Horror and Thrillers

New and recommended scary books

Updated February 8, 2024
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Take it back
Abdullah, Kia
From author Kia Abdullah, Take It Back is a harrowing and twisting courtroom thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page is turned. One victim. Four accused. Who is telling the truth? Zara Kaleel, one of London's...
The whispers
Audrain, Ashley
"Expertly, subtly and powerfully rendered....[The Whispers] delivers a sucker-punch ending you'll have to read twice to believe."--The New York Times Book Review "[An] electrifying...razor-sharp page-turner." --Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling...
GOOD RICH PEOPLE
BRAZIER, ELIZA JANE
Lyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there is nothing worse than a...
Birnam Wood
Catton, Eleanor
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, Financial Times, Slate, The Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, The TelegraphA...
VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE
CARIAS, ISABEL
As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters - her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead....
Whisper down the lane
Chapman, Clay McLeod
"A diabolically creepy hybrid of horror and psychological suspense that thrills as much as it unsettles. You'll keep turning the pages even as your hands shake."-Riley Sager, New York Times best-selling author of Home Before Dark A pulse-pounding, true-crime-based...
DEAD OF WINTER
COATES, DARCY
USA TODAY BESTSELLER * JULY 2023 LIBRARYREADS SELECTION Eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run. When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when...
SPITE HOUSE
COMPTON, JOHNNY
A Best Horror Book of the Year (Esquire)! - A Bram Stoker Award Nominee! A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the...
SENATOR'S WIFE
CONSTANTINE, LIV
A D.C. philanthropist suspects that her seemingly perfect employee is secretly plotting to steal her husband, her reputation-even her life-in this seductive novel of psychological suspense from the internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish. "Adeadly...
The other guest
Cooper, Helen
After a shocking death at a luxurious Italian resort, two very different women must question everything--and everyone--they love in order to untangle truth from lies in this twisty, captivating read. One year ago, Leah's feisty 21-year-old niece, Amy, mysteriously drowned in the...
FERRYMAN
CRONIN, JUSTIN
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying."--STEPHEN KING   From the author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia--where...
VIOLENCE
DAWSON, DELILAH S
How far would you go to be free? Three generations of women forge a new path through an America torn by a mysterious wave of violence in this "chilling [and] dizzyingly effective" (The New York Times Book Review) novel of revenge, liberation, and triumph. "A...
BLOCK PARTY
DAY, JAMIE
Raves for the hottest thriller of 2023! "This is wicked fun." --Publishers Weekly "Absolutely amazing. Readers are going to flip!" --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of ONE STEP TOO FAR "Like a firecracker on a hot summer...
REFORMATORY
DUE, TANANARIVE
A New York Times Notable Book "You're in for a treat. The Reformatory is one of those books you can't put down. Tananarive Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens...
Shutter
Emerson, Ramona
Longlisted for the National Book Award This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico's Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation. "A haunting thriller, written with exquisite...
LEECH
ENNES, HIRON
"[Leech] is The Thing meets The Alienist . . . beautifully written and so strangely humane . . . I will follow this writer anywhere going forward." --Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl A surreal and horrifying debut, Hiron...
Our share of night : a novel
Enriquez, Mariana
"A masterpiece of supernatural horror."--The Washington Post "An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience."--The New York Times (Editors' Choice) ONE OF TIME AND THE ATLANTIC'S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR * ONE OF THE NEW...
The glassy, burning floor of hell : stories
Evenson, Brian
"Here is how monstrous humans are." A sentient, murderous prosthetic leg; shadowy creatures lurking behind a shimmering wall; brutal barrow men--of all the terrors that populate The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell, perhaps the most alarming...
Greenwich Park
Faulkner, Katherine
"A twisty, fast-paced" (The Sunday Times, London) debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets. In this "gloriously tangled...
MANHUNT
FELKER-MARTIN, GRETCHEN
"By far the best book I've read this year." --Roxane Gay #1 Best Book of 2022 (Vulture) * A Best Horror Novel of All Time (Cosmopolitan) * One of the Best Horror Novels of 2022 (Esquire, Library Journal, Paste, and CrimeReads...
What have we done
Finlay, Alex
In this "top-notch mystery thriller" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever. One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2023:* BookPage...
RED RABBIT
GRECIAN, ALEX
"Impossible to put down." --Kelly Link, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Get In Trouble A ragtag posse must hunt down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts--where death is always just around the bend--in this new supernatural horror by...
