Will Dean's Top 10 Locked-Room Thrillers
All the intricate maneuverings of a locked-room mystery, with an added dash of psychological suspense.
Note: I’ve expanded the definition of ‘locked-room’ to include closed-set.
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie – The original. Ten strangers receive invitations to a solitary mansion on a windswept island off the British coast. Then they begin to die off, one by one.
THE WOMAN IN CABIN TEN by Ruth Ware – An excellent locked-room mystery set on a luxurious yacht. Lo Blacklock, a journalist working for a travel magazine, spends a week aboard. She sees a woman thrown overboard, yet all the passengers are accounted for? Dark and exquisitely tense.
MISERY by Stephen King – A locked room, literally. I saw the film before I read the book. Both are superb. Writer Paul Sheldon (author of the Misery Chastain novels) crashes his car during a blizzard. Annie Wilkes, a nurse who seemingly misunderstands the Hippocratic Oath, takes him home to look after him. What follows is legendary and it is incredibly claustrophobic.
AN UNWANTED GUEST by Shari Lapena – I love the Catskills setting of this thriller. Living in rural Sweden, in an isolated forest, I felt every page of this. The storm in the novel cuts off Wi-Fi and phone signals, as well as electricity. Then the unthinkable happens. In moments like this, when there is no outside help, you get to know the characters very well and very fast.
THE LOCKED ROOM by Elly Griffiths – A book in the fantastic Ruth Galloway series, the locked room element of this book comes by way of the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. Ruth and Nelson investigate a series of murder-suicides connected to a fascinating archaeological find.
HOSTAGE by Clare Mackintosh – If you want unbearable tension in a thriller, find one set on a plane up in the air. This exhilarating novel is not only a locked-in suspense novel set on the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney, it’s also a ‘what would you do?’ story to test yourself.
IN THE MORNING I’LL BE GONE by Adrian McKinty – If you haven’t read the Sean Duffy books yet… why not? One of my favourite series, these detective novels have it all: atmospheric tension (they are set in Belfast during The Troubles), humour, warmth, and superb writing.
SNOW BLIND by Ragnar Jonasson – An isolated fishing village in northern Iceland, a rookie policeman out of his depth, and a series of heinous crimes in the snowy fjords. Chilling and eerie.
A DANGEROUS CROSSING by Rachel Rhys – A sumptuous thriller set in 1939 aboard a luxury liner. This is a character-driven novel packed full of intrigue, secrets, and enticing locations.
SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane – I am a passionate fan of Lehane’s work. Shutter Island is famous for its twist (which is flawless) but it stands up well to re-reading. The gothic atmosphere (excellent storms), and isolated island combine to set the perfect stage for this gripping story.
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Will Dean
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. After studying law at the London School of Economics and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a wooden house in a vast forest, and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball’s book club on ITV, shortlisted for the National Book Award (UK), The Guardian’s Not the Booker prize, and was named a Telegraph book of the year. He is also the author of Adrift; The Last One; First Born; The Last Thing to Burn, which was shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year; and The Chamber. Adrift, Will’s newest thriller, is available on February 17, 2026.
