There’s a very specific kind of book I always seem to gravitate toward no matter how much I tell myself I’m going to read something lighter next: thrillers, mysteries, missing person cases, unreliable narrators, suspicious small towns, women hiding secrets, and books that make me say “just one more chapter” at 1 a.m.
This post is a compilation of three different book recommendation videos I shared on YouTube, all combined into one giant list of recent reads. Some of these books became favorites, some completely surprised me, and a couple honestly disappointed me a little. But as always, I wanted to share my real thoughts because if there’s one thing I take seriously, it’s book recommendations.
If you want to watch the full video version with all my rambling thoughts in real time, you can do that here:
Verity by Colleen Hoover
I finally read Verity after seeing people online obsess over the ending for years, and somehow it still managed to surprise me. The story follows Lowen, a struggling writer hired to finish a bestselling series after its author, Verity Crawford, becomes incapacitated. But while staying in the family’s house, she discovers a disturbing unpublished manuscript that changes everything.
What I loved most about this book was the atmosphere. It feels uncomfortable and tense from the very beginning, and I absolutely love thrillers that leave you questioning what was actually true after you finish the final page. If you usually read romance but want to try something darker, this is such an addictive place to start.
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
This book starts with a horrifying attack at a Blockbuster on New Year’s Eve in 1999 and then jumps fifteen years later when a similar crime happens again in the same town. Immediately, I was hooked.
I read a lot of thrillers, so unfortunately I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing endings early, but this one genuinely surprised me. I also loved the nostalgic late-90s setting because it made the story feel very cinematic. Definitely one of those books that feels like it was written to become a Netflix series eventually.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
This was such a fun YA thriller. The story follows Pip, a high school student investigating a supposedly solved murder case for a school project because she doesn’t believe the accused killer was actually guilty.
I think what makes this book work so well is the combination of true crime energy, small-town secrets, and a genuinely likable main character. It reminded me a little of the books I used to obsess over as a teenager, but in a more modern podcast-and-internet kind of way. Out of the entire trilogy, this first book was definitely my favorite.
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
The second book follows Pip after she’s become somewhat famous for solving the original case and launching a true crime podcast. When one of her friends disappears, she gets pulled into another investigation despite desperately wanting to stay out of detective work.
I still enjoyed this sequel because I liked seeing Pip deal with the consequences of the first book and the pressure of suddenly becoming known online. I don’t think it was quite as strong as the first installment, but if you enjoy the characters, it’s definitely worth continuing the series.
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
This was unfortunately my least favorite book in the trilogy. By this point, the story becomes much darker and more extreme, and personally it stopped feeling believable for me.
I know a lot of readers loved this final installment, but I found myself getting frustrated with some of the characters’ decisions and struggling to stay connected to the story. Still, I’m glad I finished the series because I genuinely loved the first book, and I would absolutely read more from Holly Jackson in the future.
Around this point, I was clearly deep in my thriller era because almost everything I picked up involved murder, disappearances, or deeply suspicious people.
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
This book genuinely shocked me. The story revolves around multiple women disappearing from the same town, including a mother and her young daughter. Then, eleven years later, the missing daughter suddenly reappears.
I don’t want to spoil anything because the reveals are really what make this book work, but wow. The twists in this one were dark. Like genuinely disturbing at times. It’s the kind of thriller that gets more unsettling the closer you get to the ending, and I could not stop turning pages.
The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
After so many thrillers, this book completely emotionally destroyed me in a totally different way.
The story follows Lenni, a seventeen-year-old terminal patient, and Margot, an eighty-three-year-old woman she meets in a hospital art class. Together, they decide to create one hundred paintings representing the combined years of their lives.
This book is heartbreaking from the very beginning because you already know how it’s going to end, but somehow it still feels warm and hopeful. I cried multiple times reading this, so consider yourself warned.
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to read a book set during the early days of COVID because it still felt emotionally fresh at the time, especially living in New York during that period. But I ended up really enjoying this one.
The story follows Diana, a woman whose entire life is carefully planned, as she gets stranded in the Galápagos Islands just as the world starts shutting down in March 2020. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say this book takes a turn I genuinely did not see coming.