BLACK SHEEP
HARRISON, RACHEL
Nobody has a 'normal family', but Vesper Wright's is truly... something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back - mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she could never return. But then the envelope arrives on her doorstep....
STARLING HOUSE
HARROW, ALIX E
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting--plus, characters willing to risk everything." --Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club October '23 Pick)...
VILLA
HAWKINS, RACHEL
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "Hawkins weaves an engrossing tale about betrayal, sisterhood, and the power of telling your own story. Captivating!" --People "Hawkins is the reigning queen of suspense." --Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times<...
My best friend's exorcism : a novel
Hendrix, Grady.
Abby and Gretchen have been BFFs since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act...different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre...
SOULMATE
HEPWORTH, SALLY
"One of the best thrillers of the year"--The New York Times "The book is many things: a crime story, a psychological study, a blueprint for how and when to mete out information in a thriller. But most of all it is an inquiry into the mysteries of marriage and commitment, and into...
Little Secrets A Novel
Hillier, Jennifer.
National Bestseller! "Unflinching and unforgettable. Little Secrets has everything you want in a thriller" --Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every Door Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her...
BAD CREE
JOHNS, JESSICA
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...
ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE
JONES, STEPHEN GRAHAM
A National Bestseller The final installment in the most lauded trilogy in the history of horror novels picks up four years after Don't Fear the Reaper as Jade returns to Proofrock, Idaho, to build a life after the years of sacrifice--only to find the Lake Witch is...
Dead eleven : a novel
Juliano, Jimmy
"An ominously slow burn...Keep the lights on for this one."--A PEOPLE MUST-READ FOR SUMMER "Very creepy...you've been warned."--R.L. STINE "Gripping."--ANA REYES On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a...
NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH
KHAW, CASSANDRA
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER * A Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Award Finalist! * An Indie Next Pick! * An October LibraryReads Pick! * 2022 RUSA Reading List: Horror Winner! Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a...
HOLLY
KING, STEPHEN
#1 New York Times Bestseller * New York Times Notable Book * NPR Best Book of the Year Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a...
HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES
KINGFISHER, T.
A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023 A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family. "Mom seems off."<...
BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN
KNOLL, JESSICA
Don't miss this "breakneck thriller" examining "our culture's obsession with serial killers and true crime" (Harper's Bazaar) following two women on the pursuit of justice against all odds. "A fascinating look at true crime and tabloid culture that's as thoughtful as it is gripping" (...
SHE'S NOT SORRY
KUBICA, MARY
The instant New York Times bestseller that BookTok is calling "absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G" (@hollylovesbooks1519) and "impossible to put down" (@kurryreads), from the author of Local Woman Missing and Just the Nicest Couple Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has...
EVERYONE HERE IS LYING
LAPENA, SHARI
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door "The most addictive book I've read in ages--so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant." -...
LONE WOMEN
LAVALLE, VICTOR
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Blue skies, empty land--and enough wide-open space to hide a horrifying secret. A woman with a past, a mysterious trunk, a town on the edge of nowhere, and an "absorbing, powerful" (BuzzFeed) new vision of the American West, from the award-winning author of...
GOING ZERO
MCCARTEN, ANTHONY
TWO HOURS TO VANISH. ONE CHANCE TO ESCAPE. ZERO ALTERNATIVES. Ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test a ground-breaking piece of spyware. FUSION can track anyone on earth. But does it work? For one contestant, an unassuming Boston librarian named...
The housemaid
McFadden, Freida
Don't miss the New York Times and USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that's burning up Instagram and TikTok--Freida McFadden's The Housemaid is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Verity.
Our hideous progeny : a novel
McGill, C. E.
"A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue." -- Jess Kidd, author of The Night Ship "An immersive blend of historical and science fiction brims with surprises and dark delights. . . . An incisive exploration of women's rights within the field of science....
The invited : a novel
McMahon, Jennifer
A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house--they build one . . . In a quest for a simpler life,...
The maidens
Michaelides, Alex
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
QUIET TENANT
MICHALLON, CLEMENCE
NATIONAL BEST SELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR * GMA BUZZ PICK * "A bravura feat of storytelling...daring and completely satisfying." --James Patterson, #1 best-selling author A PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER NARRATED BY THOSE...
The militia house : a novel
Milas, John
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize "An extraordinary novel about the quiet and not so quiet horrors of war." --Roxane Gay Stephen King meets Tim O'Brien in John Milas's The Militia House, a spine-tingling and boldly original...
