5 Best Thrillers To Read This Summer

If you are like me, summer is a fantastic time to read lots of beach reads. I have been asked on numerous occasions to recommend a book for the beach by friends so this post is dedicated to them (they know who they are!).

Sometimes it’s great just to read a book that relaxes you and not tax your brain cells too much.

Other times, it’s great to read a book that will keep you on your toes and keep you glued to the book. I preferred the latter this summer and have enjoyed reading mystery/thriller/crime genre.

What are the best thrillers to read this summer? Below I list the best 5 books to read this summer that will wake up your senses! These mystery thrillers are all worth a read whether you read them this summer or beyond.

These books will include suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. So be warned, you may stay up late and read them in one sitting!

Warning: The following books contain adult content and adult language.

Here’s the listing of the 5 best thrillers to read this summer.

**Click book covers to buy.**

Before The Fall by Noah Hawley. Fantastic story!

On a foggy summer night, eleven people–ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter–depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are the painter Scott Burroughs and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.

Was it by chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something more sinister at work? A storm of media attention brings Scott fame that quickly morphs into notoriety and accusations, and he scrambles to salvage truth from the wreckage. Amid trauma and chaos, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy grows and glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, morality, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.

Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Review here. Great twists!

In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. Scary psychological thriller!

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. Riveting page-turner!

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they’ve kept for years.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Classic whodunit with double the fun!

When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.

Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the above books. Who doesn’t like a book with a crime that needs to be explained? These books were all satisfying to read because they are riveting, suspenseful and explored how can we know the truth in their unique way.

My favorite was Before The Fall by Noah Hawley. It was a fantastic book that took me by surprise. I didn’t see the solution until right at the end. Pretty Girls was also top notch but it was a bit too violent and graphic for my liking.

These mystery thrillers will definitely keep engross so be warned, clear your day!

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Discover your next great read!

Have you read thrillers not listed here? Let me know in the comments what I should check out!

11 thoughts on “5 Best Thrillers To Read This Summer

  1. I remember your reviews for some of these, which makes me eager to read them! I really like the sound of the majority of them. But I actually have Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz and haven’t read it yet actually D:

    1. Hi Olivia!
      Magpie Murders is like a mini book- it’s less than 300 pages and so a quick read 🙂
      The story in the story was good and I didn’t think it needed more but we got double the fun.
      I hope you enjoy it.

  2. How come there is only beach reads and not, say, fireplace reads? 🙂 These are great suggestions, Dinh. So glad you did not mention Paula Hawkins. 😉 For whatever reason, I find her book good and irritating.

    1. Hi Lonna!
      LOL, I figured you’d mention Paula Hawkins. I read Into The Water, Hawkins’ latest book but it didn’t make the cut. It was a disappointment compared to The Girl on the Train.
      I would have liked to have added Dark Matter by Crouch but it didn’t fit into the mystery/thriller/crime genre.

      Perhaps I will do a fireplace reads closer to winter?

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂

      1. I started reading Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. NY Times says “Startlingly Original ..”A deft, suspenseful thriller.” Boston Globe ..”Fasten your seatbelts for a bumpy, breakneck ride…Shutter Island is an express train with no local stops.” I am on the express train!!

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