Here are 100 books that The Kill Club fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’ve been fascinated with the macabre since childhood and have always been drawn to the darker sides of humanity. In nearly every story, the villain is my favorite character, and I’m most intrigued with their motives. From The Magic Tree House to Artemis Fowl to The Hunger Games to The Purge, I’ve consumed as much sci-fi, dystopian, thriller fiction as possible my entire life. I’ve written several thriller novels and dystopian books and have worked with Bradley Fuller, the producer of The Purge and A Quiet Place, on the possible movie adaptation of my debut novel. If you also like dystopian thrillers, feel free to check out my recommendations!
I loved this book because it was equally gripping and thrilling as it was funny. It’s impressive when a book so seamlessly weaves real-world experiences and pop culture references with the sci-fi aspects of a dystopian world.
I loved the main character, Frankie, and how she was relatable yet completely unique. Her humor and love of movies, I also loved how it was thought-provoking without feeling like a soap-box political book.
This book was like a quirky Black Mirror-esque cautionary tale of where our society could easily be heading, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I liked how Bryan Johnston took reality TV and made it extreme.
Frankie Percival is cashing in her chips. To save her brother from financial ruin, Frankie—a single stage performer and mentalist who never made it big—agrees to be assassinated on the most popular television show on the planet: Death Warrant. Once she signs her life away, her memory is wiped clean of the agreement, leaving her with no idea she will soon be killed spectacularly for global entertainment.
After years of working in low-rent theaters, Frankie prepares for the biggest performance of her life as her Death Warrant assassin closes in on her. Every person she encounters…
I’ve been fascinated with the macabre since childhood and have always been drawn to the darker sides of humanity. In nearly every story, the villain is my favorite character, and I’m most intrigued with their motives. From The Magic Tree House to Artemis Fowl to The Hunger Games to The Purge, I’ve consumed as much sci-fi, dystopian, thriller fiction as possible my entire life. I’ve written several thriller novels and dystopian books and have worked with Bradley Fuller, the producer of The Purge and A Quiet Place, on the possible movie adaptation of my debut novel. If you also like dystopian thrillers, feel free to check out my recommendations!
The Patient is a very quick read and easy to get sucked into, questioning everything you might know or think. I love how it was told through a series of online posts during which the narrator, a young psychiatrist, slowly reveals his story, never quite knowing if what he experienced was real or if he was going crazy.
I love how the sci-fi aspect took it out of our real world just enough to feel fantastical but not too much to be unrealistic or like a classic high-fantasy novel. The pace was fantastic, the twists and reveals were perfectly placed, and it was just the right amount of horror. I appreciate any book that is unexpected and leaves me thinking about it for days after I’m finished.
In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient.
We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility's most difficult, profoundly dangerous case - a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. His symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat…
I’ve been fascinated with the macabre since childhood and have always been drawn to the darker sides of humanity. In nearly every story, the villain is my favorite character, and I’m most intrigued with their motives. From The Magic Tree House to Artemis Fowl to The Hunger Games to The Purge, I’ve consumed as much sci-fi, dystopian, thriller fiction as possible my entire life. I’ve written several thriller novels and dystopian books and have worked with Bradley Fuller, the producer of The Purge and A Quiet Place, on the possible movie adaptation of my debut novel. If you also like dystopian thrillers, feel free to check out my recommendations!
I’ve never been disappointed by a Blake Crouch book, and this one is one of my favorites, with elements similar to Twin Peaks. With an epic idea, the plot is very compelling, with a genuinely frightening situation the main character finds himself in. I love this book because it’s one of those with a BIG twist and a constant thrill that keeps your heart pumping through every page.
Simply put, this first installment of the Wayward Pines trilogy is a mad mix of thriller, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, perfect for those of us who miss the easy days of high school when we stayed up late reading the latest dystopian release.
The one-million copy bestseller that inspired the Fox TV show.
Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels...off. As the days pass, Ethan's investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can't he get any…
I’ve been fascinated with the macabre since childhood and have always been drawn to the darker sides of humanity. In nearly every story, the villain is my favorite character, and I’m most intrigued with their motives. From The Magic Tree House to Artemis Fowl to The Hunger Games to The Purge, I’ve consumed as much sci-fi, dystopian, thriller fiction as possible my entire life. I’ve written several thriller novels and dystopian books and have worked with Bradley Fuller, the producer of The Purge and A Quiet Place, on the possible movie adaptation of my debut novel. If you also like dystopian thrillers, feel free to check out my recommendations!
