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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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Gone Crazy in Alabama
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Interior Chinatown
Interior Chinatown
by Charles Wu
The Namesake
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful
by Sarah Wilson
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
Supper Club
Supper Club
by Lara Williams
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas Piketty
Bud, Not Buddy
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
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Ask the Passengers
Ask the Passengers
by A.S. King
The Three Coffins
The Three Coffins
by John Dickson Carr
P.S. Your Cat is Dead
P.S. Your Cat is Dead
by James Kirkwood
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10 Christmas Novels for Scrooges
A Pretty Deceit
A Pretty Deceit
by Anna Lee Huber
Patron Saints of Nothing
Patron Saints of Nothing
by Randy Ribay
The Man Who Knew Infinity
The Man Who Knew Infinity
by Robert Kanigel
There There
There There
by Tommy Orange
The Snow Child
The Snow Child
by Eowyn Ivey
Before I Let You Go
Before I Let You Go
by Kelly Rimmer
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sánchez
The Business of Fancydancing
The Business of Fancydancing
by Sherman Alexie
This Changes Everything
This Changes Everything
by Naomi Klein
Matilda
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
Penny for Your Secrets
Penny for Your Secrets
by Anna Lee Huber
Real Murders
Real Murders
by Charlaine Harris
Skin Folk
Skin Folk
by Nalo Hopkinson
Dating by the Book
Dating by the Book
by Mary Ann Marlowe
The Long Flight Home
The Long Flight Home
by Alan Hlad
The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
by Gretchen Rubin
The Abolitionist's Daughter
The Abolitionist's Daughter
by Diane C. McPhail
If I Stay
If I Stay
by Gayle Forman
We Hope for Better Things
We Hope for Better Things
by Erin Bartels
Holidays on Ice
Holidays on Ice
by David Sedaris
The Outsiders
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
Scheduled to Death
Scheduled to Death
by Mary Feliz
The Looming Tower
The Looming Tower
by Lawrence Wright
Eloise At the Plaza
Eloise At the Plaza
by Kay Thompson
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
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Jumanji
Jumanji
by Chris van Allsburg
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones
by George R.R. Martin
Excellent Women
Excellent Women
by Barbara Pym
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Everything I Never Told You
Everything I Never Told You
by Celeste Ng
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
by Sherman Alexie
The Face in the Frost
The Face in the Frost
by John Bellairs
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
by Terry Tempest Williams
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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.