Verity, by Colleen Hoover, is a twisted tale of obsession, romance, betrayal, and ultimately confusion. Since it was released in December 2018, it’s become a much-loved fixture within the romantic thriller literary genre.
If you’ve read Verity, you’ll likely be looking for more books in the same vein, filled with the same angst and horror as the Hoover title. There are a lot of romantic thrillers out there, and it can be hard to sift through them for other books that give you the same edge-of-your-seat, gut-wrenching reading experience.
As someone with an extensive history with romantic thrillers, I’ve read more than I care to admit, and I’ve come across a few that replicate that Verity-esque feeling, and even some that may have served as inspiration in a way. Here are 11 books similar to Verity for you to sink your teeth into next.
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess
Junior Missing is a book that everyone should read at least once, whether they’re a fan of the romantic thriller genre or not, because it centers around the dangers of anonymous online encounters and putting your trust in the wrong person.
After 16-year-old Grace Keegan goes missing, her parents and the local police assume that she has run away from the pressures of the child pageant world. Sadly, this isn’t the case, and the person that she met online has taken her to a whole other state. He’s not what he seemed to be in the online world, and she needs to escape before he does her harm.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
A seemingly perfect relationship between an artist called Alicia and her fashion photographer husband, Gabriel, comes crumbling down when, for no apparent reason, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times, point blank, in the face. And if that’s not enough to make you want to know what on earth happened, then I’m not sure what will be.
While the price of her art skyrockets and she’s thrust into a whole new level of notoriety thanks to her crime, Alicia is locked in an inpatient facility, where psychologist Theo Faber becomes obsessed with trying to figure out why she did what she did. The Silent Patient will have you utterly hooked, so be warned.
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
It’s natural to feel at least a little envy when someone you know is having all of the success while you flounder and nothing goes right for you, but Adam takes this to a whole new level in The Perfect Marriage when he starts to have an affair because he’s jealous of his Sarah, his wife, having all the success in their lives.
He thinks that things are looking up, at least until Kelly, his mistress, shows up stabbed to death in their love shack on the edge of the woods. After being arrested for his murder, he turns to the best defense attorney he knows to defend himself — his wife, who he just cheated on, will now have to defend him in the case of his mistress’ murder. Talk about twisted.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Meeting someone new is hard enough, especially when you’ve just moved to a new area and know nobody. Imagine how much harder that gets when the person you meet is not only rich, handsome, and mysterious but also the widower of his late wife, who mysteriously drowned alongside her best friend.
Jane, the star of The Wife Upstairs, must come to terms with the fact that she may never measure up to the seemingly flawless ex-wife of Eddie, but is everything as it seems? Eddie has his own secrets to hide, and being obsessed with your partner’s ex is never a healthy road to go down.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
I think we can all agree that commuting to work is about as dull as life gets, so as Rachel takes the same train to work every single day, she starts to make up stories for the people she sees outside the window on a regular basis, including a couple she dubs “Jess and Jason” who live in a house that she passes each day.
It’s all imaginary until one morning, she passes the house and sees something that she wasn’t supposed to see and definitely wasn’t expecting. Rather than stay out of other people’s business, she decides to step in and become part of a life she only daydreamed about, and things get pretty messed up pretty quickly. There’s a reason that The Girl on the Train is a global bestseller.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca is by far the oldest book on this list, first published in 1938, and you could say that it serves as inspiration for a lot of the others on it. There are familiar elements, such as the sudden proposal of a new relationship with a rich stranger and the shadow of an ex-wife that is hard to step out of.
Rebecca was even adapted for the silver screen, and the resulting 1940 movie was directed by the father of on-screen thrillers himself, Alfred Hitchcock. There’s something special about this book that stands the test of time despite the slightly dated language that you’ll encounter. You’ll get chills while reading, and I cannot recommend Rebecca enough.
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Behind Closed Doors is a cautionary tale to not believe everything that’s presented to you because you never know what’s happening in a relationship, well, behind closed doors. Jack and Grace seem perfect: in a loving relationship, wealthy, and joined at the hip. But is it natural to literally never be apart? Is it healthy?
On closer inspection, things aren’t as they seem, with Grace acting as the perfect host in front of visitors and then seemingly wilting under her husband’s shadow. Behind Closed Doors will leave you questioning everyone around you and even briefly wondering what happens in their homes when nobody is watching.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Laurel is haunted by the disappearance of her fifteen-year-old daughter a decade previously, and her life has been all but paused ever since. Then, one day, she meets a stranger called Floyd and begins to fall for him, eventually going round to his place for dinner with him and his nine-year-old daughter, Poppy.
Poppy is horribly familiar in all of the worst possible ways. Her daughter’s features are looking back at her from the face of a child who couldn’t possibly be her, and old wounds begin to re-open. The desire to know what happened to her daughter is relit, and the answers she finds will horrify her. Then She Was Gone is definitely worth a read.
You by Caroline Kepnes
If you have Netflix, you’re likely aware of the successful on-screen adaptation of You. However, as with most adaptations, the book outshines the TV version by a long mile, and I highly recommend that you give it a try.
You focuses on two people, Guinevere and Joe, who meet by chance in a bookshop in the East Village. He memorizes her name from her bank card and uses it to find her on social media, manipulating further “chance” meetings. He begins to take over her life without her knowledge. He will stop at nothing to be the hero in her tale, even if he has to get his hands bloody in the process.
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Anna in The Woman in the Window is an agoraphobic, borderline-alcoholic resident of New York City. She hasn’t ventured outside of her apartment in a very long time, and she fills her days with wine, movies, and memories. That is, until the Russells move into the house opposite.
After seeing something that she wasn’t supposed to witness, her quiet (albeit sheltered) life is thrown into chaos as she tries to figure out what she saw. She can’t tell what’s real or what’s imagined, and secrets start to be uncovered that change her life in ways she never expected.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Hannah’s husband, Owen, mysteriously disappears suddenly, leaving behind only a note asking her to protect his daughter, Bailey. Although this would usually be a hard task considering the tragic circumstances, it’s made harder by the fact that Bailey isn’t exactly fond of Hannah.
It’s made even harder when Hannah is forced to confront the fact that her husband is not who she thought he was and has actually been hiding a life filled with secrets from her. Cue a cross-country trip, some dealings with a mafia-esque gang, and betrayal on all sides. The Last Thing He Told Me is hard to read at times, but it’s also hard to put down.
Published: Nov 9, 2024 09:00 am