TV & Beyond on 2025-07-22 17:10:00

by | Jul 22, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles | 0 comments

TV & Beyond on 2025-07-22 17:10:00

“Gone Girl” is an absolutely haunting crime thriller, right down to its memorable ending, as it explores the twisted marriage between its lead characters. The novel is written by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the acclaimed 2014 film adaptation directed by David Fincher, effectively introducing one of cinema’s best villains to the spotlight. The all-around success surrounding “Gone Girl” fueled a wave of similar thrillers in film and television, often also told from a female protagonist’s perspective. Flynn herself has had a hand in several of these productions to varying degrees, including having her other novels get adapted for the screen.

But while we’ve already recommended the best movies like “Gone Girl” that you should watch next, let’s take it back to where it all began: The books. There are plenty of thriller novels where the tension practically pops off the page. And whether written by Flynn or by another author masterfully weaving in literary suspense, these books will satisfy readers looking for their next tautly paced story. Here are the 12 best books to read if you like Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl.”

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) stands wearing studded leather and spikes in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Nordisk Film

Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s landmark 2005 novel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is one of those rare books that transcends borders to capture an entire generation. The story centers on punk rock hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who live separately in Stockholm. Blomkvist is hired to look into the apparent murder of a young woman on a remote island 40 years ago. This investigation is shadowed by Salander, who has her own troubled past, using her prodigious skills to help solve the mystery.

Larsson’s novel was adapted by Swedish filmmakers in 2009 and by American filmmaker David Fincher in 2011, with both versions inking your brain with a lasting impression. Larsson wrote an entire trilogy of novels following Salander and Blomkvist, which were unfortunately all published posthumously after the author’s sudden death in 2004. That the stories became so renowned worldwide is a testament to Larsson’s sharp writing and propensity for crafting spellbinding mysteries. Dark and breathlessly intense, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is one of the best crime thrillers published in the 21st century.

Sharp Objects

Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) holds open a door to a dingy bar that has "no minors" written on it in Sharp Objects

HBO

Twelve years after its initial publication, Gillian Flynn’s debut novel, 2006’s “Sharp Objects,” was adapted into an HBO limited series. The novel has troubled investigative journalist Camille Preaker return to her hometown in rural Missouri to look into the murder of two local girls. Camille’s return forces her to reunite with her deeply estranged mother, Adora, and her similarly disturbed half-sister, Amma. As Camille’s investigation deepens, she not only confronts her unresolved trauma inflicted by Adora but also contends with the realization that her mother may be linked to the murders.

“Sharp Objects” showcases Flynn’s penchant for crafting psychological thrillers with plenty of genuinely earned twists and turns along the way. But like her best stories, Flynn captures a deep sense of pain in her main characters, with trauma fueling just how much the truth can hurt by the novel’s ending. Camille Preaker is one of the most tortured protagonists across Flynn’s work, but no less determined to find the uncomfortable answers that she’s looking for. A grim journey into its protagonist’s own personal heart of darkness, “Sharp Objects” signaled Flynn’s arrival as a new literary master.

Dark Places

Libby Day (Charlize Theron) stands in a laundromat in Dark Places

A24

After the success of “Gone Girl,” Flynn’s 2009 novel “Dark Places” was adapted and released in 2015. Set in a rural Kansas town, the story is divided into two major time periods and multiple perspectives surrounding the murder of the protagonist’s family in 1985. Decades later, the sole survivor, Libby Day, is confronted with evidence that her brother, the convicted killer, may actually be innocent. This leads Libby to revisit the horrific event and the Satanic cult linked to the massacre as flashbacks from different characters’ points of view fill out the tragedy.

Though the film adaptation was a huge A24 flop despite its all-star cast, the novel “Dark Places” is still quite good. Through the Day family, Flynn explores the hardscrabble life of extreme poverty and neglect in rural America. And for anyone looking for another multifaceted murder mystery that will keep the reader guessing like “Gone Girl,” “Dark Places” more than delivers. An HBO series adaptation of “Dark Places” is currently in development, hopefully giving Flynn’s story the adaptive justice it deserves.

Before I Go to Sleep

Mike Nasch (Mark Strong) and Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) sit together in a car in the rain in Before I Go to Sleep

Clarius Entertainment

British writer S.J. Watson’s debut novel, 2011’s “Before I Go to Sleep,” went on to become a worldwide best-seller. The novel follows a woman named Christine Lucas, who suffers from severe antegrade amnesia, waking up each morning without conscious memories of who she is. Using a journal to remind herself of her identity, Christine is reminded that she’s a middle-aged woman with a husband and son. However, Christine gradually begins to piece together that the identity in her journal may not be entirely true, casting a strong doubt on her life.

