If there’s one thing I love, it’s a book about obsession. Maybe that’s because reading one often mirrors the feeling of getting obsessed: you’re drawn in by a narrator’s mesmerizing voice, and then suddenly you’re trapped inside of their head, forced to go along with their darkest impulses until you realize that you can’t stop, not even if you wanted to.
Even more enticing is a book about romantic obsession. There’s something so tantalizing, even cathartic, about these stories—like reading someone else’s diary, maybe even one that feels a little too similar to your own. My debut adult thriller, So Happy Together, is one such novel: it follows Jane, an aspiring playwright in New York City, as she fights to win back the man who dumped her after six dates, even though he seems totally smitten with his new girlfriend…until Jane makes a shocking discovery that will ensnare them all in a twisted web of lies, secrets, and murder.
Here are 6 more books about romantic obsession that either inspired So Happy Together or that I’d be honored to see it shelved beside. A mix of thriller, literary fiction, YA, and adult, these books all have one thing in common: they’re sure to get your heart pounding.
You by Caroline Kepnes
One of my all-time favorite series, You is like the mother of modern-day stalker stories. The first book, like the first season of the Netflix show it inspired, follows the infamously relatable Joe Goldberg as he falls in love with aspiring writer Guinevere Beck…and will stop at nothing, including murder, to keep her by his side.
My Husband by Maud Ventura
Originally published in French, My Husband is a literary novel that reads like an unputdownable thriller. It follows an unnamed narrator as she obsesses over her seemingly perfect marriage, meticulously tracking her husband’s actions and silently panicking that he’ll leave her. Told over the course of one week and ending with a killer twist, this strange and intoxicating book is not one to miss.
A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch
Another literary novel that feels like a thriller, this one follows aspiring writer Naomi as she becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, Rosemary—who quickly becomes the inspiration for Naomi’s new novel. While A Novel Obsession doesn’t delve into murder territory, Naomi’s quickly-snowballing secrets are just as impossible to look away from.
The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto
From the acclaimed author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession is a YA thriller in the vein of You, following Logan and the object of his obsession, Delilah—who, in a captivating twist, kills her stepfather as Logan witnesses, proving she isn’t as perfect as he’d made her out to be.
Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell
Darkly funny and delightfully twisted, Love Letters to a Serial Killer is like if a rom-com met a true crime Reddit thread. It follows a woman named Hannah who, out of rage and frustration, writes a letter to an accused serial killer—only to fall slowly in love with him when he starts writing back. Then, when he’s acquitted, Hannah moves in with him…but she can’t let go of her investigation, even now that the prime suspect is sleeping beside her.
How I’ll Kill You by Ren DeStefano
At once a searing thriller and a moving tale of sisterhood and self-discovery, How I’ll Kill You also has a deliciously original premise: three identical twin sisters travel the country, putting down roots just long enough for one of them to seduce a new boyfriend—and then kill him. When this book opens, it’s Sissy’s turn to make her first kill…but when she falls in love with her mark, she’s forced to choose between her growing feelings and her fierce loyalty to her sisters.
***
