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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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Before We Were Strangers
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by Brenda Novak
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All These Beautiful Strangers
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by Elizabeth Klehfoth
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Finding Jake
Finding Jake
by Bryan Reardon
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
The House on the Strand
The House on the Strand
by Daphne Du Maurier
Melmoth
Melmoth
by Sarah Perry
The Chemistry of Death
The Chemistry of Death
by Simon Beckett
Pretty Ugly Lies
Pretty Ugly Lies
by Pamela Crane
The Perfect Marriage
The Perfect Marriage
by Jeneva Rose
The Perfect Stranger
The Perfect Stranger
by Wendy Corsi Staub
Before He Finds Her
Before He Finds Her
by Michael Kardos
In the Lake of the Woods
In the Lake of the Woods
by Tim O'Brien
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
Every Little Breath
Every Little Breath
by Keri Beevis
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
Be Afraid
Be Afraid
by Mary Burton
The Night Before
The Night Before
by Lisa Jackson
The Hole
The Hole
by Hye-young Pyun, Sora Kim-Russell
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Vulnerable
Vulnerable
by Mary Burton
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The Lathe of Heaven
The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
by Henry Farrell, Mitch Douglas
The Sequel
The Sequel
by R. L. Stine
Sweet Baby
Sweet Baby
by Sharon Sala
The Optician's Wife
The Optician's Wife
by Betsy Reavley
Cardiff, by the Sea
Cardiff, by the Sea
by Joyce Carol Oates
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
The Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden
by Joyce Carol Oates
Evil Eye
Evil Eye
by Joyce Carol Oates
Come Closer
Come Closer
by Sara Gran
The Two Faces of January
The Two Faces of January
by Patricia Highsmith
The Retribution
The Retribution
by Val McDermid
The Doll-Master
The Doll-Master
by Joyce Carol Oates
As Long as We Both Shall Live
As Long as We Both Shall Live
by JoAnn Chaney
What the Dead Know
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by Laura Lippman
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Talking to Strange Men
Talking to Strange Men
by Ruth Rendell
Asta's Book
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by Ruth Rendell
Nemesis
Nemesis
by Joyce Carol Oates
The Takeover
The Takeover
by Muriel Spark
A Girl Named Anna
A Girl Named Anna
by Lizzy Barber
The Widow's Web
The Widow's Web
by Susan Moore
A Sense of Guilt
A Sense of Guilt
by Andrea Newman
Almost
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by Elizabeth Benedict
Wild Life
Wild Life
by Liam Brown
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
Shadow of the Lions
Shadow of the Lions
by Christopher Swann
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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.