Psychological Thriller Archives

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards [Book Review]

Posted on November 15, 2025November 15, 2025 by Darinda

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BOOK INFO

Title: The Wasp Trap

Author: Mark Edwards

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: September 16, 2025

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. The old friends are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

MY REVIEW

Six old friends reunite at a dinner party. Twenty-five years earlier, they all worked with a professor on developing an online dating site based on psychological testing. The dinner party takes a drastic turn when they are locked inside and held at gunpoint until they reveal their darkest secrets.

The Wasp Trap is a locked room mystery told using multiple points of view. The friends worked together on a project that ended abruptly years earlier. They all have secrets, some darker than others. Throughout the evening, secrets from the past are revealed.

The Wasp Trap is a clever mystery. Dark and suspenseful.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins [Book Review]

Posted on January 14, 2025January 12, 2025 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Cross My Heart

Author: Megan Collins

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: January 14, 2025

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

MY REVIEW

Rosie wants to find love, and thinks she may have found the right man. Rosie is a heart transplant patient, and starts emailing Morgan, the husband of the woman whose heart she received. She believes Morgan is the one for her, but she starts to hear some disturbing rumors as she learns more about him.

Cross My Heart is told primarily from Rosie’s point of view, but also includes email exchanges, phone messages, and book excerpts. Rosie is an intriguing, though sometimes frustrating character. Her “Rosie-colored glasses” viewpoint is somewhat unreliable. She is a romantic and has a positive outlook toward everything.

Cross My Heart is a well-crafted and suspenseful psychological thriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Megan Collins:

The Winter Sister
Behind the Red Door
The Family Plot
Thicker Than Water
Cross My Heart

The Perfect Home by Daniel Kenitz [Book Review]

Posted on January 7, 2025December 29, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Perfect Home

Author: Daniel Kenitz

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: January 7, 2025

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Dawn Decker is an American everywoman and the salt to her husband Wyatt’s sweet, media-friendly charm on their Tennessee-based home renovation reality TV show, The Perfect Home. While Dawn bristles at the trappings of their D-list celebrity status, Wyatt hungers for greater fame. The couple also faces infertility issues stemming from Wyatt’s low sperm count. He secretly orders experimental fertility drugs, and they conceive, but his personality takes a dark turn—he becomes moody, withdrawn, and even cruel.

When Dawn discovers his horrifying plot to manufacture a tragedy in order to skyrocket their celebrity status, she takes their infant twins and goes on the run. Wyatt appears on national television to turn the public against her, painting Dawn as an unstable kidnapper suffering from postpartum psychosis. His charm is so compelling that even Dawn’s closest friends doubt her. She will have to dig deep into the past—both hers and Wyatt’s—to find allies, protect her children, and beat this beloved all-American celebrity at his own game.

MY REVIEW

Dawn and Wyatt have a charming, perfect life. While they want to add a child to their lives, they are struggling with infertility issues. Wyatt starts taking fertility drugs, and they work… but his personality starts to change. After their twins are born, Dawn learns of Wyatt’s evil plan. Unfortunately, he has the more likable personality, and Dawn is portrayed as the unstable one.

The Perfect Home is told through Dawn and Wyatt’s points of view. They have a successful home renovation show, but Wyatt dreams of more fame. Dawn is content with the lives they have. Dawn is smart, but sometimes naive . Wyatt is not a good man, but he is very charming.

The Perfect Home is a twisty and wild thriller. An entertaining debut novel.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto [Book Review]

Posted on December 28, 2024December 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: You Will Never Be Me

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: August 20, 2024

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto

BOOK BLURB

Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite. Then, Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now, she has access to everything: the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers.

Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. What everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive. When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

MY REVIEW

Meredith and Aspen are social media influencers and former best friends. Aspen’s influencer career has taken off and Meredith envies her for it. Meredith gets the opportunity to improve her own social media accounts, and takes it, even if it hurts Aspen. Meanwhile, Aspen’s image starts to fall, and she’s not going to let her perfectly curated life go away so easily.

Meredith and Aspen are both unlikable characters. The story alternates between their two points of view, and it’s hard to choose which one to root for. The story is well-paced, and the influencer storyline is entertaining.

You Will Never Be Me is an intriguing and creepy psychological thriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen [Book Review]

Posted on December 28, 2024December 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: House of Glass

Author: Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: August 6, 2024

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they built the perfect lie.

A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses to speak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find out the truth when everyone here is lying?

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny – in the midst of her parent’s bitter divorce – and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella’s mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays, she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there’s something eerie about the house itself: It’s a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.

As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud, and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny’s murder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny’s boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella’s supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?

MY REVIEW

Stella is a best interest attorney called to work on the custody case of a nine-year-old girl. The girl witnessed the death of her nanny and has stopped speaking. Stella is concerned for the girl, and troubled by the family.

