Into the Water by Paula Hawkins & 16 More Thrillers to Read Now

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

This story is told from three perspectives.  A man loses his memory and is trying to figure out who he is. Simultaneously, a woman can’t find her husband who has disappeared without a trace.  

The third storyline is about a family in 1993. How do these stories come together? I loved this Lisa Jewell book. She has a brilliant way of bringing the stories together with a slow burn throughout. You can check out The Best Lisa Jewell Books Ranked: Complete List

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Shortly after being burglarized, a travel journalist boards a small luxury cruise liner to cover its inaugural voyage. When she thinks she sees a passenger thrown overboard – but everyone is still accounted for – she has to decide if what she saw was real or only in her head.

This isolation book wasn’t as creepy as some of Ware’s others, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat. This unreliable narrator book is a perfect sailing novel as well. You just might want to wait until you are off the boat!

The Girls in the Garden

This thriller starts with Pip a pre-teen, finding her older sister Grace, a young teenager, hurt and possibly dead and/or assaulted in a park in Central London.

The plot quickly moves to “before” the incident. Clare has moved to a flat in London with a communal Garden with her two daughters.  Adele and Leo have three girls named Willow, Fern, and Catkin who seem like a collective group of misfits. There is also a gang of kids, a nosy neighbor, and a host of other characters who are all slightly eccentric in their own way.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Leonora is invited to a cabin in the woods for a girl’s weekend getaway.  What should be a fun bachelorette (hen) weekend turns into anything but. 

Nora hasn’t seen her friend for over 10 years when she receives the invitation to celebrate her upcoming marriage. Maybe she should have stayed home….just saying. As the memories and pieces of the weekend slowly come back, the tale of what really happened in the woods comes together.

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

Where to begin with this thrilling story? I loved just about everything in this A-to-Z mystery. The dark, twisted plot of Dead Letters begins when Ava returns hometown to her family’s failing vineyard to deal with the death of her twin, Zelda, in a barn fire.

The story immediately launches into a few mysteries. First, and the most easily solved, why did Ava flee the family vineyard for Paris 2 years ago? Second, is Zelda really dead? This is one of the fiction books about wine you won’t want to miss.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

I could not put this story down when I first read it. It takes place in a suburban suburb of Philly and explores the vicious habits of the old money elite.

There are so many big reveals in this book but beware – there is a trigger-inducing rape scene in the story that is difficult to read. The author drew from her own experience when writing it so proceed with caution if that’s a trigger for you. The Netflix book adaptation stars Mila Kunis and was produced by Reese Witherspoon.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Two couples, one family out for dinner- what can happen? The family has come together because they must help their children after a horrific act.  What follows is anything other than a fun family meal.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The OG psychological thriller, Rebecca is a book that will leave you checking behind you when you walk down a dark hallway. As unreliable narrator books go, this one is a must-read.

The new Mrs. de Winter is haunted by her husband’s first wife, Rebecca.  The deceit will have you second-guessing everything you read while you yell at the pages.

One of the most acclaimed authors of the psychological thriller, this novel is Daphne Du Maurier at her best. It is a chilling novel about a naive second wife discovering the truth behind the wife who came before her. The Netflix book adaptation stars Lily James.

Juliet: A Novel by Anna Fortier

I ADORE this book set in Italy and have read it numerous times. What if Shakespeare’s Juliet was real and was actually a curse? Alternating between the “real” Juliet’s story and her modern-day descendant’s story, the book proves that love transcends time.

I can’t put my finger on why this story makes my top 10 favorite books, but it’s a comfort read that I go to whenever I need a pick-me-up. I re-read it again and again! It has a little bit of everything – romance, a mystery, a contemporary and historical element. I

t’s such a unique and amazing classic retelling and was a no-brainer pick for a list of the best romance novels of all time and was obviously going to be included in our Ultimate List of Romance Books. The epic love story also makes it perfect for a list pf books like Outlander.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike is a private investigator on the verge of failure when a client walks through the door with an amazing story.  

He is the brother of the recently deceased Lulu Landry, a famous supermodel. Refusing to believe his sister’s death was a suicide, he wants Cormoran to prove she was murdered.  

If I am honest, I would have read this book no matter what because of who wrote it.  However, I kept reading the series because I love it.  The last book was close to 700 pages so, there was no way I was reading that if I wasn’t totally invested in these characters. 

Rowling has a way of starting small, introducing you to characters, and sucking you in.  Cormoran Strike is the exact opposite of Chief Inspector Gamache.  He is flawed and cranky but, you will love him just the same.

The Fall Guy by James Lasdun

A married couple has a summer houseguest at their lovely seaside home, but when the three find themselves ensnared in a  trap of secrets and hidden passions, the vacation takes a turn for the worst.

This is one thrilling poolside read you don’t want to miss.

See Jane Run by Joy Fielding

Riley grew up with overprotective parents but when she finds a birth certificate for Jane Elizabeth O’Leary in her baby book,  she wonders if there is something more.   What have her parents been hiding? Maybe things are not as they seem.  With every question comes more questions.