Ten Dark & Twisty Literary Thrillers I Loved | Reading Recommendations

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[@YaFeya13]

Omg, Shelter was terrific! Read it when it first came out and didn’t hear anyone talking about it for some reason. Whoever is reading this, the book is a true gem 👏🏻

[@GraceCC06]

I have read and loved two of these! Almost all the others are on my TBR due to your recommendations, any that weren’t I just added to my list! What a fantastic list.

[@caseywagner9484]

When I realized that I currently have four of these books ready to be read on my shelves, I knew subscribing was necessary 🎉

[@rkodwyer]

Just finished The God of the Woods (it was also my most anticipated book of the year) and ABSOLUTELY loved it! I would recommend Knife River by Justine Champine as another literary mystery/thriller. Set in a small town in upstate NY, has strong sense of place and examines the impacts of trauma, guilt and sisterly bonds

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm listening to Knife River on audio atm :)

[@susanpowers1875]

Big thanks for this. I have been searching for some good reads and you never disappoint 💕

[@Literatiloves]

Ohhhh, I love this list! Mysteries/thrillers always feel perfect for summer reading. I have read Shelter and thought it was so well done. I have Kala and Birnam Wood waiting for me on my Kindle and now I’m so excited to get to them. I’m adding the others to my TBR as well. Thanks, Mercedes!

[@saalexanderson699]

Really enjoy Rebecca Makkai’s books! Definitely recommend that you read more of hers, esp the hundred year house and the great believers

[@kaylag2142]

such a great, interesting list! thank you so much! love your top/dress too

[@af598]

Sooo keen to read Kala and others you've mentioned here; I absolutely despised Ohio by Markley, however! Thank you for the video, this is exactly what I needed (:

[@Justine_S]

Great list! I’ve read a number and have others on my shelf, but a couple of new additions to my TBR.

[@justjuanreader]

OMG This video is exactly what I needed!!! Thank you a million times! Picking several of these up

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Yay! I'm so glad to hear that. I'd love to hear your thoughts on any you pick up.

[@SarahAsYouWish]

I adore a good literary suspense/thriller book. One of my favorites is The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker. It tells the story of 8 year old Chrissie who has just murdered a young child. We alternate between Chrissie as a girl and her 20 years later as she struggles in her day to day life. It examines abuse, trauma, and the idea of throwaway children. Chrissie is a character who absolutely comes to life right off the pages, and the audiobook is wonderfully narrated.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

That sounds really good. Thanks for the recommendation :)

[@grrrumpypanda]

Wow, great video! I loved Penance and have been wanting to read something similar. X

[@emmas7045]

Oh, I love thrillers/mysteries! I'm looking forward to watching this with a cup of tea. A bit random, but your hair looks lovely in this vid. It really suits you.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Thank you so much :)

[@Princess999663]

Wonderful video. I thought I'd just watch ten minutes and watched the entire thing. I adore this genre and thank you for the definition. The Snakes by Sadie Jones is an incredible read and left me devastated. I also love Emma Cline, Donna Tartt, Laura McHugh, Tana French's stand alones are so wonderfully written (I also love her Dublin Murder series) and I always return to my Barbara Vine's. I've now added Penance and The God of the Woods to my TBR list.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the recommendations :)

[@karakask5488]

I'm so glad you talked about Shelter, it's so good and I don't think it gets enough love. Have you read The Snakes by Sadie Jones? It's about a woman who is recently married but is having marital stress with her new husband. So they go on a trip to France to visit her brother at the hotel he's running. It deals with racism, classism, familial strife, expectations of family and marriage, etc. It's so good and the ending just...😮

[@MercysBookishMusings]

No, I haven't but I've read two of her other books and really enjoy her writing so I definitely need to get to it. I'm glad to hear how much you enjoyed it!

[@acaciairving]

i need to grab the damages. the rest of them i've read and loved. as always, a lovely video

[@jorjastonej]

Love this. Thx so much!

[@Paromita_M]

Thank you so much for this list. Donna Tartt is my favourite living author. So I think I'll start with White Ivy! In your list, I've only read Birnam Wood which I enjoyed. I liked Boy Parts by Eliza Clark so definitely want to check out Penance after White Ivy. Thank you so much once again and happy reading!

[@thebritishbookworm]

So many good ones here! I've either read them and loved them or they're on my TBR!