I love this book because it’s a classic and engaging sci-fi thriller with an original twist that kept me on my toes, a remarkable main character, and a compelling supporting cast. The dystopian element kept me hooked throughout, and the masterful storytelling often made me forget I was reading.
It is not only gripping but thought-provoking, with commentary on societal issues, much like YA dystopian novels from my childhood. What’s most frightening about this book is that it's easy to see that this sort of thing could happen today.
"Echoes of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest reverberate through this cinematic tale...readers looking for an adrenaline-inducing resistance plot will find this worth their time." --Publishers Weekly
From award-winning author J. Michael Straczynski, The Glass Box is a hard-hitting, fast-paced sci-fi novel about the choices we make and the ramifications we face.
Riley Diaz was born to fight back.
When she's incarcerated under the authority of a shadowy new defense act, Riley is sent to one of a growing number of American Renewal Centers (ARCs)--institutions modeled after psychiatric facilities--for mandatory reeducation.
At an early age, I became a fan of tightly plotted mysteries that play fair with the reader. This led to my career in mystery games and videos and a dozen books of short mysteries. It also led to my TV career. When the creator of Monkrealized he needed some twisty plots, he visited a bookstore, found my books, and tracked me down. Since then, I’ve been plying my trade on the small screen as well, working with some very talented people, like Steve Martin, who needed a mystery guy to come in and add some structure to their ideas.
Although a suspense novel rather than a mystery, this one utilizes plenty of tricks to keep you enthralled and guessing. It starts with a “Strangers on a Train” kind of premise, the exchanging of murders by people who just met. Then it takes off, morphing into unexpected incarnations, each one exciting and satisfying. If you become a fan, and I’m betting you will, be warned. Swanson uses similar plot developments in his other books. This is by far his best one.
You should never talk to strangers...Gone Girl meets Strangers on a Train in this year's must-read psychological thriller. "Extremely hard to put down". (Sophie Hannah). "Chilling and hypnotically suspenseful". (Lee Child). 'Hello there.' I looked at the pale, freckled hand on the back of the empty bar seat next to me in the business class lounge of Heathrow airport, then up into the stranger's face. 'Do I know you?' Delayed in London, Ted Severson meets a woman at the airport bar. Over cocktails they tell each other rather more than they should, and a dark plan is hatched - but…
My first clue that I was a crime writer in the making was that on nights I couldn’t sleep growing up, I would Wikipedia serial killers. (I promise I’m nice and normal!) When I discovered crime novels—specifically, those with a strong noir influence—I was hooked. My favorite definition of noir, which comes from the author Laura Lippman, is “Dreamers become schemers,” and to me, that’s the story of America. It’s what I’ve been interested in exploring in my own books, The Lady Upstairs and The Hurricane Blonde. I hope you enjoy the women who are dreamer-schemers in these books as much as I do!
I was obsessed with this book before I read it. As soon as I saw the deal announcement for this book—highlights? A female bigamist who has split her life between Mexico City and Texas, which has led to murder, finally tells her life story to a true crime journalist—I was sliding into the author’s DMs, begging for a copy. (Sadly, not an exaggeration!)
I loved the fresh take on a femme fatale here, which felt like it was tying noir roots to a modern sensibility, and I was OBSESSED with the setting—bouncing between Texas and Mexico City in the 1980s brought to life one of my favorite parts of a good book, the way that you can live all these different lives between two covers.
Lore Rivera was married to two men at once. She led a secret double life - until one man shot the other. That's the story the world knows.
But true-crime writer Cassie Bowman wants to know more - about the mysterious woman at the heart of it all, and about what really happened the night of that tragic murder. How did Lore lead two lives? How did it feel when it all came crashing down?
After years of hiding, Lore is finally ready to tell her story. But as her tragic tale unfolds, will either woman be ready for the…
Female warriors add more depth to the action/thriller genre and make any character infinitely more interesting. I’ve read and watched enough Jacks, Johns, and Jakes to last a lifetime and I want some Janes in my reading life. I’ve been an avid reader for more than 40 years and always felt that there was a blank space when it comes to female protagonists. Many of my favorite female characters were relegated to supporting roles including some on my list, but when I find a great female character I end up reading her again and again. And if you haven’t seen it yet, watch Lioness on Amazon, it will leave you breathless!
