100 books like Ten

This book is an awesome locked-room thriller about six teens who are invited to a dinner and find themselves trapped in a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note with instructions that they have to decide who among them to kill within the next hour or they’ll all be murdered.

There’s something about close-proximity thrillers that gets me every single time. As a person who is definitely not a big fan of enclosed spaces in real life, these types of books have me breathless.

The coolly creepy cover of Survive the Night compelled me to pick it up, but I was hooked by the set up: four teen girls at an all-night rave in an abandoned section of New York City’s underground subway system where someone or something is hunting them. It hits all my worst fears: being trapped underground, total darkness, and tunnels filling up with water. Casey, the main character was fresh from rehab, vulnerable, and unsure of where she fits in and her unease with herself and her friends added such a delicious tension to the story. She goes to the rave out of peer pressure but quickly realizes this is a big mistake. This book is an off-the-rails ride with unexpected twists and the sort of scares that made me keep the lights on while I read.  

Anyone who knows me well or has read my first two books knows I’m a sucker for a thriller about a cult. Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett is my young adult Midsommar dream novel. The main character, Ash Larkin, goes looking for the commune her mother escaped only to find herself physically trapped there by the cornfield (and cult) from hell. As a child I used to play hide and seek in cornfields. This book brought me back to those moments spent listening for my friends, worrying that they wouldn’t find me. Kim’s writing is beautiful and lyrical. I will literally read anything she writes. Besides, she has the coolest author bio ever. She spent the eighties singing backup for rock bands. 

I have been a fan of Marieke Nijkamp ever since I read This Is Where It Ends. She is such a powerful writer. The way she delves into the psychology of her characters had me riveted. Even if We Break is a layered story with a slower pace than the other books I’ve chosen, but the characters feel so real. I found myself thinking about them long after I closed the book. The creepy factor snuck up on me and then sunk its claws in deep. I was unsettled in the best way. It's a step off the beaten path of your standard isolation thrillers, but one I highly recommend taking if why people do the bad things they do is as important to you as how. 

This novel masterfully blends journalism, magical realism, and detective fiction. The story is told by a narrator who returns to his town to reconstruct the events that provoked Nasar’s death. Nasar was young and wealthy and was accused of dishonoring Angele Vicario. 

Garcia Marquez explores the concept of honor in Latin American culture and how it drives individuals to commit extreme acts. The community's failure to prevent the murder highlights themes of complicity and social responsibility. I recommend this novel because of its rich details and the author’s ability to blend reality with elements of magical realism, creating a haunting and entertaining narrative. 

I love that a normal human being, Ig Perrish (awesome character name), wakes up one morning and notices he is physically transforming into a supernatural being. The progressive growth of the horns (excellent anatomical descriptions of their extension from the cranium) coinciding with his gradual distaste and rejection of all things Judeo-Christian is brilliant.

I also love that Joe Hill turned the idea of what a demon is on its head, that they are not inherently evil but become that way because they can detect the hypocrisy of human thought, which drives them mad. They are so mad that they want to harm the very beings that tell them one thing but believe in another. Something I believe is responsible for all that is truly evil in the natural world. 

Not only did I laugh all the way through this rollicking novel, but I felt as if author Steve Toltz is a brother writer from a cousin muse to my own.

Angus Mooney, the protagonist, is a thief, a romantic, and a philosopher who is dedicated to the easier path of not learning or understanding anything. And, not a spoiler, he dies.

If you console yourself that a better life awaits you in heaven, or if you're resigned to life being painful, but after all, it's only temporary, and once it's over, it'll be over, think again.

In this shockingly inventive, wildly funny epic about one man's life, death, and beyond, you may have some epiphanies about existence in general and how you want to spend or squander your time.

Mistaken identity, a deadly game, and confusing desires make for a fun read. This book was one of my instant favourites because of its sassy style and the female main character psycho-analysing the people around her because of her studies in psychology.

Rowan is determined to find her mother’s killer, but her plan falls apart when a demon kidnaps her and accuses her of being someone else.

I love the way she plays two roles as herself and her shadow self and how she uses that to play games with Orion, who may or may not want to kill her. It makes for a unique character and a very interesting story.

Not a big romance/romcom reader? No worries, Never Coming Home is the perfect poolside book for you.

This summer YA mystery/thriller follows a group of teen influencers who are invited to a hot new exclusive island, but everyone’s hiding secrets, and then people start dying. I enjoyed this book as a poolside summer read because it’s so fast-paced and intriguing that I was sucked right into the story.

It’s a summer slasher read full of twists and perfectly unlikeable characters that kept me turning pages until it was done in one sitting.

I was blown away by the authentic voices of the characters, the quick pacing, and the theme of justice confronting racial hatred in a courthouse and a community. Something tells me that Grisham himself might be most proud of this first novel, even over his many fine ones that followed it. Recently, I went back to read some of this book.

I wanted to remember how Grisham wrote about place and atmosphere. I found myself sweating as I took in his words describing the hot southern town. I re-read the entire novel.