Sometimes there’s nothing better than getting lost in a new thriller that gives you goosebumps and keeps you on the edge of your seat. If you’re looking to get your fix of heart-pounding thrillers in 2020, you’ll want to add these 12 chilling books to your TBR pile.
1. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner have just been assigned to a murder case that left one young woman, Julie, dead with an unfamiliar pattern carved into her face. Immediately, the detectives begin to look at Julie’s landlady, Esther, who has just written the recently deceased woman into her latest mystery novel. As they try to piece together who murdered Julie, they find that there may be another sinister force in the picture who’s controlling Esther’s every move.
2. The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
Having once been a feral child living alone in the woods, Wilde has no idea where he comes from or how he ended up alone at such a young age. Thirty years later, Wilde is now tasked with finding a missing girl, forcing him to go back to the community that outcasted him as a young boy. Teaming up with television crime attorney Hester Crimstein, the two must find the girl, uncovering dangerous secrets along the way that will threaten to unravel the entire community and destroy millions of lives.
3. Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald
When Eva Hansen is struck by lightning, she thinks that’s the worst of her problems—until she awakes in the hospital to the news that her mother has been murdered and she has no memory of the events that happened before the lightning incident. With the police suspicious of Eva and her possible involvement in the murder, Eva has no choice but to travel to London to uncover her mother’s past and clear her name for good.
4. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Carly Kirk has never fully gotten over the mysterious disappearance of her aunt Viv who went missing before Carly was born. Unable to shake the feeling that something sinister occurred, she moves to Fell,
New York, ready to visit the last place her aunt was seen: the Sun Down Motel. Determined to find answers for what happened to Viv, she quickly finds herself in the middle of the terrifying mysteries that
surround the motel.
5. The New Husband by D.J. Palmer
After the disappearance of Nina Garrity’s husband, she thought she had suffered enough… and then she finds out he was having an affair. A year and a half later, Nina does her best to move on now that her
husband is presumed dead. But moving on won’t be as easy as she anticipates when she meets Simon, a fellow widow.
As the two fall in love, her daughter sees the red flags surrounding Simon, forcing Nina to look further into his past. Ultimately, her investigation reveals a shocking secret that will change her and her family’s life forever.
6. Blue Flowers by Carola Saavedra
Marcos is on his own for the first time in a long time after getting divorced and finds himself miserable at best. After moving into a new apartment, he begins receiving letters from an anonymous woman who believes she’s writing to her ex who once lived in the apartment.
As he receives more and more letters from the mysterious “A.”, he becomes obsessed with her and finding out who she really is, going to all extents to find out her true identity.
7. Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Marin and her college sweetheart Derek had a seemingly perfect life. But then their son Sebastian goes missing, turning the couple’s world upside down. A year after losing Sebastian, the case has gone cold
and Marin and Derek are no longer the happy couple they used to be.
Desperate for answers about Sebastian, Marin hires a private investigator but instead, the P.I. learns that Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman. Armed with this new information, Marin decides she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure this woman is forced out of Derek’s life for good.
8. The Better Liar by Tanen Jones
Sisters Robin and Leslie were on completely different pages the last time they spoke. But now, their father has died and if Leslie wants to gain her half of the inheritance, she’ll have to track down Robin.
Unfortunately for Leslie, Robin is dead.
Worried she won’t get the money she so desperately needs from her late father, she finds a woman who is nearly identical to Robin and the two begin a risky arrangement that will benefit both of them in the end. But both women are hiding perilous secrets that eventually come to the surface, putting both of their lives in danger.
9. The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell
Tabitha Girard will never forget the man who broke her heart: Connor Ford. When he unexpectedly appears in her life years later, she can’t shake the feelings she has for him despite the fact that he’s
married. But everything changes when his wife commits suicide, leaving Tabitha and Connor to fully commit to their relationship.
However, things go sideways when Tabitha happens upon the diary of
Connor’s late wife—a diary that claims Connor had something to do with her death.
10. Hi Five by Joe Ide
As the daughter of the biggest arms dealer on the West Coast, Christiana is used to getting her way. But when her boyfriend shows up dead in her Newport Beach boutique, she’s suddenly caught in the middle of an investigation where she’s the primary suspect.
To hopefully get her out of trouble, Christiana’s father hires a private investigator, Isaiah Quintabe, to prove her innocence. What Isaiah doesn’t know is that Christiana has multiple personalities and if he can’t clear her name, he and his girlfriend’s lives will be
on the line.
11. Don’t Ever Forget by Matthew Farrell
When Police Investigator Susan Adler is called to the scene of a murder involving a fellow state trooper, she has no idea that this seemingly simple case will end up being one of the most complicated and vicious cases she’s ever worked on. In no time, Susan is tracking down a car that belongs to a nurse who has gone missing, taking one of her elderly patients with her.
Before Susan knows it, she finds herself in the middle of an intricate case that will take multiple lives and lead her to one horrific killer.
12. Master Class by Christina Dalcher
In Master Class, students must participate in standardized testing meant to determine their “quotient.” If you score high enough, you are allowed entrance to top-tier schools that will dramatically improve your life. On the other hand, if you score too low, you’re sent to a federal boarding school, giving you limited options for the future.
For Elena Fairchild, a teacher at a top tier school, she’s never had to worry about her daughter’s performance. But all of that changes when the nine-year-old performs poorly on a test and she’s taken to a federal school hundreds of miles away. Now, Elena must do whatever it takes to get her back.
