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Quick answer: If you loved Gillian Flynn, read Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, Gone Girl and Dark Places, then Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, then Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies, and Alex Michaelides's The Silent Patient and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door. All are twisty psychological thrillers.
Gillian Flynn's novels Sharp Objects, Dark Places and Gone Girl are known for dark twists and unreliable narrators. These picks offer the same unsettling pull.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharp Objects | Gillian Flynn | Adult | readers who like psychological thrillers |
| Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | Adult | readers who like unreliable narrators |
| Dark Places | Gillian Flynn | Adult | readers who like dark mysteries |
| The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | Adult | readers who love a classic thriller |
| Big Little Lies | Liane Moriarty | Adult | readers who want drama |
| The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides | Adult | readers who like psychological thrillers |
| The Couple Next Door | Shari Lapena | Adult | readers who like short chapters |
| In a Dark, Dark Wood | Ruth Ware | Adult | readers who like modern, claustrophobic thrillers |
| The Woman in Cabin 10 | Ruth Ware | Adult | readers who like locked settings |
| Mad Honey | Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan | Adult | issues-driven drama |
| The Guest List | Lucy Foley | Adult | readers who like closed-circle mysteries |
| Verity | Colleen Hoover | Adult | readers who like shocking suspense |
| The Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave | Adult | readers who like family secrets |
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | Adult | readers who want the classic |
| The Woman in the Window | A.J. Finn | Adult | readers who like voyeur thrillers |
1. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Camille returns to her hometown to report on the murder of two girls and faces her family. Dark and stylish.
Best for: readers who like psychological thrillers.
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Amy disappears on her wedding anniversary, and her husband becomes the main suspect. A twisty, cynical marriage thriller.
Best for: readers who like unreliable narrators.
3. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Libby Day investigates the murders that killed her family. Dark and twisty.
Best for: readers who like dark mysteries.
4. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Rachel watches a couple from her commuter train and gets caught up in a disappearance. A bestselling thriller.
Best for: readers who love a classic thriller.
5. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Parents at a school in Australia have secrets that come out after a trivia night ends in death. Sharp, funny and dark.
Best for: readers who want drama.
6. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Theo investigates why a woman has stopped speaking after murdering her husband. A big twist ending.
Best for: readers who like psychological thrillers.
7. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
A couple leaves their baby home while at a party next door, and the baby is gone. A fast, twisty thriller.
Best for: readers who like short chapters.
8. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
A bachelorette weekend in a remote glass house turns dangerous. Atmospheric and fast.
Best for: readers who like modern, claustrophobic thrillers.
9. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Journalist Lo thinks she saw a body thrown overboard from a cruise ship cabin. Atmospheric and tense.
Best for: readers who like locked settings.
10. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
A mother questions what happened when her son is accused of killing his girlfriend, while a love story unfolds in parallel. Emotional and thought-provoking.
Best for: issues-driven drama.
11. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
A wedding on an island turns into a murder mystery. Told by several narrators.
Best for: readers who like closed-circle mysteries.
12. Verity by Colleen Hoover
A struggling writer is hired to finish a famous author's series and finds a disturbing hidden manuscript. Dark and twisty.
Best for: readers who like shocking suspense.
13. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Hannah searches for the truth after her husband vanishes and leaves a note. Fast, emotional and twisty.
Best for: readers who like family secrets.
14. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A young bride arrives at Manderley and lives in the shadow of the first Mrs. de Winter. A masterpiece of gothic suspense.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
15. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
An agoraphobic woman thinks she sees a crime in a neighbor's home. Hitchcock-style suspense.
Best for: readers who like voyeur thrillers.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Gillian Flynn: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Gillian Flynn. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For similar twists, read The Girl on the Train, Big Little Lies or The Silent Patient. For dark domestic suspense, try Behind Closed Doors or The Couple Next Door. For a gothic classic, read Rebecca.
Related: Vince Flynn Books in Order Printable List · 12 Dystopian Books Like the Hunger Games | Best Books to Read Like Hunger Games
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Gillian Flynn?
An American novelist and former journalist.
What is her best-known book?
Gone Girl.
Where do I start?
With Gone Girl or Sharp Objects.
Are her books dark?
Yes, they are adult thrillers.
What should I read next?
Try The Girl on the Train.