Fall thrillers and mystery books set the mood for a spooky autumn season. Here, you’ll find my favorite suspenseful tales for a chilly day with a cozy sweater and blanket. With these reading ideas for autumn self-care, you’ll feel all the fall feels, so let’s get literary!
List of the Best Fall Thrillers for Adults
TOP 3 PICKS
The Only One Left delivers on suspense and spooky fall vibes.
Layla offers a popular paranormal romance for fans of Colleen Hoover.
The Secret History is a modern classic that’s dark academia at its absolute finest.
These fall thriller books are not just shocking—they also have autumnal vibes, including haunted houses, ghost stories, dark academia, and the like.
- Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
- Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
- Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
- How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
- Layla by Colleen Hoover
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
- The Only One Left by Riley Sager
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
- The Whisper Man by Alex North
Reviews of My Favorite Cozy Fall Psychological Thrillers and Mystery Books
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
The locked room mystery book Daisy Darker is my top Alice Feeney’s books.
Daisy is a woman with a heart condition who claims to have died several times in her life. Her beloved Nana, an author who wrote about her, has gathered the family at her tiny island estate in Cornwall for her 80th birthday, where she reads her will.
Cut off from the world, a storm rages, and the dysfunctional Darker family ominously discusses how they would each murder someone. Then, at the stroke of midnight, Nana is found dead, and each hour, the death toll increases.
This may sound like a familiar plot, but the inclusion of riddles and old home movies shows that this family’s secrets are truly unique. The exquisitely executed plot provides the kind of unexpected shock that makes you want to go back and re-read everything.
Reading Tip: Based on my reading experiences and conversations with other readers, the ending is more surprising if you listen via audiobook.
Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
Good Girls Lie takes the reader on a wild ride, particularly in the last one hundred pages. So much happens in this fall thriller book when British student Ash Carr arrives at a girls’ boarding school campus in Virginia.
At the outset of this book set at school, the reader learns that someone is hanging from the school gates, but the who, why, and how are unknown. That’s only one of many mysterious deaths in this twisted novel!
The story is told in small tidbits from numerous perspectives, laying out a trail of breadcrumbs to follow as the truth unfolds. With this type of storytelling, it’s hard to know who to believe. There are school politics, secret societies, Honor codes, haunted histories in a sprawling mid-Atlantic campus, and so much more as you learn who is behind it all.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
In Home Before Dark, a woman named Maggie returns to her childhood house. It was made famous by her father’s bestselling memoir, which described it as a haunted house of horrors, with a sordid trail of deaths within its walls.
Skeptical Maggie was only five at the time and remembers nothing as she makes plans to renovate and sell the home. After a grizzly discovery, though, the house gains notoriety once again. Maggie goes on a quest to determine the true history of the horrors, and dark secrets are revealed.
Home Before Dark is a fall-themed book that somehow feels like both a slow burn and a page-turner. It was also nice to get the perspectives of both an adult Maggie and that of her father’s book sprinkled in. The ending surprised me, and it truly delivered ghostly thrills.
Lastly, as so many readers have said, I agree that you will never think of The Sound of Music the same way again.
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
How to Sell a Haunted House is the strangest unputdownable book I’ve read. At its core, it’s about demonic puppets, trauma, and grief—yes, you read that right.
After their parents tragically die, Louise and Mark reunite in Charleston to sell the family home. Complicating things, however, is a possessed puppet named Pumpkin, who has been part of the family for many years.
This book mixes horror with family drama in all the right ways, making it so special and beloved by readers.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
If We Were Villains oozes the aesthetic of dark academic books.
Ten years before Oliver was released from prison, he was part of a group of Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. It was a passionate environment of immersive theater, where a night of drunken debauchery led to death. Oliver’s finally ready to tell the truth about what happened.
With parallels to Shakespearean tragedies and their extreme emotions running throughout, it’s a daring and ambitious coming-of-age book about college that delivers. It explores everything from coping with grief to the motivations that drive us. It’s the kind of book that will keep you reading late at night.
Related Posts: If We Were Villains Characters | If We Were Villains Summary | If We Were Villains Review
Layla by Colleen Hoover
Layla is Colleen Hoover’s ghostly fall romance novel.
Leeds wants to spend his life with Layla, but he’s torn because she was left a different woman as the result of a violent attack. When they retreat to a “bed and breakfast,” Layla’s behavior becomes downright bizarre.
That’s not the only odd thing happening in this place! When Leeds meets a “guest” named Willow, he starts falling for her in an eerily passionate affair. This ultimately leads to him learning the truth about what happened to Layla and the eerie occurrences that threaten their second chance at love.
It’s strange and paranormal, yet, just as satisfying as all Hoover’s books.
Related Posts: Layla Trigger Warnings | Summary of Layla
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
If you love Alex Michaelides books, The Maidens is a great fall-themed thriller with nods to Greek culture and history.
Mariana is a therapist who believes a charming Greek tragedy professor at a university has murdered her niece’s friend, a member of a female secret society. After another death, Mariana becomes determined to prove the professor’s guilt at any cost.
It has complex layers beyond most thrillers, which kept me intrigued.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
The One of Us Is Lying series of books blends murder and secrets at detention—like the 80s cult classic The Breakfast Club, but with a deadly twist. It works well for both young adults and adults.
