13 Dark and Atmospheric Thriller Books by Authors Like Ruth Ware

Lila Amberson can’t remember the horrific car accident where she was the only survivor. After she’s released from the hospital, she tries to move on with her life. But she can’t—survivor’s guilt won’t let her. She reaches out to Jack Foley, brother to Lila, the woman who died in the accident. Together, they have more questions than answers. As they work together to unravel the truth, they realize someone is watching them. And they want the truth buried.

With suspenseful storytelling filled with unexpected twists and turns, Dying to Tell explores the haunting nature of trauma in a gripping mystery that will keep readers guessing until the last page.

Edel Johnson has bad luck. Her husband disappeared. And now she’s suspected of murder. But for some reason, Detective Garda Sergeant Mike West believes her story. Until she disappears and another man ends up dead. In Dublin, the evidence is piling up. And it doesn’t look great for Edel, even after the truth reveals her husband was involved in a string of criminal activity. Is it his growing attraction for Edel holding West back? Or is she truly innocent?

Pensioner and Private Investigator Doris Lester is looking forward to a much-needed vacation with her best friend Wendy. But the day before they’re supposed to leave, Doris receives a disturbing letter. The friends are quickly drawn into a mystery around a missing person and a gruesome murder surrounding a troubled family. As they get deeper, the shocking ghosts of Doris’s past surface. The truth threatens to tear the family even further apart. And for Doris and Wendy, things may never be the same again.

Fans of The Death of Mrs. Westaway will love the dark mystery surrounding family secrets, hidden motives, and unsettling revelations.

Grace Cooper hasn’t walked in her sleep since she was a child. But now that she’s back in her childhood home after her husband died, she’s sleepwalking again. And the dark memories of her childhood are resurfacing. Soon, they blur into her dreams, and she can’t tell what’s real. She’s determined to find out what happened all those years ago. She soon discovers far more skeletons are buried in her past. And she might not want to know the depth of the truth.

By skillfully weaving the threads of psychological suspense, the line between dreams and reality become blurred, leaving questions over what is truly haunting Grace and what secrets are hidden in the darkness.

When Grace Dearden goes missing, police are stunned. She was well-liked, a perfect wife, and seemed to have no enemies. But she’s been missing for more than a week after disappearing into the Norfolk marshes in the dead of winter. An old family friend and criminal lawyer, Alexandra O’Neill comes back to town to help. Right away, she finds disturbing new clues to a tragic family secret. Is Grace as perfect as she appeared? And how could her husband have not seen the truth?

To alleviate Quentin Marsh’s pregnant sister’s worries that their family is cursed, he travels back to Point Pleasant, West Virginia to find out if their ancestors murdered a Shawnee chief in the 1700’s. Historian Sarah Sherman doesn’t believe in curses either. She’s in Point Pleasant to uncover the long-buried truth. When she and Quentin realize they have similar family heirlooms, they realize their pasts may be connected. But when catastrophe strikes the town, the harder it is to ignore the curse. And they might be running out of time.

Ryan Gracey could never compete with her perfect sister Wendy. Even as an adult, while Wendy has a loving family, Ryan is reeling from a near-fatal mistake. When Wendy calls, begging for Ryan’s help to avoid being charged with murder, Ryan is shocked. With Wendy hiding, Ryan moves back to her hometown to care for her nieces and find evidence to clear her sisters name. But every clue leaves more questions than answers. Is Wendy the perfect sister? Or just the perfect liar?

A tapestry of domestic suspense with themes of deception, buried secrets, and the complexities of identity, A Family of Strangers takes readers into the dark corners of familial relationships to discover the power of truth.

When Chantal Frazer was thirteen, her sister Sabine was murdered under shocking and tragic circumstances while working as an au pair. The home is now a luxury hotel, and Chantal wants answers. As she questions staff who were there, she discovers things around her sister’s murder weren’t as clearcut as she’d been led to believe. Someone put a lot of effort making sure the truth was buried. And they’re prepared to go to any length to keep it secret.

Readers who loved In a Dark, Dark Wood will revel in the suspenseful and atmospheric suspense bursting with psychological tension.

Living in a quiet, rural community, Anna learned to follow Mamma’s rules to stay safe. But when she turns eighteen, she defies those rules and goes to Astroland, Florida’s biggest theme park. She’s never been allowed to go. So, why does it all seem so familiar? Rosie has lived in the shadow of her missing sister. Fifteen years later, she’s determined to find the truth. Using the anniversary to engage the media, she desperately searches for answers, hoping to find the truth before it tears her family apart.

One morning in August 1995, Daniel and his estranged father set off on a road trip to try and salvage their fractured relationship. His father is mercurial at best, vacillating between bouts of self-pity and addictive charm. But the farther they go, the more Daniel realizes his father is desperate—and lying. As the depth of his deceptions catch up, he’s pushed to the brink of unfathomable violence. Acts that will scar Daniel for the rest of his life.

One morning in August 1995, Daniel and his estranged father set off on a road trip to try and salvage their fractured relationship. His father is mercurial at best, vacillating between bouts of self-pity and addictive charm. But the farther they go, the more Daniel realizes his father is desperate—and lying. As the depth of his deceptions catch up, he’s pushed to the brink of unfathomable violence. Acts that will scar Daniel for the rest of his life.

Louise loves her life. So, when she hears that her charismatic husband is having an affair, she is determined to go to any length to save her marriage. She uses her IT skills to cyber bully the adulteress. But when two women end up dead and the police get involved, she realizes she’s made a dangerous mistake. Forced into a corner, Louise has to make a choice. One that could not just end her marriage, but her life.

Readers who loved how The Woman in Cabin 10 focused on a protagonist unable to trust anyone due to questionable motives and integrity will love this high-stakes, nerve-wracking story of suspicion and paranoia.

After an argument, Matthias’ best friend and roommate ran into the woods and was never seen again. Ten years later, Matthias is stuck. A struggling writer, he’s never been able to shake the guilt that his betrayal led to his friend disappearing. When he’s offered a teaching position at his alma mater, he sees it as a chance to find out what happened once and for all. But as he searches, he has to untangle campus politics and the complicated secrets of his roommate’s wealthy and powerful family. And when another student dies, he realizes he has to find the truth—before it’s too late.

A gripping and atmospheric novel navigating a labyrinth of lies and deception, as long-buried secrets can either redeem or destroy.