Any recommendations for dark novels?

[OhMargaret]

Just finished The Handmaid's tale and Platform by the French writer Michel Houellebecq - loved them both. They're both dark and a bit disturbing but seriously make you think.

Anyone got any recommendations for similar?

Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal

Verity and The Push are both good dark stories in the same vein as The Housemaid's

Then she was gone is good too

Are you looked at the books on the ‘recommend me a dystopian book’ (may not be exact title) in the ‘what we are reading ‘ section?

If you want a combination of quality writing and dark subject matter I can really, really recommend The Enchanted by Rene Denfield.

I’d say it has the same qualities as The Handmaids Tale, but is darker.

its one of my favourite books, along with The Colour Purple (quite dark), Beloved (also dark), The Handmaids Tale and Precious Bane (my all time favourite).

Try M. R. James. I believe Stephen Fry has recorded some of them on audiobook.

Parts of Lord of the Rings are incredibly dark. The Shelob’s Lair chapter is horrific. The sense of darkness and evil is suffocating.

Any novel by Mo Hayder. Truly sinister and they play on your mind long after you've read the last page.

Perfume - Patrick Suskind I think?

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I second Perfume by Patrick Suskind. I agree Under the Skin is dark, in fact too dark for me, I found it utterly horrific. Maybe you'll like it 😬

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher.
All of hers really but The Sentence is her latest. They are all fairly short and easy reads but also thought provoking.

This was my first thought when I saw the thread title.

Also echo recommendations of Perfume, and I'll add The Collector by John Fowles.