After five students walk into detention at Bayview High (the brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete, and the outcast), one ends up dead, and the others are left suspects, scrambling to uncover the truth behind the death.
Everyone has a secret in high school, and this maxim certainly applies to the characters. There are satisfying twists as they struggle to keep their secrets and solve the mystery.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
The Only One Left is a chilling 1980s Gothic tale about a tarnished caregiver named Kit. She must work for a woman named Lenora, accused of a gruesome family massacre in 1929, in her spooky cliffside estate called “Hope’s End.” Lenora, the fear-inducing “Lizzie Borden” of her Maine town, has been rendered mute by a stroke but wishes to tell her side of the story over a typewriter.
It’s eerie and ominous, and it takes twists and turns the reader can never expect, which always makes for a great thriller. My jaw actually DROPPED several times.
Given its spooky and atmospheric vibes, it would be a great book to read when it gets colder and darker at night and Halloween approaches.
Related Posts: Best Riley Sager Books Ranked | Riley Sager Book Order
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”
– Daphne du Maurier
So begins the classic thriller book like The Last Mrs. Parrish, Rebecca, which is also on the Rory Gilmore book list.
It’s a slow burn with a creepy and atmospheric feel. The reader never actually meets Rebecca, who has passed away before the story begins.
A lower-class woman without a family, working as a servant, meets and quickly marries Rebecca’s wealthy older widow — the owner of the vast estate known as Manderley. Upon her arrival at Manderley, the “ghost” of his first wife, Rebecca, lingers through the actions of the adoring staff, who refuse to let go of her memory.
There’s so much more to the truth behind Rebecca‘s tragic death. Maurier’s writing is immersive, and the last 100 pages leave you wanting more as you wonder what a sequel may uncover.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History defines the genre of fall thrillers. If you read only one book on this list, make it this quintessential pick.
It’s about an outcast from California who is desperate to fit in at a preppy college in Vermont in the 1980s. He becomes friends with his fellow Greek classmates, and their obsession with Greek has deadly consequences. The crew spirals downward as they process the gravity of their actions.
This book has some of the best dialogue I’ve read, and the ending makes your heart pound in suspense. This modern classic is a must-read for literature lovers. It transports you to the time and place and makes the characters feel real.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Silent Patient is an insanely popular psychological thriller book about Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who has been found guilty of murdering her husband, the in-demand fashion photographer Gabriel Berenson.
Because Alicia took a plea of “diminished responsibility,” she was admitted to a secure forensic unit called the Grove instead of being sent to prison.
There, Theo Faber is a newly hired criminal psychotherapist with a troubled past. He is uniquely intrigued by Alicia’s case and requests to be assigned to her care. Alicia is known as “The Silent Patient,” as she has not spoken since the day of the murder of her husband Gabriel.
As Theo attempts to treat Alicia, he also dives deep into her past. Meanwhile, dark truths about Theo’s life are also revealed.
In one absolutely jaw-dropping plot twist, these storylines ultimately reach their climaxes, and the truth is revealed. This masterfully paced thriller keeps you glued to the pages and makes you question everything you thought you knew about the characters and their stories.
I read it in just one day, like so many millions of other readers who rave about this satisfying thriller.
Related Post: Summary of The Silent Patient
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Turn of the Key is one of the most popular Ruth Ware books.
Rowan Caine finds a live-in nanny job at a remote mansion called Heatherbrae House in the Scottish Highlands.
But, her dream job becomes a nightmare when a child dies and she finds herself in prison awaiting trial for murder. She writes to her lawyer, trying to explain the odd events in the home that led to her incarceration and prove her innocence.
What may make this book so popular is that the reader immediately knows Rowan is in prison. It really keeps you hooked to learn how she got there and whether she will be convicted. Also, the “haunted mansion” deep in Scotland makes it feel very ominous. There are some surprising twists too!
Related Post: Ruth Ware Books in Chronological Order
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a truly disturbing book. Just look at that creepy book cover!
Teenager Merricat lives with her ill uncle and agoraphobic sister, Constance, in an isolated New England home.
Six years earlier, the three survived a tragedy. But this one left Constance on trial for murder. To protect Constance from the judgmental eyes of the town, she now practices magic.
When their cousin Charles visits, they sense danger, and their lives, once again spiral out of control. It’s truly a masterful thriller of family secrets you won’t soon forget — trust me!
The Whisper Man by Alex North
The Whisper Man is a real page-turner!
When Tom’s wife unexpectedly dies, he and his young son Jake move to a new home. At the same time, a young boy has been abducted like the serial killer “The Whisper Man,” who was captured twenty years earlier and is in jail.
The old detective gets involved in the case. After a series of events, Tom and Jake also become involved in the investigation. Then, young Jake begins to hear whispers at his window.
The book takes fast turns that will keep you guessing and feels so creepy to read!
Recap
READ the Top Fall Thrillers
Take my Fall lifestyle tips and get started here:
- Layla: for a paranormal romance thriller
- The Only One Left: for gothic suspense
- The Secret History – for dark academia thrills
Hi Jules,
I thoroughly enjoyed your list of the 19 Best Fall Thrillers and Mystery Books for Spooky Season! The selections are spot-on, and I appreciate the thought you’ve put into curating such a fantastic list. Your recommendations are making my TBR list for autumn grow by the minute.
Keep up the excellent work, and I look forward to diving into more of your book picks!
Best wishes,
Vicoria Sterling