.
It is younger daughter Lizzie who is first on the scene, so it is Lizzie…