The Shadow Box was a step outside of my comfort zone, but I have no regrets for diving right in.
The novel crashes out of the gate when a left-for-dead artist named Claire Chase wakes up from being half-strangled in her garage by a man in a mask. She’s almost sure her assailant was her husband, Griffin who is also the Connecticut State Attorney and candidate for governor.
Claire has no idea who to trust and goes into hiding in the woods. She contacts a close friend and tries desperately to unearth the identity of her attacker while she is being searched for as a missing person. She’s incredibly resourceful and quite a rugged outdoorswoman as she searches for the man who tried to murder her.
The Amazon Charts bestselling author of Last Day delivers a haunting thriller about how far one wife is willing to go to expose the truth-and the lengths someone will go to stop her.
After artist Claire Beaudry Chase is attacked and left for dead in her home on the Connecticut coast, she doesn't know who she can trust. But her well-connected husband, Griffin-who is running for governor-is her prime suspect.
Just before the attack, Claire was preparing for an exhibit of her shadow boxes, one of which clearly accuses Griffin of a violent crime committed twenty-five…
There’s nothing better than sitting down at the pool to read a fun, engaging story that transports you into another world and keeps you entertained. I’ve always loved reading to escape, and when I started writing and posting my stories for free online at 17 years old, I discovered my true calling. My first story amassed 140 million reads with millions of comments, where people shared how much fun they had reading the story and how it helped them escape from their lives. Since then, I’ve continued writing stories I’m passionate about and sharing them with people who love a good, fun, romance.
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.
The escapist read you have been dying for! When ten of America’s hottest teenage influencers are invited to an exclusive island resort, things are sure to get wild. But murder isn't what anyone expected. Will anyone survive?
Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one is allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go?
The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as Unknown Island opens its doors to the First Ten,…
I have written nine crime novels, mostly psychological thrillers, but some blend procedural and PI elements and two are gangland stories. I went to the BRIT school in the 90’s and studied Drama and English Literature at University. I always think that my Performing Arts background gave me a great tool kit for ‘getting into character’ which is useful for writing. I also have an MA in journalism but I definitely prefer fiction to fact. I love the immediacy of first person prose and I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator.
Based on the case of child killer Mary Bell this book is an unexpected page-turner and is written with so much heart. It’s dark, compulsive, and the prose sparkles.
This is another dual timeline book we follow Chrissie as a child living a hard life and eventually committing murder. We meet her again as an adult with a new identity and a daughter of her own. Nancy Tucker is a psychologist I believe and it certainly comes across.
The entire cast in this book is written with such tenderness and insight. A really difficult book dealing with a tough topic but also a story of redemption and understanding.
'So that was all it took,' I thought. 'That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all.'
Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the shop without getting caught, the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, the perfect wall for handstands.
Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing, sherbet feeling in her belly. She doesn't get to feel power like this at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.
I was born in the world’s most isolated capital city – Perth, Western Australia. Ever since my family packed up and drove across the vast Nullarbor Plain to relocate to South Australia, I’ve been fascinated by our eerie, wide-open spaces. There’s no doubt that family folklore fed into this. My Finnish mother arrived as a ten-year-old, recalling that when she first felt the heat, she thought: “This is hell.” My father and his family arrived from the Netherlands. I love my country, but this continent presents dangers in its arid isolation – all captivating to a storyteller.
From chapter one, my heart was in my throat as I prayed that old Frank and his granddaughter Allie would come out of this story alive… Frank owns a remote Australian roadhouse and he’s used to living alone. I loved reading about his silent routine and the way he moves about his premises without even turning a light on. There’s nothing outside his windows but scrub and rusted farming equipment.
While the isolated setting may seem tranquil, tension instantly oozes from the pages. Suspicious visitors soon arrive, and from then on, the action is relentless!
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide - an electrifying, heartpounding, truly unputdownable thriller - a bestselling debut from talented newcomer, Gabriel Bergmoser.
'A truly terrifying, breathlessly exciting novel. It gut punches you in the first few pages and doesn't let you recover until the final, thrilling climax. An extraordinary book.' M W Craven
'An original and high-octane read, it makes Deliverance look like Picnic at Hanging Rock.' The Times/Sunday Times Crime Club
Frank is a service station owner on a little-used highway who just wants a quiet life. His granddaughter has been sent to stay with him to fix her…
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