It’s officially summer, but you’ve found yourself in a bit of a slump with very little to do but sit at home and watch the clock as the second’s tick by. Maybe you’re looking for an adventure you can go on without having to leave the couch. One great way to pass the time and go on that adventure is through thriller books, and they are in no short supply. When you’re looking for something exciting to read, here’s a list of 15 of the best thriller books to get you started over the summer.
Jo Chastain is a 16-year old con artist, and she’s about to embark on her biggest con yet: impersonating a missing girl named Vivienne. She’s welcomed back with open arms by the missing girl’s family, but all is not what it seems to be within the girl’s household. Hidden crime, deception, and unknowable danger all await! If you are going to read any of these best thriller books, read this one.
A secretive and mysterious young woman named Blake lives atop a cliff in a vast, otherwise uninhabited mansion. Hidden, concealed, within the mansion is a panic room, a type of vault that is steel-lined and concealed from within; not even Blake knows it exists. Soon, her mansion is invaded by people looking for answers about the original owner of the house and his vast fortune, and they’re about to ask Blake questions she can’t- or won’t- answer.
William Mackler comes into possession of Autonomous, a self-driving, seemingly sentient car that knows where you want to go before even you do. But that’s not all it knows. It can download an entire digital history of every passenger inside, and it can expose some of their worst secrets and inner demons.
Her first love was Spence, and even though they were complete opposites, they collided in the most brilliant love imaginable. Then, they split in the most devastating way. She lived for two years without him; she was fine, but then she was kidnapped. Spence may be her only hope of returning alive.
Manhattanite Will Dando wakes up from a dream one morning with 108 predictions about the future in his mind. Quicker than he could’ve ever dreamed, he finds himself becoming the most powerful man in the world. With great power, however, comes powerful enemies, and he begins the struggle to evade, survive, and save the world.
The life Leah knew ended the day she was taken, and that was ten years ago. Now she only has vestiges of memories from a time she was happy with her family and not in a world of abuse and darkness. The only distinct memories she retains are those of her twin sister, Mia. That’s the only light she has left to cling to and encourage her to escape.
Martin Reese has a rather… unique hobby: he digs up murder victims. How? He buys stolen police files, studies the cases, and uses them to find and dig up missing bodies- all while taunting the police about their inadequate work. There’s one cop who finds this very suspicious and thinks he may be the one leaving the bodies behind. Then, there’s the killer who isn’t happy about his work being undone. With a cop and a killer on his trail, he has to try and escape while keeping his family safe.
Carrie and Ethan were best friends and each other’s strongest supporters after their similar monstrous childhoods, but Ethan was also fixated on and obsessed with Carrie. After Carrie dies, Ethan is almost destroyed by the secrets revealed in her wake. But then something he never thought possible happens. Carrie returns, and he’s not going to let her get away from him this time.
Jim, Fat Bobby, Tara, and the narrator were only 13 when it happened. They were playing in the woods when they discovered a crashed, burned-out car with a body in the trunk. Then, the mysterious “Collector” arrived, knowing the kids had found his secret. Nothing was ever the same for them… The best thriller books will keep you on the edge of your seat all summer.
Rain is a young woman trying to rebuild herself. At sixteen, she gave away her baby after the father and her first love died in Iraq. When she borrows a pair of old reading glasses from a woman on a train, she notices the lenses are cracked all the way across. Along the crack, she catches a glimpse of a young boy running and screaming, and he looks so much like her dead lover and like her son might look now. When she realizes what this means, Rain sets off on a quest to find her lost son at all costs, but she truly doesn’t know what she’s getting into.
Harley is the only child of the most notorious criminal in the north, and she’s been working for him ever since she was sixteen. When another criminal powerhouse poses competition for her dad and his cohorts, she gets involved in a bloody turf war. Fearing either death or victory, meaning she may be deemed the next head of the clan, she realizes that the dark world her father built for her will destroy her life. But how can she get out of something as sinister as this?
Lou ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes because he had convinced her that he was the love of her life. When she realized things weren’t what they seemed, Mike left Lou’s life in pieces. Now Lou is 32 and hears of Mike’s involvement with another teen, Chloe, and endeavors to save her from the harm that she faced herself all those years ago. But Mike is the worst kind of predator, and it’s clear that she could get caught up in his trap again.
Austin is new to town, and she’s running from her mother. She’s almost free… then she meets him. Cole Reynolds is the devil dressed as a man, and he has his sights on Austin. He wants her fear, blood, and her soul. She has to prove that she can play his game better than he can or she’ll lose herself in the process.
Carol Evers has died many times, but none of these deaths is final. They are comas, almost indistinguishable from death, and each last for days on end. Only two people know of her condition. One of them is her deceitful husband Dwight, who only married her for her fortune and plans to claim it by pronouncing her dead and quickly burying her. Carol must fight to free herself from the darkness and decide her fate. But how can she do that when everything, even her own body, is against her? These truly are the best thriller books to read this summer.
Elizabeth had a perfectly normal and happy life. That is until the texts started coming in. They always began the same way, with numbers that spelled her name upside-down: 31773. They won’t tell her who they are. It seems they want to play games, and if she wants to stay safe and figure out who they are, she’ll have to play by their rules.
If you read any one of these novels, you’ll surely be taken on a thrilling adventure that you won’t soon forget. For curing the book hangover you’ll have afterward, there are 14 more best thriller books you can work your way through! Happy reading!
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