Life 10 Mystery Thriller Books to Read This Fall Fall is for cooler weather, flannel shirts, pumpkin patches, and, of course, a good psychological mystery. By Lizzie Deal Published on October 19, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: courtesy A good book keeps you hooked, hanging onto its every word until the last page. A great mystery thriller will do the same, but with one added element: murder. These books are guaranteed to keep you up at night reading and puzzling until the last piece of the plot falls into place. If you’re looking to get into the Halloween spirit, give one of these psychological thrillers a read. 01 of 10 The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides Macmillan Publishers Want a page-turner that will make your head spin? Look no further. In this psychological thriller, the famous artist Alicia Berenson has murdered her husband and hasn’t spoken a word since, leaving the world without explanation. Criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber has been waiting for his chance to take on Alicia’s impossible case. He sets his sights on treating her and piecing together the mystery of what happened that fateful night. This thriller twists and turns into a narrative that will keep you up all night reading. 02 of 10 Imaginary Friend, by Stephen Chbosky Barnes & Noble Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, has returned with a horror book perfect for spooky season. The story follows single mom Kate Reese and her son Christopher as they flee an abusive relationship. After settling down in a small town, life seems to be looking up until Christopher disappears. He returns six days later hearing voices and hellbent on building a treehouse before Christmas. If he fails, nothing will be the same. The imaginative story features a cast of perfectly flawed characters and a plot that never stops evolving. 03 of 10 The Hacienda, by Isabel Cañas Penguin Random House After the loss of her father and her home, Beatriz marries wealthy Don Rodolfo Solòrzano to regain financial stability and a home of her own, ignoring the rumors about his first wife’s demise. His estate, however, is not the sanctuary she had hoped for as visions and voices haunt her sleep. Desperate for help, Beatriz turns to a young priest to fight the malevolent presence in the hacienda. But will it be enough to battle the darkness? 04 of 10 The Jigsaw Man, by Nadine Matheson HarperCollins Publishers Two years ago, Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley put serial killer Peter Olivier, the Jigsaw Killer, behind bars. After returning to the Serial Crimes Unit, she’s met with a familiar M.O.: dismembered bodies scattered across town. As the two serial killers play cat and mouse, Henley must relive her past to move forward in the mystery. 05 of 10 Plain Bad Heroines, by Emily M. Danforth HarperCollins Publishers Five people have died at Brookhants School. Clara and Flo were first. Three more followed shortly after, and the school closed and fell into ruin. A century later, young author Merritt Eammons’ breakout novel surrounding the haunted school and its queer, feminist history is being made into a controversial horror film. The past and present collide as the stars arrive at Brookhants in this gothic horror novel. 06 of 10 The Resting Place, by Camilla Sten Macmillan Publishers On a visit to her grandmother Vivianne, Eleanor stumbles across her murdered body and comes face to face with the killer. The only problem? Eleanor has prosopagnosia, or face blindness, meaning she can’t recognize even the faces of her loved ones. Vivianne leaves Eleanor an estate deep in the Swedish woods, and she, her boyfriend, her aunt, and a lawyer go, all searching for answers. Only, some things are better left undisturbed. 07 of 10 The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton Barnes & Noble Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered precisely at 11 p.m. It’s up to Aidan to solve her murder. For the next eight days, he will wake up in the body of a different guest at Hardcastle's party, forced to relive the fateful day from a different perspective. The only way to escape the cycle is by naming her killer, but someone is determined to prevent his escape. Groundhog Day takes on a whole new meaning in this fast-paced murder mystery. 08 of 10 The Guest List, by Lucy Foley HarperCollins Publishers Weddings should be happy occasions, right? Not this time. On a picturesque, remote island, a magazine publisher recites her vows to a rising television star. The celebration turns sour when a body is discovered. Follow along on the day of the wedding as the guest list reveals their old secrets and murderous intentions. 09 of 10 The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware Simon & Schuster Rowan Caine knows one thing: she didn’t kill that child. What started out as a dream job nannying for a picture-perfect family in the Scottish Highlands turned into a nightmare—a child dead and Rowan in prison awaiting trial. Writing to her lawyer from jail, Rowan can’t explain everything that led up to the fateful moment, just that she is innocent (of murder at least). But someone else isn’t. 10 of 10 The Burning Girls, by C.J. Tudor Penguin Random House Reverend Jack Brooks and her fourteen-year-old daughter Flo want a fresh start. Instead, they find a village shrouded in the past. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake. Thirty years ago, two teenagers went missing. And two months ago, the local vicar died by suicide. The more entrenched the pair becomes in the town, the clearer it becomes that there are dark secrets hidden in Chapel Croft. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit