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![\"best](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/the-everygirl-feature-best-thriller-books-720x480.jpg\")
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As someone whose idea of a relaxing night in is reading a truly terrifying whodunit, I\u2019m pretty picky when it comes to the thrillers I\u2019m willing to give my precious time to. After all, once you get comfortable with the genre, you start spotting those plot twists and big reveals a mile away. But just because I\u2019ve trained myself to become an amateur Sherlock Holmes while reading doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t plenty of truly page-turning, absolutely shocking thrillers out there guaranteed to end any reading slump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether you gravitate toward a classic detective novel or something a little more paranormal<\/a>, these are the best thriller books to pick up the next time you\u2019re at the library. For the scarier selections, I refuse to be responsible for any ensuing nightmares. But don\u2019t worry, there are some lighter picks in the mix if you want to be glued to the page without actually fearing for your life. Without further ado, here are the best thrillers to read, according to someone who reads them for a living.<\/p>\n If your favorite thrillers are the ones that have you side-eyeing every member of your household once you finish, you\u2019re probably a psychological or domestic thriller girly. Psychological thrillers put you inside the minds of their characters, often relying on emotional and mental tension rather than action-movie-esque high-stakes scenes. Similarly, domestic thrillers focus on a narrower kind of suspense, centering their plots around the home, marriage, and interpersonal relationships. When you\u2019re craving a mind-bending read that will have you questioning everyone around you, these are the best psychological and domestic thrillers to add to your TBR. From Freida McFadden<\/a> to Lisa Jewell<\/a>, you can’t go wrong with any of these reads. <\/p>\n Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie\u2019s followers\u2014all 8 million of them\u2014don\u2019t know won\u2019t hurt them. Until one morning, she wakes up in a life that isn\u2019t hers. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n When Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, they hope to find a community of like-minded people where their 6-year-old son can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find other liberals and social justice activists, but Liberty residents seem more focused on living the good life and ignoring the world\u2019s troubles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Eden Fox sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn\u2019t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife. Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person\u2019s date of death. Secrets start to unravel, and Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Maggie Wang, a broke young Asian American writer, needs a lifeline. Ingrid Parker, a veteran white Hollywood producer with her career on the edge, offers an irresistible deal: $3 million for ten experimental medical sessions to reverse her aging, using Maggie as a transfusion partner, and mentorship. For Ingrid, it’s a chance to reboot her fading career. For Maggie, it’s access and freedom. As their relationship intensifies, the rules around aging begin to shift. So does the balance of power between the two women.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Debbie Mullen has been running a neighborly advice column, Dear Debbie, for the wives of New England for years. She\u2019s helped countless women through their struggles of being ignored, belittled, or abused by their husbands. Now, she\u2019s just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband has been keeping secrets. She\u2019s done being reasonable, practical, grounded. It\u2019s time to take her own advice and get back at all the people in her life who have wronged her.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise\u2014old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it\u2019s the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs. She sees the figure of a man appear down the hallway, shrouded in the shadows. Terrified, she quietly wakes her children and hustles them into the oldest part of the house, a tiny, secret room concealed behind a wall. There they hide as the man searches for them, trying to tempt the children out with promises and scare the mother into surrender.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Popular true crime podcast host Alix Summer and Josie Fair meet by a twist of fate when they’re at the same local pub each celebrating their forty-fifth birthday on the same night. When they run into each other again a few days later outside of Alix’s child’s school, Josie convinces her to let her be on her podcast. As the two work together more, it becomes clear that Josie is hiding some very dark secrets. When Josie disappears, Alix realizes she has become the subject of her own podcast and she and her family are in grave danger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Sometimes, to scratch that thriller itch, you need a classic mystery<\/a>. It allows you to step into the role of detective and try your best to solve the puzzle before all is revealed at the end. If you want a book that promises an intriguing mystery and an even more intriguing ending, with every loose end tied up in an incredibly satisfying bow, these are the picks for you.<\/p>\n Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn\u2019t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the night of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the newlyweds\u2019 daughter, Caroline, disappears\u2014and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood. As Liz starts to dig through the town\u2019s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Lillian has a plan to lock her situationship, Henry, down. She\u2019ll be the best, most accommodating version of herself until he falls in love with her. But when Henry blindsides Lillian with a breakup, she\u2019s left with no choice but to exact revenge with a hex.<\/p>\n Lillian expects Henry to come crawling back to her, but instead, she becomes a prime suspect in his murder case when he\u2019s found dead. Desperate to control the narrative, clear her name, and assume her rightful place as Henry\u2019s mourning girlfriend, Lillian\u2019s pursuit of the truth will throw her into a dangerous tailspin, which may just upend her life for good.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n 1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges\u2014Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn\u2019t just any thirteen-year-old: she\u2019s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region\u2019s residents. And this isn\u2019t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara\u2019s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds, chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she\u2019s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn\u2019t privy to Mr. Smith\u2019s real identity, but she knows this job isn\u2019t like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she\u2019s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can\u2019t make any mistakes. