Book Chatter - Let's Talk - Psychological Thriller authors > Likes and Comments

We love thrillers, we love action thrillers, we love police dramas.

But if you get a well written book, that can keep you gripped with a strong story, lots of red herrings, keep you on the edge of your seat.

Here are some of my favourites

















Authors I have personally not read, but highly regarded

Ruth Ware, Robyn Harding, Alex Michaelides, Alice Feeney, Riley Sager, Lucy Foley, Paula Hawkins, Gillian Flynn

I actually haven't read a lot of psychological thrillers. However, I did enjoy our March BOTM, The Magpies by Mark Edwards and I'm looking forward to reading his The Wasp Trap in April as a BOTM.

We also have other psychological thrillers lined up as BOTMs this year.

A Good Person
Recent 5⭐ I'm dying to talk about.

When the Wolf Comes Home
My favorite of last year. Does not get enough hype! I swear, it's not a werewolf book, just give it a chance.

She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be
Why is this book not more popular???

Thanks for posting Wendy.

A five star book we can add to our Bookshelf.

Carolyn is our expert on this

I have to admit that I don't read much in the way of psychological thrillers nowadays.

The closest I probably got was reading the Alex Delaware novels by Jonathan Kellerman way back in the early 90's. The main character is a child psychologist who occasionally assists his best friend who is an LAPD homicide detective.

After about book #15 I started to get burned out with the repetition so I went looking for other novelists to sample and never came back to the psychological thriller realm.

That said, the first six novels in the Delaware series were terrific and I have hardcover editions in my permanent library. And Kellerman's 1988 stand alone novel THE BUTCHER'S THEATER (set in Israel) is also excellent.

James wrote: "I have to admit that I don't read much in the way of psychological thrillers nowadays.

The closet I probably got was reading the Alex Delaware novels by Jonathan Kellerman way back in the early 90..."

I enjoyed the early Alex Delaware series as well, James. I still dip into the series every one and then. I always considered them more crime thrillers / police procedurals, but there is usually a psychological aspect to them as well. Thanks for getting me to think about them differently.

We have some BOTMs that are psychological thrillers as well.

April's The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
July's Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson
October's The Grotesque: A Haunting Psychological Thriller by Sean Foy
October's The Color of Evil: by Armando Rodera

I truly love Alice Feeney’s books—I honestly think she might be some kind of genius. Her twists always get me. For fast-paced domestic psychological thrillers, Daniel Hurst really does it for me. The Couple at Table Six was a really good one. And when it comes to Alice Feeney, my favorite is honestly a tie between My Husband’s Wife and Rock Paper Scissors. I thought both of those were really good. I haven’t read anything by Ruth Ware yet but I got my hands on Turn of the Key a few days ago. We’ll see :)

VenneD wrote: "I truly love Alice Feeney’s books—I honestly think she might be some kind of genius. Her twists always get me. For fast-paced domestic psychological thrillers, Daniel Hurst really does it for me. T..."

Both of these authors are on my TBR, but I haven't gotten to them yet.

I'm interested in how readers define 'psychological thriller'. Does it require the protagonist or antagonist to have a psychological aspect to the character or is it wrapped in the storyline...?

For me, there's always a psychological aspect to all Harlan Coben books, which invariably deal with a sudden disappearance and the motive is usually because the character that disappeared had a troubled past.

To me, a psychological thriller tends to focus on the mental and emotional state of the characters and uses suspense, paranoia, etc. rather than just physical danger to create tension.

Obsession, secrets, mind games, the characters' inner turmoil, mental pressure, etc. are often used.

My summer reading list is taking shape now. Some good suggestions here.

For me, a good psychological thriller explains how the character feels when the drama is unfolding. A good close writer will bring you inside of their thoughts and allow the reader to ride along for the decision making process, beat by beat.

Sometimes psych thrillers are difficult for me to read. If they are good or if I know what is going to happen that bothers me I experience uncomfortable feelings of anxiety. That may be the sign of a good writer😁 but I still don’t like the feeling evoked

Wendy wrote: "A Good Person
Recent 5⭐ I'm dying to talk about.

When the Wolf Comes Home
My favorite of last year. Does not get enough hype! I swear, it's not a werewolf book, j..."

J.D. Barker's one of my favourite authors and I loved She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be, even more than his 4MK series. I agree it should definitely be more popular!

When the Wolf Comes Home is on my reading list and I hope I can fit it in sometime soon!

A Good Person also sounds wicked! If you'd like to post your review here, I can add the book to the Group bookshelf. Thanks :)

@Gretchen, I don’t think psychological thrillers are for everyone, to be honest. The genre often delves quite deeply into the inner workings of a character’s mind, and that can be rather intense or even a bit triggering for some readers depending on the themes. Of course, that’s true of many genres to some extent but then again, reading is deeply subjective and everyone responds differently to certain material.

Personally, I do enjoy psychological thrillers, but even then there are some I choose to steer clear of. If I know an author tends to write particularly dark or unsettling material, I’m a bit more mindful about whether it’s something I want to engage with. At the end of the day, I think it’s simply about knowing your own comfort level as a reader and choosing stories that feel right for you. Happy Reading 💗

@ Carolyn —would you consider When the Wolf Comes Home a horror? I read the synopsis and it does sound a bit frightening, so I’m curious what you think.

VenneD wrote: "@ Carolyn —would you consider When the Wolf Comes Home a horror? I read the synopsis and it does sound a bit frightening, so I’m curious what you think."

It was nominated for the Goodreads Favorite Horror category last year and the blurb says there are 'horrifying incidents of butchery' and 'grisly events' so I'm guessing it will be pretty full on horror :)

Not sure it's for me actually, as I like my horror thrillers not too bloody, just scary!

Tim wrote: "I'm interested in how readers define 'psychological thriller'. Does it require the protagonist or antagonist to have a psychological aspect to the character or is it wrapped in the storyline...?

F..."

I see what you're saying Tim, about characters with troubled pasts but I think psychological thrillers can also start off with a normal character, leading a normal life until strange things start to happen to them, gradually raising their sense of anxiety and feelings of terror. So, I think it can be based on the situation developed by the storyline.

@Carolyn—You know, I’m not sure it’s for me either as I can handle some gore and grisly events but I can’t do creepy/scary 🫣 It might keep me up and have me not wanting to turn the lights out 🙃😂 Thank you for your input :)

Hi Carolyn and VenneD.

Reading your posts, it seems to me a psychological thriller is defined by making the reader feel uncomfortable through a stressful scenario where the protagonist(s) are terrified by an antagonist or simply the scenario itself...

I ask the question, because an author in the current publishing world does need to understand the requirements of specific genre.

Two Favourites psychological thrillers

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena sounds good, but terrifying for parents.