Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!
October is one of my favourite times of the year as it gives me an excuse to binge watch Halloween Town and The Haunted Mansion, plus I am justified when reading all of the spooky books on my shelves! As a mystery/thriller book connoisseur, I have read some fantastic spooky books over the past several years that I highly recommend checking out this month!

What mystery/thriller book recommendations list does not feature GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn?! Like thousands of other readers, Gone Girl introduced me to the mystery/thriller genre. Surprisingly, I read this book for a Grade 10 reading group selection in my english class, and I am forever grateful to my teacher for choosing this book for us! To this day, Gone Girl is one of my all-time favourite books, and I highly recommend it if you are new to the mystery/thriller genre!

The second book I have to recommend is THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides. This book is arguably one of the most hyped books of the past couple of years, and I believe the hype is definitely justified! I had this book on my shelf for almost eight months before reading it, but was so glad to have finally read it after completing it! This book is one of the best books I have ever read, especially when it comes to writing style and plot twists! So incredibly brilliant!

The third book I recommend is THE STARTER WIFE by Nina Laurin. Out of all of the books on this list, this one is definitely the least known and under-read, but arguably it is my second favourite out of the bunch! In fact, it was my top book of 2019! Truth be told, I do not remember a lot about this book presently, but hope to re-read it very soon. If you are a fan or would like to begin reading domestic thrillers, I think this one is a great starting point!

The next book I have to recommend is THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley. Out of all of the books featured, this one is the newest, as it came out this past Spring. While I would not say this is my favourite mystery/thriller book ever, I think it is a fantastic one to pick up if you are just starting to delve into this genre. It is filled with an abundance of popular mystery and thriller tropes, features an interesting cast of characters, and has a great final twist!

I do not think this list would be proper without including a Riley Sager novel! Sager is turning into one of the most popular thriller authors of this generation, and while I have only read one of his books, I am definitely interested in reading more of them! LOCK EVERY DOOR is a haunted house like story, but with some major creepy vibes and twists! I read this one last year, and I would give it the award “Most Wild Plot-Twist I’ve Ever Read”!

If you are looking for a thrilling and horrific story, I would recommend MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing. The cover depicts exactly what this book is about, so if a story about a couple that murders people for fun interests you, I’d check this one out immediately! I would This book was so eery and wild, and I loved every single page of it! Downing has just released her second novel, which I have yet to pick up, but plan on doing so very soon!

The second last book I will forever be recommending is WHAT LIES BETWEEN US by John Marrs. Marrs has quickly become one of my favourite authors of all time, as every book I have read of his has been 5-stars thus far! If you are starting with Marrs, some might encourage you to try out THE ONE, but I’d recommend this one first and save The One to read next! This book features a wild mother-daughter relationship, with a lot of drama, mystery, and suspense!

The final mystery/thriller book I would recommend to every single person on the planet is BEHIND HER EYES by Sarah Pinborough! To this day, I claim that this is my #1 favourite book of all time, and very few books come close to this one! This is the most enthralling and shocking book I have ever read, and if you have yet to try out this book, please do so immediately! I will admit that the ending is very “out there” and is very polarizing, but I would still recommend picking it up regardless!

Out of all of the mystery/thriller novels I have read in recent years, these are the very best of the best in my opinion! Have you read any of these fantastic books yet? What spooky books are you planning on reading in October?
Good Night Book Owls!