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Psychological thrillers with a twist - recommendations please

82 replies

Hftgl · 06/07/2019 13:55

That’s it really, anyone got any recommendations?

OP posts:
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matahairyy · 12/08/2019 16:20

Liked mine
The silent patient
Blood orange

carbuncleonapigsposterior · 12/08/2019 16:19

Lie with Me Sabine Durrant
At her best Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell- she wrote some truly excellent psychological thrillers, and the occasional bad one
Divided opinions but I liked Our House by Louise Candlish
I Let you Go - Clare Mackintosh

Clawdy · 12/08/2019 16:00

tobee you are right about The Hours Before Dawn. Written so long ago, but so good.

Beebumble2 · 12/08/2019 10:19

I’ve just finished ‘Sometimes I Lie’ by Alice Feeney. Loads of twists and turns. Couldn’t put it down.

Krisskrosskiss · 26/07/2019 23:02

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is really good

And my favourite recently read book is The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy. It is a thriller but it has touches of gothic romance, sci fi and crime noir about it too... I thought it had such wonderful atmosphere and such an interesting premise.

rosegoldwatcher · 26/07/2019 22:58

@tobee
Thank you. Have downloaded the Kindle sample.

tobee · 26/07/2019 22:54

Not necessarily a psychological thriller but a domestic noir from 1958, I've just read The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin. It was excellent in the domestic details; some of the parenting of the time are bang up to date and some many Mumsnetters would be ShockShockShockGrin

rosegoldwatcher · 24/07/2019 18:40

@growlingbear - I loved The Silent Girls too. Alex Marwood's new book The Poison Garden is available on Kindle tomorrow.

Have just finished Now You See Her by Heidi Perks - good, especially for 99p.

TonTonMacoute · 23/07/2019 15:31

A book called 'Based on a True Story' by a French writer Delphine de Vigan. I am usually a bit disappointed by the twists in these books, but this one quite impressed me!

househunter2019 · 22/07/2019 16:26

The Widow by Fiona Barton was good. Also, The Girl Before by JP Delaney.

rosegoldwatcher · 17/07/2019 23:18

xmasbaba2014 thank you for the recommendation. I downloaded The Silent Patient this morning and have just finished it. It has a WTAF twist at 93% (Kindle!) which I was NOT expecting!
It is to be made into a film (courtesy of Brad Pitt's production company.)
Who would you have playing Theo and Alicia?

Binforky I read Our Kind of Cruelty yesterday. I thought that I would love it (as I had previously read and loved Everything and Nothing by the same author.) But I found it very juvenile and wanted to hear from Verity's PoV at the end.

PrincessMonacoOfKent · 17/07/2019 14:37

I've just read The Chain by Adrian McKinty, and Sleep by CL Taylor which were both excellent.

If you fancy a legal thriller, I'd definitely recommend Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh. It's the 4th Eddie Flynn book and by far the best, but you don't need to have read the other three books first (just go back and read them after!).

EmmaJR1 · 16/07/2019 17:52

Behind closed doors by BA Paris is also very chilling.

TakeOneForTheBreem · 16/07/2019 06:56

A bit old school but I recently reread The Firm by John Grisham. So tense. Some of it is ludcirous, but it's so well written that it doesn't bother me.

Binforky · 16/07/2019 06:54

I also liked the silent patient and the girl before.

Binforky · 16/07/2019 06:53

I hated Our House as well I just didn't care enough about any of the characters.

The woman in the window is good.

I recently listened to "Our Kind of Cruelty" which I quite liked. It did scare me a bit as I feel like it's from inside the head of my ex.

growlingbear · 16/07/2019 06:44

I was really disappointed in the film A Simple Favour. It suffered from that thriller ailment of being randomly preposterous rather than a slow burn f real behaviour sliding out of control. If you go back to writers like Patricia Highsmith, there's always a real motivation for the behaviour, whereas today it seems to just be: sling a psycho into suburbia and let anything happen.

ThatCurlyGirl · 15/07/2019 23:29

Ooh really enjoyed A Simple Favour - it went on Netflix today and I was really impressed with it. Just the right amount of comedy within it too.

And fucking hell I don't know who I fancy more, Blake Lively or her entire wardrobe in the film. Fucccck it's so hot.

Starstruck2020 · 15/07/2019 23:25

A simple favour was good. It might not be “hardcore” enough though

ThatCurlyGirl · 15/07/2019 23:19

Ooh Primal Fear for sure.

Fuuuuck such a good ending.

xmasbaba2014 · 15/07/2019 23:13

The Silent Patient is very good

narcissistseverywhere · 08/07/2019 23:51

I hated Our House too, really unpleasant characters, I know he was supposed to be, but I really wanted to warm to her a bit more

glittertissues · 08/07/2019 23:23

Shamelessly placemarking for when I dig out my kindle tomorrow!

growlingbear · 08/07/2019 23:18

I hated Our House too. Load of twaddle. Withholding massive clues from the reader and then shoving them in at the end is such weak plotting.

growlingbear · 08/07/2019 23:16

Tana French is good. In the Woods was great. I loved Blacklands by Belinda Bauer - great story. Alex Marwood is always good too: Wicked Girls and the one based on a child going missing at a house party were both riveting.
Classic US thrillers Tell No One by Harlen Coben and No Time To Say Goodbye by Linwood Barclay both kept me addicted with curiosity as to what had really happened.