Alone with a killer?! | 14 Isolation Trope Thrillers To Read

[@alygurl1635]

I feel like isolation tropes work well for tight budget films. One location. Minimal cast and crew. Great for thrillers and horror and gore, as well as other genres.

[@KateCavanaugh]

The grandaddy of all is absolutely one of my favorites. Large manor? Mysterious invitations? Obvious representation of the deaths in the form of figurines? LOVE IT. Also you definitely sold me on The Girls Weekend! I especially love old friend group dynamics AND hot groundsmen so this sounds perfect. Thank you for all of the recommendations!! Also I'm going to try Ruth Ware again bahaha.

[@Ghostreader198]

And Then There Were None is the only book that’s ever scared me. I was middle school/high school and had to stay up all night to finish because I was too afraid to go to sleep 😂

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yay, I’m glad to have it confirmed that IN A DARK DARK WOOD follows this trope! I couldn’t totally tell from the back copy 😅

[@AlexaDonne]

There is a very tense running plot of DID THE TEXT COME THROUGH and it is delicious.

[@stevenr2291]

Another one that is absolutely my favorite, No Exit by Taylor Adams. This one has that isolation trope. Very good and really fast read!

[@carriebateman4465]

I can’t wait to read this one. 😲

[@R.G.LovesBooks]

It’s a great book it’s supposed to be made into a movie

[@MistahUnknown]

@@R.G.LovesBooks I think there is a trailer out for it

[@CamWolfeAuthor]

I love that the concept of cabins are just intrinsically tied with "well I might die" now 😂

[@talizorah]

I absolutely love isolation trope thrillers, though my favorite story in that category is actually a video game (Until Dawn) rather than a book or film. I've read most of the books on this list, but am adding the rest to my TBR right away! The Lost Village in particular sounds 100% up my alley--not only did I enjoy Midsommar (in an "utterly horrified" sort of way), but I'm also a huge fan of The Ritual, which is *another* movie (based on a book) about isolated tourists caught up in a Swedish death cult. With some supernatural awesomeness thrown in.

[@junkie4astory]

So glad you're back with these. I love these vids the most from you.

[@rachelthome165]

Love when you make these types of videos! Such a great way to add to my goodreads "want to read" list! Also, would you ever consider doing a video on popular mystery/thriller tropes? Or maybe your favorites and least favorites. I think that'd be interesting!

[@LanieBuck]

I love when the isolation trope is used not only in a physical sense but also when the isolation is the result of being emotionally removed or when an isolated person is experiencing loneliness or low self-esteem issues. I’ve always loved Richard Matheson’s take on this trope but also Ruth Ware; her characters always seem a bit removed from those around them in addition to the isolated locations. Horror is big on this trope as well but it is one of my favs across all genres. I also enjoyed the different angles of isolation in Brightly Burning.

[@BayleyMae]

Thank you so much for this list Alexa! This is absolutely one of my favorite tropes!! You have a good point about Ruth Ware, she does this trope a lot but in different ways. I think that's why she's one of my favorite authors!

[@SloanePaoPow]

Mousetrap by Agatha Christie is also a great isolation mystery. Everyone remembers And Then There Were None, but Mousetrap never gets enough love. Im pretty sure somebody novelized the stage play, so you can read it as a novel.

[@lukyanoppedisano1130]

I just got an ARC of The Ivies! Can't wait to read it!

[@gingerkatherina]

So msny suggestions for such a specific genre 🤔 that's the power of Alexa 💪

[@NixLaLoupe]

I am ready for my TBR to explode with book recs! I'm so excited!

[@augabachoo]

Ever read The Cabin at the End of the World? Not sure if this one would count but the intro to the story is crazy. The family in the cabin is isolated by you know from the first page who the baddies are.

[@alliem9404]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even read thrillers but you make them sound so good and now I want to read them. I'd love more genre rec videos!

[@multitaskcreative]

I just started reading wilder girls with my sister because of a previous video of yours. We both used to read the same books and it was a really fun bonding experience in our lives. We recently decided to get back into it:)

[@sassyblondewriter8239]

I first read And Then There Were None as an audiobook on my commute, which was fun during the day and mildly terrifying at night. The point-and-click computer game based on it was interesting too.

