Give your rom-com reads a refresh, and pick up these thriller reads instead

If your usual reading list is filled with meet-cutes, second chances and happily-ever-afters, it might be time to switch things up. These thrillers bring missing-person mysteries, dark family secrets, courtroom drama and deeply unsettling houses to the page, making them perfect for when you want a book that keeps you guessing long after bedtime.

Never Lie by Freida McFadden 

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for their dream home when they find themselves stranded inside a remote manor once owned by Dr Adrienne Hale, a psychiatrist who disappeared without a trace. When Tricia discovers recordings of Dr Hale’s therapy sessions, she becomes absorbed by the disturbing stories they contain and increasingly convinced that they may hold the key to the doctor’s disappearance. As the snow cuts the couple off from the outside world, secrets begin to surface, and Tricia realises that the house may be more dangerous than she imagined.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney 

When Grady Green’s wife, Abby, disappears, his life, and his ability to write come to a standstill. A year later, still consumed by grief, Grady travels to a remote Scottish island, hoping to escape his memories and find inspiration. Instead, he sees a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. What follows is a dark and atmospheric story about marriage, grief, identity and revenge, in which nothing is quite what it seems.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

In 1929, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast, leaving 17-year-old Lenora Hope as the only surviving member of the family. Although the public believes she was responsible, the police never manage to prove it. Decades later, home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at the decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora, who is mute and paralysed after a series of strokes. When Lenora begins communicating through a typewriter, she promises to reveal what really happened that night. Gothic, atmospheric and full of buried secrets, this is one for readers who like their mysteries with a side of unease.

Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray 

Young barrister Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case: defending a man accused of killing a prominent judge. The case is already high-profile, but the pressure intensifies when Leila discovers that her husband and former mentor is leading the prosecution. Her client refuses to reveal the basis of his defence, while someone from Leila’s own past threatens to expose secrets that could destroy her personal and professional life.

That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally

A bruised teenage girl wakes up beside a dirt road with no memory of who she is or how she got there. At the police station, a man arrives claiming to be her father and insists that her name is Mary, but she cannot shake the feeling that his story is wrong. At the same time, teenager Drew Carter-Diaz is searching for his missing girlfriend, Lola, who disappeared after an argument and is now believed by many to be dead. As Drew tries to prove his innocence, the amnesiac girl fights to recover her identity and uncover the truth about what happened to her.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Rowan Caine thinks she has found the perfect job when she accepts a well-paid, live-in nanny position at Heatherbrae House, a technologically advanced home in the remote Scottish Highlands. But the children are difficult, the smart-home systems behave strangely, and Rowan soon feels as if she is being watched. When one of the children dies, Rowan is arrested and imprisoned for murder, despite insisting that she is innocent. Told through the letter Rowan writes from prison, The Turn of the Key blends an isolated-house mystery with surveillance anxiety, family secrets and an unreliable narrator.

Love, Mom by Iliana Xander 

Mackenzie Casper has spent her life in the shadow of her mother, E.V. Renge, a bestselling thriller author. After her mother dies in a suspicious accident, Mackenzie begins receiving a series of letters signed “Love, Mom”, which appear to reveal secrets about her mother’s life and the inspiration behind her novels. With the help of her friend EJ, Mackenzie starts investigating her family’s past and discovers that one of her mother’s books may have been based on real events.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Ellie Mack was 15 when she disappeared, leaving her family devastated and her mother, Laurel, unable to move on. Ten years later, Laurel is beginning to rebuild her life when she meets Floyd, a charming single father, and his youngest daughter, Poppy. Laurel is disturbed by how much Poppy resembles Ellie, and the encounter forces her to revisit her daughter’s disappearance and the questions that have haunted her for a decade.

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer 

Charlie and Eve, a young couple who renovate and sell houses, believe they have found a bargain when they purchase an old home in the mountains. Their plans change when a man arrives at the door with his family, claiming that he used to live there and asking if he can look around. Eve lets them in, but the family refuses to leave, and increasingly strange events begin unfolding inside the house, including the disappearance of one of the children. When Charlie vanishes, Eve is left questioning the house, its former inhabitants and her own sense of reality.

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

When a young woman is murdered in Alabama, Andy Dubois is arrested and faces the death penalty, despite maintaining his innocence. Eddie Flynn, a former con artist turned defence lawyer, travels to the town to represent him and quickly discovers that the case is shaped by racism, corruption and powerful people determined to secure a conviction. With only days to dismantle the prosecution’s argument and identify the real killer, Eddie must rely on his ability to read people, manipulate the courtroom and uncover the details others have overlooked.

Whether you prefer a locked-room mystery, a missing-person case or a courtroom showdown, these books offer a welcome change from predictable romantic plots. Just make sure you have enough time to keep reading, because these are the kind of stories that make “one more chapter” a very dangerous promise.

Lead image: Amazon

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