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there\u2019s still a future in front of her.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n In a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, three children do not return from the woods. When the police arrive, they find only one gripping a tree trunk, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. 20 years later, the boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad. When a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he finds himself investigating a chillingly similar case. Now, with only snippets of memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both mysteries.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n My personal favorite thriller subgenre<\/a>: the plot-twist thriller. There\u2019s nothing more rewarding than a reading experience that truly leaves you with your jaw on the floor after turning the last page. These books will subvert your expectations, pull the rug out from under you, and leave you guessing until the very end.<\/p>\n Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful 13-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims\u2014a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story\u2014and survive this homecoming.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that\u2019s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It\u2019s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery\u2014and what\u2019s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth\u2014and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back. Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy\u2014before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Early one morning, 26-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange metallic smell, and a phone call from his brother asking if everything’s all right at home \u2013 he missed a call from their mother in the middle of the night. Yu-jin soon discovers her murdered body, lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs of their stylish Seoul duplex. He can’t remember much about the night before; having suffered from seizures for most of his life, Yu-jin often has trouble with his memory. All he has is a faint impression of his mother calling his name. But was she calling for help? Or begging for her life? Thus begins Yu-jin’s frantic three-day search to uncover what happened that night, and to finally learn the truth about himself and his family.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying. When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessential small town, reporter Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn\u2019t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school\u2019s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too. Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures. As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\nThe best thriller books at a glance<\/h2>\n
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Psychological and domestic thrillers<\/h2>\n
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\n ![\"Yesteryear\"](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nCaro Claire Burke<\/div>\n\n
\n Yesteryear <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"One](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-6.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nNicola Yoon<\/div>\n\n
\n One of Our Kind <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"My](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-2.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAlice Feeney<\/div>\n\n
\n My Husband’s Wife <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-7.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nKelly Yang<\/div>\n\n
\n The Take <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Dear](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-5.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nFreida McFadden<\/div>\n\n
\n Dear Debbie <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Nightwatching\"](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-4.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nTracy Sierra<\/div>\n\n
\n Nightwatching <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"None](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-3.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nLisa Jewell<\/div>\n\n
\n None of This Is True <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMystery-driven thrillers<\/h2>\n
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\n ![\"Jackal\"](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-12.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nErin E. Adams<\/div>\n\n
\n Jackal <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-13.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nKirsten King<\/div>\n\n
\n A Good Person <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"All](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-9.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nChris Whitaker<\/div>\n\n
\n All the Colors of the Dark <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-8.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nLiz Moore<\/div>\n\n
\n The God of the Woods <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"First](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-10.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAshley Elston<\/div>\n\n
\n First Lie Wins <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"In](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-11.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nTana French<\/div>\n\n
\n In the Woods <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThrillers with a big plot twist<\/h2>\n
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\n ![\"Sharp](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-18.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nGillian Flynn<\/div>\n\n
\n Sharp Objects <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Recursion\"](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-23.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nBlake Crouch<\/div>\n\n
\n Recursion <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-22.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nYou-Jeong Jeong<\/div>\n\n
\n The Good Son <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"His](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-20.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAlice Feeney<\/div>\n\n
\n His & Hers <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Ace](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-19.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nFaridah \u00c0b\u00edk\u00e9-\u00cdy\u00edm\u00edd\u00e9<\/div>\n\n
\n Ace of Spades <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n
![\"You're](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/best-thriller-books-the-everygirl-21.jpg\")
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