Mystery & Thriller Books

I’ve only recently gotten into the Mystery & Thriller genre (within the last year or so). When I was younger, it was incredibly easy for me to garner what would end up happening. Back then, being able to properly predict what would happen made me incredibly angry. So I stopped reading the genre all together. And until about a year ago, I wide-stepped the Mystery & Thriller genre.

Then one fateful day, I came across a Thriller novel. By reading that novel, something had clicked in my head and suddenly I enjoyed reading the Thriller genre. What comes with the thriller genre, I often find, is that the book is coupled with a mystery. I don’t mind mysteries nowadays, since the ride up to the Big Reveal tends to have a lot of thrill attached.

Which is why I tend to read Mysteries & Thriller novels in bunches. One Mystery & Thriller novel here and there doesn’t cut it for me now. I have to read the books in bunches of 2-4 for me to get my Mystery & Thriller fix.

Here are the M/T books I’ve read vs. the M/T books I want to read.

The Mysteries and Thrillers that I have read:
(And what I thought of them)

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout [x]

Don’t Look Back was entertaining. Yet, slightly predictable in some aspects, even though the ending had a twist I didn’t expect!

Shadowlands by Kate Brian [x]

Shadowlands was incredibly entertaining, and I didn’t know what had happened until the end! (Even though this one ventured into the Fantasy genre)

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook [x]

A little off-putting by the beginnings of a step-sibling relationship, but the mystery behind this book is well placed.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I was so caught of guard by the ending in We Were Liars that I was sobbing. I was completely blindsided by the characters’.

The Dare by Hannah Jayne [x]

A thriller to the max! The Dare sets off on how trust is a major issue with Bryn, and how no one believes her. This book made me incredibly wary for Bryn and in whom she could trust. I couldn’t trust my instincts in this one — there were too many variables.

The Escape by Hannah Jayne [x]

The Escape was another book that didn’t let me trust my instincts.

One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards [x]

One Was Lost definitely has a creep factor that I tend to look for in mysteries. There’s a certain…brutality in One Was Lost that makes this story realistic. This book definitely made my guard go up.

Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards [x]

Six Months Later had me incredibly intrigued. I mean, the main character falls asleep in school one day, and then wakes up 6 months later — with no recollection of what had transpired in said past 6 months. There is a lot of…pressure in the plot, for Chloe to figure out what had happened, and if she could live to see the end.

The Rules by Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguié [x]

I’ll admit that in The Rules, I didn’t much care for the whole shebang. However, reading The Rules was worth it, just to read those last few pages. The character development in Robin is astounding.

The Devil You Know by Trish Dollar [x]

The Devil You Know had me strung along for the entirety of the book. Doller had me guessing at every turn, so I was completely surprised when my prediction about the book had come true.

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Dead to You was one of the books that had me believing the main character’s words — hook, line, and sinker. So when the truth was actually revealed, I was completely gobsmacked.

After the Woods by Kim Savage [x]

Even though I enjoyed reading After the Woods, I’d have to say that my overall thought of the book is that I didn’t like it. The whole story built up this conception, and then the ending of the book just falls flat.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

I actually didn’t end up finishing Last Seen Leaving. I read about 25% of the book and then just skipped around….30 pages, read a little bit, and then skipped another 30 pages, over and over until I got the ending.

Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender

Even though Bad Girls Don’t Die ventures into the Paranormal side of things, the book was still a pretty big thriller. If I’m remembering, the book was a little predictable but I found the story over all to be pretty interesting! — I’ve also read the second book to the Bad Girls Don’t Die trilogy, and it was alright.

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

While Truly, Madly, Deadly, was interesting… I was completely caught off-guard by the ending. Aside from that I only ended up thinking that TMD was alright.

**Those are the Mystery books I’ve read, now here are the Mystery and Thriller books that I want to read.**

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Remember by Eileen Cook
Dark Companion by Marta Acosta
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (goes into the Fantasy Element)
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore
The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
See Jane Run by Hannah Jane
Twisted by Hannah Jayne
The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy
To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough
This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
The Killer in Me by Margot Harrison
Gilt Hollow by Lori Langdon
The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Here are some Non-YA Mystery Thrillers I also want to read:

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
I See You by Clare Mackintosh
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
I Found You by Lisa Jewell
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Girl Who Lied by Sue Forth

For all the Mystery and Thriller books that I want to read, I seem to never find the time! I’m going to try and make time to fit in reading some more Mystery Thriller books from here on out though. Which leads me to my next point:

Do you read Mystery books?

Have you read any Mystery, Mystery Thriller, or Thriller novels?

Do you have any recommendations for me?

I’d love to add more Mystery / Thriller novels to my arsenal. So if you have any recommendations, that’d be brilliant.

Happy Reading!
Adele

P.S. The little [x] leads to my reviews of the books.