Crime fiction has so many subgenres that are perfect for all of your twisted tale needs. From domestic suspense to police procedural to psychological thriller—or even my personal favorite, serial killer thrillers. There’s something addictive about a boogeyman haunting the characters you’ve just met, the red herrings; the different directions an author can take their reader on with the twists and turns of this kind of story, and the details that go into building such a petrifying villain.

Don’t miss these 16 classic thrillers for suspense junkies>>

Find Her by Lisa Gardner

In one of the most jaw-dropping reads I’ve read, Find Her by Lisa Gardner takes the trope of a deranged truck driver serial killer and turns it into a poignant and sinister story of survival. Flora Dane was kidnapped seven years ago on spring break and spent 472 days with her captor, enduring the most brutal psychological and physical torture. Since her return to her normal life, she’s spent five years trying to go back to her normal life. That is, until detective D.D. Warren is called to a crime scene involving a dead man and Flora, the woman who killed him. When Flora is connected to three other victims, D.D. must investigate if Flora is a vigilante or just has a string of bad luck. That is, until Flora disappears and D.D. begins to wonder if the hunter had become the hunted.

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How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson

An author is being hunted by a Scotland Yard detective for writing a self-help book about how to get away with murder that has inspired a recent murder in London. Since suffering a breakdown at work six months ago, detective Samantha Hansen has been on leave, but after a fourteen-year-old girl is found murdered, Sam wants to return to her job. The young victim had the self help book about getting away with murder by a man called Denver Brady in her backpack. In his book, Brady raves about being a successful serial killer, detailing his victims and how he got away with it. As Sam investigates him, she realizes there is more to Brady than what he has revealed, but she must learn what is truth or lies to make sure that no one really gets away with murder. 

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What You Don’t Know by JoAnn Chaney

Chaney’s novel What You Don’t Know has haunted me since 2017 when she introduced me to one of the most chill-inducing serial killers I’ve ever read about in a tale of the trauma people affected by a serial killer endure when they aren’t his victims. What You Don’t Know gives its brave readers a look at the lives of three people whose lives intersect and will never be the same. Hoskins was the lead detective who solved the case of an infamous serial killer. Now, he works cold cases and his career is plummeting. Sammie was the lead reporter who broke the story. Now, she sells makeup at the local mall and fears she will never report again. Gloria was the killer’s innocent and unsuspecting wife. All three are in for a rude awakening as they relive the nightmare all over again as new murders begin to taunt Denver.

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The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley barely knew each other on May 1, 1992, but that changes when Jules survives a horrific attack from the May Day Killer who appears every May 1st and disappears just as quickly. Quinn spent that night in jail after breaking up a fight and nearly killing someone, and by morning their lives are connected. The next May, Jules is struggling with the trauma and tormented by the fact that she was spared, while Quinn learns of his mother’s unsolved murder shortly after being released from juvenile detention. Over the next ten years, the pair draw closer together as secrets and lies rise to the surface. Though neither of them have the answers that they want. Who killed Quinn’s mom and what happened that night that Jules was attacked? Most of all, where is the May Day Killer and what is he going to do next May 1st?

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These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall

Weaving a current timeline with pieces of a digital scrapbook and a plethora of lifelike characters with a relentless pacing, These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall was one of the hardest books to put down….so I didn’t. Mickie Lambert creates digital scrapbooks for her clients of their most precious memories. When a curio shop owner and Mickie’s latest client dies unexpectedly, Mickie vows to finish the scrapbook in her honor. As Mickie begins to get further into the project, she starts to receive threatening messages from a dormant serial killer and feels like she’s being watched. As a result, when Mickie dives further into her client’s ominous past, Mickie’s life spirals into a dangerous web of cat and mouse.

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Secrets From A Serial Killer by J.C. Moore

The small town of Shadow Bay was thought to be quiet until young women begin to disappear and their bodies are found stitched with red thread. The Chief of Police, Shauna Peterson, is horrified knowing a methodical, patient, and attentive killer is out there terrorizing her town. Shauna’s role in the investigation is being threatened by the state, but the more she uncovers, the more she realizes the murderer is hiding in plain sight. She will come to find out that the most dangerous truth is inside her own home. Emma, her daughter, is putting herself in danger with her secrets. 

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Check out these books perfect for fans of Rachel Howzell Hall>>

The Black Orchid by Loreth Ann White

As the luxurious Black Orchid is about to set sail on its maiden voyage, nine elite passengers board, by invite only, but not all of them will survive sailing the Aegean Sea. Personal assistant to Lillith McGregor, the war photographer, Poppy Buchanan sees this cruise as a way to edge her way into her boss’ will. Unfortunately, their company also includes Lillith’s disinherited stepson, his relentless fiancée, a mysterious and dangerous Israeli businessman, a Dutch antiquities dealer with both charm and a secret agenda, and a retired FBI profiler on the hunt for a serial killer aboard the ship. The passengers’ pasts will collide during a calamitous storm,  bringing secrets to the surface and wiping away their masks. Confrontations between guests will cause a chain of events leading to a devastating maritime tragedy, but it was no accident. 

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Don’t miss these thrillers perfect for fans of true crime>>

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

If you’re looking for a perfectly written thriller that includes beautiful prose, a dark plot, and vivid characters—you need Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen. There are the bodies of Jane Does hidden in the marsh behind a motel and only one person knows where they lay. When a teenage boardwalk psychic named Clara meets a New York transplant named Lily working at the casino spa, Clara enlists Lily’s help with the disturbing visions she’s been having. As the visions continue and women continue to go missing in Atlantic City, Clara and Lily walk the fine line of coming close to finding out who is responsible—and coming dangerously close to being next.

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The Last to Drown by Noelle W. Ihli

Kaia’s rafting trip was meant to be an adventure but it is starting to feel like a mistake. Between twenty strangers, no way out, and whispers about Camas Creek, she is apprehensive. Seven years previously, a guide murdered their group of rafters on the same river. Though the killer’s body was found, the true-crime community has remained suspicious. Kaia, herself, is beginning to question the true story when a raft flips, supplies go missing, and she hears screaming in the night. As the pattern becomes familiar and civilization is eighty-four miles away, Kaia’s adventure is turning dangerous. She thinks one of the guides is lying, another guest knows more than she is letting on, and someone is lurking on the river.

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Here’s our favorite domestic suspense novels>>

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

If you’re looking for a story that will stick with you long after the final page, A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham is one that is well worth every penny. Chloe Davis was just twelve years old when her father confessed to being responsible for the disappearances of six teenage girls and was then sentenced to life in prison. Twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist who is trying to live as normal of a life as possible until local teenagers begin to disappear, and the memories of her past come flooding back. Is this the work of a copycat killer or was her father really innocent the whole time?

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The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Looking to try Nordic Noir for the first time? The Snowman is a great place to start with this serial killer chiller full of mystery, atmosphere, and creepy scenes. In Oslo during the first snowfall of the year, a young boy wakes up to find his mother has disappeared and a snowman is in his yard wearing her scarf. Detective Harry Hole is working the case and realizes that this isn’t the first woman to go missing during the first snowfall. After receiving an ominous letter, Harry finds that there could be a link between the notes he has been receiving and the missing women pointing that he may be the biggest clue to solving these crimes.

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The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup

Nordic Noir meets a cinematic and terrifying tale that combines a cold case with present-time murders. Two detectives are hunting down a serial killer in Copenhagen who has been leaving a doll made of chestnuts and matchsticks at each crime scene. During their investigation, the detectives find that one of the chestnuts has a fingerprint belonging to a young girl who had vanished and was presumed murdered a year ago. The detectives begin to question if the man behind bars is guilty or if an accomplice has been loose this entire time.

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Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

Cold cases and podcast elements intertwine in the immersive Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke. Elle Castillo is a trained social worker who hosts a true crime podcast that involves cold cases of missing and abducted children. Elle finally feels like she’s ready to take on the case of The Countdown Killer, someone who kidnapped and murdered three girls over seven days and mysteriously vanished after taking his eleven-year-old victim twenty years ago. When Elle finds a dead body after investigating a tip and another child is abducted, Elle wonders if The Countdown Killer is back or a copycat killer has emerged.

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The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

While you may recognize this name as the co-host of the true crime podcast, Morbid, now she’s an author of one of the creepiest tales that takes place in the Louisiana bayou. A killer is taunting the police and hunting his victims in Louisiana. Forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is using her knowledge of historical crimes to find this madman who is performing medical experiments on his victims and finds herself in a cat-and-mouse game that is so deadly, she wonders if she could be next.

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The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson

If you love British crime procedurals like Luther, this dark and immersive story is the one for you. Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley has just reported to a crime scene in which different body parts from two different victims have been found. This reminds Anjelica of crimes committed by the Jigsaw Killer, Peter Olivier, who has been in prison for the last two years. While Anjelica hunts for what she believes is a copycat killer, Peter finds out someone is copying his crimes and wants revenge. From here, it’s a race to see who gets to the killer first, Peter or Anjelica.

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These Women by Ivy Pochoda

If you want more “true to life” aspects in your serial killer stories with the same amount of chills, check out These Women by Ivy Pochoda. Loosely based off a real serial killer, Pochoda’s story focuses on a group of narrators including a grieving mother and a vice cop who give the reader a story about south Los Angeles and the murders that plagued this area. The murders of these women weren’t taken seriously and put the blame on the victims for living “at risk” lifestyles in a tale about a serial killer along with aspects of female empowerment and social injustice.

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Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

If you want something that’s more psychologically scary with a realistic and poignant approach to its story, check out Notes on an Execution. Danya Kukafka gives an odyssey of a novel in which serial killer Ansel Packer has already been caught and is awaiting execution. Through the eyes of Ansel awaiting his execution and the women in his life that have been affected by the murders he committed, you truly get a full honest portrayal of how harrowing these crimes can be through perspectives of Ansel’s mother, his wife’s twin sister, and the detective who hunted him down in a story that is so engrossing, it’s hard to believe it’s fiction.

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The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

If a serial killer thriller reminds you of the final girls in some of your favorite horror movies such as Friday the 13th, Scream, and Nightmare on Elm Street, then you’ll want this one on your TBR ASAP! So, the movie is over, the final girl survivor is left standing and the credits roll. What next? Hendrix’s The Final Girl Support Group dives in deep into the psyche of a group of women who have all survived massacres and are in a support group. Lynnette Tarkington has been meeting with these women who have all struggled to get their lives back on track after surviving brutal attacks and dealing with decades of trauma. When one of the other “final girls” goes missing from the group, Lynette and the other women wonder if someone is hunting down members of their group.

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