Are you looking for a good thriller book that will have you trembling with suspense and probably some fear? An absolute page turner that will make your jaw drop and you let out an audible gasp? Are you maybe a little tired of only getting recommended thriller books by Stephen King and Agatha Christie?
Look, they are both icons of the genre for a reason, they have both written countless phenomenal books that have changed the course of the thriller genre. But, if you are looking for something outside of those two literary icons, here are the 10 best thriller books right now that you must check out.
10. The Midnight Feast
You can’t talk about the best thriller books right now without bringing up Lucy Foley’s name. She has had many hits such as The Paris Apartment and The Guest List. Her most recent book The Midnight Feast is her best book yet.
The Midnight Feast follows the opening weekend of a manor. However, by Sunday morning a body has been found and the police have been called.
This atmospheric murder mystery is full of festivities, lies, and suspense. Known for using multiple points of view, Foley masterfully weaves together many stories to create an overarching thriller. The Midnight Feast is definitely one of the best thriller books right now and you should check it out.
9. The It Girl
Another author that must be in the conversation of best thriller books right now is Ruth Ware. After best sellers like The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Death of Mrs. Westaway, The It Girl from 2022 is definitely one of the best thriller books right now.
The It Girl is about Hannah Jones and the first person she meets at Oxford, April Coutts-Cliveden. April is the It girl of campus and brings Hannah into her dazzling life. However, by the end of the second term, April is dead.
This mystery is not only an absolute page turner, but it is also a story of female friendship and womanhood. If you haven’t yet, you should check out The It Girl now!
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8. First Lie Wins
Another one of the best thriller books right now is a Reese’s Book Club Pick, First Lie Wins. This thriller by Ashley Elston follows a mysterious woman with a fake identity, Evie Porter, as she navigates deceit, past identities, and dangerous secrets when she realizes how suspicious what she is involved in actually is.
This riveting thriller is a must read, even Reese Witherspoon thinks so! The novel is addictive, full of twists and turns, and it is incredibly entertaining.
7. Final Girls
Riley Sager is another author with numerous hit thriller novels. The fan favorite of his work though is his 2017 thriller Final Girls, a story about a trip from 10 years ago that ended with a massacre of a group of friends and a girl named Quincy was the sole survivor. The past is in the past for Quincy until the last of the girls who was killed is found in her bathtub.
If you are looking for the best thriller books right now, you have to check this one out. It has everything you are looking for in a thriller; murder, suspense, a haunting past that wreaks havoc on the present. What’s not to love?
6. The Searcher
The Searcher is another one of the best thriller books right now. This thriller follows a retired Chicago police detective who moves to a small Irish village to escape his past. However, when a local boy asks him to help find his missing brother, he uncovers dark secrets behind the town he turned to for an escape.
Set in a remote village in Ireland, this atmospheric thriller is an evocative and complex thriller that allows you to savor every detail of both the plot and the characters.
If you like The Searcher, you can check out The Hunter, the second book in this thriller series.
5. Listen for the Lie
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is another one of the best thriller books right now. This thriller novel is about a true crime podcast focused on a woman who everyone believes got away with the murder of her best friend.
As a Good Morning America Book Club pick, this is definitely a fan favorite thriller. One aspect that sets this novel apart is it is actually funny. It combines darkness and suspense with humor in a way that makes this read not only a page turner, but really entertaining and fun.
4. None of This Is True
After numerous hit thriller novels, Lisa Jewell’s new book None of This Is True is one of the best thriller books right now.
None of this Is True follows a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
This psychological thriller is chilling and twisty, sending a shiver down your spine. If you are looking for a mind bending thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you should check this one out now.
3. The Silent Patient
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides has taken the thriller world by a storm for the past couple years and for good reasons. This 2019 thriller is about two characters, a psychotherapist and his patient, after the apparent murder of the patient’s husband.
This psychological thriller is shocking and violent but definitely worth the read. It is addictive and full of tension, making The Silent Patient one of the best thriller books right now.
2. Shutter Island
Shutter Island is about a U.S. Marshal who travels to an isolated hospital on a remote island for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient.
This novel is truly horrifying. But, if you are looking for a chilling, disturbing, unsettling read, this is it.
And, if you love the book, or are at least hooked by it, there is a 2010 film version of the book starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
1. Gone Girl
Lastly, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn takes the number one spot of this list. Though the novel is not super recent, published in 2012, it is definitely one of the best, if not the best, thriller books right now.
Gone Girl is about writing teacher Nick Dunne who, when he returns home on their fifth wedding anniversary, finds his wife Amy is missing.
Gone Girl earns its rank as number one because it is truly a definitive novel in the thriller genre. It has inspired many novels in the genre to come and also changed the way women are represented in the literary world, undermining typical gender roles.
After reading, if you want more of the story, you can check out the 2014 movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.