[@LyyraBat]

Ooo this is one of my favorite tropes! I'm so excited to read some more of these!

[@manymansions4783]

I love your clear diction. Greetings from England.

[@essauthor]

I love all these suggestions. Now I have the hankering too, and a list of books to try.

[@CD-rt5pt]

I didn't think of it as an isolation thriller at the time, but I definitely think that The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton falls into this category and I enjoyed that book immensely. I think the supernatural elements involved and mechanisms that cause the isolation are a bit different from the books listed here, but I would still say that it fits the bill. Great video, as usual!

[@lateralhistory]

You mention being trapped on an island in a storm with the communications down and my brain immediately goes to Jurassic Park 😂

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

It wasn't until I watched this video that I realized how much I love isolation trope thrillers, too. One of my favorite TV series, The Avengers (1960's, BBC), had many isolation episodes: The House That Jack Built, The Joker, The Superlative Seven (a take on And Then There Were None). I'm inspired to write a screenplay in this genre now. I'd love to read an isolation thriller written by you. Thanks for making this video.

[@RR-xl6yc]

I know this is late to the game, but I've been going through your book review and recommendation videos, so just watching this one now. I haven't seen anyone mention In the Dark by Loreth Ann White. It pays homage to And Then There Were None and I thought it was interesting, and am curious to hear your take. I read The Perfect Guest based on your recommendation and enjoyed it, and have added a number of others to my to be borrowed list. Thanks for your detailed reviews,. And even the spoilers, as it really helps me figure out which ones might work for me.

[@jesbrimer3096]

I know this was untinentional, but while you were talking about The Lost Village, I can hear a faint siren in the background. You creeped me out! 😄😄 Now I have to read the book when it comes out.

[@NightOwlReader2790]

Oh my god! I thought I was the only one! I was like, "What the hell was that?!! O_o"

[@whatever2823]

loved the turn of the key!! another amazing one (and my personal fav) is No Exit - adding this comment in case anyone reading this needs more recs ☺️

[@whatever2823]

gonna read the girl from widow hills next, thanks for the rec!!!

[@katiesewell4879]

If you're here for YA boarding school thrillers, The Assassin Game by Kirsty McKay is set on an island with an access road passable only at low tide, and the Truly, Devious series by Maureen Johnson takes place at a mountaintop boarding school with access limited by the rugged terrain.

[@GabrielTheMagolorMain]

Surprised No Exit isn’t on this list. I know it’s mentioned everywhere, I didn’t even realize that till after I read it, but I loved it. Thanks for the recommendations!

[@avamw8074]

What would be the age to read these??

[@platinumbubbles6152]

Not much of an isolation thriller but I remember you mentioning you liked boarding school/rich kid school thrillers and Conversion by Katherine Howe is a really good one even if it’s a bit on the older side (early 2010s I think) and kind of oddly relevant to now! A mysterious illness is afflicting the girls of an elite prep school in the Boston area and it keeps getting worse and spreading through the whole school. It also ties in high stakes Ivy League college admissions and the Salem Witch Trials in some very fun ways.

[@RachelBatemanBooks]

I freaking loved this book! Like, so much more than I thought I was going to at first.

[@platinumbubbles6152]

I just did a reread come October because I was like “I need a spooky book for spooky season” and it just, hit the spot. Definitely doesn’t suffer on rereads.

[@shereeforster3693]

Love love love this trope and always love your thriller videos!! I've listed some other isolated thrillers below. Some I enjoyed, some were meh, but I can't get enough of this trope.... Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert The Guesthouse by Abbie Frost They Did Bad Things by Lauren A Forry They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher Sleep by C.L. Taylor The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley Ten by Gretchen McNeil Beyond Fear by Jaye Ford

[@abqannie5052]

I love Ruth Ware, I’ve read all of her books.

[@TheThreeBookshelves]

Just noticed how close you are to 100k subscribers! Any big plans for the milestone?

[@agneslinnnea]

I got way too excited from hearing you rec a swedish book haha. Definitely have to check that out! 🙌

[@SloanePaoPow]

Ok Alexa, when are we getting an isolation novel from you?

[@thevintageplaylist7191]

1:37 such a mood

[@ThePetergate]

Thanks for this, Alexa; a favourite sub-genre of mine, too. 'And Then There Were None', the way it's written, is also an Impossible Crime - seemingly, no one could have done it.

