If you’re like me, then you’ve probably already finished every single “hit” psychological thriller tv series that has come out these past few years and get the hype. Shows like The Undoing, Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects, Black Mirror, You- I’m constantly waiting for the new seasons to come out because I feel like I have watched just about EVERYTHING that’s good on TV. This is why I decided to get back into reading as I realized (even though my dad’s been telling me for years) there is SO much more out there in terms of nail-biting, nerve-wracking, disturbing, creepy, at the edge-of your seat, jaw dropping forms of entertainment- they are just in BOOK FORM instead of movies or TV shows. I think I’ve watched just about every single movie under the “psychological thriller” category on Amazon Prime and I didn’t even know what existed under this magical old-fashioned concept called “books.” All jokes aside, I seriously only got into reading because I was bored of everything on television and I’m glad I did because it opened up an entire new world of entertainment in my life, especially during times of Covid. While I’ve been reading a bunch of books since the summer, these three are my absolute must-reads and I would highly recommend them to any friend, family member, co-worker, teacher, peer, or colleague in my life.
- The One by John Marrs
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Going with the obvious choice for the first one on my list (pun intended) The One follows five different characters in five different storylines who all take a “Match Your DNA” test that promises to reveal everyone’s genetically perfect soulmate. These fast paced stories follow various relationships, all who have met through this new technology, and it deals with the ups and downs they face as various secrets, conflicts, and situations become unveiled. Each individual storyline is INSANE and could honestly have its own full book to itself. The book rotates each chapter from a new character’s perspective and each chapter almost always ends on a cliff-hanger, making the book a very fast and easy read as you will always want to read more in order to get back to each individual storyline. Soon to be a major Netflix series you MUST read this NOW (better to read before the series comes out). I promise you won’t regret it!
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
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If you’re the type that likes an impossible to predict, mind-bending, makes you want to go back and re-read the entire book again with a new perspective type of plot twist then you will LOVE this book. While it’s not as fast of a read and takes a little bit more time to get into the plot, this psychological thriller follows the story of Alicia, an artist who allegedly killed her husband 33 years ago and ever since, has not spoken a word. Psychotherapist Theo Farber becomes fascinated with her and makes it his mission to get Alicia to speak as he feels a special connection to her. I can’t say much else other than…PLOT TWIST. As soon as you finish you will want to re-read it all over again with a new perspective. While probably the most complicated and complex to follow out of this list, this story is deeply thought-out, making it very satisfying to read, especially as your questions get answered while the story unfolds.
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
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Picture the show Four Weddings, mixed with a little bit of Survivor and a splash of The Sinner and you have the story of The Guest List. The Guest List puts a nice spin on a classic murder mystery that takes place during a wedding celebration on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The perspective of the book changes each chapter from the first person point-of-view of each character (similar to The One where each chapter is another character’s point of view) and the wedding planner who lives on the island, Aoife’s, point of view. The book follows the bride, the best man, the bridesmaid, and the plus one, as they try to figure out what happened over the two days they were on the island after someone turns up dead. As you might expect, the storylines begin to overlap and entangle, making the reader question every character’s motive and how they relate to one another. Similarly to The One, I liked this book because of the fast-paced and rotating point-of view nature of the story. I always wanted to keep reading to get back to my favorite character’s storyline. It’s super easy to follow and totally do-able to read in as little as one day making it probably the quickest read on the list.
Happy reading:)