[@sharoninnes941]

Fantastic video Mercedes I love thrillers ❤️

[@katym6211]

Thanks so much for the brilliant recs ❤

[@nataliebell6866]

Altho fantasy is my genre of choice..these all sound excellent! I will definitely be picking some of these up!👍☺️

[@nataliebell6866]

I bought Shelter in 2016..after watching one of your videos. It's so good...and is one I am interested in rereading!😊👍

[@annapajmel5843]

Great video, all the best 🎉

[@karenmoore4430]

I have reserved the Una Mannion book from my library. Thanks Mercedes

[@aed2069]

I read Penance after you discussed it a while ago (thank you again! It’s a new favourite for sure!). I liked that ANOTHER layer reflected not just social media/internet culture but society’s obsession with true crime! I felt very “seen” as I began the book drawing parallels to the case and the one in real-life… then questioned “am I part of this crowd that is obsessed with true crime to a fault?!”

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Yes, I liked that too although I did hope it would explore that a bit more because I find the obsession with true crime so interesting.

[@thereadingcat6666]

Thank you so much, Mercedes!! You found a genre I wasn’t conscious about loving it already so much. So far, I only read Rebecca Makkais book 🤩 but two of your recommendations are waiting here on my shelves (Birnam Wood and Kala). Now my wishlist has become even longer. I loved - Gentlemen and players by Joanne Harris - A good neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler Both might fall in the same category ❤

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I hope you enjoy them! Oh, thanks for the recommendations. They both sound great!

[@majelthesurreal5723]

This video just popped up in my feed today and listening to the first 2 min your channel is for me. I like dark thrillers but also good writing. I will be looking for Kala and Ohio first but the rest are on my radar now. TY.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm so glad you hear you enjoyed the video :)

[@amandaskelton2132]

What I great list! The only one I haven’t read is Birnam Wood which I have no excuse for it’s been sitting on my shelf since it came out. This had made me want to reread all of these! I would love to see you do a part 2 to this where you talk about books like this that are on your radar/tbr.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

😂 I love how similar our reading taste is! I have loads more on my tbr I'm hoping to read soon so I can do a part 2 of this video 🤓 but the tbr video sounds fun too so maybe I'll have to do that first!

[@amandaskelton2132]

@@MercysBookishMusings I know! I do too. I really hope you do a tbr video or if you don’t want to do a video share the list 😊

[@denisekrueger8745]

Just read White Ivy this week and whew it was a ride!

[@NovelFindsByKassi]

I am so excited to explore some of the book you've listed because of the ones I've read that you have read too, we are 100% in the same mind of them. Birnam Wood, I have some Questions for you both were so brilliant. I loved both of them. I'm so glad I found your channel! ::hugs::

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Yay, I'm so glad to hear that :)

[@karenmiller1105]

So many good books to try. Thanks.

[@MeMyDogAndBooks]

Just discovered your channel 🥳 and now binge watching!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

@@MeMyDogAndBooks yay! I love discovering a channel and getting to binge watch 🤓

[@graceeleanor8226]

I loved Kala and Penance and enjoyed Birnam Wood too, so definitely adding some of these to my list! I've been looking forward to reading the new Una Mannion one too since I loved The Crooked Tree! I thought of Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt and Underbelly by Anna Whitehouse when you were describing the premises of some of these!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

So glad to hear you've enjoyed a few of these so much :) Thanks so much for the recommendations!

[@bmschatz]

Already read Penance and Birnam Wood and adore them both! Planning to read The Damages and The God of the Woods based on your recs. Lots of the books you recommend come out in the UK before they do in the US so you help me get in early on the library wait lists

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm so glad you picked up Penance and Birnham Wood and enjoyed them :) You'll have to let me know what you think of the others when you get to them :)

[@philstrand]

Great suggestions! Just found your channel and look forward to more of your recommendations. Birnam Wood blew me away. Another intelligent literary thriller on the same level is Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor. I loved I Have Some Questions for You. Penance was well done too. Fans of The God of the Woods might seek out The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett. Both are intricately plotted and exquisitely paced puzzle boxes with tons to admire even if I preferred The God of the Woods. I also had a few dozen theories about where it was headed, all plausibly hinted at by Moore.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm so glad to hear how many of these you enjoyed :) Thanks for the recommendations!

