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What was the last book that really made your hair stand on end? Tell us by Friday 29 September for a chance to win Audible's Thriller of the Year plus a £100 voucher

229 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 01/09/2017 10:15

There's nothing like a good thrilling book - to read or to listen to. To celebrate the release of Audible's Thriller of the Year: Silent Child by Sarah A Denzil, we want to know about the last time you were truly gripped by a book.

What Audible say:

In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragedy of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She's married, pregnant, and in control again… until Aiden returns.

Too traumatised to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Where has he been? What happened to him on that rainy afternoon? And now that he's back, who can he trust?

At Audible, we love listening to crime books. But every so often one comes along that we think is truly special. An Amazon Kindle number one bestseller, Sarah A Denzil's Silent Child is taking Audible HQ by storm. In an Audible Exclusive production, Joanne Froggatt (Mrs Bates, Downton Abbey) delivers a powerhouse performance that'll keep you gripped until the very end.

When you sign up for a 30-day free trial at Audible, Mumsnetters will get an additional credit – that’s two completely free books! After your free trial, you’ll pay £7.99 a month and continue to receive 1 free credit to redeem against any audiobook, unless you cancel. All books you purchase with your credits are yours to keep forever.

Start your free 30-day trial with Audible

To be in with a chance of winning a £100 Love2shop voucher plus a copy of the audiobook Silent Child, we want to know: what was the last book you read that made your hair stand up on edge and/or your skin crawl and/or your heart beat faster? Two runners-up will also win copies of the audiobook.

Buy the audiobook from Audible

This discussion is sponsored by Audible and will end at midnight on Friday 29 September

Books and Audible T&Cs apply

What was the last book that really made your hair stand on end? Tell us by Friday 29 September for a chance to win Audible's Thriller of the Year plus a £100 voucher
OP posts:
sweir1 · 04/09/2017 20:19

I have just finished girl on a train - wow!

ciele · 04/09/2017 20:28

IN COLD BLOOD

hanarees · 04/09/2017 21:39

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

WhiteCaribou · 04/09/2017 21:50

I've read quite a few of the books mentioned here but the only book that has really got my heart thumping, made me feel like I am one with the victim and I wanted to read it with my hands over my eyes (if you get my meaning) is Broken Dolls by James Carol.

emmmaaa26 · 04/09/2017 21:50

Any Stephen King book.

Funkyferret · 04/09/2017 21:59

I love a Patricia Cornwall, etc but they've never really spooked me. Wilkie Collins "The Woman in White" however - creepy!

buckley1983 · 04/09/2017 22:45

Another vote for 'The Girl on the Train' but Paula Hawkins. On advice from others, I read the book before watching the film & I'm so glad I did. Although both were enjoyable, the book was so much better - I absolutely whizzed through it & really didn't guess what was coming!

Hopezibah · 04/09/2017 22:47

'in her wake' by amanda jennings was the last one i read that was really 'thrilling'.

BeautyQueenFromMars · 05/09/2017 08:47

Exhume by Danielle Girard. I read it last year, and immediately put the yet-to-be-released second book on my wishlist. It gripped me from the start, and I was both satisfied and bereft when I finished it.

ishouldbedoinghousework · 05/09/2017 10:39

I See You by Clare Mackintosh.

giddyypixie · 05/09/2017 10:56

Lee Child and the whole Jack Reacher series (especially the first one Killing Floor)! Although not a thriller in the supernatural sense, they are incredibly gripping books that always totally engulf me and have me up until all hours of the morning trying to get my fix!

angiehoggett · 05/09/2017 11:53

It's the silence of the lambs for me, I'd never read the book until recently and it's such an amazing read I can't believe I've not read it before now!

jandoc · 05/09/2017 12:43

girl on the train

SuzfromSoton · 05/09/2017 14:40

Sleepwalkers by Tom Grieves. Slow starter but really quite compelling.

MollyWantsACracker · 05/09/2017 15:02

I'm really enjoying that Silent Child actually!

And I got a good CTB book with my other free credit.

QueenofallIsee · 05/09/2017 15:32

'Tampa' by Alissa Nutting really gave me the willies - not because it is a thriller exactly, genre wise its an odd one but because a female predator as a protagonist was repelling and fascinating. I found that the book really did push the fact that our society values youth and beauty over almost anything. Quite explicit which was hard to stomach but really makes the hairs on the back of neck stand up

MillyVanilli222 · 05/09/2017 15:41

I just finished Chris Brookmyre's Black Widow, and it gripped me to the very last pages!

weloveafarmday · 05/09/2017 16:42

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. And all the following books in the series.
A female serial killer toys with the detective she once captured, tortured then released. A young reporter with her own issues shadows him on his latest case. Loved the gore, pace and originality - I've reread the series more times than I'll admit to Grin

laurac1987 · 05/09/2017 20:00

I've just finished reading The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and it was fantastic! Really creepy!!

bertsdinner · 05/09/2017 20:16

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent. Suspenseful and tragic, it was a really great book. All the characters "lost" in some way and it was a haunting tale.

Goshthatwentwell · 05/09/2017 20:26

I only buy books from the charity shop so mine our a little old but I loved Girl on the Train. I had seen the film but the book still gripped me and I couldn't stop reading.

For creepy I love Stephen King. It's his mix of heartbreaking misery mixed with odd sci fI that does it for me. I like the longer ones but Christine and Pet Semetary were my first and not forgottens.

GladstonePotteryMuseum · 06/09/2017 12:03

Life After Life by Kate Atkison, an emotional rollercoaster which is brilliantly written and thrilling.

user1496053440 · 06/09/2017 18:07

I just read Finders Keepers by Belinda Bauer. Thrilling but creepy!

Elizasmum02 · 06/09/2017 20:18

harlan coben fool me once!

TellMeItsNotTrue · 06/09/2017 23:51

It would probably be room, absolutely love that book and even now that I know what happens, it still gets my heart racing!

I love books that grip you, the twists and turns make them impossible to put down, especially as they tend to happen at the end of a chapter so you keep thinking 'just one more chapter, I can't leave it there!'