10 Reviews: Best Psychological Thriller Books for Adults (Apr 2024)

This unsettling and compelling book explores career women and motherhood. It’s a dual narrative, dual timeline story that opens with Helena, an ambitious businesswoman without a job, and a mother without a child. Before Helena’s pregnancy, she employs Ashley, a young, ambitious lady eager to prove herself to Helena and the company. So naturally, Helena wants Ashley to be her protégé, but Ashley has other plans.

"... I recommend this novel to fans of mystery novels. It was well-written and interesting novel"

by CloudOfThoughts, Reviewer

Strangers on a Train is a classic psychological thriller. Two guys meet on a train in Highsmith’s debut novel. Guy, says he’s divorcing his hateful wife; Bruno, a psychopath, wishes his father were dead and planned “the perfect murder.” Guy will assassinate Bruno’s father, and no one will know because the men are strangers. Guy declines, but when his wife dies, it’s evident Bruno will carry out the murder exchange whether Guy likes it. In this taut, stunning story, Highsmith wonders how much darkness lies dormant within us and how little a nudge it takes to bring out the worst inclinations.

"Excellent read. Even better than the Hitchcock adaptation which is a classic. The story speeds along intensely and doesn't let up. Highly recommended"

by PASE

Are you tired of rescuing your siblings? Glad you’re not Korede. In this disturbing story set in Lagos, Nigeria, you meet two sisters: serial killer Ayoola and her enabler Korede. Korede appears with bleach and rubber gloves whenever Ayoola kills a boyfriend. However, Ayoola’s interest in Korede’s longstanding crush Tade changes everything. After playing second place to her beautiful, murderous sister, Korede must stop Ayoola’s murder rampage to save the man she loves. Braithwaite creates a psychologically profound difference between these two sisters.

"I absolutely loved this book. Oyinkan knows how to write a captivating story plot and keep you on the edge of your seat."

by Melanin

After witnessing something horrific, the protagonist Catherine is mute and being treated in a mental health facility when the story opens with the reader meeting her for the first time. Then, a sixteen-year mystery of friendship, love, and heartbreak unfolds. The story of Catherine and Lucian, two university students who fell in love and then lost touch for nearly a decade, is told in the novel Him. It’s a heartbreaking tale of the circumstances that left Catherine mute and unable to communicate.

"I read this in one sitting - total binge read. Sophisticated clever writing. Intelligent page turner."

by Melanie Woods

In the wake of the mere police shooting of a black teenager, two families in Los Angeles are forced to confront the decades-old crime that links them. When a convenience store owner shot and killed a black teenager in the early 1990s, the shop owner’s daughter and the teen’s brother were now on a collision course, which had grave consequences for both families. A noirish thriller complete with twists and turns is delivered by Cha in this multilayered drama about racism, the flawed legal system, and revenge.

"A complex study of two families, two ways of thinking, and how two acts impact each other. Well-written and a must read."

by Debra H. Goldstein

Even if you’ve seen Scorsese’s Shutter Island, have you read the acclaimed novel on which it is based? Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal sent to Shutter Island’s Ashcliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, is the novel’s focus, which takes place in 1954. While searching for an escaped murderer, Teddy and his partner get caught in a web of hidden rooms and secret codes that reveal that Ashcliffe Hospital isn’t what it appears to be. Lehane’s suspenseful, twisting-and-turning tale will have you guessing until the end.

"Wow, what a story. Had me guessing at every turn and I never knew what was coming. Very good read and an easy page turner."

by Amazon Customer

This book combines police procedural intrigue with psychological thrillers. Long Bright River is set in a Philadelphia neighborhood plagued by poverty and addiction. He follows two estranged sisters: Mickey, a police officer who patrols the area, and Kacey, an addict who lives there. Mickey is determined to find her sister Kacey after a succession of killings. Long Bright River is a fantastic crime thriller and neighborhood-level look at the opioid problem.

"I really enjoyed this one. I think it shed some much-needed light on drug addiction and told the story in such a wonderful way that made me want to keep reading!"

by Paige

An ex-psychiatrist journalist, Camille Preaker, returns to her hometown in Missouri to look into an uptick in violent crimes against young women. Camille is reunited with her family for the first time in a long time: her neurotic mother, who haunted her childhood, and her troubled adolescent half-sister. But, as she digs further into the town’s dark secrets to find answers to the deaths and disappearances of her relatives, Camille’s psychological health deteriorates under the danger of her inner demons. Sharp Objects is a twisted and nasty film that will stay with you for some time.

"I love this book & the show as well. They went hand and hand. My favorite is when a show and book go together. Deff a must have book!"

by Rachael Pulinski

A Good Enough Mother is another patient-therapist novel. Psychotherapist Ruth Hartland has years of expertise helping patients overcome trauma, but she’s also a mother of adult twins and mourns her lost son. When Dan, a new patient, looks and acts like Ruth’s son, the lines between therapist and patient blur as events spiral out of control for both. This novel is a psychological thriller with a ticking time bomb at its core.

"I liked the humanity expressed profoundly in the book. The story has many twists and turns to reach and touch every mother wherever she is."

by viki levy

This author has a remarkable knack for drawing in readers regarding beginning lines. Lydia, the wife of a well-respected judge, and her adolescent son Lawrence, who resides in a lovely house in Dublin, are immediately engrossing. Even though the story begins with a murder, it is not a mystery. The aftermath of the murder will keep you reading, not the murder itself. Lydia’s shortcomings as a mother and a human being, and her preoccupation with her kid, are the focus of this dark and distressing novel.

"I loved this book , best read in a long time. I love how at the top of pages they put the name of who is talking in that chapter. Awesome turn paging, hard to put down"

by Penny Rusko