“Before I Go to Sleep” was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2014, starring Nicole Kidman. However, much of the novel’s appeal is lost in the retelling. Comparatively, Watson’s book is well-structured, starting out as routine as Christine’s life before beginning to unravel preconceptions about her surroundings. And as unreliable as Christine’s daily journal is, Watson keeps the text accessible and the story exciting as the mystery escalates. Tautly executed and with plenty of twists along the way, “Before I Go to Sleep” is an entertaining yarn that keeps readers on the hook.

Big Little Lies

Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) and Celeste Wrightr (Nicole Kidman) sit in an open car trunk in Big Little Lies

Jennifer Clasen/HBO

Mixing darkly sharp wit with intensely mature subject matter, Australian author Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel “Big Little Lies” subverts modern suburbia. Set in the suburbs of Sydney, the book focuses on three women whose children attend the same local elementary school. As the women grow closer, they reveal the traumas and dysfunctional households that they each come from, with their dynamic tested by animosity between their children. This comes to a lethal head when the families converge for the school’s trivia night as sinister secrets from their shared past come to light.

“Big Little Lies” was loosely adapted into an HBO series in 2017, relocating the story to California, and the adaptation did give Nicole Kidman one of her best TV projects. Even those familiar with the series will be surprised by Moriarty’s novel, which keeps the stakes far more uncomfortably intimate and grounded. And while the story’s subject matter does indeed get very disturbing, Moriarty’s wicked sense of humor keeps the proceedings from becoming overly dour. Tightly written and led by a memorable ensemble cast of characters, “Big Little Lies” is one of the best books from Australia in recent memory.

The Girl on the Train

Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) stares from the window of a train in The Girl on the Train

Universal Pictures

British author Paula Hawkins explored the emotional fallout of romantic decay through the lens of a psychological thriller with her 2015 novel, “The Girl on the Train.” The story focuses on Rachel Watson, a woman whose severe alcoholism ended her marriage and affects her memory through her binge drinking. While taking a regular commute from her home in London, Watson observes a seemingly picturesque young couple on a daily basis. However, when Watson realizes that the wife is engaging in an extramarital affair, her world is completely upended when the woman goes missing after one of Watson’s booze-fueled blackouts.

Given her chronic drinking problem, Rachel Watson is as unreliable a narrator as one could get, which is something Hawkins handles expertly. This uncertainty only escalates as Watson becomes directly involved with the novel’s central mystery and her own evident role in it. A film adaptation, relocating the story to New York, was released in 2016, elevated by Emily Blunt playing Watson. A heartbreaking deconstruction of apparent suburban bliss, “The Girl on the Train” will keep readers guessing until the end.

The Woman in Cabin 10

Lo Blacklock (Keira Knightley) stands at the stern of a ship with the crew watching her in The Woman in Cabin 10

Netflix

An all-star ensemble cast is gathering for Netflix’s psychological thriller “The Woman in Cabin 10,” which is due for a 2025 release. The movie is an adaptation of the best-selling 2016 novel of the same name by British author Ruth Ware. The story follows protagonist Lo Blacklock (Keira Knightley), a travel columnist who becomes a passenger on an exclusive luxury cruise as part of her job. During the ship’s voyage in the North Sea, Blacklock believes she witnesses a woman being thrown overboard, even as all the passengers remain accounted for, leading to a cryptic mystery.

With its narrative premise and paranoia-fueled conspiracy at its core, Ware channels and modernizes similar travel murder mysteries made popular by the prolific Agatha Christie. Given the uncertainty of what exactly Blacklock saw, this heightens the unpredictability as the story progresses. The escalating suspense gives way to big twists as Blacklock moves closer to the truth, despite her fellow passengers dismissing her initial concerns as delusional. The sort of whodunnit that doesn’t really get all that much attention in the literary world these days, “The Woman in Cabin 10” makes for a great, timeless read.

The Couple Next Door

The cover to paperback edition of The Couple Next Door on a white background

Penguin Books/Apple Books

Not to be confused with the 2023 British thriller series of the same name, Shari Lapena’s 2016 novel “The Couple Next Door” weaves a very different tale of conflicting neighbors. The book follows Marco and Anne Conti, a pair of young parents raising their infant daughter Cora next to seemingly friendly neighbors. While attending a dinner party, Anne and Marco return home to find Cora missing, casting suspicion on everyone around them, including each other. As Detective Rasbach investigates the matter, the couple must come clean with one another about their deeply held secrets as they struggle to locate their daughter.

