hi all! i was just prowling around trying to find a new book and i remember this subreddit exists haha. i read mainly thriller/mystery because i like a gripping story. here’s my books i’ve read w/ comments and hopefully you all can recommend me some more good reads!
– five survive by holly jackson 9/10 (most recent, just finished a few days ago) i really enjoyed it! i also read good girls guide to murder but haven’t been able to read the second bc it’s been checked out at the library
– house on the lake riley sager, 8/10 i enjoyed it but not as much as i feel i should’ve (?). the twists were good though!
– behind closed doors b.a paris 7/10, honestly i forgot i even read this book. i liked it and i do remember it kept me constantly in dread but i feel like i had to really get myself through it if that makes sense
– tender is the flesh agustina bazterrica, 9/10 this was the first book i’ve read in the disturbing horror(?) genre and although i had to put it down a few times it was a good read! i would be open to more books in this genre but id say this is like nearly the max of disturbing i can handle 💀
i also have read a few books that aren’t thriller/mystery and would be open to other genres if you’d think id like them! this includes
they both die at the end and the first to die at the end, really enjoyed both and they got the emotions going. also the most recent of this list.
these are from my childhood but they’ve stuck in my brain ever since so there had to be something good:
the unidentified by rae mariz
a series of unfortunate events series by lemony snicket
i’ve just realized this is quite a lengthy post but i hope i’ve provided enough information for whoever’s willing to read this! thank you so much in advance 🫶🏽
by lavendermunchies
5 Comments
*The Decagon House Murders* and *Another*, both by Ayatsuji Yukito. The latter is a horror mystery.
I really enjoyed the butterfly garden by dot hutcheson
Since you liked **Five Survive**, I’d suggest **No Exit** by Taylor Adams! Maybe also check out **Run on Red** by Noelle W Ihli, not as good as the other two but similar themes and still action packed in my opinion.
If you liked **The House Across the Lake** I’d honestly suggest checking out Riley Sager’s other books as I feel like they are all pretty good and definitely similar vibes since it’s the same other. I think my favorite was probably **The Last Time I Lied**, but I’ve enjoyed them all.
With **Behind Closed Doors**, I felt like **The Prisoner** also by B.A. Paris was pretty good and had similar vibes. Additionally, **What Lies Between Us** by John Marrs and **Dont Let Her Stay** by Nicola Sanders both had similar domestic thriller themes.
I love thrillers and mysteries so I have some suggestions.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager was amazing. It’s about a caregiver who is supposed to care for a lady who allegedly murdered her whole family but she is unable to talk or do anything except move her left arm. One day, the patient types on a typewriter “I want to tell you everything”. It was a mystery/thriller. I found it very enjoyable.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak was also amazing. It’s about a lady who just came out of rehab for drug addiction and is supposed to nanny for a five year old boy. The five year old boy draws a lot of pictures, including a haunting, ghostly figure who recurs frequently as the subject in his drawings. The whole book is centred around the mystery of why this character is drawing this person. This book is made extra creepy because of the little kiddo drawings featured in it (yes, there are pictures!). It’s a horror/thriller/mystery.
Shari Lapena – Everyone Here is Lying. This is a domestic thriller/mystery. It’s about a man whose 10 year old behaviourally challenged daughter goes missing. The whole neighbourhood is interrogated by the police about her whereabouts. However, the reader finds out that (hence the title), everyone has a reason to not quite tell the truth about what they know. Shari Lapena writes great thrillers. They can be a little bit formulaic at times but I do enjoy them.
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney was another great read. It’s about a couple who wins a trip away to a creepy, secluded church inn. However, they find out later that there is an alterior motive that brought them there, and that one of them may be in danger. Alice Feeney is a great writer if you like creepy thrillers! I’m currently reading Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney (a TV reporter’s PA disappears on Christmas day and is found unresponsive in a car accident. She is comatose and there’s something not quite right about her husband, and he may have been involved somehow. Some triggering scenes). I would avoid I Know Who You Are – I read it and it had a lot of triggering things about child abuse and other horrible themes, and then it just got worse as I read the book. I found it seriously disturbing and wished I hadn’t read it, but if that’s your jam, then go for it! Good Bad Girl was another quick read. Centred around relationships of mothers and daughters. Found it just okay.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley was also great. I just finished it. A lady who has had really hard luck and was forced to quit her job ends up having to temporarily move in with her half-brother (he is much more well off than her because he was adopted by a rich family). However when she gets there, her brother is missing and everyone in the apartment has something they’re hiding…
Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty. This is a little bit different from the others. It’s more of a comedy/thriller. It’s about a bunch of moms and their kids that go to school together. There’s a trivia night party and someone is killed and the whole story involves a bunch of drama between the parents. It was really fun to read if you’re looking for a bit of a lighter thriller. It’s definitely still unsettling and creepy.
For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing. This was another fun one to read. The Teacher of the Year is a bit of a dick and he is a hobby gardener in his spare time. He attempts to poison his nemesis at work and ruin their awards party. But his actions accidentally cause a death. The rest of the book is fallout from this event and how the teacher covers up this mistake.
I also really liked My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing. It’s a thriller too. It’s about a husband and wife who love each other so much…and also enjoy killing women. It’s kind of like Mr and Mrs Smith combined with Dexter. Very interesting read.
The Maid by Nita Prose is another book to read if you like thrillers but also want something on the lighter side. This has a lot of comedic elements. A hotel maid finds a body and is questioned by the police. However she is very socially awkward and possibly on the autism spectrum so some comedy and frustration ensue during the police investigation. Classic whodunnit.
Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica is an easy, quick, thrilling read. An expectant husband and wife are thrown for a loop when their friend’s husband disappears. Unfortunately the pregnant woman may know something to do with that disappearance, but to protect her and their growing family, the husband has to act to make sure the police don’t find out about the extent of her involvement. Other books by Mary Kubica are pretty good too. I read Local Woman Missing (two women and a little girl go missing, and their disappearances may be connected) and Pretty Baby (a woman connects with and bonds with a teenager who is raising a baby on the streets alone, but there is something not quite adding up about the teenager’s story).
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides. Another thriller. A psychologist is drawn to the case of a lady who has become mysteriously nonverbal for several years after allegedly shooting her husband five times. He finds her fascinating but struggles to bond with and get her to trust him.
If you’re looking for books not in the thriller genre, I’d recommend these two.
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (it’s a historical fiction of a famous actress who chooses a new up and coming magazine writer to write her biography. It’s about love, family, and the price of fame, and yes it IS a gripping story and there are twists).
I also really liked TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea (a cozy, cute, funny LGBT fantasy novel. Main character is an overweight gay guy who lives alone with his cat. He is a case worker who is responsible for making the decision about whether to close magical orphanages or keep them open if they successfully meet the needs of the children. He gets the challenge of his life in this book…).
Hopefully that gets you started!
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