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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 Story of Sojourner Truth
The Story of Sojourner Truth
by Anita Crawford Clark
Chicken of the Sea
Chicken of the Sea
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Optimist's Daughter
The Optimist's Daughter
by Eudora Welty
The Collected Regrets of Clover
The Collected Regrets of Clover
by Mikki Brammer
Blackouts
Blackouts
by Justin Torres
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The End of Drum-Time
The End of Drum-Time
by Hanna Pylväinen
A Bell for Adano
A Bell for Adano
by John Hersey
100 Whimsical Appliqué Designs
100 Whimsical Appliqué Designs
by Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins
The Latecomer
The Latecomer
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home
If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home
by Tim O'Brien
Forbidden Notebook
Forbidden Notebook
by Alba de Céspedes
This Dark Descent
This Dark Descent
by Kalyn Josephson
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Sleepwalk
Sleepwalk
by Dan Chaon
Fashionopolis
Fashionopolis
by Dana Thomas
Passing
Passing
by Nella Larsen
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
Pageboy
Pageboy
by Elliot Page
Persuasion
Persuasion
by Jane Austen
So Late in the Day: Stories of Men and Women
So Late in the Day: Stories of Men and Women
by Claire Keegan
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
by Richard Flanagan
The Committed
The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
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Dear Rebel
Dear Rebel
by Rebel Girls
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The Seed Keeper
The Seed Keeper
by Diane Wilson
The Bandit Queens
The Bandit Queens
by Parini Shroff
Breakfast at Tiffanys and Other Voices, Other Rooms
Breakfast at Tiffanys and Other Voices, Other Rooms
by Truman Capote
Inside Picture Books
Inside Picture Books
by Ellen Handler Spitz
Black Artists Rock!
Black Artists Rock!
by Cara Reese
The Wedding Dress Quilt
The Wedding Dress Quilt
by Jeffree Wyn Itrich
The Chosen and the Beautiful
The Chosen and the Beautiful
by Nghi Vo
Stories From Grandpa: A Fill-In Journal and Family Keepsake
Stories From Grandpa: A Fill-In Journal and Family Keepsake
by Katie Sweeney
The Teacher
The Teacher
by Freida McFadden
Every Light in the House Burnin'
Every Light in the House Burnin'
by Andrea Levy
1985
1985
by Anthony Burgess
The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal
The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal
by Sophia Godkin
Mom's Coloring Book For Stress Relief
Mom's Coloring Book For Stress Relief
by Rockridge Press
Shakespeare, the King's Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603-1613
Shakespeare, the King's Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603-1613
by Alvin Kernan
Cruelty
Cruelty
by Roald Dahl
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
The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea
by Hemingway, Ernest
Eva Luna
Eva Luna
by Isabel Allende
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
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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.