There’s nothing better than a gripping thriller that keeps you turning the pages while you tell yourself you’ll only read one more chapter, before you find yourself reading one more after that!
That’s why we asked some of the best crime writers to recommend their favorite books, and they certainly delivered.
You are reading: Best page turner books
With recommendations from shari lapena, jane corry, howard linskey, and karen perry, among others, if you’re looking for an addictive read you won’t be able to put down, then this exciting list of the best books to turn the page will give you plenty.
jorn lier horst, author of the darkness within:
the memory wood has just been published in Norwegian. normally i would steer clear of a book about missing children, but sam lloyd has a liberating, light and original style of storytelling. in his stressful way, he does the opposite of other crime writers by only hinting at the atrocities. it also offers a clever twist, making it the most surprising and grotesque thriller I’ve read in a long time.
jack grimwood, author of isle reich:
I was tempted to go with the joseph knox true crime story, in which fiction is presented as completely as fact, I ended up googling the victim’s name to check that knox wasn’t doing some sort of strange triple hoax. but the book that really grabbed me recently was mine denise’s dead least. A hard-hitting, utterly unflinching crime novel that begins with Margo, a middle-class GP from Glaswegian hoping to discover the truth about her birth mother. The truth is bleak, bleaker than Margo expects. her mother was a sex worker murdered, one of a dozen in a case the police didn’t bother to solve. it is intensely political, not to mention politics. a novel about choices, lack of choices, class, and whose deaths count.
andrea mara, author of all her faults:
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Earlier this year, I positively inhaled Ashley Audrain’s book: I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what was going on with Blythe and her daughter Violet. the writing is beautiful but it never slows down the pace of the book. The story is told by Blythe, recounting her own childhood, her experience of becoming her mother, and her unsettling first months and years with her firstborn son, worried that Violet is somehow ” wrong.” it raises big questions about nature vs. nurture and ‘the sins of our mothers’, but it’s also creepy and tense, and as much as I savored the wonderful writing, I desperately wanted to keep turning the pages to find out: what did violet do, or is is it all in blythe’s head? you’ll have to read it to find out!
nicola moriarty, author of what you need to know:
Of course, as an avid reader, it’s always hard when asked to choose your favorite book, even if you narrow it down to a specific genre and a specific year…there are still so many amazing books to choose from. however, when I was asked to name my favorite crime thriller book this year, one came straight to mind. Ashley Audrain’s Drive has to be one of the most gripping, intense and fast-paced thrillers of the year. he is stimulating and intelligent and an extreme nail biter. read it!
tom bradby, author of triple cross:
Right now, I’m reviewing the true crime story of Joseph Knox. it is written with amazing originality and it is very difficult to put it down. in the last year I have also loved the universe of the swallows -also incredibly original- and, of course, where the locusts sing. the best page turners of all time? The Silence of the Lambs, Presumed Innocence, and Len Deighton’s The Berlin Game. beautiful pacing and structure, rich political context, and sublime writing.
howard linskey, author of keep him out:
inner killer is the definition of a page turner. Matthew Frank introduces us to cops torn by the prospect of protecting a killer who has cheated justice. they know he has done it but proving it is something else. then another girl dies while her man is still in the hospital. what if they had the wrong man all the time? dc stark is a fabulous creation. the type of character you want more of and soon please.
jane corry, author of the lies we tell:
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once I had to chase a stranger who had gotten off the train, leaving his bag on the seat next to mine. I managed to give it to him and get back on the train in time, but then he made me hesitate. what was inside that bag? so i got hooked on the new trust me thriller, t m logan, where a stranger asks ellie to hold her baby, but he doesn’t come back. We often talk about not being able to put a book down, but I had to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to find out what happened. trust me. Next time I get on a train, I’ll be careful with bags and babies, or anything else left behind…
karen perry, author of stranger:
I love psychological thrillers with a dual narrative that makes you question which version of the truth you should trust. erin kelly is brilliant he said/she said does exactly that and much more. After witnessing a sexual assault, Laura and Kit alert the police, and it is on this decision that the plot hinges. Fifteen years later, the couple lives in a constant state of fear: it is the anxiety of cat and mouse as they struggle to overcome the consequences of their intervention that night. Switching between past and present, as well as the different perspectives of Laura and Kit, this is a complex and intelligent drama full of mystery and detour where every page bristles with jittery, edgy fear. I couldn’t put it down.
shari lapena, author of her ending:
one of the best pages i’ve read lately is the last thing that will burn will dean. it’s a brilliant book, absolutely chilling, excruciatingly tense and beautifully written. A woman is trafficked from Vietnam and is held captive by a man on her isolated farm in England. she can’t get away from her because he broke one of her ankles with a bolt cutter years before; she can barely walk and is in constant pain. but she also controls her through other means: the horse pills she has come to depend on for the pain, her threats to deport her sister, who lives in the country illegally. the cameras observe each one of her movements. if she goes out of her way, he punishes her by making her choose one of her dwindling possessions to burn. this book is a master class on how to raise the stakes. you won’t be able to put it down, I promise.
stephanie wrobel, author of rose gold recovery:
gina wohlsdorf’s confidence blew me away. Manderley Resort, a new hotel on the California coast, is about to open, but someone is determined that it doesn’t happen. the staff are clueless as they make final preparations that they will each be killed over the next twelve hours, one by one. This story is funny (it doesn’t look like it, I know!), cleverly plotted, and beautifully written. I had to stop reading it at night because it left me too scared to sleep. if you can’t stand gore, skip this one: it’s a slasher. but it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read.
emma curtis, author of invite me to:
my favorite page turner. that is a difficult question to answer, but I am going to choose a novel published twenty years ago; harlan coben don’t tell anyone, because he inspired me. he had been trying to write crime, among other things, but couldn’t seem to get on with the whodunit. this book gave me permission to write domestic thrillers. that no one felt like the American movies he loved: the hand that rocked the cradle, fatal attraction or peaceful heights; stories about families whose ordinary suburban lives turn into nightmares. is the story of david beck whose wife elizabeth had been kidnapped and murdered eight years earlier. out of the blue, david receives an anonymous email telling him to log on to a website at a certain time, and there he sees his wife, broadcast live. he must find her because he loves her and he’s desperate to get her back, but also because her fbi is convinced he murdered her. Harlan Coben is a master of suspense. I have learned a lot by reading his novels.
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