It’s October, the month for creepiness and bumps in the night. But instead of going down the conventional route and offering up an Epic Guide to Horror, I’m going one better and giving you THRILLERS. This is one of my favourite genres, and while I feel like I haven’t read many, this post has proven me wrong. Thrillers make my heart race and I love trying to solve the mysteries that are interwoven with the plot. I would define a thriller as a story involving an exciting plot with a side of crime and mystery. So sit back, put on the music, and get your notepad ready, because I have a tonne of stuff to get through.
i would recommend
Variant is set in a mysterious boarding school which the students aren’t exactly free to leave.
This is about a girl who wakes up in an actual rosebush with no memory of the night before or how she got there. I was hooked the entire time, mostly because I love stories which involve memory loss.
Choker was one of the first books I read back in the day (i.e. 2010, at the beginning of my blogging adventure) and it’s probably one of the first books that Raeleen and I bonded over. It’s about a girl and that’s all I really want to say. Did I sell it?
For my first Gretchen McNeil pick in this list, I hereby recommend Ten. It’s a retelling of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. A bunch of teens go to an island and start to get picked off one by one.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This is one of the more tame thrillers on my list, but nevertheless I enjoyed the mystery of it. The Naturals is about a group of people who have special gifts (not necessarily supernatural ones) who help to solve a crime.
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I’VE EVER READ. Okay so the main character and her best friend get attacked one night, and said best friend is killed. Everyone blames the main character dragging Best Friend into this thing, and then the main character sets out to find out who did it. Not only that but the main character is BISEXUAL and DISABLED and the book also deals with drug addiction. Read it.
The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer
While it’s not the best thriller I have ever read, The Secrets of Lily Graves has everything that makes these kinds of books great. There’s action, a ship, and a mystery to solve. And a massive fight at the end.
More Gretchen McNeil! Get Even is a bit different to Ten, in the sense that it’s a) not a retelling, and b) mostly set in high school. There is a murder though and the main characters have to try to defeat the bad guy, whoever that may be.
Liars, Inc. is one of the few books on this list with a male main character. He gets into a whole bunch of trouble and really falls into a trap, and the whole way through I was theorising and plotting.
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Hello, welcome to my Gillian Flynn section! She gets her own section because she’s pretty much the Thriller Queen at this point. Sharp Objects was her first book and it’s about a reporter who goes back to her hometown to report (and kind of investigate) a case of missing and murdered children. It’s eerie and well written, and I was totally hooked from the start.
Dark Places is my favourite Gillian Flynn book because it’s SO. BLOODY. GOOD. I didn’t see the ending coming, although I had plenty of theories. Dark Places is about a woman whose family were murdered by her older brother, and she’s been trying to deal with that ever since. There are flashbacks that give you bits and pieces of the story and it’s so well thoughout and put together.
Obviously. Many of you have probably read this already but here’s a brief summary: Nick the Dick (that’s my name for him, not Flynn’s) is an arse and then his wife vanishes and he becomes a murder suspect. And that’s it. Read the book.
Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson
Earlier on I said that I love books that focus on memory loss, and Before I Go To Sleep is one of those books. It’s about a woman whose memory is ~broken after an accident and when she goes to sleep she forgets everything that has happened over the past few years. It’s really mysterious and the reveal gave me goosebumps because FUCK THAT NONSENSE.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Again, you’ve probably all read this one by now as it’s one of the top books of the year. It’s a very intriguing thriller told from various points of view. The main character travels on the same train every day to go into London, and one day she sees something odd from the window of the train. That kicks off a whole bunch of stuff and everyone is a suspect for one reason or another.
The Girl in 6E is by no means my usual kind of read. It’s an erotic thriller, about a woman who is a webcam girl. This woman doesn’t leave her apartment because something traumatised her when she was younger and she’s worried she has developed murderous tendencies. But then she encounters a dodgy client and there’s an abduction and she sets out to catch the guy who did it.
This was such a nice surprise for me because I went into it expecting absolutely nothing. Child 44 is set in post-war Russia, aka Stalin Russia. The main character, who I will refer to as Tom Hardy for reasons, is part of Stalin’s government and he enforces the whole EVERYONE IS EQUAL/SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS/YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO THINK FOR YOURSELF, IDIOT thing. Then he gets a rude awakening as some children are murdered and everything spins out of control. I looooved this book because it felt like a dystopia, but this stuff really happened (maybe not the murders but the Russian government stuff) and it creeped me out.
Room is about a mother and her child, who are stuck in this place called Room. I don’t want to say anything about the book, but you can go and read the synopsis if you want to. I found this one to be very interesting and chilling, especially as it’s written from the child’s perspective. I might give it a reread before the movie comes out.
Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas
I haven’t read Dangerous Girls (YET! Stop shouting!) but Dangerous Boys deserves a mention because it was one that I couldn’t stop reading. At the beginning, a girl and two brothers are caught in a house fire, and only one brother survives. You don’t know who it is until towards the end, and the book flashes back to show the relationships between the three.
Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
This is another book in which the characters’ lives change completely because of an accident. I don’t want to say too much about it because there’s the risk that I could give something away, but just know that I liked it and you should probably read it if you’re looking for something quick to read.
Pretty Girl-13 is absolutely amazing. It’s about a girl who was abducted and has now developed multiple personalities. It’s really a wonderful book, and while the mystery and thriller part is the main drive of the plot, I feel like there’s a really good message behind the whole thing.
Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein
Premeditated is about a girl who joins a new school to avenge a family member who tried to commit suicide. It’s really thrilling and I loved it, especially as the main character is awesome.
i want to read
- After the Crash by Michel Bussi
- The Three by Sarah Lotz
- Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas
- The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne
- Night Film by Marisha Pessl
- I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
- Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano
- The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
- What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler
- The Killing Lessons by Saul Black
- Second Life by S. J. Watson
- Find Me by Romily Bernard
- 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
- The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten
Movies & TV Shows
How To Get Away With Murder – I’m a few episodes behind (more like an entire season) but I would recommend watching it for Dean Thomas and Viola Davis.
Secrets and Lies – Ryan Phillipe finds a child’s body in the woods and the entire suburban neighbourhood become suspects. There are so many things going on in this neighbourhood that are revealed, it’s almost like a soap. But darker. And with Ryan Phillipe.
Prison Break – Why haven’t you watched this yet? Although I can’t talk because I haven’t finished the final season yet, and I started the show when season three was airing. I don’t want to let go.
Seven – Young Brad Pitt tho.
The Silence of the Lambs – This probably kicked off my love for all things creepy.
Mad Max: Fury Road – And this kicked off my love for Tom Hardy and Furiosa. The latter is the queen of queens.
Panic Room – Yes that is Bella Swan. And yes, I do love this movie. It’s about a mother and daughter who move into a new house, which criminals then enter and force the duo into the panic room. It’s awesome. And now I need to rewatch.
Mission: Impossible – You seriously can’t beat the first two movies. And now I am going to buy the boxset.
Jeanna says
This list is awesome! I Hunt Killers is one of my favs- I definitely recommend it! I have The Girl on the Train on my TBR and I just bought Sharp Objects. I’m a HUGE Tom Hardy fan but haven’t seen his latest yet. I need to watch it! Have a great weekend! Happy reading!
Amber says
I’m going to get I Hunt Killers fairly soon, I think! It sounds awesome.
By latest, do you mean Legend? Or Mad Max? 🙂 Mad Max is EPIC. Favourite movie of the year. Legend was also pretty good.
Lara says
OHMYGOSH…. Yes please!!! This post is perfect. I am bookmarking this and when I have time I will be going through and adding all these books to my TBR. I luuuurve thrillers and I’ve read all of Gillian Flynn’s books, as well as Dangerous Boys, but that’s all I’ve read from this list so obviously I have some work to do.
Thank you so much for making this post!!!! I must get reading 🙂
Amber says
Thanks Lara! I’m glad it was helpful 🙂
Gillian Flynn is epic, right?! I can’t wait for whatever she brings out next.
Sarah says
Thank you for this post! I love all things creedy and scary. Night Film is one of my all time favorite books. The enature time my mind was like what is happening!!??
Last night I watched The Banadook on netfix. It was pretty freaky and I recommend it for this time of year.
Amber says
You are most welcome! I hope it was helpful 🙂
I really hope I can get to Night Film soon. It sounds brilliant. And I’ll check out The Banadook when I have the time!
Kyra @ Blog of a Bookaholic says
OOH I love this list! I just read a murder mystery thriller and now I really want to read more books in that genre or similar. These all look amazing and some are on my wishlist but there’s a lot I haven’t heard of, so off to check those out! 🙂
Amber says
Thanks Kyra! Which one did you just read? 😀
Haraiah says
I read Variant a long time ago and liked it. I love Premeditated! It is such an underrated book. I really like the main character and the story. Same with The Girl in 6E.
Ah, so many books! Almost all of these are in my TBR list. I’ve wanted to read Gillian Flynn’s books, I Hunt Killers and Find Me for so long.
Amber says
Right?! Premeditated should have been a bigger hit imo. The Girl in 6E is getting a lot of attention on Booktube at the moment, which is awesome XD