30 Psychological Thriller Books That Will Almost Certainly You'll Never Get a Good Night's Sleep

Books Is It Just Me, or Do All Beautiful Books Feel the Same? Two people meet, fall in love, something slightly sad happens, they get over it and then run into the sunset together. Sometimes I even find it hard to remember which ones I've already read because they all start to melt together in my memory. That's why I've been in the mood to devour thrillers lately. I need a book that is so psychologically confused that it will burn in my head for the rest of eternity! I'm fine, I promise.

Honestly, the best thing about thrillers is getting so focused on their crazy story lines that hours and hours of reading will go by and feel like just a few minutes - which, TBH, * exactly * is what we all need right now considering how much free time we have. And fine, this is just a working theory, but I'm pretty sure if your heart is racing from reading a really terrifying book, is that basically the same as a little bit of high-intensity cardio? (Please let me have these.)

Here are 30 of the best thriller books you can't put down until you've turned the last page, from the most classic suspense novels to the latest murder mysteries and even a few reads that got the Hollywood treatment . You'll definitely speed through this, even if you have to take a few breaks to turn on all the lights in your apartment and make sure there's no one hiding in your closet.

Besides, if you want even more scary reading recommendations, consider the best dystopian books books, best mystery about, crime fought,and best horror books of all time.

1
I Am Watching You, by Teresa Driscoll

 

Why so many thrillers insist on trains, I'll never know, but this book takes it in a whole new way. Ella Longfield overhears two young men flirting with some teenage girls on a train, which seems perfectly normal until she realizes the men have recently been released from prison. When one of the girls disappears, Ella gets more involved than she ever imagined.

See Also: 31 Best Psychological Thrillers Books With Your Head

2
The Woman in the Window, by AJ Finn

 

This book was recently made into a movie starring Amy Adams, so you'll definitely want to read it ASAP so you can be one of those people "the book was better than the film". It follows the story of Anna Fox, an agoraphobic New York City resident who has expressed an interest in peeking at her neighbors. Everything goes well until one night she sees something particularly violent.

3
The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides

What happens when a famous painter shoots her husband and then goes completely silent and refuses to say a word? A criminal psychotherapist is left to try and get her to talk and of course figure out her motive.

4
What You Did, Claire McGowan.

If you're already worried about your college reunion, read this book because it can't get any worse. Twenty years after graduation, a group of friends is reunited. But when Ali's best friend stumbles in from the blood-filled garden and claims that Ali's sweetheart / now husband is behind the attack, Ali is forced to take a closer look at her memories of college.

5
Lock EveryDoor, by Riley Sager

If you want a thriller that's really gonna get your heart racing (and maybe hide the book under your bed for fear), this is it. When Jules takes a job as an apartment sitter in an old, swanky Manhattan building, she soon learns that something very dark is going on there.

 

6
The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel

 

This book has it all: Manhattan for the East Coast lovers, Vancouver for the West Coast lovers, a crumbling Ponzi scheme, threatening messages on a hotel window, and a missing woman.

7
Something in the Water, by Catherine Steadman

Reese Witherspoon said this book fascinated her "from page one," so you know it will be alright. It takes place on a dream honeymoon in Bora Bora and is the perfect summer for reading.

8
The Last Time I Song, by Riley Sager

Look, Riley Sager knows how to write a kick-ass thriller, and The Last Time I Song is no different. He manages to take two truths and a lie and make it a starting point for an ultra-scary book.

9
If It Bleeds, Stephen King

If your thoughts don't go straight to Stephen King when you're thinking of picking up a thriller book, I'm here to educate you. If It Bleeds is a good place to start as it's a novella so you'll be able to get a lot of Stephen King scary angels into your system in just a few pages.

10
Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell

As if losing your 15 year old daughter isn't scary enough, imagine it's 10 years later, you finally get your life back on track and meet a charming boy whose young daughter makes you eerily reminiscent of yours. Those are weird things!

11
The Outsider, by Stephen King

If you can get through this book without freaking out completely, then I have some good news: It also exists as a miniseries on HBO, starring Jason Bateman and Cynthia Erivo, so you can do it all again. Lucky you!

