Who doesn’t love a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end? In 2023 we stayed up too late and were always looking over our shoulders because of these twisty tales. From literary thrillers based on famous true crime cases to slasher movies in book form down to new additions from your favorite voices, here are some of the best thrillers of 2023.

And, of course, the She Reads. audience got to nominate and vote on their favorite thriller of the year. Here is what you chose:

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

It’s been a year since FBI Agent Titus Crown returned to  Charon County to run for sheriff of his hometown run by a bigoted police force. Now, Titus is the first Black sheriff of the county. When a young Black man has been fatally shot by Titus’s deputies, Titus unearths a serial killer hiding out in the small town.

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Congrats S.A. Cosby!

Make sure you don’t miss out on some of our editors’ favorite mysteries, thrillers and suspense novels of 2023. These are stocking stuffers your loved ones won’t soon forget.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Even though a serial killer dubbed the “All-American Sex Killer” by the media is terrorizing the Pacific Northwest, a group of sorority sisters at Florida State University’s Tallahassee campus aren’t concerned for their safety. That is, until sorority president Pamela Schumacher wakes up in the middle of the night to find two of her sorority sisters dead and two others maimed. In Seattle, Tina Cannon is desperate for answers regarding the disappearance of her friend, Ruth. Convinced that the attack on the sorority house in Florida is connected to the disappearance of her friend, Tina travels to Florida in a quest for answers.

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Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

Although her father is the voice in command at Holy Fire Baptist, Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider in her hometown of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. The residents of Bottom Springs are God-fearing people haunted by the legend of the Low Man – a vampiric figure that is rumored to sneak into the bedrooms of sinners and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Ruth and her friend Everett are the only two who have the answers as to what is really happening in Bottom Springs.

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The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

It’s been a year since Lucy’s sister, Nicki, went missing and was the third woman to disappear. Angela works a thankless job in the Missing Persons Unit but is desperate to be part of the Irish police force. When the investigation into the missing women is halted, Angela takes the investigation into her own hands. Meanwhile, a man drives through the streets with a woman in his backseat and he’s prepared to tell her everything.

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The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

In 1981 Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Bret is a prep school senior who finds himself curious and infatuated with the mysterious new student, Robert Mallory. Soon, Robert is included in Bret’s circle of friends, but Robert harbors a secret. As Bret’s obsession with Robert intensifies, he also finds himself intrigued by the case of the Trawler – an active serial killer in Los Angeles. When the Trawler begins to get closer to Bret and his friends, Bret begins to wonder if the Trawler is someone in his tight-knit circle.

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On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

Arcade and Daffodil are twins who are inseparable and live in a world of their own, even though they reside in rural Ohio. As an adult, Arcade battles demons from her past when a local woman is found drowned in a river, and she’s not the only one. As more women are found, Arcade is forced to confront her past as a killer haunts the small town.

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After That Night by Karin Slaughter

Sara Linton has full control of her life and has done all she can to move on from the brutal assault that she endured fifteen years ago. While working at the ER, Sara’s past returns in a terrifying way when a young woman comes in who has been brutally attacked and GBI Special Agent Will Trent finds similarities between her case and Sara’s past.

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Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Sally Diamond caused an uproar in her small town when she incinerated her father’s dead body. With police detectives and the media at her door, Sally is forced to confront and discover some of the horrors of her early childhood. Meanwhile, a man from the other side of the world is watching Sally, calling her Mary.

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Kill For Love by Laura Picklesimer

From the outside looking in, Tiffany looks like another rich, white, blonde sorority girl. When a frat party hookup goes wrong, Tiffany finds that she’s been suppressing a desire to kill attractive young men. As Tiffany brings a reign of terror on not only Greek Row, but all of Los Angeles, she meets a handsome man named Weston and thinks he could be the perfect man for her.

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You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard

Summer and Leo are the best of friends who travel around California in Summer’s Land Cruiser. Summer is an excellent con artist who is showing Leo how to survive this lifestyle. When Leo meets the billionaire Michael Forrester, she charms him into an invitation to his private island. When Leo disappears, Summer finds herself alone for the first time in years and is on her way to Michael’s island to find out what happened to her friend.

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The Hurricane Blonde by Halley Sutton

Former child star and Hollywood royalty Salma Lowe now works as a tour guide for the Stars Six Feet Under bus tour spending her days showing tourists where actresses have died. Day in and day out, Salma is reminded of her sister Tawney’s murder. Dubbed the “Hurricane Blonde” by the media due to her off-camera behavior, Tawney’s murder has remained unsolved. During a tour, a dead body is found on the property Tawney once lived and Salma is disturbed to find the woman looks just like her sister.

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Whisper by Brian Dearborn

Madison Parker is trying to get her life back on track after a bad breakup and the death of her father. When her best friend from her hometown is brutally murdered, Madison is now forced to deal with a killer who is targeting people within her close-knit friend group. This brutal killer refuses to stop until they come face-to-face with Madison.

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