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The Best Psychological Thriller Books and Novels

If there’s one thing thriller lovers know, it’s that danger is lurking around every corner—or at least at the end of every chapter. If you adore twisty thrillers that let you take a peek behind closed doors, we have endless recommendations for you.

Perhaps you enjoy domestic thrillers that prove white picket fences can hide horrendous crimes, or modern thrillers that will make you rethink social media. You can even work your way through the masters of the genre, from Joyce Carol Oates to Jack Higgins.

From psychological thrillers to books with jaw-dropping plot twists, there's nothing like a novel designed to send chills down your spine. Discover books from classic authors like Patricia Highsmith to modern writers like Lucy Foley and Liane Moriarty. And whatever you do, remember that not everything is as it seems.

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Mother Love
Mother Love
by L.R. Wright
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Comes the Dark Stranger
Comes the Dark Stranger
by Jack Higgins
The Breaking Point
The Breaking Point
by Daphne Du Maurier
The Chemistry of Death
The Chemistry of Death
by Simon Beckett
The Perfect Marriage
The Perfect Marriage
by Jeneva Rose
The Three Women
The Three Women
by Valerie Keogh
In the Lake of the Woods
In the Lake of the Woods
by Tim O'Brien
Foucault's Pendulum
Foucault's Pendulum
by Umberto Eco
Be Afraid
Be Afraid
by Mary Burton
The Night Before
The Night Before
by Lisa Jackson
The Lathe of Heaven
The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
by Mary Burton
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Sweet Baby
Sweet Baby
by Sharon Sala
Come Closer
Come Closer
by Sara Gran
Song of Kali
Song of Kali
by Dan Simmons
Every Little Breath
Every Little Breath
by Keri Beevis
Mine
Mine
by Robert McCammon
The Hole
The Hole
by Hye-young Pyun, Sora Kim-Russell
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Exact Revenge
Exact Revenge
by Tim Green
All These Beautiful Strangers
All These Beautiful Strangers
by Elizabeth Klehfoth
The Tenth Commandment
The Tenth Commandment
by Lawrence Sanders
The Retribution
The Retribution
by Val McDermid
The Crocodile Bird
The Crocodile Bird
by Ruth Rendell
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
by Ruth Rendell
Death in the Castle
Death in the Castle
by Pearl S. Buck
The Death of Sweet Mister
The Death of Sweet Mister
by Daniel Woodrell, Dennis Lehane
All the Beautiful Sinners
All the Beautiful Sinners
by Stephen Graham Jones
Finding Jake
Finding Jake
by Bryan Reardon
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
Usher's Passing
Usher's Passing
by Robert McCammon
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A Sense of Guilt
A Sense of Guilt
by Andrea Newman
The Girlfriend
The Girlfriend
by Michelle Frances
Going Wrong
Going Wrong
by Ruth Rendell
Your Republic Is Calling You
Your Republic Is Calling You
by Young-ha Kim
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
by Beryl Bainbridge
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
Make No Bones
Make No Bones
by Aaron Elkins
Blind Faith
Blind Faith
by CJ Lyons
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
by Henry Farrell, Mitch Douglas
Cardiff, by the Sea
Cardiff, by the Sea
by Joyce Carol Oates
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
Betrayal
Betrayal
by Clare Francis
The House of Stairs
The House of Stairs
by Ruth Rendell
As Long as We Both Shall Live
As Long as We Both Shall Live
by JoAnn Chaney
The Favorite Daughter
The Favorite Daughter
by Kaira Rouda
Daddy Love
Daddy Love
by Joyce Carol Oates
Sweet Little Lies
Sweet Little Lies
by Caz Frear
What the Dead Know
What the Dead Know
by Laura Lippman
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A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
by Benjamin Wood
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Some say that Agatha Christie invented the psychological thriller with And Then There Were None while others credit James Fenimore Cooper’s The Spy from 1821 with being the earliest example of the genre. Some contemporary writers that have furthered the genre are Dennis Lehane with Shutter Island, Colleen Hoover’s Verity, and a spread of books by Frieda McFadden. 

A thriller in itself is typically an action-packed story emphasizing tension, anxiety, and fear. A psychological thriller is simply a thriller that is more focused on the inner life and thoughts of the protagonist.