Did Gone Girl’s roller coaster ride give you heart palpitations? I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, thanks to Gillian Flynn’s plot twists. I was the first of my friends to read it and hated waiting for everyone to catch up so I could talk about it. I mean, I felt like I needed a therapy session just so I could unwind after reading it. I also went on a mission to find more thrillers that delivered the same kind of adrenaline rush. These page turners were just the ticket.
Liked Gone Girl? Read These Thrillers Next
Sharp Objects
Immediately after I got over the shock of Gone Girl, I picked up Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects . With a stay at the psych ward still fresh in her mind, reporter Camille is sent to her former hometown to cover the gruesome murders of two young girls. Returning home forces Camille to reconnect with her estranged mother and half-sister. After digging deeper Camille is convinced that her family must be involved. Can she discover the killer before it’s too late?
Photo: Crown Publishing
Shining Girls
A serial killer is loose in Chicago, but the police cannot track Harper because he’s found a house that allows him to time travel. Each of his victims have a light that shines with so much potential that he’s compelled to travel through time to kill them. Kirby almost became his victim in 1989 but survived, unbeknownst to Harper. During her college internship at a local newspaper, Kirby discovers that a victim was attacked in the same manner she was and becomes determined to find her attacker in Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.
Photo: Mulholland Books
Room
Told from the perspective of 5-year-old Jack, Room by Emma Donoghue is the terrifying story of a boy and his mother imprisoned in a room 11x11 feet. It is the only home Jack has ever known; he’s never been outside. He’s learned to hide in the wardrobe when his mother’s kidnapper Old Nick comes for his nightly “visits.” Room will leave you shocked and breathless as the truth about Jack and his mother emerges. You definitely want to read this book before the movie hits theatres.
Photo: Little, Brown and Company
I Am Pilgrim
His code name is Pilgrim, and he’s the best federal agent that never existed. Called out of retirement by the president, Pilgrim attempts to chase down bioterrorist Saracen before he infects the United States with a super virus. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes is full of twists and turns. Hayes has created an in-depth thriller that will keep you on your toes. I had a hard time putting down this novel and you will too.
Photo: Atria Books
After I’m Gone
Retired Detective Sanchez digs up an infamous cold case: the disappearance and murder of Julie, mistress to Felix, a convicted felon that went on the lam in 1976. Felix left more than just his mistress. He also abandoned his wife Bambi and his three daughters, leaving them with nothing. Twenty-six years later, the mistress’s body turns up, and Sandy discovers an extremely tangled web of lies. Alternating between the past and present, After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman is loosely based on a true story.
Photo: William Morrow
Mother, Mother
Every mother is controlling in one way or another, but Josephine in Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas maintains a tight grip on to create the illusion of the perfect family. Her beautiful, smart older daughter goes missing, and the family begins to fall apart in this psychological thriller. Can younger daughter Violet, who has turned to drugs and anorexia, find the truth about her sister before their mother rids the family of imperfections?
Photo: Crown Publishing
The Forgotten Girl
The Forgotten Girl by Jessica Sorensen is next on my stack of thrillers. After a tragic accident left 15-year-old Maddie with amnesia, she’s struggling to remember who she was. Now 21-years-old, Maddie attempts to contain her dark thoughts and show only her good side. The problem: She’s having blackouts. Each time she wakes from one of her blackouts, she’s near a murder scene with no memory of what has happened. Is she losing control of herself? Is her bad side turning her into a serial killer?
Photo: CreateSpace Independent Publishing