The story is told from Stella’s point of view. She doesn’t normally work with children as young as her latest case, but the judge believes she’s the best fit to help the girl. Stella suspects the family is keeping secrets, and she tries to uncover the truth. As she tries to find a way to connect with the girl, she also suspects there may be a killer in the home.

House of Glass is an atmospheric and intriguing thriller. Fans of this author are sure to enjoy this book too.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Sarah Pekkanen:

Gone Tonight
House of Glass

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood [Book Review]

Posted on December 28, 2024December 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Ladykiller

Author: Katherine Wood

Publisher: Bantam

Publish Date: July 9, 2024

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

When an heiress goes missing, her best friend races to unravel the secrets behind her disappearance using clues left behind in an explosive manuscript…

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were girls, forever bonded by the tragedy that unfolded in Greece when they were eighteen. In the aftermath, bookish Abby threw herself into her studies while heiress Gia chronicled the events of that fateful summer in a salacious memoir.

Twelve years later, Gia is back in Greece for the summer with her shiny new husband and a motley crew of glamorous guests, preparing to sell the family estate in the wake of her father’s death. When Abby receives an invitation from Gia to celebrate her birthday in September beneath the Northern Lights, she’s thrilled to be granted the time off from her high-pressure job. But the day of her flight, she receives a mysterious, threatening email in her inbox, and when she and Gia’s brother Benny arrive at the Swedish resort, Gia isn’t there. After days of cryptic messages and unanswered calls, Abby and Benny are worried enough to fly to Greece to check on her.

Only, when they arrive, they find Gia’s beachfront estate eerily deserted, the sole clue to her whereabouts a manuscript she wrote detailing the events leading up to her disappearance. The pages reveal the dark truth about Gia’s provocative new marriage and the dirty secrets of the guests they entertained with fizzy champagne under the hot Mediterranean sun. As tensions rise, Gia feels less and less safe in her own home. But the pages end abruptly, leaving Abby and Benny with more questions than answers.

Where is Gia now? And, more importantly, will they find her before it’s too late?

MY REVIEW

Gia and Abby have been best friends for years. When Gia goes missing in Greece, Abby travels there to find out what happened to her friend.

Told using alternating timelines and points of view. The present day point of view is from Abby, as she searches for her friend. The past is told from Gia’s perspective through a manuscript she wrote and left for Abby to find. Intriguing characters and an inviting setting.

Ladykiller is a compelling thriller with drama, secrets, and intrigue.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Palms by Kaira Rouda [Book Review]

Posted on June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Under the Palms

Author: Kaira Rouda

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: May 21, 2024

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: The Kingsleys #2

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Under the direction of the Kingsleys’ new president, Paige, the family has gathered for a weekend retreat at a luxurious Laguna Beach resort.

Still clinging to the hope of succession are the sons of Richard Kingsley, the family patriarch and CEO: John, the oldest, who’s clawed his way back from a dark tragedy, and Paige’s estranged husband, Ted, the golden boy. When Richard’s ex and his wayward daughter join the fray, Paige finds herself with two fast allies. They know a secret that could shatter the family legacy. Call it leverage, call it revenge, the Kingsley women believe they have the upper hand.

But as the power games begin, greater threats than the howling Santa Ana winds are coming. Because this weekend, amid so much greed and betrayal, no Kingsley is safe. It’s family. Watch your back.

MY REVIEW

The Kingsley family is back!

Under the Palms is the second book with The Kingsleys series. While Under the Palms can be read as a standalone, I recommend starting with the first book in the series, Beneath the Surface.

This book is told using multiple points of view with short chapters. Devious characters in a fast-paced and wild story.

Under the Palms is a fun read with twists and turns. The pages are filled with secrets, scandals, and betrayals.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in The Kingsleys series:

Beneath the Surface
Under the Palms

You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen [Book Review]

Posted on June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: You Know What You Did

Author: K. T. Nguyen

Publisher: Dutton

Publish Date: April 16, 2024

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Annie “Anh Le” Shaw grew up poor, but seems to have it all now: a dream career, a stunning home, and a devoted husband and daughter. When Annie’s mother, a Vietnam War refugee, dies suddenly one night, Annie’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. Her obsessive-compulsive disorder, which she thought she’d vanquished years ago, comes roaring back—but this time, the disturbing fixations swirling around in Annie’s brain might actually be coming true.

A prominent art patron disappears, and the investigation zeroes in on Annie. Spiraling with self-doubt, she distances herself from her family and friends, only to wake up in a hotel room—naked, next to a lifeless body. The police have more questions, but with her mind increasingly fractured, Annie doesn’t have answers. All she knows is this: She will do anything to protect her daughter—even if it means losing herself.

MY REVIEW

Annie’s life unravels after the death of her mother. Her OCD and PTSD return, and the police suspect her in a crime. Her self-doubt forces her to distance herself from family and friends. Unsure of what is real and what is not, she struggles to uncover the truth.