ONLY SURVIVORS
MIRANDA, MEGAN
A New York Times Bestseller A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick They were nine survivors. Now, a decade later, only seven remain...how long can they keep the promise made that night? Don't miss this "gripping thriller" (CrimeReads) from the Reese...
SILVER NITRATE
MORENO-GARCIA, SILVIA
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers. ...
DROWNING
NEWMAN, T.J.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES * "Reads like Apollo 13 underwater." --Don Winslow * "Masterful." --Patricia Cornwell * "A stunningly vivid tour de force!" Gripping. Shocking." --Brad Thor Flight...
Strange Sally Diamond
Nugent, Liz
"Shocking, disturbing, and utterly original." --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author This "haunting and poignant tale, one that won't be easy to forget any time soon" (Mystery and Suspense Magazine), follows an enigmatic woman confronting...
WE SPREAD
REID, IAIN
The author of the "evocative, spine-tingling, and razor-sharp" (Bustle) I'm Thinking of Ending Things that inspired the Netflix original movie and the "short, shocking" (The Guardian) Foe returns with a new work of suspense following an elderly woman trapped in a...
The devil's playground : a novel
Russell, Craig
A riveting 1920s Hollywood thriller about the making of the most terrifying silent film ever made, and a deadly search for the single copy rumored still to exist, from the internationally acclaimed author of The Devil Aspect. "An excellent, engrossing historical...
ONLY ONE LEFT
SAGER, RILEY
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Named a summer book to watch by The Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, Oprah, Paste, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Nerd Daily "Propulsive ... a dizzying Gothic whodunit." --...
Loyalty
Scottoline, Lisa
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline presents Loyalty, an emotional, action-packed epic of love and justice, set during the rise of the Mafia in Sicily. Loyalty can save a soul--or destroy one.     Franco Fiorvanti is a handsome...
VIOLIN CONSPIRACY
SLOCUMB, BRENDAN
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! * Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise--undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world--when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather's heirloom violin...
Last to leave the room : a novel
Starling, Caitlin
Last to Leave the Room is a new novel of genre-busting speculative horror from Caitlin Starling, the acclaimed author of The Death of Jane Lawrence. The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research...
The resting place
Sten, Camilla
One of Goodreads Most Popular Horror of 2022 "Engrossing, character-rich, powerful. Sten is on a roll."--Publishers Weekly(starred review) Crimson Peak meets The Sanatorium in The Resting Place, a heart-thumping,...
The kind worth saving : a novel
Swanson, Peter
"The inventive Mr. Swanson never lets the willing reader down. With The Kind Worth Saving, he surpasses his own high standard." -- Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal In this spectacularly devious novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson, a private...
LUTE
THORNE, JENNIFER MARIE
Wicker Man meets Final Destination in Jennifer Thorne's atmospheric, unsettling folk horror novel about love, duty, and community. On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less. Lute and its inhabitants are...
BEAST YOU ARE: STORIES
TREMBLAY, PAUL
A haunting collection of short fiction from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Cabin at the End of the World. Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push...
Delicate condition
Valentine, Danielle
Hush little baby, don't say a word... A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK! As seen in People, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Shondaland, Goodreads, and more! ...Mama's going to show you the horrors she's endured. Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family....
The cherry robbers
Walker, Sarai
"Sarai Walker has done it again. With The Cherry Robbers she upends the Gothic ghost story with a fiery feminist zeal." --Maria Semple The highly anticipated second novel from Sarai Walker, following her "slyly subversive" (EW) cult-hit Dietland--a feminist gothic about the lone...
Looking glass sound
Ward, Catriona
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER * A Best Book of 2023(Vulture) * A Best Horror Book of All Time (Cosmopolitan) * A Best Horror Book of 2023 (Esquire) * An Indie Next Pick * A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick! The author of...
BLACK RIVER ORCHARD
WENDIG, CHUCK
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A small town is transformed when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents. "This masterful outing should continue to earn Wendig comparisons to...
Mister Magic : a novel
White, Kiersten
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show--and discover the secret of its enigmatic host--in this "skin-crawling story of pop culture fandom and '90s nostalgia" (Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Woods) from...
WHERE THE DEAD WAIT
WILKES, ALLY
"Haunting...Ominous." --The New York Times Book Review A "wonderfully chilling" (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author) polar gothic about a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate-and redemption-from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of...
ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS
WILLINGHAM, STACY
Following up her instant New York Times bestseller, A Flicker in the Dark, Stacy Willingham delivers a totally gripping thriller about a desperate mother with a troubled past in All the Dangerous Things. One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever:...

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