While most psychological suspense novels have a crime or a
mystery as the plot, they also mix in an element of horror. You’re not quite sure who is insane and who
just has major psychological issues. I
have read some really good psychological suspense novels lately that really
make you question not only the characters sanity but how reliable is the
narrator. So if you’re looking for mystery
or crime novels that can give you a little scare or make you uneasy, try some
of these.
What a rollercoaster ride!
If you like dark twisted stories that seem torn from the headlines then
try the new novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. To the outside world, Nick and Amy seem like
they have the perfect marriage until Amy disappears on their 5th
anniversary, and there are obvious signs of a struggle. Like a Lifetime movie, Nick and Amy’s
marriage is far from perfect with secrets and well-hidden obsessions. Nick’s creepy smile, odd behavior, and lies
make him the perfect suspect. In he-said,
she-said fashion, the novel alternates from Nick’s point of view to Amy’s
disturbing diary. Flynn’s writing will
keep you hooked as the plot twists and turns into to an ever tightening spiral
of heart-pounding suspense until the final creepy ending. As the reader knows what happened halfway
through the book, Flynn’s novel is less about solving the crime; it is about
the dark paths that love, obsession, and marriage can take.
Another good book about a twisted relationship is HeartSick
by Chelsea Cain. Five years ago, Detective Archie Sheridan was kidnapped,
tortured, and then released by beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Gretchen turns herself in and continues to
psychologically torture Archie by slowly releasing names and burial places of
her victims if only Archie visits her every week in prison. Now addicted to painkillers, divorced, and
haunted by his unwilling attraction to Gretchen, Archie is called upon once
more when another monster starts killing young teenage girls. A reporter, Susan Ward, is allowed to profile
Archie as he tries to catch this new serial killer. Gretchen, however, is never far from the
story, and a deadly game begins with Gretchen pulling the strings. A thrilling start to the Gretchen and Archie
series with enough twists and turns to make this a really “sick” book.
In a small village in Ireland, 3 children go missing; only 1
is found, gripping a tree in terror, covered in blood, and he has no memory of
what happened to him. This is how In the Woods by Tana French begins.
Now that found child, Rob Ryan, has grown up and is a detective on
Dublin’s Murder Squad, still with no memory of the traumatic events of that
long ago day. Rob and his partner,
Cassie Maddox, catch a case that hurls him right back to that small village as
a 12 year old girl is found murdered and placed on a stone altar. The case has strange and chilling ties to the
older case, and Rob is hiding his connection to the older case from his bosses
and the town. Part psychological
thriller and part police procedure, the books pacing and tone allow the reader
to feel Rob’s and Cassie’s emotions as their lives come off the rails.
Other recommended psychological suspense
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Likeness by Tana French
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain
The Breaker by Minette Walters
Die for You by Lisa Unger
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