You Know What You Did is told from Annie’s point of view. Annie seems to have a great life, but things really unravel after her mother’s death. Annie is an intriguing unreliable narrator.

You Know What You Did is intense and suspenseful. Recommended for fans of slow-burning psychological thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda [Book Review]

Posted on December 27, 2023June 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Beneath the Surface

Author: Kaira Rouda

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: September 5, 2023

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: The Kingsleys #1

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

You are cordially invited to an overnight voyage on the Splendid Seas.

An invitation to Catalina Island from billionaire CEO Richard Kingsley. For his sons, Ted and John, and their wives, it’s an opportunity to curry favor, gain control of a real estate empire, and secure their family’s futures. For the controlling patriarch, succession is a contest. He and his newest wife won’t make it an easy win.

Then Richard’s estranged live-wire daughter, Sibley, crashes the party. She’s the least of the night’s surprises. As the stakes for the inheritance of the Kingsley legacy are raised, the beautiful waters of the Pacific look more like a menacing illusion.

Let the games begin for a family who has everything money can buy, and has used lies, deception, and more to keep it. This weekend one of them will be crowned heir. One is in line to lose everything. That’s the plan. But in the coming storm, so much can go dangerously wrong.

MY REVIEW

The Kingsley family goes on a weekend voyage on their father’s new yacht. The father is controlling, and when he brings up the family inheritance, the adult children are ruthless.

Beneath the Surface is told using multiple points of view with short chapters. The characters are devious. The story is fast-paced and wild.

A wickedly fun thriller. Secrets, scandals, and betrayals. This is the first book with The Kingsleys, and I look forward to reading more.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in The Kingsleys series:

Beneath the Surface
Under the Palms

I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto [Book Review]

Posted on December 27, 2023January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: I’m Not Done with You Yet

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: August 22, 2023

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

I'm Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto

BOOK BLURB

Jane is unhappy.

A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house—a life—she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life—cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now.

Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week—“Can’t wait to see you there!”—Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again.

MY REVIEW

Jane and Thalia became friends during a creative writing course at Oxford. Their friendship ended after a tragic incident, and they haven’t seen each other for years. Jane has been unable to locate Thalia over the years, but now Thalia has a bestselling book, and Jane knows how to find her.

I’m Not Done with You Yet is primarily told from Jane’s point of view. Jane is an unreliable narrator. Unlikable characters and unhealthy relationships make for an entertaining read.

A dark and twisty novel. Recommended for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with devious characters and toxic friendships.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen [Book Review]

Posted on December 27, 2023December 28, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Gone Tonight

Author: Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: August 1, 2023

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

When Ruth Sterling was a teenager, she slipped away one night, desperate to escape an abusive home and a troubling boyfriend. Pregnant, alone, and prepared to do anything to survive, she eventually makes a life for herself—and soon, for her newborn daughter Catherine. For more than twenty years, Ruth has lived quietly and has provided for her daughter. But she is always ready to run at a moment’s notice, and never allows either of them to put down roots too deeply. Now, Catherine is grown and craves a life for herself. This is something her mother will do anything to prevent—but for what reasons? It has always been just the two of them against the world. But how well do they really know each other? When Ruth’s deeply held quest to keep Catherine by her side reveals cracks in her carefully constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception. They both have secrets. But which one of them carries the real darkness inside?

MY REVIEW

As a pregnant teenager, Ruth ran away from home. It has been just her and her daughter, Catherine, for over twenty years. Catherine is an adult now, and ready to spread her wings. Ruth is not ready for her daughter to leave.

Gone Tonight is told using Ruth and Catherine’s points of view. Both characters think they know the other better than they really do, which makes for an interesting read.

A slow-burning, tense, and twisty psychological thriller. Recommended to readers who enjoy thrillers centered around mother/daughter relationships.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Sarah Pekkanen:

Gone Tonight
House of Glass

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin [Book Review]

Posted on December 27, 2023January 15, 2024 by Darinda

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Dark Corners

Author: Megan Goldin

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: August 8, 2023

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: Rachel Krall #2

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his release date approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped―or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? And why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel Krall’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems to only exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail―identical to a tattoo Rachel had seen on Bailey’s hand―the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krall herself. Suddenly the target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

MY REVIEW

Rachel is a true crime podcaster that gets asked to help on the case of a missing woman. While helping the FBI, Rachel unknowingly has put herself as a target.

Dark Corners is the second book in the Rachel Krall series. While this is the second book in a series, it can be read as a standalone. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Night Swim, and highly recommend reading it too.

Dark Corners is an intriguing thriller. Dark and compelling. Recommended for fans of true crime podcasts and psychological thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Megan Goldin:

The Girl in Kellers Way
The Escape Room
The Night Swim
Stay Awake
Dark Corners