6 Books to Read This Summer: Thriller Edition

We’re back with a list of books to try and read this season! Even if you can’t read all six, do your best to read just one. We haven’t read any of the books below personally, but they are all on our must-read list. Can you tell we’re in the mood for something filled with suspense and a bit of terror? These aren’t the typical summer beach reads, so if you’re looking for something a bit darker & spooky this season, add them to your list too!

Books to read this summer:The Turn of the Key, The Silent Patient, Goodnight Stranger, Searching for Sylvie Lee, Man of the Year, What You Did

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The new suspense novel The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (dubbed by many as the Agatha Christie of our time) will be released on August 6th & we are SO excited to read it! We don’t know much about it apart from the rough storyline – a young woman accepts a job as a nanny in a picture-perfect home in Scotland filled with seemingly perfect children, only to end up in jail for the murder of one of the kids. You can purchase it via pre-sale now so you can be one of the first to read it. We can’t wait to find out what happens!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This is another book we’ve been dying to read. The Silent Patient was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller & just by reading the synopsis we can totally see why. The novel follows a psychotherapist as he works with Alicia, a famous painter who shot her husband in the face five times & never said a word about it afterwards, to unravel her reasoning behind the act. This book has over 2.5k views on Amazon & is rated 4.3/5, reason enough for us to want to dive in. Plus, we want to know why she did it!

Goodnight Stranger by Miciah Bay Gault

Available for pre-order since it won’t be released until July 30th, this thriller takes place on a small island, which already has us hooked. A brother & sister have lived together in their family home since their mother passed away ten years ago, and their life is fairly quiet until a stranger steps off of the ferry. He knows the typography of the island, their home & their mannerisms – it’s not long before they think he may be the reincarnation of their baby brother who died when they were young. But to find out the truth, they must leave the island that they are anxious to depart.

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

The story centers around a Chinese immigrant family & the family secrets that emerge while searching for a daughter who goes missing when visiting the Netherlands to spend time with her dying grandmother. Her sister is desperate to find her by retracing her steps, only to find not only the truth, but secrets that have been kept hidden for years. Searching for Sylvie Lee was just released in June, and if it’s as much of a page-turner as reviewers say it is, we’re looking forward to searching for Sylvie Lee along with her sister with each page flip.

Man of the Year by Caroline Louise Walker

This novel was also just released in June! It starts out with a prized doctor with a beautiful family being named "Man of the Year” in their town. The doctor’s son and his college roommate come home for the summer to stay with them, and that’s when things go awry. The roommate starts to spend a bit too much time with his wife, and his seemingly perfect exterior begins to crack as he falls into a steep decline of paranoia.

What You Did by Claire McGowan

The new thriller What You Did just came out at the beginning of July & it’s already reached #4 on the Amazon charts. We love a good reunion story, especially one that involves crime or deception, & this one centers around six friends who get together twenty years after their university days together. During the reunion, one of the six girls is assaulted & blames the host’s loving husband, but could it possibly be true? Who should she believe? We can’t wait to find out what happens next.


Let us know what books you’re reading in the comments! We’d also love to know if you’ve read any of the above – let us know if they’re as good as they seem or if some are a pass. And if you haven’t read all of the books we suggested last season, check our spring reads out here. And if you’re like us & enjoy reading outside on a patio or balcony, shop our outdoor living favorites.