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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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Habitats: A Journey In Nature
Habitats: A Journey In Nature
by Hannah Pang
My Dark Vanessa
My Dark Vanessa
by Kate Elizabeth Russell
The Bone People
The Bone People
by Keri Hulme
High Rising
High Rising
by Angela Thirkell
The Women
The Women
by Kristin Hannah
The Peach Seed
The Peach Seed
by Anita Gail Jones
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck
Dead in Long Beach, California
Dead in Long Beach, California
by Venita Blackburn
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
by Charlotte Gordon
The Vegetable
The Vegetable
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Notes From a Dead House
Notes From a Dead House
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian
by Han Kang
A Connecticut Christmas: Celebrating the Holiday in Classic New England Style
A Connecticut Christmas: Celebrating the Holiday in Classic New England Style
by Caryn B. Davis
Chinatown
Chinatown
by Robert Towne
When We Flew Away
When We Flew Away
by Alice Hoffman
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
by Maryse Condé
The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond
by Rose Macaulay
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot)
Faythe of North Hinkapee
Faythe of North Hinkapee
by James T. Hogg
Awesome Science Experiments for Kids
Awesome Science Experiments for Kids
by Crystal Chatterton
Blue Nights
Blue Nights
by Joan Didion
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Bel Canto
Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett
Book of Blues
Book of Blues
by Jack Kerouac
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The Boxcar Children Halloween Special
The Boxcar Children Halloween Special
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
How to Cure a Fanatic
How to Cure a Fanatic
by Amos Oz
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What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
by Randall Munroe
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
by Flannery O'Connor
Boyfriend Material
Boyfriend Material
by Alexis Hall
Misty of Chincoteague
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry
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Saddle Up: 11 Books About Horses
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
by Linda Berdoll
If You Only Knew
If You Only Knew
by M. William Phelps
The Hidden White House
The Hidden White House
by Robert Klara
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom
by Sylvia Plath
Wandering Through Life
Wandering Through Life
by Donna Leon
Signal to Noise
Signal to Noise
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Too Stupid to Fail
Too Stupid to Fail
by Dr. Stephen Crawford
State of Terror
State of Terror
by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton
The City Beautiful
The City Beautiful
by Aden Polydoros
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How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu
The Illicit Happiness of Other People
The Illicit Happiness of Other People
by Manu Joseph
The Orphan Collector
The Orphan Collector
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Soulless
Soulless
by Gail Carriger
The Last Flight
The Last Flight
by Julie Clark
King of the Jews
King of the Jews
by Leslie Epstein
The Need
The Need
by Helen Phillips
Crush
Crush
by Richard Siken
Pretty Guilty Women
Pretty Guilty Women
by Gina LaManna
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The Man With the Golden Arm
The Man With the Golden Arm
by Nelson Algren
Our Sacred Honor
Our Sacred Honor
by Jack Mars
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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.