[@splitreads]

It’s so fascinating how while these books have that similar flair, we can all still have such different reactions to each individual book. For example, I reeeeallly liked I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. But I DNFed SHELTER (after loving her other book) and I liked but didn’t love WHITE IVY. Some of these are on my tbr like Eliza Clark. Never heard of THE DAMAGES but it sounds really good! I liked Liz Moore’s last book and I’m excited for her new book! Maybe a book similar is NOTES ON AN EXECUTION?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Ohhh, that is intriguing. It's always so interesting to me how specific each persons reading tastes are. I tried Notes an an Execution but dnfed it as I didn't like the writing. Such a shame as a few people have recommended it to me.

[@Jennifer1306]

Thanks so much for this video, I love literary thrillers and added all that I haven’t read yet to my list. My copy of The God of the Woods arrived just yesterday, can’t wait to pick it up, it sounds so good. Have you read On the Savage Side? I’ve just started it so can’t say much yet, but it could be one you’d like (rural, coming of age, twin sisters) and the writing is beautiful.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I hope you enjoy it! I haven't but I tried the authors first book and sadly didn't get on with her writing style. I'm gutted because of love the premise of both of her books.

[@Paromita_M]

Returning to say that while White Ivy was not quite for me, I loved God of the Woods and Tell Me What I Am was also really good. God of the Woods was another level...it's the kind which makes The Secret History or a lot of Agatha Christie mysteries so good imo and why they lend themselves so well to rereads - not the whodunit but the whydunit. The slow buildup, when it all makes sense and sees how it came to be upon revisiting the story. The multi POV in God of the Woods was also brilliantly done. I'll be checking out some of the other recs as well. Thanks so much.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I completely agree re The God of the Woods!

[@cuppiesaur]

Could you please do a video recommendation on beautiful, not necessarily happy, but enjoyable "calm" 'laid back" "chill" reads? I've been really depressed lately and I'm searching for a calm beautiful charming story to make me smile and really love your books recs, so I was wondering if you could make such a list. If have done one already, someone please let me know the title of the video, please?!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'm sorry to hear you've been feeling depressed. That's horrible for you. I can definitely pull together a list like that 😊

[@readinsteadbyjake]

Try, The Gift, by Danielle Steel

[@Victoria-kl7su]

Try summery books, and books with Cornwall as a subject - they always chill me out - the type where someone relocates to a seaside resort and sets up a tea shop or takes over a cafe etc - they are a bit twee maybe but so relaxing - Authors like Tricia Ashley, Katie Fforde, Lucy Diamond

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hello, I cohost an event in May called mental health May with Another book tuber. We have many recommendations because we both suffer from mental health challenges. I find Jane Austen books and Agatha Christie both help relieve stress and depression. Sending you healing vibes. Aloha.

[@maeverose2290]

This isn't literary (I'd describe them as light sci fi) but A Psalm for the Wild-Built and the sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers are comfort in book form. They aren't anything profound but they're definitely calm and comforting, I often re read them when I'm feeling down.

[@shiningyoonie]

Literary thrillers is my absolute favorite genre to read and Birnam Wood was the best book I read last year. It had me in a choke 😂

[@ucheaus]

I love this genre! And I’m loving The God of the Woods.

[@laurakuhlmann1626]

Oh, what has this video done to my TBR? :D

[@jenniferlovesbooks]

I asked my library to buy The Damages - and they did! It's on its way to me now. I love I Have Some Questions For You so hoping to enjoy it. I've had Shelter on my shelf for a few years, I really need to read it! (Funnily enough, I've DNF'd four of these books 😂)

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Hahaha, which ones have you dnf?

[@jenniferlovesbooks]

@@MercysBookishMusings Kala, Penance, Birnam Wood and White Ivy 🙈 I picked up The Damages from the library today, looking forward to it 😊

[@MercysBookishMusings]

@@jenniferlovesbooks Interesting. I thought it might be White Ivy and Birnham Wood but wasn't sure what the other two would be. I can't wait to hear what you think of The Damages!

[@velmavlogs7693]

I’ve just finished Birnam Wood and really enjoyed it. I’d like to add Stef Penney if I may. I loved The Tenderness of Wolves and Under a Pole Star.

[@velmavlogs7693]

I’ve added just about every other book here to my tbr😊

[@MercysBookishMusings]

@@velmavlogs7693 That's what I liked to hear 😂

[@toweringtbr]

I loved Kala and Birnam Wood! I have Ohio, Tell me What I Am, and Shelter on my shelves and am more excited to pick them up.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

@@toweringtbr can I recommend the audio of Ohio. It has a multi voice cast

[@toweringtbr]

@@jacquelinemcmenamin8204 Sounds great!

