If you're like me and you love cosying up with a thriller book alone in bed at night just so you can wonder what that strange thudding sound you're hearing is, then this is the right place for you!
In my many years as an avid reader, I've found that thriller books are and will always be my favourite. (Let's forget the fact that I'm writing a fantasy book right now!). There's just something exciting about the fast-paced plot, the twists and turns that I don't expect (though more often than not - I do expect them), and the awful choices the protagonist makes. In a way, it makes me feel better about myself.
Only kidding, of course.
Kind of.
Anyways, let's not waste your or my time and get down to business, shall we?
This list is in no particular order.
1. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
You either love or hate Slaughter's books, but you have to admit that she is very skilled and probably one of the best of her kind. (I said one of the best. Not the best, so chill!). Some of the subject matters that she covers are traumatising, and it doesn't help that she writes so beautifully clear and concise; the mental image that she creates in your mind is disturbing and will haunt you for a while. All that being said, this is probably one of her best books.
Pretty Girls is about a woman whose eldest sister went missing twenty years ago, a tragedy that left the family in shreds. Now, another girl has disappeared under similar circumstances, and the main character is convinced that they are linked. As she dives head-first into finding out the truth, she is faced with a shocking discovery about her past.
2. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The thing I like about Jewell is the fact that she manages to still surprise me when I reach the end and think I have it all figured out. While some authors tend to give you whiplash with the plot twists they seem to pull out of nowhere, she forces you to rethink everything you've read so far. Jewell succeeds because her plot twists are believable, and clues are cleverly planted all around the book.
In The Family Upstairs, we follow the story of Libby who discovers the identities of her birth parents and learns she has inherited a mansion in London. But, as she delves deeper into the history of the house, she unearths a shocking truth: twenty-five years ago, police found her as a baby in the mansion with three dead bodies and four missing children. For Libby, finding out the truth could change her whole life.
3. All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
Willingham is a new, up-and-coming author in the thrillerverse. I read her debut book A Flicker in the Dark two years ago and really enjoyed it, so last year when I heard she would publish a new book, I had to get a copy. She's definitely an author that I will come back to from time to time. (Even if I did not enjoy her most recent book.)
All the Dangerous Things is about the cold case of a missing son, his mother who battles with insomnia and hasn't given up on finding him, and a true crime podcaster who helps her investigate when everyone else has moved on. The latter probes her with questions that threaten to stir up disturbing childhood memories, causing her to doubt her recollection of that night and question whom she can trust.
4. Keep It In The Family by John Marrs
A friend of mine - who isn't much of a bookworm - recently asked me if I could recommend a book to them, and having a plethora of books that I could have chosen from, I went with Keep It In The Family. It's a book that kept me on my toes, making me question my deduction skills. When you think you finally have a grasp on the mystery, Marrs throws another plot twist in. Definitely recommend!
In Keep It In The Family, Mia and Finn turn a decrepit house into their dream home only to discover that serial killings have once taken place inside where the evidence is still concealed within the walls. Obsessed with the gruesome crimes that happened in the past, Mia stops at nothing to confront the truth. Even when the previous tenants do everything to prevent her from uncovering their secrets.
5. Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Even though this book wasn't as suspenseful and twist-y as the other ones on my list, I had to include Kukafka's second novel Notes on an Execution. It was refreshing because, while most thriller authors focus on the murders and the hunt for the serial killer, creating tension with fast-paced action, Kukafka zeroes in on the victims and the families left behind - something that often happens in real life, too. Everyone knows Ted Bundy, but can you name even one of his victims?
Notes on an Execution is about a serial killer who faces execution in twelve hours. Through the perspective of his mother, sister-in-law, and a homicide detective, we unravel the complicated choices and decisions that led to his ultimate fate. As time begins to run out, they confront the aftermath of his crimes and the impact on their lives.
Well, there you go.
I hope you have found at least one book that you consider worth reading. But if you think my selection is as terrible as my eyesight, then let me know in the comments which thriller books you think I should read instead, and maybe I will heed your advice as much as you heeded mine.
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