The most gripping thriller? share your thoughts to win £50 Selfridges vouchers

[RachelMumsnet]

We're wanting to find out which book have made your heart race, pulse jump and forced you to stay up reading long into the night.

To celebrate the publication of Alexandra Burt's debut Little Girl Gone, we're asking you to share your most unputdownable book. Join the discussion and tell us why it gets your vote. All those who join the thread will be entered into a draw to win £50 Selfridges vouchers

Little Girl Gone is the debut novel of Alexandra Burt and has been hailed as “impossible to put down” by Award winning author, Meg Gardiner and as a "thrilling, nail-shredding page-turner that fans of ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘Before I Go to Sleep’ won’t be able to put down".


This thread is sponsored by Harper Collins

[imacmum]

Little Black Lies by Sharon J Bolton kept me up and reading well into the night. Set in the Falklands, the story starts with details of a previous tragedy, and the possibility of a prospective new one. The tight knit community draw closer together and everyone seems to be a suspect at one time or another. Throw in a few lies, a spot of PTSD and a wish for revenge, plus the echoes of the Falklands war, and these all add to the chilling suspense. This dark, gripping and unpredictable story had me in tears at times and kept me hooked until the very last page, I followed every twist and turn, but could not have guessed the final revelation

[alialiath]

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews was the book that kept me up all night.A really exciting read set in the world of espionage during the Cold War.
It was action packed with loads of twists, and red herrings, and jam packed with double agents, that you didn't know who to trust.

[lindarumsey]

The Lie by CL Taylor - full of twists and turns and you never know who to believe. a real page turner!

[LocalEditorMerton]

Several over the years:

Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie) because it's a whodunnit like no other and was my introduction to the thriller genre as a 13 year old. Very much one of a kind. I've ready many other murder mysteries over the years but this one stands out in my memory.

The Quincunx (Charles Palliser) is a Dickensian style thriller but more pacy than Dickens' oeuvres. I couldn't put it down, reading it over 24 hours on holiday in Madeira! Not read anything by the author since but would heartily recommend this, not least because it's little known literary gem.

The Secret History (Donna Tartt) because it's a brilliant psychological thriller with the 'Preppy' vibe running thro' it AND a nod to Classics, so interesting on all sorts of levels.

Interestingly I've not read page-turning thrillers of the calibre of the last two mentioned since having DCs - think I'm a bit jaded now . Having said that though, I very much enjoyed The Good Girl by Fiona Neill (which we read as one of our three novels for the last Mumsnet Merton & Wimbledon Book Group), although not technically a thriller IMHO. I did find it a real page-turner but not all of our Merton Mumsnetters agreed...

[CMOTDibbler]

I first read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on a plane to Stockholm one morning, and spent the rest of the day on tenderhooks waiting to finish it. And then desperate to read the next one!

[Clawdy]

Has to be The Burning Air by Erin Kelly. Thought I could always spot the twist coming - didn't spot this one!

[nerysw]

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk. I had to have two goes at reading it, the first time I didn't get very far and I had it to return it to the bookshelf as it was just too scary. It's very well written, incredibly dark and horrifying. The second time I tried I read it really quickly and couldn't put it down.

[AnyoneButAndre]

I finished The Silence of The Lambs by Thomas Harris at five am. Literally could not stop reading.

Older than that, Rogue Male, by Geoffrey Household is absolutely gripping.

[ladydepp]

It has to be Silence of the Lambs! I haven't read it for a long time, but I couldn't read it when I was home alone. Red Dragon is super scary too, but both really well written.

[ladydepp]

X post AnyonebutAndre

[WoahBodyforrrrm]

Into the darkest corner by Elizabeth Haynes A truly gripping story. I didn't know whether to continue turning the pages, or to find a padlocked trunk to put it in and throw it into a lake. The author manages to build up such incredible tension through her brilliant writing, I felt truly terrified! A must read in my opinion!

[DuchessofMalfi]

Agree with several on here. Into the Darkest Corner was terrifying. The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo - loved it but wasn't so enthralled by the sequels.

One I loved and was really gripped by was one I read as a teenager. It was The Franchise Affair by Josephine Try. It was written in the 1940s and I think it is brilliantly plotted.

[RunningGingerFreckleyThing]

Agree with WoahBodyforrrm. Into The Darkest Corner was brilliant. Could not put it down.

[sjonlegs]

Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta is the best book I've read in ages. A real edge of seat one - that had me reading into the night - for want to discover what happens next!

[DuchessofMalfi]

That should read Josephine Tey not Try (autocorrect fail).

[babyjane1]

A thousand splendid suns, it moved me so much, I missed the characters like old friends when it finished, it affected me and my outlook on life, can't ask more of a book? If you ain't read it, you must read it someday and you will see x

[ShatnersBassoon]

Hour of the Wolf by Håkan Nesser. It was gripping and totally absorbing.

[llewejk]

I was gripped by The Ice Twins. I couldn't put it down. I have never read a book so quickly since having my little girl (now 2 1/2)!

[Mintyy]

Capricorn One by Ron Goulart - unputdownable (I read at age 19 and have never forgotten it and would be happy to read again)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - literally thrilling to read (especially in the knowledge that it was a first novel!)

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin - my most read book. You have to read it four or five times to see all the clues that were there all along.

[lolapops1]

The Funhouse - Dean Koontz. Even now I hate funfairs!

[SouthWestmom]

Before I go to sleep

I actually really got into this, and didn't work it all out before the end, which is the kind of story I love.

[Hygge]

Most recently the two Paula Daly books.

Just What Kind Of Mother Are You? and Keep Your Friends Close were both really gripping. I was reading the first one at the same time my Mum was reading it, and if one of us got further ahead than the other we were both saying "tell me what happens…no, don't!" And when we read Keep Your Friends Close we were arguing about which of us hated Eve the most.

I can't wait for the next one to come out. Joanne is a great character, I'm really enjoying her story behind the main story of each book.

[Lucidenigma]

The thriller that kept me up all night was 'Serial uncut' by Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. I'm a huge thriller fan so it's hard to impress me, but this book hit all the right spots. Some may find it to be too much, but for me it is just perfect.

[StillNoFuckingEyeDeer]

I can't decide between The Secret History, Gone Girl and Apple Tree Yard.

[jackiekatu]

Sleep tight by Abbott Rachel was so intense , started reading it at 9pm finished by 3am I couldn't put it down