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

The Gd of Woods is on my kindle thanks to a friend. What I miss most is the golden age mystery types and I’m wondering if you read the translated fiction mystery, Point Zero by Seicho Matsumoto? It’s a wonderful book but difficult to find. I found it in Canada on vacation. Aloha

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I haven't but I'll have to look into it. Thanks for the recommendation :)

[@tabithaholmes9863]

I have read almost all of these books and loved them all! You might consider: Your House Will Pay Notes on an Execution Valentine

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Thanks for the recommendations. I've read Your House Will Pay and enjoyed it but felt the ending let it down a bit. I dnf'd Notes on an Execution because the writing style wasn't for me. I haven't read Valentine though so I need to give it a go 😊

[@tabithaholmes9863]

Ah... Have you read The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade? It is not a book in the spirit of the literary mysteries, but I think you might really enjoy it!

[@angelacase3123]

As a fellow Donna Tartt fan. I fancy the book with Ivy in. Did you ever read The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood? Shades of Brideshead but also Secret History.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

No, I didn't but I remember hearing people talk about it when it came out and being intrigued by it. Thanks for reminding me that I need to pick it up!

[@danielaw5514]

These all sound so good! 😱😊 (Not book related, but did you sew your top? It‘s beautiful! 😍)

[@MercysBookishMusings]

No, I wish! It's from a small UK company called tapuh all run and sewn by one women 👍

[@rebecca.reader]

I adored Birnam Wood! I didnt think I liked thrillers as I generally prefer more character focused narratives....but maybe I am wrong!? Will definitely check out one or two of these.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any you get to 😊

[@megan9723]

I'm similar! I think Birnam Wood is a really good example of something that can be an excellent character study and also be thrilling! We may have to keep looking for those thrillers with that extra character-focused goodness :)

[@cereal_qilla]

Omg I wanna read Tell Me What I Am by Una Mannion about the coercive control thank you for telling me about it. I kind of want to see one where the coercive controller is a woman

[@msrichelle88]

I read Kala and *didn't love it* - I am Canadian and maybe the Irish vernacular didn't translate for me?? Not sure. I LOVE your reviews though, and am halfway through God of the Woods, completely agree with you about the atmosphere there. Now I am reserving White Ivy and Penance. Thanks!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

That's a shame. I'd highly recommend the audio of Kala. I hope you enjoy the ones you pick up :)

[@BookishDogLady]

Given your love for Penance and Kala, I think you would enjoy Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey. It's a bold recommendation from my part, as I'm just watching the show based on the book on Disney, never read the actual book, but hey, it has very good reviews on Goodreads, it seems like a pretty safe bet😂

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Oh, it sounds really good. Thanks for the recommendation 😊 is it fiction or non fiction?

[@BookishDogLady]

@@MercysBookishMusings oops, sorry, I didn't see the notification. It's non-fiction

[@traceymills5113]

I have read Birnham Wood. Penance and Shelter. I have four others on my TBR so yup love these books too. I actually pre-ordered The God of the Woods together with other books from a book shop here in Australia but the company has gone into administration so I didn’t get my books and probably lost my money. So frustrating….

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Urgh, that's so frustrating for you!

[@Hayrumi]

Which audiobook app you recommend?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

@@Hayrumi I use everand 👍

[@wavaleebranch]

I really liked OHIO and WHITE IVY, too

[@suzy8109]

I agree with your views on thrillers ... abòut these books being compulsive reading ... but I have to disagree about fantasy literature. I gave tried fantasy but I really can't stand this genre as an adult. Great recommendations as always. Thank you.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

That's a shame. Have you tried any older fantasy like Robin Hobb or George R Martin? I don't enjoy much modern fantasy as it feels quite juvenile

[@p_p_p_p_7732]

Have you read any Tana French?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I've read In the Woods which I quite liked so I do need to try another one

[@velmavlogs7693]

I thought her too, definitely fits the bill. Plus, one of them (4 or 5?) is set in a posh boarding school so right up your street Mercedes!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

@velmavlogs7693 oh, that does sound good!

[@vacantlots]

Someone's been to Atwin 😊

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I sure have 😊 I so wanted this when tapuh released it but didn't order in time so I was so excited to see atwin had it in 🎉

[@vacantlots]

Lovely. Too pricey for me but looks gorgeous on you.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

The books I haven’t read on your list White Ivy The Damages Penance Tell Me What I Am I love Ohio ( and Deluge) Kala I’m currently reading The God of the Woods ☘️👋🍀📚📕📖☕️

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

Also forgot to say I love that top/dress.