Canadian author Shari Lapena has been crafting solid thrillers for years, but “The Couple Next Door” remains her strongest work to date. The story isn’t afraid to get messy with its interpersonal relationships, with that drama fueling much of the intensity and stakes moving forward. The idea of predatory couples preying on vulnerable families isn’t a new premise, but Lapena makes the dynamic feel fresh. An emotionally turbulent mystery powered by jealousy and deception, “The Couple Next Door” is a melodramatically effective read.

A Simple Favor

Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) takes a photo of Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) in A Simple Favor

Lionsgate

The 2018 dark comedy thriller “A Simple Favor” is not based on a true story, but rather a 2017 novel written by Darcey Bell. The protagonist is mommy blogger Stephanie Ward, who agrees to pick up the son of her best friend Emily Nelson from school on one unassuming day. However, Emily soon goes missing and is presumed dead as her disappearance continues. To learn what happened to her friend, Stephanie delves into Emily’s deepest and darkest secrets, realizing she never knew her as well as she thought.

To be sure, the movie adaptation of “A Simple Favor” is a loose retelling of the novel’s story, in no small part because it’s too self-aware for its own good. Bell’s novel is much darker, eschewing the Hollywood glam for a more morally ambiguous mystery. Both Emily and Stephanie are considerably more nuanced in the literary version of the tale, instead of the overt descent into villainy that’s explored in the movie. For a more straight-laced thriller that pries the well-maintained veneer off of suburban parenthood, the novel “A Simple Wish” is a more cohesive story.

The Guest List

Book cover for The Guest List

HarperCollins/Apple Books

British author Lucy Foley has been writing best-selling mystery novels since 2015, with one of the best from her work so far being 2020’s “The Guest List.” The story centers on the wedding of magazine publisher Jules Keegan and television personality Will Slater, who hold their nuptials in an exclusive ceremony on a remote Irish island. After the guests arrive, a violent storm cuts off access and communications to the mainland, effectively stranding the wedding party together in the interim. As the wedding festivities commence, tensions and dark secrets between the guests come to light, leading to a murder where anyone present could be a suspect.

If “The Woman in Cabin 10” evokes Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries, “The Guest List” tips its narrative hat to the author’s “And Then There Were None.” But rather than using a steadily building body count, Foley weaves a tale powered by interpersonal strife told from multiple perspectives. This makes the entire story something of a pressure cooker, finally going off with lethal consequences, and no one is safe from the implications. Superbly written, “The Guest List” has since been optioned for a limited television series adaptation through Hulu.

The Plot

The cover of The Plot framed against a white background

Celadon Books/Apple Books

2021’s “The Plot,” written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, is a self-aware thriller with one heck of a climax and resolution. The story follows struggling author Jacob Bonner, who has resorted to teaching creative writing after failing to follow up on the success of his debut novel. Learning that one of his students with an unpublished manuscript has died from an apparent overdose, Bonner uses his story outline to finish and take full credit for his next novel. However, as Bonner basks in the public adulation of his renewed success, he receives increasingly threatening messages from someone who knows he stole the story idea from somebody else.

With the plot of Bonner’s stolen novel unfolding in parallel to the main story, “The Plot” is a great tale of life imitating fiction in disturbing ways. Korelitz’s pacing is solid, and the mystery over who is tormenting Bonner and why leads to a deliciously wicked twist at the end. The novel has since been optioned for a limited television series adaptation by Onyx Collective and Hulu. A spellbinding mystery with sharply written turns that will keep readers guessing, “The Plot” is an engrossing page-turner.

None of This Is True

None of This Is True book cover

Atria/Apple Books

The dual unreliable narrator approach to “Gone Girl” is played up by the 2023 thriller novel “None of This Is True” by British author Lisa Jewell. The story focuses on two women, popular podcaster Alix Summer and put-upon housewife Josie Fair, with both women seemingly born on the same day. Intrigued by Josie’s story about being neglected by her family and sidelining her dreams, Alix agrees to a series of interviews with her as part of her podcast. However, the more Alix learns about Josie, the more troubling she finds the backstory and Josie’s growing personal attachment to her.

Just as “Gone Girl” skewers how American news media covers local crimes and incidents, “None of This Is True” shines a light on the podcasting world. While having no problem documenting the lives of others regularly, Alix finds herself uncomfortably close to her new subject, impacting her own well-being. But no matter how disturbing and outrageous Josie’s tale becomes, Alix -– and by extension, the readers –– cannot help but dive deeper into this dark recollection. A grim tale that keeps its audience on the edge of their seat, “None of This Is True” is a sordid thriller that becomes more twisted as it progresses.

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