The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time 

There are many different types of books to read but nothing compares to a great psychological thriller. A good psychological thriller will scare you senseless but you won’t be able to put it down. That is why we decided to list the best psychological thrillers of all time and see which ones are the best of the best. Keep reading to see which ones made our list! 

Psychological thrillers are not for everyone but they are amazing if you enjoy unstable characters. Different authors approach the genre differently. Sometimes you will get a scary protagonist, other times the villain will terrify you for days after you are done reading the book. That is what makes this genre so much fun. A great writer can make anything terrifying and yet, we can’t stop reading the book. 

The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time 

• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 
• The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn 
• The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen 
• Misery by Stephen King 
• Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 
• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager 
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris 
• My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing 
• Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith 
• The Guest List by Lucy Foley 
• The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith 
• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 
• The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena 
• The Last Mrs Parrish by Lynne Constantine 
• Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine 
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 
• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager 
• Pretty girls: Thriller Karin Slaughter 
• Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris 
• The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson 
• Little Secrets: A Novel by Jennifer Hillier 
• In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware 
• In the Woods by Tana French 
• One by One by Ruth Ware 
• Survive the Night by Riley Sager 
• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 
• The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware 
• Room by Emma Donoghue 
• Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson 

Lots of Scary Reads 

The interesting thing about this genre is that it doesn’t produce as many classics as other genres. That may be due to a bias to books that have high shock value or are much more violent or bloody. There are still some great classics here but it feels like a lot less than other genres. 

What I love about this list is how different many of these books are and can be broken down into a bunch of subgenres. There are a bunch of themes and if you have a certain preference, you will find a bunch to read. The difference between the books is how the authors approach the books and how their writing brings it all together.

Conclusion 

That is all for our list of the best psychological thrillers of all time. How many of these books have you read? What books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!