17 psychological thriller books to read like The Silent Patient
As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I devour psychological thriller books with twisted ends.
The kind that keep you guessing until the final page. I love it when the shocking reveals towards the end stay with you long after you've closed the book.
One such twisty read is "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides. It hooked me with its mind-blowing plot and unexpected twists.
If you're looking for good books to read like "The Silent Patient," you're in the right place. I've made a list of psychological thrillers that have the same level of suspense, mystery, or mind-bending twists.
Why These Books?
I picked these 17 psychological thrillers because they share what made The Silent Patient so addictive:
- Unreliable narrators you can't fully trust
- Shocking twists you won't see coming
- Psychological depth that stays with you
- Page-turning suspense you can't put down
Some lean darker (Sharp Objects), some are more atmospheric (Rebecca), but all will keep you guessing until the final page.
Let's get to them.
Twisted Psychological Thrillers
(Just like The Silent Patient)
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
“If I can’t move heaven, then I shall raise hell.”
A glamorous wedding on a remote Irish island. 150 guests with secrets. One of them will be dead by morning. We hear the story from multiple points of view (just like The Silent Patient's layered narrative). This atmospheric thriller keeps you guessing about who the victim is and who among the wedding party is the killer. The closed island setting and web of tangled secrets create that same sense of increasing fear and shocking reward.
- Best for: Readers who loved the multiple POVs and the "nothing is as it seems" vibe
- Vibes: Locked-room mystery meets Big Little Lies
The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn
Anna Fox is a psychiatrist who hasn't left her house in ten months.
She spends her days drinking wine and watching her neighbours through her window.
When she witnesses something shocking in the house across the street, no one believes her. Like The Silent Patient, this novel features an unsteady storyteller.
A narrator with a psychology background and a truth that keeps shifting.
The twist will make you question everything you've read. Plus, the hombeound setting intensifies the tension, just like Alicia's silent therapy sessions.
- Best for: Fans of unreliable narrators and Hitchcock-style suspense
- Trigger warnings: Alcoholism, agoraphobia, violence
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Libby inherits a mansion on her 25th birthday. The same house where three bodies were found when she was a baby.
She decides to move in. But soon she discovers the house holds dark secrets about her birth family. And secrets about what really happened that night.
This psychological thriller shares The Silent Patient's obsession with uncovering buried family trauma. And it's similarly full of twisted power dynamics.
The dual timeline structure keeps you piecing together clues. The final reveal about what happened in that house is absolutely chilling.
- Best for: Readers who loved unravelling Alicia's past layer by layer
- Vibes: Creepy mansion + cult-like manipulation + shocking family secrets
The Turn of the Key Ruth Ware
Rowan takes a too-good-to-be-true nanny job at a tech-filled Scottish mansion.
The pay is incredible, the house is stunning, but something feels wrong.
Now she's in prison, writing to a lawyer, claiming she's innocent of the child's death.
We have a modern gothic atmosphere and an unreliable narrator. They create the same creeping fear as The Silent Patient. Rowan speaks to us through letters from prison (similar to Theo's therapy notes). We are constantly left questioning what's real and what's manipulation. The smart home technology adds an extra layer of paranoia.
- Best for: Fans of atmospheric thrillers with technology-fueled paranoia
- Trigger warnings: Child death, gaslighting
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Thought-provoking and yet a Guessing game that will keep you hooked.
Kya, the "Marsh Girl," has lived alone in the North Carolina wilderness since childhood.
When a local man is found dead, she becomes the prime suspect. But did the town outcast really commit murder, or is there more to the story?
Honestly, it's more literary than thriller. And yet, this novel shares The Silent Patient's deep character study and mystery structure.
Like Alicia, Kya is a misunderstood woman. Everyone has judged without knowing her truth. The courtroom scenes and gradual revelation of what really happened will keep you hooked.
