The Best Psychological Thrillers of the Month: September 2026

It’s getting harder and harder to tell the bounds between gothic fiction, suspense, psychological thrillers, and horror; much of what makes a good thriller is a good twist, and for me, a twist does not need to be realistic to be effective—if you want believable, read a mystery. Trying to figure out a twist means guessing at the internal logic of the narrative, looking out for the best way to upend the story, and in short, expecting the unexpected. If some thrillers include a supernatural element, and that element worms its way into the characters’ psyches, then that, my dear friends, is a psychological thriller, not horror. But, since I have been including a teensy, weensy bit much when it comes to straight-up horror, I’ve tried to restrain the following list to novels that are absolutely, 100% thrillers first, and only occasionally otherworldly. To tell you which is which would be to give away the twists, and we’re not about that here at CrimeReads.

All blurbs are my own, unless otherwise stated. Thanks for reading!

Hallie Shepherd, Call Off the Dark
(William Morrow)

This haunting portrayal of grief and isolation will have you hugging your loved ones close and feeling grateful for the close proximity of your neighbors. Call Off the Dark is a considerable debut, a gothic thriller as confident in its writing as it is bold in its twists; I look forward to seeing much more from Hallie Shepherd.

Gigi Waldorf, Murder on the Upper East Side
(Atria/Emily Bestler)

Gigi Waldorf’s new novel is pitched as Gossip Girl meets Only Murders in the Building, which is all I need to want to read this immediately. One reviewer of an advance copy warned that the book never stops noting the impact of class and wealth on characters’ behavior, but in my humble opinion, that’s not a good reason to stay away—that’s an endorsement. Waldorf is the pen name for Kit Frick, by the way, so if you like this one, definitely check out the rest of her work.

Jonathan Santlofer, Ten Perfect Guests
(Sourcebooks Landmark)

Jonathan Santlofer, known for his witty and intricate mysteries-cum-thrillers set in and around the art world, returns to the genre with an ingenious new locked-room mystery modeled on Christie’s And Then There Were None. In Santlofer’s latest, a group of tarnished hangers-on and grasping relations gather on a remote island for the reading of a distinguished artist’s will, only to find themselves falling victim to a nasty plan of revenge served…tropical.

Alma Katsu, Incarnate
(Putnam)

The second on this list to take gruesome delight in the horrors of influencer culture, Incarnate centers around a put-upon tech worker with low self-esteem and a penchant for AI deepfakes; the two collide when she creates a gorgeous avatar and makes a deal with a dark internet presence to achieve fame and power via her alter-ego. When the protagonist’s IRL appearance starts shifting to resemble the impossible proportions of her creation, and her videos result in universal adulation and instant success, she begins to question her devil’s bargain, and wonder what price will be demanded for all her new rewards. Another excellent effort from a consistently entertaining writer, this one should please audiences of thrillers and horror alike.

Abby Geni, Children of the Wolf 
(Ballantine)

Give this book to everyone you know who watches Vikings, because it is about people who want to live as if they are vikings!!! Liv is a mild-mannered beekeeper who lives with her brother, Finn, in a small town in Michigan, trying to forget the childhood they spent being raised by their father, Ulf, a Swede descended from Erik the Red, obsessed with his family’s viking past (to, shall we say, unsettling lengths). Liv and her brother haven’t seen him since the FBI raided their home twenty years before. And they’ve mostly moved on… but then, suddenly, local men start disappearing and Liv starts to realize possible connections between them, and the father whose legacy she’d rather forget. By Odin, this was a exciting read!–Olivia Rutigliano