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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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The Suspect
The Suspect
by L.R. Wright
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All These Beautiful Strangers
All These Beautiful Strangers
by Elizabeth Klehfoth
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Finding Jake
Finding Jake
by Bryan Reardon
The House on the Strand
The House on the Strand
by Daphne Du Maurier
The Chemistry of Death
The Chemistry of Death
by Simon Beckett
The Mistake I Made
The Mistake I Made
by Paula Daly
The Perfect Marriage
The Perfect Marriage
by Jeneva Rose
The Three Women
The Three Women
by Valerie Keogh
Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
by Paula Daly
In the Lake of the Woods
In the Lake of the Woods
by Tim O'Brien
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
The Lies He Told
The Lies He Told
by Valerie Keogh
The Shut Eye
The Shut Eye
by Belinda Bauer
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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Spare Room
Spare Room
by Dreda Say Mitchell
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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
Come Closer
Come Closer
by Sara Gran
All the Beautiful Sinners
All the Beautiful Sinners
by Stephen Graham Jones
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
Going Wrong
Going Wrong
by Ruth Rendell
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
by Beryl Bainbridge
The Trap
The Trap
by Melanie Raabe, Imogen Taylor
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
A Perfect Wife and Mother
A Perfect Wife and Mother
by Peter Israel
The Two Faces of January
The Two Faces of January
by Patricia Highsmith
The Retribution
The Retribution
by Val McDermid
Too Close
Too Close
by Natalie Daniels
As Long as We Both Shall Live
As Long as We Both Shall Live
by JoAnn Chaney
What the Dead Know
What the Dead Know
by Laura Lippman
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A Dark-Adapted Eye
A Dark-Adapted Eye
by Ruth Rendell
Phases of Gravity
Phases of Gravity
by Dan Simmons
Daddy Love
Daddy Love
by Joyce Carol Oates
See What I Have Done
See What I Have Done
by Sarah Schmidt
Nemesis
Nemesis
by Joyce Carol Oates
Mischief
by Charlotte Armstrong
The Silence
The Silence
by Mary McGarry Morris
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
Almost
by Elizabeth Benedict
Melmoth
Melmoth
by Sarah Perry
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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.