literary gluttony

There’s a certain magic in a well-crafted thriller—the kind of story that pulls you in so tightly you forget about the world outside its pages. Thrillers demand your attention, daring you to piece together clues, chase shadows, and hold your breath through every unexpected twist. This week’s Thrilling Thursday celebrates a handful of titles that left me reading long past bedtime, the house quiet except for the rapid turn of pages.

🕵️ The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

A modern psychological suspense classic, this novel introduces us to Alicia Berenson, a celebrated painter who inexplicably murders her husband and then refuses to speak another word. The silence becomes its own haunting puzzle, and the therapist determined to unravel it may be in far deeper than he realizes. The Silent Patient is chilling, claustrophobic, and brilliantly constructed—perfect for readers who love being outsmarted.

🕯 The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell has a way of writing thrillers that feel both intimate and unsettling. In The Family Upstairs, an unexpected inheritance leads to a tangle of dark secrets buried in a seemingly grand London home. Cult-like dynamics, unreliable narrators, and intersecting storylines make this one of those books that keeps you saying “just one more chapter” until it’s 2 a.m.

🔪 Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

On the surface, Jack and Grace appear to have the perfect marriage—charming, successful, enviable. But appearances are deceiving, and B.A. Paris pulls readers into a nightmare hiding beneath the polished exterior. This is a fast-paced, suffocating read that makes you question just how well you know the people closest to you.

🌲 The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Atmospheric and taut, Riley Sager’s thriller blends Hitchcockian suspense with modern paranoia. A recovering actress becomes obsessed with watching the couple across the lake, but what begins as innocent observation spirals into something far darker. Eerie, twist-filled, and compulsively readable, it’s a perfect pick for fans of slow-building dread.

Thrillers don’t just deliver mysteries—they create an experience of delicious unease. They pull you into a story where danger lurks in the quietest corners, where trust is fragile, and where every page feels like stepping further into the dark.

What about you? Which thriller has left you wide awake, heart racing, unable to put the book down? I’m always eager to add new titles to my growing list of late-night reads.