Book recommendations can come from anywhere. Social media has become a fantastic outlet for book lovers to share their favorite reads and find their communities of fellow bookworms. Today, we’re highlighting the community of the spooky and the scary with five bookish creators to follow on TikTok and Instagram. Check out their profiles and their book recommendations.
Abby (@crimebythebook) – Bookstagrammer
Abby started her account back in 2014 and now has over 182k followers. She recommends thriller books and hosts her own crime fiction podcast called Criminal Types. In addition to thriller books, she also recommends thriller TV shows based on books. She stated in an Instagram post that her favorite author is Riley Sager, who just released his newest novel, With A Vengeance.
With A Vengeance is a story about revenge gone wrong. In 1942, Anna Matheson’s family was destroyed. Twelve years later, she lured those responsible onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago with the intention of getting them to confess their crimes and hand them over to the authorities. However, when someone gets murdered, she is forced to protect the people she hates while searching for the killer.
Tilly (@tillylovesbooks) – Bookstagrammer
Tilly joined Instagram in 2020 and amassed just over 160k followers. She recommends both crime fiction and romance books. In an interview with The Likely Suspects, a Bookstagram community, she says that the novel to read this year is Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister.
Famous Last Words is a story about Camilla, a new mother who wakes up on June 21st to find her husband gone and a cryptic note in his place. Then, a hostage situation breaks out in London, and Camilla learns that her loving husband is the gunman. She finds herself in the impossible situation of not knowing what to do next, aided only by the cryptic note.
Kerry (@kurryreads) – BookToker
Kerry has both an Instagram and a TikTok account and currently has over 91.5K followers on TikTok. She recommends thriller, mystery, and horror books, and also makes recommendations for themed months like Pride Month. In her latest video, she recommended the horror novel Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin.
Night’s Edge is a story about Mia, the daughter of a vampire, who grew up with harsh rules dictated by her mother and burdened with the secret of her mother’s bloodlust. In her 20s, Mia wants her own life, not controlled by her mother. When she meets Jade, a musician, she hopes that she will be the ticket to freedom.
Stephanie (@sellingnwa) – BookToker
Stephanie currently has over 91.7K followers on TikTok, doing book reviews of mystery/thriller books, and a little bit of romcom. In addition to mystery/thriller books, she makes content recapping the TV show Love Island and other reality TV shows. In her latest video, she recommended the book Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh, calling it “a brilliant legal thriller.”
Fifty-Fifty is a psychological thriller about two sisters. When their father is murdered, both sisters call 911 at the exact same time and accuse the other of murdering their father. On trial for murder, it is a race to find out which sister killed their father.
Bethany (@bethanys_books) – BookToker
Bethany currently has almost 64k followers on TikTok, and reads fantasy, romance, and thriller books. Her popular videos are her “Jaw-Dropping Thrillers,” recommendations, where she recommends books with an exaggerated jaw-dropping filter and horror music. In her latest video, she recommends The Last Session by Julia Bartz, calling it “…one of the craziest books I’ve ever read.”
The Last Session is a thriller about the connection between a catatonic woman and a social worker. A catatonic woman shows up at social worker Thea’s psychiatric unit with a startling link to a traumatic event in Thea’s past.
When she becomes lucid, the patient cannot remember the traumatic event nor the events that caused her brain to shut down. When she goes missing, Thea follows clues to a place in New Mexico, where a couple holds a retreat to uncover attendees’ intimacy issues.
For fans of mysteries and thrillers, be sure to check out these creators’ pages. Happy reading!
For more mystery/ thriller recs, click here.
Bookstr’s mystery/thriller recommendations can be found on our Heart Racingly Good Thrillers and Mysteries shelf on Bookshop.