I also loved how vividly the island setting was described. It made me want to immediately book a trip somewhere warm and disconnected from reality.
The Maid by Nita Prose
This was one of those books where I liked the concept more than the actual reading experience.
The story follows Molly, a hotel maid who struggles socially and becomes involved in a murder investigation after discovering a wealthy guest dead in his room. I understand why so many readers connected with this book, but personally I had a difficult time emotionally connecting with the main character, which made the pacing feel very slow for me.
That being said, if you enjoy character-driven mysteries and quieter stories, I can absolutely see why this became such a popular read.
The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark
This ended up being one of my favorite surprises out of all these books.
The story alternates between two women: one a con artist constantly reinventing herself, the other a journalist determined to expose her after their lives became connected years earlier. I loved the tension between them because neither character is fully trustworthy.
It also felt refreshing to read a thriller centered around complicated, ambitious, morally messy women in a way that’s usually reserved for male characters. I finished this one immediately wanting to read more from Julie Clark.
By the third video in this compilation, I noticed I was gravitating toward slightly darker and more atmospheric thrillers, which honestly feels very on brand for me.
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
This book follows Shea, a woman who runs a true crime blog and becomes obsessed with interviewing Beth Greer, a wealthy woman connected to unsolved murders from the 1970s.
I loved the creepy atmosphere and the cold case angle of the story, but the supernatural elements didn’t fully work for me personally by the end. Still, if you enjoy mysteries with paranormal twists and a very eerie vibe, I think you’d probably have a great time with this one.
The Club by Ellery Lloyd
This felt like celebrity gossip, luxury influencer culture, and a locked-room mystery all mixed together.
The story takes place during the opening weekend of an ultra-exclusive private members club on a remote island, where obviously things start going very wrong very quickly. I love books where glamorous settings slowly become unsettling, and this one definitely delivers that energy.
Also, this would make such a good streaming series adaptation.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
I went into this expecting another classic Lucy Foley mystery, but it actually surprised me in a really good way.
The story follows Jess, who arrives in Paris to stay with her brother only to discover he has disappeared. The apartment building where he lives is filled with deeply suspicious neighbors, and the entire atmosphere feels claustrophobic and tense from the start.
I also think this is one of Lucy Foley’s most mature books emotionally. It still has the suspense and twists she’s known for, but it felt more layered than some of her earlier work.
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
This book had one of my favorite concepts from this entire list.
The story follows a group of Chinese American college students recruited to steal Chinese artifacts that were looted centuries ago and are now displayed in museums around the world. It has a little bit of an Ocean’s Eleven feel to it, but mixed with conversations about identity, immigration, art, and cultural ownership.
I don’t think the ending fully landed for me personally, but the premise itself was incredibly interesting and very different from most thrillers I usually read.
The Couple at Number Nine by Claire Douglas
This was probably my favorite book out of the final group of recommendations.
The story begins when a couple renovating their new home discovers human remains buried in their backyard, which honestly is already enough to completely hook me into a thriller. From there, the story moves between past and present timelines as family secrets slowly start coming to light.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it genuinely surprised me, which almost never happens anymore after reading so many thrillers. Definitely one of those books that keeps you saying “one more chapter” until suddenly it’s 2 a.m.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at all fifteen books together, I think the common thread between almost all of them is secrets. Hidden identities, buried truths, unreliable memories, suspicious relationships, small towns hiding dark histories, people pretending to be someone they’re not. Apparently that’s my favorite genre of character.
I also think reading has changed for me over the years. In my early twenties, books were mostly escapism. Now they feel much more connected to memory. I remember where I was when I read certain stories, what season it was, what stage of life I was in, and even how I felt emotionally while turning those pages. Books become tiny time capsules without us even realizing it.
As always, thank you for reading, for watching my videos, and for endlessly enabling my out-of-control TBR pile. If you’ve read any amazing thrillers recently, please send recommendations my way because clearly I’m never escaping this genre anytime soon.
I’ll see you on the next one.
