The Best Thriller Books That Will Leave You Speechless

This book is absolutely the best I’ve read this year, if not one of the best I’ve read, ever. Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had. But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter—she doesn’t behave like most children do. In the midst of the unsettling plotline, this story takes a deep dive into motherhood, and what happens when it isn’t what you expect it will be.

I read this on recommendation of our lovely Social Media Editor, and it is by far one of the most unique books I’ve ever read.

Two newlyweds, Sam and Annie, leave New York City to settle in Sam’s upstate hometown. While Sam spends his days as a psychotherapist treating patients in his home office, Annie’s days are far less busy, and it just so happens all of Sam’s sessions can be heard through the vent upstairs. My jaw dropped to the floor not once, but twice while I was reading this—I promise, the twists won’t even be on your radar.

When I finished this book, I put it down and immediately texted my friends that it’s the best book I’ve read in a while. I can’t emphasize enough how truly shocked I was, and how hooked I was from the beginning.

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Now 20 years later, when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back, with Chloe at the center of the mystery.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer when she gets the offer of a lifetime: to ghost write the final books of best-selling author Verity Crawford’s most famous series, which she’s unable to finish after being in an accident. Verity’s husband encourages Lowen to come stay at their home to go through Verity’s office and notes on ideas for the rest of the series—and while she’s there, she finds more than she bargained for.

This is one of my top three favorite books of all time. Not only do the characters suck you in from the start, but the final pages leave you completely speechless. This was a “finished in 24 hours” book for me, and I wish I could experience it again from the beginning 10 more times.

Amazon describes this book as “Gone Girl” meets “Room,” and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

A woman held captive in a shack in the woods finally escapes, but when she claims to be Lena, who had disappeared 14 years before, her family swears it isn’t really her. It’s full of twists, suspense, and an original plot that leaves you thinking far after you’re done.

You know the books that hook you literally from page one? That just read with ease and don’t take any time to get into? This is one of them.

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold. Now, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find.

Catherine is enjoying her single life when she meets charismatic, successful Lee. While their relationship starts out passionate, it turns into obsession quickly, and Catherine ends up being completely isolated from her former life.

Prior to reading this I had never heard of it, and it was one of the most captivating books I’ve ever read.

Trigger warning: The plot of this book is about domestic abuse.

I wasn’t lying when I said I went through a B.A. Paris phase, and I don’t regret it one bit. This book is unique in that the entirety of it happens within the same day, which made it completely un-put-downable for me.

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday party, and her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad, isn’t going to make it to the party Livia has been looking forward to for years. When her husband learns terrible news that potentially impacts Marnie, the rest of the day is filled with suspense as he grapples with whether or not he should let Livia enjoy her big day or warn her about Marnie.

When a mother is targeted by a group of masterminds, she finds out she has to commit a crime, or risk never seeing her daughter again.

This book was the winner of countless awards, and rightfully so: it’s one of the most unique thriller stories you’ll ever encounter, and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

Written by the authors of The Wife Between Us, this book is completely un-put-downable from the start. Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter: Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate. But soon they find out that the infidelity is the least of their problems.

You’ve probably seen this book floating around TikTok, and it’s one that really is worth the hype. Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s 16-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered,Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, have the life they dreamed of: a coastal home, a promising future, and a growing family. That dream ends with a late-night knock on the door. Weak, broken, and emaciated, it’s Luca’s first wife, Lydia. Missing for ten years, presumed dead, and very much alive, she has quite a story.
Racked with guilt over the beautiful life they’ve built, Merritt and Luca agree to help get Lydia back on her feet—it’s the least they can do. But the more enmeshed Lydia becomes in Merritt’s family, the more questions Merritt has. The answers, when they come, are terrifying.