[@BrekkeEl]

I don’t even like thrillers but I just love your videos. 💜

[@grantbarnes6004]

I'm writing one ! Needed this. thx

[@carriebateman4465]

Great video. 🥰 Nice to finally see book recommendations that aren’t pushing political POVs. The Guest List made my top favorites of last year. LOVED this one!!!

[@lindseycacy]

Ahhhh yes thank you!! Been on a thriller kick lol

[@amyharpe9383]

Any great YA isolation trope thrillers that you recommend? Or upper MG. My middle schoolers love thrillers.

[@TheCourtneyProject]

I feel like I'm broken because I did NOT like The Guest List and soooo many people did. Looks like I have some new ones to add to my TBR!

[@RachelBatemanBooks]

I enjoyed it, but I can easily see how someone could dislike it. I feel like if I’d not been in the right mood for it, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much at all. Luckily, I grabbed it when it was exactly what I wanted to read.

[@shadowmoontarot3781]

And Then There Were None is absolutely amazing...super clever plot twists! The Woman in Cabin 10 is one of the worst books I've ever read... there are so many things wrong with this book it's not even funny. The Turn of the Key and the Guest List are on my TBR... Personally, I would add Murder on the Orient Express to the isolation trope thrillers list. :) Thank you for sharing! I'm going to check the rest of your recommendations! xx

[@NightOwlReader2790]

What about the revenge story type trope in thrillers? Is that a thing? Where the victims are actually horrible people, and the person behind the killings or whatever messed up thing they did is because the victims did something horrible to the perpetrator. Would that be too much of a spoiler to have recommendations for? I really like that trope a whole lot. I can list a few books that you have talked about before that uses that trope. Not going to because of spoiler reasons, but yeah...

[@kymberlyschalkboard8035]

I just read one, not knowing that there was going to be a movie about it on Hulu I do believe! It was so good in my opinion!! It is called "No Exit" by Taylor Adams. It has that isolation feel to it and kept me on the edge of my seat! So great! You should check it out. Thanks for the videos. I subscribed. 🥰

[@ThePetergate]

A weird one I read last year - 'The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,' by Stuart Turton. It's another loop/fantasy/mystery. I thought it was a great idea and worked pretty well, but there were problems.

[@RogueLola]

Do you like movies like this also? This whole video reminded me of this movie I just watched on Netflix, He's Out There. It's a really good isolation thriller. A woman and her two daughter are at a cabin in the woods and someone begins stalking and tormenting them.

[@RachelBatemanBooks]

I LOVE isolation horror/thriller movies. I’m totally gonna check this one out. Thanks!

[@Alkemisti]

I must read all of these. It's not optional anymore.

[@dabieyo]

don't know if you have watched it, but there's this British black comedy calles Stag from 2016, it's only 3 episodes and it's Very Good

[@shamusobi2748]

Murder on the Orient Express, the early Harry Potter novels might be isolation thrillers.

[@digital_aniya]

YEEESSS.

[@monicamerle1417]

Sleep by CL Taylor and Death in the Family

[@carolmain4940]

Not a sound by heather gudenkauf

[@cjradenbaugh]

And Then There Were None is my favorite book of all time- except for this one racist sentence that confused me so much. But it would be easy to take out or replace. It takes away a lot of the “greatness” of the book. But the trope itself is *chef’s kiss* and I just bought An Unwanted Guest because it has this trope!

[@biologyboggs3885]

First!!

[@madisonmaya94]

At least four of these books are narrated by the same person lol

[@kimblagg8090]

I really appreciate all your tips and points. They are very helpful. That said, and I mean this with all kindness - your voice is shrill and makes it uncomfortable to listen to. Perhaps slow down and lower your tone a bit? I truly mean this as helpful.

[@salimasalima595]

The first thing I thought about was Among Us lol

[@Wicked_Werehyena]

Among us

[@Gaywatch]

And Then There Were None got a *great* BBC series in 2015, big rec. My book rec though is Three Truths And A Lie by Brent Hartinger, where four friends go off for a weekend at a woodsy cabin and they don't all make it out alive. Small group dynamics, loads of mystery and tension, well written, the pros outweigh my personal con of not being a big fan of the trope used for the big twist.