My Top Five Thriller Books!

If you look at my list of read books, you’ll see that I only read thrillers (with the occasional romance to break up all that suspense – a girl can only take so much heart-stopping “I didn’t see that one coming!” plot twists!). Every day is a good day for a little suspense, which is why we are all binge-watching true crime documentaries and series on Netflix (bonus fact: Did you know that You is originally from a book by Carolyn Kepnes? You might want to read that to really get into Joe’s mind!).

A good thriller never fails to get your heart pumping, making you turn the page wondering what exactly is going to happen next. A superb thriller – like Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – will leave you going “what in the world” for days (then when you read Sharp Objects by the same author, you’ll be even more dumbfounded!).

New to the genre? Seeing how I’m a thriller queen, here are my top five reads that will have you gripping the seat.

#1 The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
It’s a classic thriller! Girl goes on a train, thinks she witnessed something shocking, and then unexpectedly becomes embroiled in a complicated investigation where nothing is as it seems! You may have watched the movie, but you know the saying and yes in this case, the book is better than the movie.

#2 What Lies Between Us, John Marrs
I lost count of the number of times I went OMG while reading this book! It’s quite a time but it’s a fast read and as the story progresses, you really don’t want to put down this book! The story revolves around mother and daughter Maggie and Nina and their strained relationship. Every other night, they have dinner together like a normal family but when they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room and into the heavy chain that keeps her there! It’s wild – you need to read it to believe it!

#3 The Housemaid, Freida McFadden
After reading this, I basically hunted down all of Freida McFadden’s books and read each one back-to-back. Because she is that good at keeping you at the edge of your seat! The Housemaid will send you on this similar spiral of late-night reading to get to the plot twist. Millie – who is down on her luck and desperately needs a job – finds what she thinks is a dream job with the Winchesters as their housemaid. That dream soon turns into a nightmare as the lady of the house Nina starts going on a downward spiral of crazy that ends up with a you-gotta-be-kidding-me climax. But not everything is as it seems when you learn more about Millie’s history.

#4 The Last Mrs. Parrish, Liv Constantine
My, my, my! I thought I knew all the thriller plots but this one takes the cake! It tells the story of Amber who is tired of being a nobody so she starts plotting to take down society queen Daphne so she can live her life instead. As the story progresses, it seems like Amber is right on track… until you discover there’s really a lot more to it! With shocking turns and dark secrets, you really have no idea who the villain is in this story. The best part? There’s a sequel (which I need to read right now!)

#5 The Kind Worth Killing, Peter Swanson
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted meets Lily, a stunning but mysterious woman. They soon begin revealing very intimate details about themselves and when Ted jokes he could kill his wife, Lily says she’ll help. Yikes! This really got me turning the pages to find out whether the murderous duo would really do it and with each page, you are left with shocking revelations. Suddenly, you’re sucked into the book and when it’s over, you’re left wondering who really did what? There’s also a sequel, The Kind Worth Saving, that’s worth checking out! Plus, Swanson’s other thrillers have also made it on my read list so I highly recommend checking him out if you love this!

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash.