It's offically spooky season and this week's prompt for Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie - so keep reading for my list of ten thrillers that will steal your sleep and keep you turning to the next page!

10 Thrillers to Keep You Up At Night

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris 

"Hannibal Lecter. The ultimate villain of modern fiction. Read the five-million-copy bestseller that scared the world silent. The Silence of the Lambs. A young FBI trainee. An evil genius locked away for unspeakable crimes. A plunge into the darkest chambers of a psychopath's mind--in the deadly search for a serial killer."

This psychological thriller is totally at the top of my TBR list for creepy thrillers I need to read this year. I have seen the film adaptation of this one, and if you haven't, you really should. But maybe read the book first? This one will keep you up at night, for all the reasons! The twists and turns and characters are so great in the movie, that I feel super confident that they are even better in the original novel. And I love seeing how the original is different than the adaptation.

2. Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

"Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom."

This one has such good ratings and reviews on Goodreads, that it really caught my eye. It's been on my TBR list for a while and has been shuffled to the bottom too many times. With over 4 stars and 100,000 ratings, this is definitely a popular and well-loved read. And it's part of a series, so if you end up loving it, then it's the gift that keeps on giving.

3. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

"Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word."

I have mixed feelings about this book. Reading "The Silent Patient" was the best and the worst of times and I am still slightly frustrated thinking about it and its notoriously twisty ending. But at the end of the day, I did give this book four stars, and if you love thrillers and haven't read this one yet, you should definitely pick it up.

4. Long Bright River by Liz Moore

"In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late."

This 2020 release is a huge hit in the thriller world. I'm drawn to this book because it seems like the perfect mix of a thriller but also family relationships to keep me reading for the suspense of it all and also invested in the characters, too.

5. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

"Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows. Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie."

This book kept me up so, so late. "Behind Closed Doors" was one of those keep me up super late books because as I read it would give me chills and I just could not turn my brain off about everything that happened. It was eerie and twisty in the best ways and I definitely recommend this one. It isn't Shakespeare, so set your expectations going in, but it is such an amazingly twisted adventure!

6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

"Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train..."

How have I not read this yet? But I haven't. I also haven't seen the movie which seems especially unfortunate because Emily Blunt is just amazing. I have this one on my bookshelf and I think this fall will finally be the year I pick it up! Comment below with the book that you can't believe you haven't read even though it is totally up your reading alley!

7. It Ends With Her by Brianna Labuskes

"FBI special agent Clarke Sinclair doesn’t give up easily. She’s spent years tracking serial killer Simon Cross, forced to follow his twisted clues and photographs across the country. Clarke knows that Cross selects only redheaded women and that he doesn’t target another victim until Clarke discovers the previous one. He’s never broken pattern…until now. A girl has already gone missing in upstate New York when a second one is kidnapped—a blonde. The killer’s MO has changed, sending Clarke back to the drawing board. The closer she gets to the truth, the deeper she’s drawn into an inescapable trap made just for Clarke. Whatever Cross’s ultimate game is, it ends with her."

This one strikes me as having some 'Silence of the Lambs" vibes. It follows a female FBI agent, hunting down a killer who knows she is out to catch them. Definitely a reliable premise and a book worth checking out!

8. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

"Christine wakes up every morning in an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar man. She looks in the mirror and sees an unfamiliar, middle-aged face. And every morning, the man she has woken up with must explain that he is Ben, he is her husband, she is forty-seven years old, and a terrible accident two decades earlier decimated her ability to form new memories. Every day, Christine must begin again the reconstruction of her past. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more unbelievable it seems."

This book is super popular, but I hadn't heard of it before doing some research for this blog post. I love stumbling on new to me, well loved books! "Before I Go to Sleep" plays with memory loss which is always a fun psychological thriller trope.

9. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing 

"A couple's fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting... Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder."

I have seen this book everywhere and I'm hoping it lives up to the hype! It sounds like it follows a husband and wife murder duo. Definitely not your average psychological thriller set up, and in a genre that can get a little repetitive, this one sounds like a welcome change.

10. The Guest List by Lucy Foley

"The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body. On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?"

The highlighter yellow font on the cover of this one always catches my eye in the bookstore and on #bookstagram . This one is set at a wedding - another unusual set up! It almost sounds like a game of Clue meets My Best Friends Wedding. 

Spooky! Comment down below with your thoughts on my thriller picks and don't forget to add a book that kept you up at night. And as always, thanks for reading, readers! ❤