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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 Betrayal
The Betrayal
by Helen Dunmore
The Trap
The Trap
by Melanie Raabe, Imogen Taylor
Blind Faith
Blind Faith
by CJ Lyons
#MeToo
#MeToo
by Patricia Dixon
The Optician's Wife
The Optician's Wife
by Betsy Reavley
Three Novels
Three Novels
by Katherine Neville
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
The Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden
by Joyce Carol Oates
Betrayal
Betrayal
by Clare Francis
Daddy Love
Daddy Love
by Joyce Carol Oates
The Retribution
The Retribution
by Val McDermid
After She's Gone
After She's Gone
by Sheryl Browne
See What I Have Done
See What I Have Done
by Sarah Schmidt
Michael's Wife
Michael's Wife
by Marlys Millhiser
Mischief
Mischief
by Charlotte Armstrong
A Girl Named Anna
A Girl Named Anna
by Lizzy Barber
Mistaken
Mistaken
by Neil Jordan
Almost
Almost
by Elizabeth Benedict
Chosen
Chosen
by Chandra Hoffman
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In the Lake of the Woods
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by Tim O'Brien
The Island of Last Truth
The Island of Last Truth
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Losing Nicola
Losing Nicola
by Susan Moody
Make No Bones
Make No Bones
by Aaron Elkins
The Paper Wasp
The Paper Wasp
by Lauren Acampora
Cannibals and Missionaries
Cannibals and Missionaries
by Mary McCarthy
Checkpoint
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by Jean-Christophe Rufin
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Exact Revenge
Exact Revenge
by Tim Green
A Justifiable Madness
A Justifiable Madness
by AB Morgan
What I Tell You in the Dark
What I Tell You in the Dark
by John Samuel
The Avenue of the Giants
The Avenue of the Giants
by Marc Dugain, Howard Curtis
A Brief Lunacy
A Brief Lunacy
by Cynthia Thayer
Antonia Lively Breaks the Silence
Antonia Lively Breaks the Silence
by David Samuel Levinson
Bad Desire
Bad Desire
by Gary Devon
Nemesis
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by Joyce Carol Oates
The Takeover
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by Muriel Spark
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by Belinda Bauer
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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.