Hi friends! I wanted to compile a list of the Best Thriller Novels that I have read so far since thrillers are having such a big moment right now. Thriller and horror are two of my favorite genres when it comes to… well everything (books and movies). I was an English major in college so I consider myself a very avid reader. And now that I am out of college, I actually get to choose which books I want to read, and so far, almost all of them have been thrillers.
So here is my list of the Best Thriller Novels that I have read to date:
1. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter – Oh man. This book legit SCARED me. It was awesome. At one point I actually got up and locked all of the doors in my house. It was soooooo good!!!! This book gave me goosebumps a few different times and I COULD NOT put it down. This book is my favorite thriller novel that I’ve read so far (hence, why I am listing it first).
The imagery and detail of this book is like watching a high-quality production film. Everything is perfectly detailed and so well written that it gives you a perfect picture in your head of what is happening. With that said… this book is pretty graphic and not for the faint of heart.
The story is CRAZY but also very realistic and could happen to anyone, which makes it even freakier. The book starts off pretty morbid with the main character’s husband being murdered right in front of her in an ally and then as the story progresses, the wife finds out all of this crazy shit about her husband and some realllllly weird (and illegal) shit that he was into and throughout their whole marriage, she had no idea any of this was happening. As the story develops, everything just gets weirder and creepier and more wtf every chapter.
Please, you have to read this book and then tell me what you think of it!! (If you can handle it)
2. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – This book was also fantastic and not scary at all for those who are faint hearted. The book starts off in Amber’s point of view; a young, money-hungry girl who is trying to steal another woman’s husband (Mr. Parrish) from her because he is super rich, powerful, successful, and hot. To Amber, the wife seems ungrateful and disrespectful to her rich, powerful, successful, hot husband and Amber wants to break them up so she can be the wife that Mr. Parrish deserves.
THEN the book switches to Daphne’s point of view; the wife, Mrs. Parrish. And that’s when things TAKE A TURN Y’ALL. That part of the book was definitely unexpected and after that I could not put the book down. Totally crazy and so so good!
You have to read this book also and tell me what you think because the twist is too good and me at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next!
3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – This book was all over the internet when Reese Witherspoon introduced it and put it on her book club list. But for good reason. This book was absolutely amazing. It was an emotional roller coaster and had me awake at all hours of the night because I couldn’t put it down. It’s not as “thriller-y” as the other books on this list, but it does start out with a murder and the throughout the whole book they are trying to figure out who the murderer was. So that’s a thriller, right?
Like I said, the book starts off with a murder and then switches back and forth between the past and the “present”. The story is about a young girl who grows up in the swamp lands all alone after her mother, father, and all of her siblings abandon her. She learns to live off of the land and eventually falls in love (twice) and becomes an author.
But what is her relationship to the murder, you ask? Read the book and find out!! And then let me know what you think afterwards, haha!
4. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware – This book also scared me a few times. I actually have goosebumps right now just thinking about it. It was so good though!! The setting of the book is at a bachelorette party that the narrator is really surprised that she was invited to. The bachelorette is a girl that she knew from school and the groom is a guy that she used to date so she was shocked when she was invited.
The bachelorette party is in a gorgeous cabin in the woods with snow all around and on top of a beautiful mountain top. Some freaky, freaky things happen as the story unfolds and I still think I’m pretty shook to this day after reading it. It’s really not what you would expect and I think that’s why I couldn’t put the book down.
Read this book and tell me how you feel while reading the part about the footsteps in the snow by the back door… OMG!!
5. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena – Oh man, this book had me pissed OFF in a few different parts. Like I was legit so mad at some of the characters. But the story was really good and had a lot of unexpected turns. I was pissed off at the neighbor, Cynthia. Omg what a bitch… And I was pissed at the husband. And at a few other characters. The grandma is a badass though. #Goals
Once you thought this story couldn’t get any crazier, the next page something out-of-this-world happens and it will make you want to scream and punch someone but you also can’t put it down. So so good!
6. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – If you the HBO series was good, you are going to loooove the book! I sure did. I started reading the book before it became a TV series and I got bored of it a few pages in and stopped reading it. Then the HBO series came out and once the first season was over, I had to actually read the book this time. And it DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT. The book was sooo good. There were so many details in the book that didn’t make it into the show and the ending of the book was incredible. I wish they would have put the full book ending into the show.
It was essentially the same ending but a little more detailed after the main event happens. But I was like screaming “hell yea!!!” at the end of the book and it left me feeling so happy and empowered and like such a good bond between all of these women who are kind of frenemies.
So definitely should read the book if you haven’t already!
7. The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond – This book was weirdddd yo! But there are also a lot of really good tips about marriage and relationships hidden throughout the book also, which was kind of a bonus! The book is about a couple that gets married and someone that gets randomly invited to the wedding (thinking that they wouldn’t come, but they do) shows up to their house later with their wedding gift…
And it’s no ordinary gift. It’s a very complicated and often frightening gift that ultimately does make their marriage stronger but what they have to go through is NUTS. Some of the stuff really freaked me out but it was SUCH a good book!
Definitely a must read!
8. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris – This was the most recent book that I have read and ultimately it was a fantastic read. The main character really pissed me off the first ¾ of the book. I would literally slam the book down and groan about the main character being an idiot. She starts off very weak, idiotic, naive, and just plain dumb. I wanted so badly for her to grow a pair and get herself out of the bad situation but by the end of the book she goes through some major character development and becomes a badass bitch. So I think the author had her be really weak and naive the first part of the book on purpose.
By the end of the book she is such a badass and it had an amazing ending. So if you read this book just know that the main character will put her big girl panties on, grow a brain, and make wiser decisions!
And here are the thriller novels on my list to read (please note that I have not read these all the way through yet but they are on my list to read in 2020 so I will report back with which ones are “the best”):
9. Flowers in the Attic / Petals in the Wind by V.C. Andrews – This is a two-fer (two for one) book. So don’t be intimidated by the massiveness of the book itself, it’s two books in one. I’m currently reading this one right now and so far it is a page turner. I’ve been staying up way past my bedtime to keep reading it. I’m only 30 something pages in and it’s already super gripping, so that’s a really good sign right?!
10. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum – No, this isn’t about a pornstar moving into the house next door to a high school guy, haha! I found this book through Buzzfeed in an article about books that “left people traumatized”. So, naturally I had to buy it and add it to my reading list.
11. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – There is a very famous movie about this book but I have not seen it because I have been saving myself for the book. Does that make me weird?!
12. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – I know, I know. This book already has a movie out and I’m sure everyone has either seen the movie and/or has already read the book, but I’m just a little behind. The book had to have been pretty good if they made a movie out of it right?
13. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – Same thing for this book also. I saw the movie and it was SO GOOD!!! Like every man’s worst nightmare right? So I really wanted to read the book also because, well… I’m a huge nerd I guess, haha!
14. The French Girl by Lexie Elliot
15. The First Mistake by Sandie Jones – This is the same author that wrote The Other Woman, which is apparently another fantastic thriller novel. I have not read it but I have heard so many good things about the book. I guess I’ll have to add it to my list…
16. The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand
It’s one of my New Year’s Resolutions to read at least one book every month this year, so you’ll be seeing a lot of book posts! I’m going to do a blog post in a few weeks of My 2020 Reading List. I would love for you all to read some of these books and let me know what you think of them! It can be like a virtual book club LOL
Have you read any of the books on this list?! If so, what did you think??
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