The Best New Psychological Suspense Books

Florence is just a low-level publishing employee feeling restless about her life and career when she lucks into the job of personal assistant to Maud Dixon, the bestselling—and notoriously secretive—novelist. While the job is far from easy, Florence falls under Maud's spell and quickly learns about her true identity, preferences, and ideas when it comes to life and writing. When Maud whisks Florence to Marrakesh, the setting of her new book, Florence couldn't be happier. Then she wakes in the hospital after an apparent car accident. Maud is nowhere to be found, and Florence's memories are spotty. What if she decides to just step into Maud's life?

When Alice, a Parisian police officer, wakes up on a park bench handcuffed to Gabriel, an Irish musician, they have to quickly put together how on earth they both ended up in New York City's Central Park when their last memories were going about their lives in their respective Paris and Dublin. To make matters worse, Alice has blood on her shirt, a bullet missing from her gun, and she's fairly certain that a serial killer she thought was dead has come back to taunt her.

Ten years ago, Nina's car was found abandoned in Florida, bloodstained and showing signs of struggle. But her body was never recovered, and her children and husband were left alone. Now, another tragedy befalls Nina's children when their father dies in a car accident. They're taken in by Aunt Leah...but Leah is really Nina, who has reinvented herself in order to keep her kids safe. She's overjoyed to be reunited with them, but she knows that they won't be safe for long, unless she does something drastic to protect them all.

Inspired by a popular Dutch practice, You'll Thank Me for This follows Karin, a twelve-year-old goal who is blindfolded and dropped into the middle of beautiful Dutch woods with three other teens and expected to find her way out. With few emergency supplies, the kids are expected to find their way to their waiting parents without any peril, but when Karin is separated from the group, she becomes paranoid that something else is lurking in the woods. Meanwhile, Karin's American mother Grace becomes anxious that something has gone horribly wrong, and is determined to find her daughter.

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Greg and Jade have just gotten engaged, and they're happier than ever to move into a new home and start a life together, even if their very different backgrounds and Greg's skeptical kids don't make the change seamless. But then a home invasion destroys their trust and confidence in one another, leaving Greg homebound and obsessed with monitoring his security system. Just as Jade begins to suspect that Greg knows more about the attack than he lets on, Greg is starting to believe that Jade is keeping big secrets from him.

Laura and her teenage daughter Tilly are grieving the death of their husband and father, and Laura can barely stay on top of the bills. When she receives an invitation to come and stay at a local community for free, she accepts gratefully. But then Tilly begins to fall under the enigmatic community leader's spell, and Laura begins to suspect they've been sucked into a cult. Tilly is unwilling to leave, so Laura begins researching the community, looking for ways to convince her daughter, when she stumbles upon the horrifying reason why they ensnared her in the first place.

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Matt Pine is a college student who is shocked to receive the news that his parents and two younger siblings have died in an apparent gas leak while on vacation in Mexico. Not only is this horrifying news, but it cuts open old wounds: Matt's family was in the spotlight when his older brother was convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend, and even though the media wants to believe that he's innocent, Matt has a very secret reason to believe that his brother is guilty. As the authorities investigate and the media monster grows, Matt must face the truth about his older brother, and how his family's deaths might be connected.

Related: Disturbing Crime Fiction Novels Set in The Suburbs

Sera loves true crime podcasts because they make her feel as though she has a sense of control, and that she can be prepared for anything. So when her favorite true crime podcast host goes missing, Sera knows this is her moment. She tracks Rachel down to a ranch outside of her hometown, and that's where things get weird—something bizarre is off about the place and Rachel isn't the only missing woman. And if Sera isn't careful, she might be the next.