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Some people love the feeling of adrenaline during the Halloween season, the thrill of getting scared, the suspense hanging in the air. These five thriller book recommendations are guaranteed to leave you with all the thrills and chills.

For those who love scary or horror movies, especially during the Halloween season, where the jump scares fill you with an adrenaline rush, you might find yourself inclined to look into thriller or suspense books.

With thrillers, you would often go on a journey alongside the main character to solve the murder, play the detective, and gather clues. That’s what makes thrillers really suspenseful; clues and hints are dropped, wanting you to pick them up and solve it. With that being said, here is a compiled list of books that might be to your taste this Halloween season.

1) A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

“I’m not sure I’m the good girl I once thought I was. I’ve lost her along the way.”

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the first in the trilogy, where Holly Jackson intertwines the past and the present into a whirlwind novel of murder, secrets, and teamwork. The story centers around 17-year old true-crime enthusiast Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi. Five years earlier, her town became infamous for the murder of a teen girl named Andie Bell and the suspect, her boyfriend Sal Singh. But Pip isn’t sure that the facts are all there, so she decides to investigate the case for her senior capstone project.

Upon investigating the people involved in Andie’s life, she enlists the help of Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, who helps her with the investigation because he also thinks that Sal wasn’t guilty. But the further Pip and Ravi investigate into the murder, they discover secrets that Fairview wants to keep hidden. Emerging from the shadows is a killer that would do anything to keep Pip from revealing the truth.

Holly Jackson intricately crafts a world of secrets and lies that leaves you constantly wondering who the killer is. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a suspense novel that represents the journey of investigating the process of a murder case, perfect for fans interested in criminology as well as those who love a good book that will keep you on your toes.

2) The Cellar by Natasha Preston

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think he wants a family. The perfect family. He chooses girls that he thinks are perfect, like flowers.”

Natasha Preston is a reputable author for creating novels that give you chills. One of her most famous suspense novels is The Cellar. The story revolves around Summer Robinson, who had her life turned upside down when she was kidnapped by a mysterious man, named Clover, and placed in a cellar. After being renamed Lily, she discovers three other young women, Poppy, Rose, and Violet, in the same situation. Also renamed after flowers. 

Stuck inside the cellar, Lily, Poppy, Rose, and Violet are disconnected from the outside world, cut off from anything that would allow them to escape and ruin Clover’s idea of a “perfect” family. Time passes by slowly and the girls cannot decide whether they want to try escaping or give up on any hope of being rescued. With The Cellar told in three different perspectives, Summer’s, Clover’s, and Summer’s boyfriend, Lewis, Natasha Preston accurately captures the essence of a psychological thriller where the reader is constantly hoping that Lily and the girls will win the race against time and captivity, or whether they are stuck in their new life. 

Although the book tackles heavy themes, the unique storytelling provides an outlet for readers to sympathize with the characters and understand the motives behind each character. This psychological thriller messes with your head, but I promise, it is worth the read!

3) These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

“Let’s play a game. You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies. Are you ready?”

In her sophomore novel, Diana Urban puts a twisted spin on fun and games. Her story follows Crystal Donovan, an e-sports player along with her group of friends. She gets a message from an anonymous person, a message saying that her little sister was kidnapped, and to get her back, all she has to do is play a game.

At first, the game makes her complete small but bizarre tasks like stealing a test, baking brownies, and making a prank call. But soon, Crystal realizes that these menial tasks are no ordinary tasks. They are meant to hurt—possibly even kill—her friends. Crystal is left at a crossroad: continue playing these games and watch her friends die, or not do anything and watch her sister die. But time is running out and she has to decide quickly. She doesn’t know why all this is happening. Maybe someone wants to take her out of the e-sports competition she’s in. Or maybe they found a secret of hers and want to make her pay.

These Deadly Games is a novel where you can’t lose the game, because the stakes are deadly. It’s a novel with twists and turns, bringing a fresh take on thriller and suspense books. So whether you love the games, the stakes, or the turns, there are many surprises awaiting in the pages.

4) Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

“Schools may be famous for many things: academics, graduates, sports teams. They are not supposed to be famous for murders.”

Truly Devious is a murder mystery thriller that takes place in a boarding school, where everything is not as it seems. Maureen Johnson introduces readers to teen detective/true crime enthusiast Stevie Bell who is accepted into the prestigious Ellingham Academy, where students can pursue their specific interests. 

There, she meets the writer Nate, engineer Janelle, artist Ellie, YouTube actor Hayes, and programmer David. This uncanny group decides to create a show about the Ellingham murder. However, they meet an unexpected twist when a body is found dead. Stevie decides to run an investigation on this murder, finding clues that may or may not connect with the infamous murder in 1936. She finds that both murders are interwoven, and she wants to discover the details.

With flashbacks of the 1936 murder as well as the main plot line set in modern day, the story illustrates two crimes that may or may not intertwine, allowing readers to draw that red string across the board and connect the clues. 

For fans of The Breakfast Club seeking a fresh, but haunting twist on a group dynamic and a myriad of secrets, Truly Devious is a must-read. Maureen Johnson seamlessly blurs the lines between the past and the present, the good and the bad, the riddles and the answers. This unique spin will leave readers playing detective, wanting to solve the mystery with each dropped clue.

5) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is one of her best selling thriller novels, and for good reason. This murder mystery takes place on a desolate island where seven guests, a secretary, and two staff are invited by an unknown host. They dine and converse with each other until a big, booming voice finally tells them why they’re on the island. They’re all being accused of murder. 

The guests are shaken up, but soon, the number of people on the island start dwindling one by one, bodies turning up dead around every corner. The guests must figure out who is killing them before the murderer kills them first. With more and more deaths appearing, the guests start to lose all trust in each other and suspect who the murderer is, trying to connect clues together to make a plausible claim. But they all have a haunting secret that could threaten their appearance if it were ever revealed.

And Then There Were None is a chilling book that brings the board game Clue to life, its pages filled with murder, mystery, and blame. It leaves readers wondering whether the plot will live up to its title name. Agatha Christie flawlessly incorporates elements of intrigue, keeping readers hooked until the very last page.

Conclusion

For all the readers who love a burst of thrilling action, these novels are perfect for getting into the spooky season. They bring suspense to a new level, where the reader is pulled into a vast world of murder and mystery described so intricately that it almost feels real. So real that you’re anticipating that flick of the page that would reveal a plot twist that will leave you second guessing everything you thought you knew and turn it upside down, so real that it will leave you at the edge of your seat, wanting, needing to devour more of the story just to see what happens next. So, grab your next book and prepare for the thrills and chills to begin.