“I was as despicable as the rest of them, really, when I think about it.”
We all know that interviews are some of the most nerve-shredding and awkward experiences all of us go through. Which is probably why it makes for such a thrilling backdrop for Chris Ewan’s 2022 book, The Interview. In an affluent skyscraper on a Friday evening, after all the workers have gone home, Kate arrives for the job opportunity of her dreams. What begins as a somewhat unorthodox exchange with her interviewer soon descends into something far more hellish, where all of her darkest secrets are brought to light in an earth-shattering series of revelations. If you love locked-room mystery thrillers, check out the best books like The Interview with us here at What We Reading!
Who Wrote The Interview?
Born in 1976, Chris Ewan is a graduate of Nottingham University with an American Studies degree and a minor in Canadian Literature. Writing under ‘Chris Ewan’, he is best known for Safe House and The Good Thief’s Guide To, a series of cosy mysteries. Under ‘C.M. Ewan’, he has delivered numerous psychological thrillers based around everyday situations going wrong. Ewan currently resides in Somerset, England, with his wife and two children.
The House Hunt – C.M. Ewan
Kicking off our list of the best books like The Interview is another claustrophobic heart-pounder by Chris Ewan, The House Hunt. This 2023 thriller follows the story of Lucy and Sam, a couple who have been renovating their grand Victorian house for two years. Thanks to rising debts, they are being forced to sell up. Their agreement with the estate agent is that they won’t be home for viewings. However, when the agent rings to tell her she is running late, Lucy realizes she will have to show her prospective buyer around herself.
When he arrives, the lone man is dressed smartly and Lucy soon begins to feel at ease. That is until the stranger begins taking photographs of her and asking inappropriate questions about her and Sam’s relationship. And when he disappears into the basement, refusing to come out when she calls him, she finally realizes that there is something very wrong with this stranger. And now he’s refusing to leave.
The Escape Room – Megan Goldin
In the affluent finance industry, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam are top dogs. But, mastering the art of negotiation and celebrating their successes in style always comes at a cost. The four are invited to an escape room challenge as a part of a team-building exercise, with their fiercely competitive natures seeing them all crowd into the elevator of the high-rise building.
However, when lights go off and the doors stay sealed, they quickly realize this has turned into a game of survival. With just a few cryptic clues to go off, the four rivals are forced to put aside their differences and work together. As frustrations, tempers and panic begin to spread across the group, dark secrets about the terrible acts they’ve committed come to light. Then, they reach the final chilling puzzle: which one of them is prepared to kill to make it out? One of the best books like The Interview, Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room is a claustrophobic locked-room thriller whose story is revealed by slowly peeling away the secrets its characters have attempted to keep hidden.
The Trial – S.R. Masters
S.R. Masters’ The Trial is a locked-room thriller similar to The Interview that takes an ordinary, even welcome, situation and slowly ramps up the suspense through a gradual escalation and rising dread.
Elle is a thirty-year-old receptionist who stumbles upon an advertisement for an all-inclusive luxury trip to the Canary Islands. All she needs to do is take a pill every day and keep a diary. Ten other participants are taking part in this study, though no one is ever told what the drug is, what to expect or what the side effects of it might be. Gradually, headaches begin to start and it is revealed psychosis is one of the drug’s side effects. When a body is discovered, this idyllic holiday getaway soon descends into a paranoia-fuelled manhunt to work out who has taken the placebo, who has taken the real drug, and who could be a killer.
Do No Harm – Jack Jordan
Like The Interview, Jack Jordan distorts morality for a nerve-shredding thriller in his 2022 book, Do No Harm. Anna is a heart surgeon who knows that it’s her job to save all those who are placed in front of her. However, a kidnapper has taken her eight-year-old son and the only way of saving him is to kill the man lying on the operating table.
Perfect for any readers who loved The Chain and Falling, Do No Harm is a story of how people react when pushed into impossible situations. A grippingly dark and twisty tale told from three different perspectives, the dilemmas and rationales offered by this skilled surgeon are sure to stay with you long after you’ve reached its shocking conclusion.
The Contest – Karen Hamilton
If you’re looking for another one-sitting thriller similar to The Interview, Karen Hamilton has you covered in The Contest. Florence and Jacob are two rival travel guides with both being selected to lead two groups to the summit of Kilimanjaro. It’s an annual team getaway organized by an eccentric boss, however, the stakes are even higher this year as whoever reaches the top first will land the promotion of their dreams.
But both of these individuals have other reasons for wanting to scale the mountain. For Jacob, it stands as one of the best ways of impressing his father, the owner of the company. Whereas for Florence, a tragic accident on a prior trip left her fiance in a coma and her in desperate need of answers. But when one member of their party is killed in suspicious circumstances, they soon realize this trip is more than winning or losing. It’s a race for survival.
The Curfew – T.M. Logan
T.M. Logan is hotly regarded as one of the masters of the up-all-night thriller genre and, like The Interview, he taps into so many readers’ everyday worst fears in his 2022 crime story, The Curfew.
Andy and Laura are good responsible parents who tell their son Connor that he’s free to go out with his friends and celebrate finishing his exams, but that he must be home by midnight. But, in this gripping mystery thriller that has since been adapted into a TV series, when Connor misses his curfew, a chain reaction of events changes the lives of five families forever. Five teenagers went into the woods that evening, and only four came out, but revealing the truth might mean ruining everything.
Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty
If the enigmatic characters all with secrets to hide drew you to The Interview, Liane Moriarty’s page-turner Nine Perfect Strangers is sure to be a hit. Nine individuals gather at a remote health resort. Some of them are there to lose weight, others to restart a new chapter in their life, but all are expecting ten days of mindfulness and meditation, of pampering and luxury. None of them are prepared for what’s about to happen.
Frances Welty arrives at Tranquillum House with a bad back and a broken heart, but is immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Few of them look like they have much need of a health resort. The most intriguing of these characters for her, however, is the mysterious owner of the building. Does he and Tranquillum House have all the answers to the questions in her life? Even the ones she doesn’t know she’s looking for yet? It’s a conundrum both she and all the other guests soon find themselves asking.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
