You tuck your legs under you as you settle back into your plush armchair. You bring the warm mug to your lips and smile as the sugar of your pumpkin spice latte hits your tongue. A fire crackles in front of you. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howls before a full moon. Your doors and windows are locked, and you’re ready for a good scare.
Half the fun of spooky season is setting the mood; the other half is enjoying the fruits of your labor with the latest heart-racing release. Horror movies can undoubtedly deliver scenes that burrow under your skin and stay there, but sometimes nothing is as unsettling as the imagery you can cook up in your own head as you fill in the spaces between the lines of a good book. That’s why we asked a few top thriller authors, including Freida McFadden and S.A. Cosby, to recommend the best books in the genre that they’ve read so far this year.
Rachel Howzell Hall recommends The Ferryman’s Daughter by Yasmin Angoe
"One of the exciting things about The Ferryman’s Daughter is the timing: Christopher Nolan’s epic blockbuster film, The Odyssey, has reignited the public’s passion for Greek mythology. Yasmin Angoe's new book draws inspiration from the figure Charon, the Ferryman of the Dead, who was paid in gold coins to transport the newly dead to the underworld. The Ferryman's Daughter is about a forensic scientist who's been trying to bury her past — more accurately, her serial killer father — until bodies start turning up. I'm sold.” –Rachel Howzell Hall, author of Mist and Malice
Jennifer van der Kleut recommends The Crying Killer by Jess Lourey
“I had the immense pleasure of blurbing Jess Lourey's latest thriller, The Crying Killer, a few months ago. The story immediately hooked me: A serial killer returns years later to once again torment our main character, Tuesday — and this time, he may be after her daughter. It's dark, chilling, and suspenseful, and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. If you liked Alex Finlay's The Anniversary, you'll love this book, too.” –Jennifer van der Kleut, author of The Better Mother
Meg Gardiner recommends Every Lie I Told by Hilary Davidson
“Every Lie I Told is about a woman who's called to rescue her sister from an overdose, only to find herself at the center of the murder investigation of her boss and mentor. It delivers shivers, shocks, and suspense from beginning to end. I couldn’t put it down — and didn’t see the ending coming. –Meg Gardiner, author of Shadowheart
Andrea Bartz recommends The Night Hunter by Natalie Moss
"I flew through The Night Hunter, a debut psychological thriller about six friends stranded in the South African bush. It's got muscular prose, an evocative setting, complex characters, and a pulse-pounding plot. Reading it feels like going on safari and locking eyes with an apex predator. I couldn't put it down!" –Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ferry Out and We Were Never Here
Cate Holahan recommends All the Little Houses by May Cobb
“May Cobb's All the Little Houses lured me in like the sparkling watering hole where her teenage protagonists and their scheming parents escape the Texas heat. It's a propulsive and unputdownable story filled with delicious, Dynasty-style adults and delectable drama. I came for the who-done-it murder, but stayed glued to every page for the complex, believable characters. The sequel, All the Little Secrets, thankfully publishes in November, and can't come fast enough!!!” –Cate Holahan, author of Last Looks
Freida McFadden recommends My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
“I've always been a fan of Alice Feeney, but her latest thriller, My Husband's Wife, just blew me away. It starts when Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her first big exhibition, goes for a run. When she returns home, her key doesn't work — and another woman, claiming to be her husband's wife, answers the door. This book was nonstop twists and turns, with a few laughs thrown in between them, and it all came together at the end in such a satisfying way. Her books just get better and better!” –Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Divorce
Rea Frey recommends Indie Darling by Lauren Nossett
"Nobody writes smart, atmospheric thrillers quite like Lauren Nossett. Indie Darling drips with authentic Music City flavor, high-wire tension, and grit beneath the glamour of indie pop stardom. As dynamic as it is thoughtful, Nossett creates a sharp, hypnotic mystery exploring ambition, fame, and what it really takes to hold onto yourself in the spotlight, all with an unforgettable investigator at the helm. I couldn’t put it down, and you won't be able to either." –Rea Frey, author of Dear Mother
Hannah Mary McKinnon recommends When You Tell by Steena Holmes
“When You Tell by Steena Holmes is a twisty tale in a world where celebrity and ghostwriting clash. The story is filled with long-buried secrets, greed, toxic relationships, and buckets of betrayal. Honestly, with friends like these, you don’t need a single enemy. Prepare for a thrill that’ll keep you flipping those pages well into the night.” –Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of A Killer Motive
L.S. Stratton recommends Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu
"As a high school overachiever myself, some aspects of Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu hit a little too close to home, but it's a fascinating, diabolical story about how the quest to succeed — by any means necessary — can lead some overachievers down a dark path. The protagonist, college student Elizabeth Zhang, is smart, snarky, obsessed, and unhinged. She takes the reader along with her on a wild and disturbing ride, and I enjoyed it." –L.S. Stratton, author of Not So Perfect Strangers and Sundown Girls
S.A. Cosby recommends The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
"The Intrigue by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia — about a con man who hatches a plan to steal money from a spinster who's much smarter than she lets on — is an almost unbearably suspenseful and passionate book that refuses to let you go." –S.A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of King of Ashes
May Cobb recommends Pretty Dead Things by Kelsey Cox
“Set in the sumptuous, yet backstabbing world of Texas beauty pageants, Kelsey Cox’s sophomore suspense, Pretty Dead Things, hit the bullseye. Bubbling with small-town secrets, complex female characters, and a propulsive locked-room mystery, Cox has delivered another unputdownable, bingeworthy thriller!” –May Cobb, author of All the Little Houses
