I love trying to guess the ending. When picking up a new thriller, I’m almost immediately immersed in the mystery and the twists and turns. I greatly admire authors who keep their secrets under wraps, because I feel pretty smart when I figure out what an author was trying to hide from me.
Here are ten books with twists you won’t see coming. These authors masterfully leave clues and hints that cause the reader to look another way while subtly hiding the truth behind excellent prose and well-drawn characters.
Must reads for every thriller lover out there!
Girls and Their Horses by Eliza James Brazier
This book is for the horse lover in your life. It takes readers through the glitz and glam of competitive horse shows and multi-million-dollar horses. Following multiple POVs and a non-linear timeline, this thriller novel will immerse you in the drama of wealthy families, mean girls, torrid affairs, and the most beautiful horses you could ever imagine.
The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
Sometimes you can discover terrible things amongst the whispers of your neighbours. Following the POVs of four different women living in an affluent neighbourhood, after the tragic fall of one of their sons. Now with the child in a coma, everyone is asking how is happened and everyone is keeping secrets. Content warning to those sensitive to depictions of miscarriage and infertility.
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
A woman watches her son commit murder. She doesn’t know the victim or why her son did it. While her son is in holding, she falls asleep, hoping tomorrow they can learn the truth. Instead she wakes up twenty-four hours before the murder happened. Each night she falls asleep and ends up further back in time. Can she figure out the truth and stop the murder before it ever happened?
Don’t You Dare by Jessica Hamilton
A sexy thriller that throws the main character into the Daring Game, a game from college which leads to affairs, dangerous secrets and all-around debauchery, until someone anonymous takes over and they know everything…
Watch Out for Her by Samantha Bailey
Told from two POVs, following past and present, Sarah and her family move from Vancouver to Toronto after a mysterious incident. However after finding hidden cameras in her new house, Sarah feels no safer here than she did in Vancouver. Once the watcher, now being watched herself, Sarah wonders if her past has followed her all the way to Toronto.
You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
A man wakes up on a beach but can’t remember a thing. He has no idea who he is or where he came from. In the same town, Lily’s boyfriend Jack goes for a late-night swim and never comes home. Nearby another woman, Maya, has been searching for her brother for two years. Both women believe the man to be the one they are looking for. He only wants to know what really happened.
One Little Word by Audra McElyea
Widowed mom, Madeleine starts receiving mysterious messages from “a source” about the alleged murder of famous author Allegra Hudson. With the help of Allegra’s husband, Madeleine is swept up in a confusing mystery trying to find the killer, but this game of cat and mouse she’s gotten herself into makes her question everyone around her. Can she discover the truth before she becomes the next target?
Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler
A move to Hawaii was a new start for Annie but paradise isn’t all it promised to be. Reeling from several losses and disappointments, Annie finds herself alone when a massive storm hits. Then a woman appears on her doorstep in need of shelter from the storm. They hit it off and Annie seems to be making a new friend, until she realizes they have more in common than they should.
The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey
Morgan and Hudson (Ryan) get entangled in the death of a Black Harbor detective. Somehow tied to the disappearance of business mogul Clive Reynolds from twenty years earlier, the two work together trying to uncover the truth, hoping that in doing so, it solves not only the recent murder, but the real reason Clive vanished all those years ago. For fans of gritty, dark stories that push the boundaries.
Twisted by Maggie Giles
Three different women from three very different worlds, all entwined in one deadly crime. As Detective Ryan Boone discovers more about the strange case, he realizes that the evidence is skewed by a new anxiety medication. He has to unravel the mystery before another body turns up.
What recent thrillers have kept you guessing? Comment below with your favourites!
