There are some people out there who cannot get enough of creepy, dark characters, suspenseful settings, and nail-biting plot twists. These people are the thriller lovers, the thrill-seekers, and the ones who can hardly finish one thriller to hop on to the next one immediately!
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Thanks to media, entertainment, and our handy devices (phones, laptops, TV’s), we can all enjoy an unhealthy dose of thriller TV shows and movies, but what about the bibliophiles? The book lovers!
Well, there is always a vast pool of thriller books to dip your toes into, if that’s what you are looking for.
Here are some of the best thriller books that you can enjoy! :
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Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn
You cannot talk about thriller books without mentioning Gone Girl in the same breath! Gillian Flynn has a reputation for creating dark, complex characters, twisting and unnerving themes and situations, and creating a sense of urgency in the reader as they tear through the next pages of her books.
Gone Girl is one of the best thriller books which will genuinely drive the reader insane, trying to figure out just what is going on, to connect the dots, and to sympathize with a seemingly unsympathetic female character.
Gone Girl is one of those books which is hard to put down till you reach the very last, devastating page and unravel the truth.
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The two main characters- Nick and Amy, with their tumultuous courtship, their crumbling marriage, and eventually, Amy’s disappearance, is extraordinary. The book is masterful in its storytelling, it’s capacity to keep the readers on edge, and of course, there’s a great plot twist at the end. When it comes to thriller books, this is a great one, to begin with, or re-read!
The Shining- Stephen King
One of the most famous American authors with a penchant for horror, creepiness, and everything dark, Stephen King churns up brilliant works of art in the most prolific fashion.
The first bestseller hardcover, The Shining is the story of a man with escalating psychological issues, and finally, his plummet into madness. The main character of the book is a caretaker who takes up the responsibility to look after a large hotel on his own while having his wife and kid with him during his stay.
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Of course, the hotel is no ordinary hotel. We can expect this as soon as we pick up a Stephen King thriller than things are never going to be quite reasonable.
The ominous hotel is abandoned, cut off from any other human contact for miles, but of course, has some ‘special guests,’ who, as we can guess, are paranormal.
Now whether these paranormal beings exist, or they are just a figment of their imagination, is up to the readers to decide. Eventually, the caretaker, who chooses to work on his novel during his stay there, drives himself insane and suffers from intense cabin fever. The ending is just something the readers have to read to find out. You will need to put on your seatbelts for this one!
The Girl on the Train- Paula Hawkins
An ex-spouse having obsessive feelings about their old partner is nothing new- we watch, read, and see this kind of a storyline all the time. What Paula Hawkins did with The Girl on the Train was to take this simple storyline and add elements of love, violence, obsessive thoughts, the inability to let go of the past, and some very compelling characters and turn it into a tremendously successful thriller book.
We follow Rachel Watson as she battles with herself daily, trying to move on from her past, to get over her ex-husband, and to try and heal after her marriage dissolves.
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While commuting to work, she passes by her ex-house every day, which cannot be the most comfortable sight for anyone to have to endure. Instead, she shifts her attention to the house next door- longingly eyeing the ‘perfect’ couple, their shows of affection, and love acting as the catalyst to her feelings of longing.
One day, she notices the woman goes missing, and soon enough, it turns into the next most significant story in the tabloids. Without meaning to, Rachel finds her involvement in the incident so healthy that it eventually turns her life upside down.
This is one of those page-turners that will leave you hungry, wanting more and more till you fall into an exhausted heap at the end of the book!
Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty
If you know anything about Liane Moriarty, then it probably revolves around her novel Little Big Lies. Although Little Big Lies is perhaps one of her most famous books, which is also a TV show now, Nine Perfect Strangers is an eerie and suspenseful thriller which is a must-read when it comes to thrillers.
The story revolves around a health resort where nine people gather for various personal reasons. The next ten days will be full of relaxation, meditation, and a lot of luxury. Of course, they can’t deny that it will also have the right amount of hard work and challenges. What they are not aware of is just how much of a problem the next few days will be.
Nine Perfect Strangers allows readers to delve into the brilliant and convoluted mind of Australian author Liane Moriarty. It is one of those books that keep you on your toes, just like any good thriller should be!
The Martian- Andy Weir
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be lost entirely and without any signs of help on a planet far beyond Earth? How about if it were to happen on Mars?
Well, in his book The Martian, Andy Weir weaves a brilliant, fast pace and thoroughly exhilarating story of Mark, and astronaut, and his adventures on the planet Mars. After a dusty storm leaves him utterly alone on the planet, his crew abandoned him, thinking he is dead, he has tough decisions to make.
How does he signal back to Earth that he is alive? And even if he is successful, his supplies are to run out long before help can ever arrive.
This nail-biting thriller is a must-read for all thriller book fans!
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