Everyone loves a good thriller. Books where a sociopath stalks an unwitting victim. A child is snatched off the street by an evil stranger. Con men spin webs of deceit with no regard for whom they bring down in the process. But there’s something deliciously terrifying about stories where the bad guy isn’t just an anonymous stranger . . . but possibly the person sleeping beside you every night.
In my new book, For Better and Worse, Natalie and Will Clarke plot to kill the pedophile who targeted their son. In order to plan and execute his murder, they need to trust one another implicitly. But as they anxiously wait to see if they’ll be able to get away with the perfect crime, both spouses begin to suspect that the other is hiding something . . . and start to wonder if they’ve ever really known the person they’re married to.
If you love suspense thrillers featuring untrustworthy spouses, I’ve rounded up a great list.
The Wife by Alafair Burke
Don’t crack this book open if you have plans for the day, because I promise you, once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down. Angela and Jason Powell have by all appearances the perfect marriage. They have a magical life in Manhattan fueled by Jason’s amazing career success, and both adore their charming son, Spencer. But then Jason is accused of sexually harassing an intern, and everything begins to unravel. Is Jason guilty of misconduct? And how does Angela’s troubled past affect the current allegations against her husband? This taut story plays out masterfully.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
I read a lot of thrillers, and it’s rare that I’m completely shocked when I reached the final page. However, Behind Her Eyes did exactly that. Louise, a single mom, begins an affair with a doctor named David . . . and at the same time enters into a close friendship with David’s wife, Adele. And that’s the least complicated aspect of the story. Louise worries that David seems abnormally controlling of Adele. And Adele is clearly hiding a horrible secret from her new best friend. But if you think you know where this story is headed, you don’t. The final twist is jaw dropping.
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
The book begins with the line, “On a Tuesday in May, in her thirty-fifth year, Rachel shot her husband dead.” Backing up, Rachel Childs, who was once a successful journalist, has turned into a house bound recluse, and is wholly dependent on her husband, Brian. They have a close, loving relationship . . . right up until a chance encounter causes Rachel wonders if she’s every really known the man she married. Is Brian hiding something from her? Or is Rachel slowly losing her mind? And, most importantly, why did she kill him?
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
Christine wakes up every morning with no memory of the past twenty years. She doesn’t recognize her husband, Ben, her house, or even her reflection in the mirror. Every day, Ben is forced to introduce himself, and explain the details of their life to her. On the advice of her doctor, Christine begins to keep a journal. Then, one day, she finds a note she’s written to herself—Don’t trust Ben. A deeply chilling story with a satisfying twist at the end.
How To be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman
Marta, a middle-aged housewife, can barely remember her life before she met her husband, Hector. She spends her time following the rules of a manual called How To Be A Good Wife, given to her by her mother-in-law on their wedding day. And every day, she dutifully swallows the pink pills Hector insists she needs. But one day Marta decides to stop taking the pills . . . and begins having terrifying hallucinations of a young girl. Who is the girl, and why is she haunting Marta? And why can’t she remember how she first met Hector? A creepy, atmospheric tale.
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Amber Patterson is tired of being a nobody, and will do whatever it takes to reinvent her life. And not just any life. Amber has a very specific goal—to displace Daphne Parrish. Daphne is married to Jackson, and together they lead a golden existence of wealth and privilege. Amber insinuates herself into Daphne’s world, and then launches her plan to steal Jackson away. But is the Parrish’s marriage really the fairy tale Amber believes it to be? Or is the glossy glamour hiding a much darker reality?
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
After their babysitter cancels on the night Anne and Marco are supposed to attend a dinner party at the home of their next door neighbors, they decide to leave baby Cora home alone. They bring her baby monitor, and every half hour, one of them goes to check on her. But at some point during the evening, Cora disappears from her crib. The police are called in, and Detective Rasbach is left trying to figure out who kidnapped baby Cora . . . and what Anne and Marco are hiding.
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The book seemingly begins as an age-old tale of a successful businessman, Richard, discarding his older wife for a younger, prettier replacement. Vanessa isn’t coping well with the end of her marriage. When she’s not at her job as a sales clerk at a high end clothing store, waiting on the same women she used to socialize with, she’s numbing herself with wine and stalking her younger replacement. Nellie is the young woman who’s fallen in love with Richard, although every now and then a creeping doubt sets in. Is Richard really the perfect man he appears to be? A twist mid-way through the book sends the story hurtling in an unexpected direction.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
No list of thrillers featuring duplicitous spouses would be complete without a mention of Flynn’s iconic best seller. When Amy—known as Amazing Amy, from the series of children’s books her parents wrote based on Amy’s life—goes missing, suspicion is immediately focused on Amy’s husband, Nick. At first, the book seems to be a fictionalized account of the Scott Peterson case, with a husband supposedly killing off his inconvenient wife. But is Nick really a murderer … or is he being set up by someone far cleverer than himself?
