Everyone needs to experience the thrill, intensity, and horror of reading at least one good horror book throughout their life. Not just the scary ghost books, or the basic and predictable “horror” books. You need to read the book that will keep you up all night because each page is a plot twist, and every sentence keeps you on your toes. The kind of book that feels so realistic, that you are terrified of being in the story. The kind of thriller books I feel everyone should try and read are the kinds that keep you wanting more.
- Then She Was Gone (Lisa Jewell)
This book is for sure, one that will keep you guessing until the very last sentence. This book takes place in a small “safe” neighborhood—or so you think.
Ellie Mack is the perfect, golden child. She received perfect grades, had perfect attendance, and the perfect boyfriend, and everything about her, from looks to grades, was perfect. Until, one day, she was gone.
Ten years later, Ellie has still not been found and is presumed dead. A mother’s instinct is never wrong, but Ellie’s mother refuses to give up until she finds the truth behind what happened to her daughter.
When, Laurel Mack, Ellie’s mother, one day meets a man named Floyd in a coffee shop, they instantly catch each other’s attention. Things between Laurel and Floyd move fast and when Laurel meets Floyd’s daughter, Poppy, the resemblance between Poppy and Ellie is extraordinary. In this twisted, horrid thriller, we read the journey of what happened to Ellie Mack through the eyes of her mother.
This book is a must-read. It will keep you up at night reading and wanting to know more. The twists turn, and plot twists will keep you on your feet until the second you close the book at the very end.
- The Whisper Man (Alex North)
This story shows the relationship between a recently widowed father, Tom, and his young son, Jake, as they move to a new neighborhood in hopes of a fresh start.
Throughout the book, each page unravels the criminal investigation of a serial killer in the small suburban town, known as the “Whisper Man”.
The Whisper Man brings children to him by whispering through their windows. Everything seems fine and safe until Jake begins to hear these whispers at night in his bedroom….
This story goes back and forth between two points of view, the father, Tom, and the police department. Throughout this book, secrets will be revealed we never thought of, and you will be constantly fishing for more.
These pages hold intense, creepy, and real feelings that will actually make you want to triple lock every door at night, and install cameras everywhere, especially near your windows.
- The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides)
Have you ever wondered why people kill? What drives them to murder?
In this thriller, a woman named Alicia murders her husband. When the police question her, she goes completely mute. Alicia seemed perfectly normal. She seemed happy and content, so why did she do it? That is the question everyone wants to know. This storyembarks on the journey to learning the secrets of Alicia.
We meet her doctor, Theo, who wants to crack her and find out what happened.
When reading this book, it feels as if you are inside Alicia’s head, watching everything unravel. This book will make you want to scream at Alicia to just talk and on each page, you learn a new hidden secret. This story does a phenomenal job of keeping one’s interest, as well as giving just enough information in each chapter, while still keeping readers guessing every second.
- One Was Lost (Natalie D. Richards)
What would you do if you were lost and cut off in the middle of the wilderness? Now, what would you do if someone is also hunting you?
Sera, Lucas, Emily, and Jude are four teenage best friends who have to stick together if they want to stay alive…
The group goes on a camping trip with their classmates and faculty until they suddenly lose track of the trail and the four become lost in the woods with no food, water, and no way back.
Not only are they lost in the woods, but the four teenagers are also being stalked and hunted by a stranger.
One morning they all awake with words beginning with ‘D’ on their wrists. Words such as dangerous, damaged, deceptive, and darling…
The story centers around the students trying to survive in the wilderness, find their way back home, and figure out who is watching them and why.
This novel is perfect if you like an adventurous, quick-moving thriller. The story keeps its readers trying to solve this mystery of the secret stalker, while also hoping the children all survive. With the stalker leaving clues in each chapter, it is up to the four classmates to determine what they mean. Do they survive?
- The Lake (Natasha Preston)
Esme and Kayla were once campers at Camp Pine Lake. A few years later, they returned but as counselors this summer. Esme and Kayla are ready to have the best summer ever!!
That is until someone starts tormenting them and reminding them of the horrible thing they did back then when they were campers.
This secret has been hidden for years; the only ones who know are Esme, Kayla, and of course the lake…
This story holds many secrets that will surprise you.
The story proves how some mistakes, never actually go away. This book for sure kept me wanting more and was the perfect mixture of thriller and mystery. I recommend this book to any thriller and want suspense readers.
There are multiple thriller and horror stories out there and I have yet to read all of them, but this list consists of my top 5 that I personally feel everyone should give a try if they are looking for a sense of thrill and scares. Each and everyone one of the books listed will for sure have you shocked after turning each page.