12
Caught, by Harlan Coben

If you enjoyed The Stranger watching on Netflix, then you're going to love this book by the same writer. Equally distorted and mysterious, it's what happens when a well-meaning person opens the wrong door.

13
The Shack, by WM. Paul Young

After Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter goes missing on a family vacation (and it turns out she may have been murdered in an abandoned cabin), he's shocked to receive a suspicious note inviting him to return four years later . of the possible crime.

14
The 20th Victim, by James Patterson

This book asks a very important Dexter-like question: If a group of gunmen takes out shady criminals, are they villains or heroes?

15
The Boy From the Woods, by Harlan Coben

If you are fascinated by wild kids (just me?) You will really like this book. Thirty years after Wilde was found as a single boy in the woods, he still has no idea where he comes from. So when a young girl goes missing, Wilde and his special skills are called in to help find her.

16
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green

If you've ever had a tweet go viral, you know you're going to be haunted by the notifications for months to come. An absolutely remarkable thing takes that idea, but makes it a bazillion times more intense.

17
Cari Mora, by Thomas Harris

In case you didn't know ... Thomas Harris is the man who wrote The Silence of the Lambs. In other words, he's the MOST qualified person to mess with your brain. Cari Mora is about a young woman named Cari who has to escape a psychopath while looking after a mega house in Miami.

 

18
Pretty Revenge, by Emily Liebert

Revenge? Drama in the wedding industry? Oodles and heaps of money? What could ever go wrong ?! I mean, probably a million things, that's why you should read this book ASAP.

19
The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins

Slide your way to the official "But the book was better than the movie!" club by picking up The Girl on the Train, the dark, twisted thriller that inspired Emily Blunt's 2016 feature film.

20
The Woman in the Dark, by Vanessa Savage

Uh… this psychological thriller is about a woman who moves into the house where her husband grew up and a family was brutally murdered. It's literally about a murder house. I'll never understand why people don't just do GTFO, but if they did ... we wouldn't have such exciting novels.

21
In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware

Leonora is a writer who accepts an invitation for a trip to the English countryside. Surprise! It's going to be a terrifying, spooky weekend. (Does anyone ever expect anything other than the literal forest? Why does anyone go to the forest more?)

22
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

I don't want to be an asshole, but you can't consider yourself a thriller fan if you haven't read Gone Girl. It is actually the initiation for loving thrillers. If you can handle all the goosebumps you'll get to read this turn and turn novel, you can handle anything.

23
Spider, by Lamar Giles

An up-and-coming DJ is killed in action and everyone gets (perfectly understandable) from TF. Her case is getting cold, so her friends and fans have to find out for themselves what happened.

24
The girl with the dragon tattoo tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

The girl with the dragon is not a classic. There's murder, financial scandals, crazy family drama, and even a little bit of love. It checks every box.

25
Out, by Natsuo Kirino

If you enjoy one side of an insanely dark comedy with your thrillers, you should read this book about a woman in Tokyo who strangles her husband and then enlists her colleagues to hide the body.

26
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

Let me guess ... you should have read this in high school, but you chose to watch the SparkNotes version instead. Now that you don't have to study for the SATs and practice, you should definitely really read this one.

27
The Secrets You Keep, Kate White

In The Secrets You Keep, the life of a self-help writer gets completely out of hand when she realizes her husband is dark as hell. Yes, you might be trying to guess your boo's passcode, but it was read correctly.

28
Paper Ghosts, by Julia Heaberlin

Paper Ghosts is about a woman who goes on a journey with a SERIAL KILLER who suffers from dementia in the hope of finding her sister. Good luck after taking another Uber this time.

29
Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty

Before Big Little Lies was the show that gave you life, it was a book with a similar, but not entirely identical, plot. I hate sharing spoilers, but… this book will give you life too.

30
The Lost Night, by Andrea Bartz

Ten years ago Lindsay had a wild night she barely remembers. As a result, her boyfriend Edie's body was found with a suicide note. Now Lindsay finds out that Edie may have been murdered ... and that she may have had something to do with it.