Ten psychological thrillers that will keep you guessing till the end

Indian Express

05-05-2025

(Written by Prachi Mishra)
Not every day, one cracks open a novel and finds oneself immersed, hook, line, and sinker. This happens more often than not when one is presented a riveting mystery wrapped with an unreliable narrator and a red-herring or two thrown in. Here's a list of psychological thrillers that will keep you hooked with twists at every page turn. Beware, some might leave you questioning everything – even yourself.
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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaleides
One must be living under a rock to not have heard of this thriller. Luckily, the hype around this is totally justified. It's a little hard to believe that it is the author's first novel. It is the story of Alicia Berenson, a famous painter is accused of her husband's murder. The trouble is she hasn't uttered a single word since the incident. Enter Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist determined to get her talking. The ending? Not to giving up the plot is simply jaw-dropping.
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Hoover is mostly known for her romance novels. But, her novel Verity is an unexpected one. The plot mainly revolves around Jeremy, Verity and Lowen. Struggling writer Lowen is hired to complete bestselling author Verity Crawford's books and uncovers an unfinished autobiography hidden in the Crawford home. What she reads will haunt you, and make you question what the actual truth is.
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The entire story runs in first-person narrative, told through the eyes of three women – Rachel, Megan and Anna. The main protagonist Rachel, a woman who takes the same train every day, fixates on a seemingly perfect couple she sees from the window. When the woman goes missing, Rachel finds herself dangerously involved. Every character has secrets—and none can be trusted.
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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Flynn's debut is as haunting as it is immersive. Journalist Camille Preaker returns to her hometown to cover the murder of two young girls, only to confront the psychological trauma of her past. With themes of self-harm, familial toxicity, and suppressed memories, it's disturbing but impossible to forget.
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Flynn's another novel, which can be said to have set the gold standard for modern psychological thrillers. When Amy Dunne goes missing, suspicion quickly falls on her husband, Nick. But as alternating narratives unfold, readers are thrust into a chilling game of manipulation, media frenzy, and marital madness. The twists are relentless. But, what is it that truly happened- the need and want of knowing the truth will simply keep you hooked?
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The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
A fast-paced thriller with a claustrophobic setting, this novel follows Millie, a woman hired to be a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family. Nina and Andrews welcome her to the family and everything seems perfect—until you see, it's not. Millie starts observing things but it's too late for her to back down now. Twisted power dynamics and shocking revelations make this a modern thriller worth devouring in one sitting.
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Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
To outsiders, Jack and Grace appear to be the perfect attorney-homemaker couple. Jack seems to have the looks and wealth, Grace is elegant and pleasing. But behind their flawless facade lies a terrifying truth. The readers want to know what actually happens when Grace's well-organised parties get over and the doors get closed for the outside world. This book explores psychological control, manipulation, and what it means to be truly trapped in a relationship.
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None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Podcaster Alix Summers befriends Josie Fair, an ordinary woman with an oddly compelling presence. But as she digs deeper into Josie's story, Alix uncovers a disturbing life full of secrets—and begins to fear for her own safety. A brilliantly unsettling exploration of hidden identities and dangerous truths. Ultimately, Alix finds herself the subject of her crime podcast.
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Before I Go to Sleep by
Christine loses her memory every time she sleeps. Her life simply reduces to waking up each morning, with no recollection of her past life. With the help of her journal, she starts piecing together fragments, but what she uncovers is chilling. How much can you trust a person, who is telling you your own life story?
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Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Amber Reynolds reveals three things: she is in a coma, she sometimes lies, and that her husband doesn't love her anymore; narrating her life story from a hospital bed. She can't move or speak, but she can hear everything happening around her, voices of nurses, her husband and her sister. With timelines jumping between the past, the present, and her distorted mind, the reader is taken on a twisted journey full of secrets, betrayals, and surprises.
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Liv Reese wakes up in a cab with no memory of how she got there and a message on her hand that says Stay Awake. As she pieces together clues, she realises she's living a nightmare that resets every time she sleeps. Fast, paranoid, and addictive, this one will keep you guessing till the end.