NINE THRILLERS I RECOMMEND
The Liar's Wife - Kiersten Modglin
I absolutely loved this one.
It's my favorite by her so far.
Palmer Lewis married a liar.
But just how deadly are his lies?
Shortly after marrying her soulmate and the birth of their son, the lies begin.
First, it's the phone calls, always held in secret, always deleted from his phone.
Then it's his odd disappearances and the little nagging voice in her head screaming: something is not right.
When Palmer follows her gut -- and her husband -- she catches him with an unfamiliar woman in the park and in his biggest lie thus far. Learning from her past, she hatches a plan to protect herself and their child. But when her husband and son disappear one afternoon and don't return, Palmer must retrace her steps and dig deep to discover the truth before it's too late.
Who is the mysterious woman her husband lied about meeting? Who knows what happened to her family? Who's lying? In this twisted psychological thriller, the better question is, who isn't?
One by One - Freida McFadden
Loved it!
One of my favorites by her.
Claire Matchett needs this trip. It will be a break from work and raising children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubbing with friends at a luxurious hotel in the woods, disconnected from the pressures of real life.
Then, on a lonely dirt road, Claire's minivan breaks down. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to walk the rest of the way to their remote accommodation. But the forest is dark and difficult to navigate and, hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost.
As they venture deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously, one by one. Are they being hunted? And by what―or who? As Claire's dream vacation descends into a nightmare, something becomes clear: only one of them will return home alive.
A taut story of betrayal and survival from New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden that will leave you wondering if there's any way out of the woods…
Don't Watch Alone - Elisa D. Daniels
I love all of her books.
This one is my absolute favorite of hers.
On November 9, 1984, the horror wasn’t just on the screen… it was in the mall.
What was supposed to be a night of scares and laughs turns into a waking nightmare when six friends attend the midnight premiere of Don’t Watch Alone—and find themselves locked inside the mall after the final scene fades to black.
But this isn’t some prank or accident. Someone’s watching. Someone who knows their every move… and their darkest secrets. One by one, the group is stalked through neon-lit hallways, vintage storefronts, and dark food courts. The killer isn’t just after blood—they’re staging a slasher film of their own.
As the body count rises, the lines between fiction and reality blur. The only way out is to survive the night—but not everyone is getting a final scene.
Don’t scream. Don’t run. Don’t Watch Alone.
Little Secrets - Jennifer Hillier
This was the book that got me hooked on reading.
My first hook in the thriller genre.
All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family―until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.
Permanently.
The Artist - J.D. Setzer
Oliver is one of my favorite villains of all time.
I LOVED this book!
Some obsessions are born in silence. Others are carved in bone.
He sees beauty in bone. Perfection in fear.
By day, he’s just another starving artist. By night, he’s something else entirely—a meticulous killer who transforms his victims into haunting sculptures, using their skulls as the foundation for his grotesque masterpieces. Art is his religion. Death is his medium. And no one suspects a thing.
But when he crosses paths with Finley—enigmatic, sharp-eyed, and disturbingly captivating—his routine begins to unravel. She isn’t like the others. She inspires him. Challenges him. Watches him a little too closely.
As obsession bleeds into paranoia, the line between artist and prey begins to blur. And in the end, every masterpiece demands a final stroke.
Everyone Here Is Lying - Shari Lapena
My favorite of hers so far.
Welcome to Stanhope. A safe neighborhood. A place for families.
William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.
Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.
Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery's neighbors become increasingly unhinged.
Who took Avery Wooler?
Nothing will prepare you for the truth.
Idaho Fall - D.J. Maughan
One of the best books I have ever read.
An entrepreneur with a startup valued at one billion falls from a balcony on the eve of the company going public. Was it an accident? Or was she pushed?
Rita Burch is a rising star. The founder of a huge clothing brand, she is on the brink of financial nirvana. Her company is set to go public with an astronomical valuation when her body is found broken and unconscious, a victim of an apparent accident. Comatose, and fighting for her life, determined to wake, she learns she can leave her body.
Following the detectives as they investigate her accident, probing for clues, Rita learns disturbing details about herself and others.
Shocked by her life, she faces a dilemma. Even if she could, would she want to live?
So Shall You Reap - Mark Jenkins
I absolutely loved this one.
I enjoy all of this author's books.
Belle Jackson was sixteen years old when a brutal attack mutated her once-gentle life into one of vengeance and no apologies. Now changed, she felt it was her duty to rid the world of all necessary, and some not-so-necessary, evils. And nothing would stand in her way, not even those closest to her. They were family, after all.
In the northeastern quadrant of Minnesota lies the colossal Superior National Forest—a dense, shadowy wilderness four times larger than Rhode Island. It encompasses some of the nation’s most desolate and remote areas and is home to many of the deadliest creatures known to mankind. It was here, then, in a tiny cabin concealed among the thick trees, that Belle and her family found retirement. Their dangerous way of life now behind them.
But then, five classmates on the other side of the state kill an innocent man and find themselves pursued by the police and in desperate need to flee the country.
Then, in the dead of night, deep in the middle of nowhere, they stumble upon a small cabin with a faint light glowing within. And they knock.
And when killers meet, all hell breaks loose.
The Passengers - John Marrs
My favorite John Marrs one so far.
You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an undocumented immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save?...And who should we kill first?"