2019’s crop of thrillers had us on the edge of our seats on a few dozen occasions, but for the sake of brevity and to save some room on your TBR for 2020’s upcoming attractions, we’ve compiled the top ten. Whether reading more mysteries is one of your New Year’s resolutions or you just saw Knives Out and are craving a good whodunnit, any one of these novels will have you turning the page until the twist is revealed.
10. Imaginary Friend (Grand Central Publishing) by Stephen Chbosky
If you’d told me in high school that The Perks of Being a Wallflower author Chbosky’s sophomore effort would be a tome of a horror novel for adults that’s also, just a little bit, a coming of age story, I’d probably laugh, because this novel could not be any different than his debut. Luckily, it’s at least as good as Perks, tapping into a child’s fear and letting us feel that dread too.
9. The Whisper Man (Celadon Books) by Alex North
Really creepy. Do you like serial killers? Do you like Candyman-esque serial killers who have a modus operandi that’s silly on paper and absolutely chilling in practice? Read The Whisper Man. Better yet, get the audiobook if you can. It’s probably even creepier if you have kids. Actually, a few books on this list involve kids and are creepier if you have kids. 
8. Recursion (Random House) by Blake Crouch
Blake Crouch is 2 for 2 now between this and his awesome first novel, Dark Matter. Is this one as good as Dark Matter? It’s certainly sillier, but you’ll quickly get on board with the pulpy premise: folks are having their memories replaced and they’re freaking out all over town. What’s causing this? If you like weird sorta sci-fi noir, this one’s for you.
7. Lock Every Door (Dutton) by Riley Sager
You’re either already aware of Riley Sager or you’re not which is also fine but he’s one of the best voices in the genre right now, and Lock Every Door is a great place to jump in. Spooky building, sinister residents. This is a thriller/horror hybrid that you probably shouldn’t read at night in your AirB&B. 
6. The Last Widow (William Morrow) by Karin Slaughter
Karin Slaughter is so popular that she gets name dropped in other thriller novels. The Last Widow brings back her character Will Trent but honestly you can just jump right in here. It’s not a book for the squeamish, but why are you reading books like this if you’re squeamish. There are plenty of great cozy mysteries out there without blood. This is… not that.
5. Thirteen (Flatiron Books) by Steve Cavanagh
Here’s another novel that’s technically the nth in a series but who cares because it stands alone and is awesome. It’s a legal thriller where the killer is on the jury! Awesome! Anyway, the jury’s out on this one and it’s been found guilty of ratcheting up the tension from start to finish.
4. The Chain (Mulholland Books) by Adrian McKinty
It’s kind of like the Black Mirror episode “Shut Up and Dance” but it involves kids in a different way (I’m sorry). The premise is: parents are forced to kidnap children in order to save their own child’s life. That’s terrifying right off the bat, so imagine the experience of actually reading it. This one shifts perspectives in a way that keeps the action rolling. You probably won’t put it down once you pick it up.
3. The Escape Room (St. Martin’s Press) by Megan Golding
Wall Street is horrifying enough as it is. Imagine being trapped in an elevator with a bunch of movers and shakers and hoping they don’t move and shake the elevator enough to kill everyone inside. Aside from that, there are other threats that the one percenters within must contend with. Read The Escape Room if your name is Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren and you want to eat the rich. Pete, you might want to sit this one out. 
2. An Anonymous Girl (St. Martin’s Press) by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
These two apparently write their books together in a Google doc which is impressive all on its own. So far, they’re also 2 for 2, with An Anonymous Girl matching all the highs of The Wife Between Us with an even better twist. Also, it’s nice to see Hendricks and Pekkanen bring back the “Girl in the title” thriller trend. Still going strong in 2019.
1. The Silent Patient (Macmillan) by Alex Michaelides
It’s been a great year for thrillers but this February debut still holds the crown at the end of December. We at BookTrib passed around the audiobook and were talking about The Twist for over a month after. Just reading it is fine too, but the audiobook is great because you get to hear how British people pronounce the name “Alicia.” There’s not really anything I can say about this novel that hasn’t already been said so check it out if you haven’t yet.
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And that’s our list for 2019! See you in 2020 when I steamroll all the actual 2020 releases for the movie tie-in to The Woman in the Window.