- Best for: Readers who loved the psychological depth and courtroom elements
- Vibes: Literary mystery + nature writing + coming-of-age + murder trial
Behind Closed Doors by B.A.Paris
Jack and Grace appear to have the perfect marriage.
They are successful, attractive, devoted. But behind their closed doors, Grace is living a nightmare she can't escape.
This is a fast-paced thriller. It shares The Silent Patient's exploration of what happens in private versus what the world sees.
The claustrophobic atmosphere and psychological manipulation are reminiscent of Alicia's isolation. The twist isn't about who did it; it's about how Grace can possibly escape. You'll finish this in one sitting.
- Best for: Readers who loved the domestic psychological horror aspects
- Trigger warnings: Domestic abuse, captivity, violence
- Note: Intense and disturbing—not for everyone
Dark & Disturbing Reads
(For Thriller Veterans)
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Journalist Camille Preaker returns to her small hometown. She has to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
She stays with her anxious mother and mysterious half-sister. While hunting the killer, Camille faces her dark past and destructive habits.
This novel explores psychiatric trauma and broken families, just like The Silent Patient. You'll see how past violence changes people forever.
Gillian Flynn writes about mental illness with brutal honesty. The twist ending will shock you as much as The Silent Patient did. The psych hospital scenes are haunting.
- Best for: Readers who want something darker and more literary
- Trigger warnings: Self-harm, eating disorders, child abuse, violence
- Note: Flynn's darkest work—proceed with caution
The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins
Rachel rides the same train every day.
She watches a couple through their window and imagines their perfect life. Then she sees something shocking.
But here's the problem. Rachel is an alcoholic with memory blackouts.
Can she trust what she saw? Can anyone believe her?I loved how this book plays with truth the same way The Silent Patient does. Rachel's blackouts create the same uncertainty as Alicia's silence. You're never sure who's lying. The reveal of what really happened that night hit me hard.
- Best for:If you loved questioning everything in The Silent Patient
- Trigger warnings:Alcoholism, domestic violence, infertility struggles
My Dark Vanessa by Elizabeth Russell
Vanessa was 15 when her 42-year-old teacher started a "relationship" with her.
Seventeen years later, another student accuses him of abuse.
But Vanessa insists what they had was love. Or does she?
This book gutted me. It explores trauma and self-deception with the same depth as The Silent Patient.
Like Alicia's silence protects a terrible truth, Vanessa's denial protects her from reality. The story switches between past and present, and you constantly question what's real.
- Best for: If you want psychological depth over shock twists
- Trigger warnings: Grooming, sexual abuse of a minor, emotional manipulation.
- Note: This one's emotionally heavy. Take breaks if you need to.
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Lowen is a broke writer.
She gets hired to finish a bestselling author's book series after Verity gets injured.
While searching the house for notes, Lowen finds Verity's secret autobiography. It contains horrifying confessions about her family. But is the manuscript real or made up?
I couldn't put this down. Like The Silent Patient, it plays with written testimony—can you trust what someone writes?
Verity can't speak (just like Alicia can't), and the truth keeps shifting. The romance adds heat, but the psychological horror is pure thriller. That ending will make you want to reread everything immediately.
- Best for: If you want romance mixed with mind games
- Vibes: Dark love story meets domestic nightmare
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
Jessica needs money badly.
She signs up for a psychology study about morals and ethics.
The questions start simple but get creepy and personal. Soon Jessica realizes the researcher, Dr. Shields, knows too much about her life. She might be manipulating Jessica into something dangerous.
This reminded me of The Silent Patient's therapy sessions, the power shifts constantly. You never know who's in control. Like Theo's obsession with Alicia, Dr. Shields' interest in Jessica becomes disturbing. I loved the back-and-forth manipulation.
- Best for: If you loved the therapy session mind games
- Vibes: Psychology study gone very wrong
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
A young woman marries a wealthy widower and moves into his massive estate, Manderley.
But his first wife Rebecca haunts every room. The creepy housekeeper worships Rebecca's memory. Dark secrets about Rebecca's death start surfacing.
