8 of the Best Intense Mystery-Thrillers Ever Written

Love a good twisty thriller? Then you’re going to love these 8 intense mystery-thrillers, they’re some of the unforgettable thrillers I’ve ever read. Seriously, these are the kind of books you won’t be able to put down. Whether you’re into fast-paced thrillers or ones with jaw-dropping twists, this list has you covered. They’re highly rated and perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Colleen Hoover, John Marrs, or anyone who loves thrillers with shocking plot twists. Some of these books are so good that I even finished them in a day.

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Why These Books Are Must-Reads

I think these thrillers are so great because they’re really all about people.They’re not just about solving mysteries. They go into the characters, their choices, and the secrets they keep. Take Alicia Berenson and Verity Crawford, for example. These two women couldn’t be more different, but they both left a huge impression on me in totally unique ways. Another reason I love these books is the writing. Some of these authors are just incredible, and their work turned me into a lifelong fan.

Intense Mystery-Thrillers Ever Written

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

What happens when the perfect marriage is just a façade? On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne goes missing, and her husband Nick becomes the prime suspect. But Flynn takes this beyond a simple whodunit. This book is about manipulation, toxic relationships. In Gone Girl, Amy and Nick are both unreliable narrators. Also, Flynn’s writing keeps you questioning everything.

Who are you?

What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren’t made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?

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Verity by Colleen Hoover

Imagine being hired to finish a bestselling author’s book series, only to find an unpublished manuscript that reveals horrifying secrets. That’s the nightmare Lowen Ashleigh walks into when she moves into Verity Crawford’s home. This book is unsettling in the best way. It’s also one of the steamiest thriller books I have ever read. So it’s creepy, spicy and totally unputdownable. Also check out thriller books like Verity.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

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The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Rachel’s daughter is kidnapped, and the only way to get her back is to kidnap another child. Which means becoming part of a never-ending chain of victims-turned-criminals. McKinty doesn’t just create suspense; he goes right into the moral dilemmas and emotional torment of the characters. You’ll find yourself glued to the page.

It’s something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it’s a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn’t do as she’s told, the boy will die.

“You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” Rachel is now part of The Chain, an unending and ingenious scheme that turns victims into criminals—and is making someone else very rich in the process. The rules are simple, the moral challenges impossible; find the money fast, find your victim, and then commit a horrible act you’d have thought yourself incapable of just twenty-four hours ago.

But what the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. It turns out that kidnapping is only the beginning.

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Alicia Berenson’s life looks perfect, until she shoots her husband in the face and refuses to speak another word. Enter Theo Faber, a psychotherapist determined to solve the mystery. Michaelides masterfully creates an air of mystery . It’s not just about what happened. It’s about why, and Michaelides makes sure every piece fits perfectly. I absolutely loved everything about this book. The plot, characters, writing and the setting. Also read 21 thrillers like The Silent Patient.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

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Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

FBI profiler Will Graham must rely on Lecter’s twisted brilliance to catch a serial killer known as “The Tooth Fairy.” Harris combines procedural details with deep psychological theories. Red Dragon is a great thriller because it explores the mind of both the hunter and the hunted.

A second family has been massacred by the terrifying serial killer the press has christened “The Tooth Fairy.” Special Agent Jack Crawford turns to the one man who can help restart a failed investigation: Will Graham. Graham is the greatest profiler the FBI ever had, but the physical and mental scars of capturing Hannibal Lecter have caused Graham to go into early retirement. Now, Graham must turn to Lecter for help.

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Part murder mystery, part family drama, and part expose on corruption, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has it all. Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant hacker, partners with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve a decades-old disappearance. Lisbeth is one of the most compelling characters you’ll ever meet. She is fierce, smart, and unapologetically herself.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

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Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Tricia and Ethan think they’ve found the perfect house, but being trapped there during a snowstorm reveals some spine-chilling mysteries. When Tricia finds tapes from the home’s previous owner, a missing psychiatrist, she finds out a chilling chain of events. McFadden is great at building tension. I just loved the eerie vibes in Never Lie As the tapes reveal more about the house’s past, you’ll feel the walls closing in, just like the characters.

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.

But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.

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Keep It in the Family by John Marrs

Keep It in the Family is about Mia and Finn whose dream home quickly turns into a nightmare when they discover a horrifying message etched into the house. Marrs is brilliant at weaving psychological elements. As Mia becomes obsessed with the house’s past, you’re really curious and anxious about it at the same time. I feel, in a way, it’s a chilling reminder that some secrets are better left buried.

In this chilling novel from bestselling author John Marrs, a young couple’s house hides terrible secrets—and not all of them are confined to the past.

Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their dream home was once a house of horrors.

In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can’t shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Haunted by the terrible things she saw and desperate to find answers, her obsession pulls her ever further from her husband.

Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family—but is it already too late?

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