This classic thriller obsesses over a dead woman, just like The Silent Patient does. The narrator pieces together who Rebecca really was (like Theo reconstructing Alicia's life). It's slower than modern thrillers, but the atmosphere is incredible.
The revelation about Rebecca's death shocked me even though I'd heard this book was a classic.
- Best for: If you appreciate literary classics with psychological tension
- Vibes: Gothic mansion + dead wife's ghost + dark family secrets
- Note: Takes its time but worth every page
Millie needs a job and a place to live desperately.
She takes a live-in housemaid position with the wealthy Winchester family.
The job seems perfect at first. Then she discovers the family's dark secrets. She might have walked straight into a trap.
I devoured this in one sitting. It explores power and class the same way The Silent Patient does, who really has control? Just when I thought I understood what was happening, McFadden flipped everything. Millie's own troubled past adds more twists to an already wild plot.
- Best for: If you loved the power dynamics and surprise twists
- Vibes: Rich family secrets + multiple reveals + nothing is what it seems
Mind-Bending Mysteries
(When You Want Your Brain Twisted)
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Christine wakes up every morning with no memory.
Amnesia erases her past every night.
Her husband tells her their story each day. She keeps a journal to remember. But when she reads her own entries, she finds scary differences in what he's told her. Like Alicia's silence hides truth, Christine's memory loss makes her vulnerable. The daily reset creates incredible tension, she races to find truth before she forgets again.
I loved questioning whether the people protecting us might actually trap us.
- Best for: If you loved unreliable memories and daily revelations
- Vibes: Memento meets psychological thriller with journal entries
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
A woman stalks her ex-husband's young, beautiful fiancée.
She's convinced she must save this woman from making a huge mistake. But nothing about this love triangle is what it seems. Not the ex-wife. Not the fiancée. And definitely not the charming man between them.
This book played me like The Silent Patient did. I questioned every assumption I made. The authors reveal layers constantly. It shows gaslighting and control, and how we reconstruct our own stories. Just like Alicia's complicated truth, nothing here is simple.
- Best for: If you loved being surprised and manipulated constantly
- Vibes: Twisted marriage + multiple viewpoints + everything is wrong
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
A normal suburban couple gets bored with their marriage.
Their solution? They start murdering people together.
The husband tells the story casually, like he's discussing weekend plans. This darkly funny thriller shows how far people go to keep their relationship exciting.
I know this sounds different from The Silent Patient, but hear me out. Both explore marriages built on secrets and the fake show of normalcy. The suburban setting hides horrible acts. The casual way he describes terrible things creates the same shock as Alicia's violence. That ending twist is perfect.
- Best for: If you like dark humor mixed with horror
- Vibes: Serial killer couple in suburbia + darkly funny + genuinely disturbing
- Note: It's funny but also really twisted
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
A woman travels with her boyfriend to meet his parents at their remote farm.
The night gets stranger and stranger.
Reality seems to shift. She wants to end their relationship and leave. But leaving becomes impossible in ways she never imagined.
This short book is The Silent Patient's weird, experimental cousin.
It plays with your perception and memory. The narrator's mind becomes unreliable. The creepy atmosphere builds to a mind-bending ending. I immediately reread it to catch what I missed. It haunted me for days.
- Best for: If you want something truly strange and thought-provoking
- Vibes: Psychological horror + reality shifts + philosophical dread
- Note:You'll either love how weird this is or find it frustrating
I’ve listed 17 books of all different authors so that you can explore newer writing styles and newer contemporary authors.
Even if you read at a leisurely pace of one book every month, you should be set for at least a year. But I can guarantee you the books' plot and pace will have you finishing them in no time, and you’ll be back asking for more.
And I’ll be ready with a new list by newer authors and better plots.
If you loved this list, you'll love my weekly newsletter. Every Friday, I send 3 book recommendations based on what you're reading. Sign up for a free quote-book down below!
Happy Reading!
