“I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.”
The Girl on the Train is a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller by Paula Hawkins. One of the most popular mysteries published in the past decade, the story follows Rachel, a commuter who catches the same train every morning. She’s become so familiar with the journey that she even feels like she knows one of the couples who live in one of the houses she passes. She calls them ‘Jess and Jason’. Then, one morning, she sees something shocking. It’s only a moment before the train moves on again, but she knows what she saw. Suddenly, Rachel finds embroiled in the lives of this seemingly-perfect couple, who are about to learn she’s much more than just a girl on a train. If you love domestic noirs, psychological thrillers and locked-room mysteries, join us at What We Reading for the best books like The Girl on the Train!
The Woman In The Window – A.J. Finn
Our first stop on our ride through the best mystery-thriller books like The Girl on the Train is A.J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window. Anna Fox lives alone, a total hermit in her New York home. She spends her days drinking copious amounts of wine, rewatching old movies and spying on her neighbours.
Then the Russells move into the house across the road from her; a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But, when Anna is gazing out of her window one night, she sees something that she really shouldn’t have. Her world begins to crumble, and a series of shocking secrets are laid bare. Who is in control? Who is in danger? In this psychological thriller, nothing – and no one – is as it seems.
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Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
Fresh from a brief stay at a psychiatric hospital, reporter Camille Preaker must return to her tiny hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. For years, Camille hasn’t spoken to her hypochondriac mother, or the thirteen-year-old half-sister she barely knows.
Now, set up in her old bedroom in her family’s grand Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the victims of her investigation a bit too closely. Plagued by the ghosts of her past, she has to unravel the mysteries still present in her own life if she wants to give this story a happy ending. One of the best small-town mysteries like The Girl on the Train, Sharp Objects ia gripping crime drama by Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of Gone Girl.
Paper Ghosts – Julia Heaberlin
Carl Louis Feldman is an old man who was once an acclaimed photographer. That was before he was tried for the murder of a young woman. He was acquitted and admitted to a care home for dementia. Now his daughter has come to visit him, to take him on a trip. Only, she isn’t his daughter and, if she has her way, it’s a trip he won’t be returning from.
Carl’s past has finally caught up with him. The young woman driving the pair of them is certain of his guilt, that he’s killed multiple women, including her sister, Rachel. Through the trail of his photographs, clues and alleged crimes, she’s looking to see whether he really has forgotten any of it. Full of shocking twists, turns and ulterior motives, Julia Heaberlin’s Paper Ghosts is one of the best follow-ups for any fans of The Girl on the Train.
Not A Happy Family – Shari Lapena
Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be stinking rich to own a property there. And they don’t come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. Yet, all the money in the world can’t protect them when a killer comes calling. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter family dinner with their three adult children. Naturally, all three of the kids are devastated.
Or are they? Each of them inherits millions. Thanks to their capricious father and negligent mother, the Mertons were never a happy family. But perhaps one of them was more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that terrible evening? The bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Everyone Here Is Lying, Shari Lapena delivers another pulsating thriller like The Girl on the Train in Not a Happy Family.
In My Dreams I Hold A Knife – Ashley Winstead
A decade on from graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to the prestigious Duquette University. Everyone is going to see the woman she wants them to see: confident, beautiful, uncaring. A far cry from the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder changed everything, including the tight bond she had with her six friends. Ten years ago, the dreams she had worked her whole life for, and the relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love, fell apart.
But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer and make the guilty pay. Similar to The Girl on the Train, Ashley Winstead’s In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is a story of investigation and obsession where six friends are reunited and all their secrets are brought to light.
The Good Samaritan – John Marrs
The people who ring End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some who call up are unlucky enough to be put through to Laura. Laura doesn’t them to have hope. She wants them to die. Having survived sickness and an unhealthy marriage before the age of forty, she hasn’t had the easiest of times. Resentful and angry, she doesn’t just enjoy talking to people worse off than herself, she needs it.
But now someone is on to her – Ryan, whose world implodes when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a complete stranger. Who was this man? Why did they decide to end things together? John Marrs’ The Good Samaritan follows Laura and Ryan in their cat-and-mouse game, perfect for anyone who loved Paula Hawkins’ work.
The Good Girl – Mary Kubica
One night, Mia Dennett walks into a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But, when he doesn’t show up, she unwisely leaves with a mysterious and enigmatic stranger. On the surface, Colin Thatcher appears to be a safe one-night stand. But, soon enough, following Colin home proves to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life.
When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of sending her to his employers, Mia’s mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But none of them could have seen the emotional entanglements that eventually caused this family’s world to shatter. Propulsive, dark and full of shocking revelations, Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl needs to be on your TBR list if you loved The Girl on the Train.
The Last Flight – Julie Clark
Claire Cook has the perfect life. Married to the perfect husband, living in a Manhattan townhouse and with a staff of ten, her days are meticulously planned and her surroundings are the height of elegance. But, behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. Her husband has a fiery temper and isn’t above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, ensuring she is living up to his standards. What he doesn’t know is that Claire has been working for months on a plan to vanish.
At an airport bar, Claire meets Eva, a woman whose situation seems to be as equally dire as hers. The pair quickly hatch a plan to switch tickets – Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva travelling to Puerto Rico as Claire. But, when the plane to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire is forced to embrace a new life and a new identity, keeping the secrets Eva tried to keep hidden from coming to light.
The Dinner – Herman Koch
It’s a summer’s evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fancy restaurant for dinner. Between the scrapings of cutlery on china and mouthfuls of food, the couples exchange pleasant conversations. But, behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said. With every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
Both couples have a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their responsibility for a single terrible act. The sort of act that has shattered their worlds and invited a police investigation. As the dinner reaches its climax, the civility and friendships at the table evaporate with the two couples showing just how far they’re prepared to go to protect the ones they love. Another one of the best contemporary thriller books like The Girl on the Train, Herman Koch’s The Dinner is tense, gripping and full of suspense.
Rock Paper Scissors – Alice Feeney
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away in Scotland, the break may be just what their marriage needs. A self-confessed workaholic screenwriter, Adam has lived with face blindness all his life. He can’t recognise his friends, family or even his own wife.
Every anniversary, the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin. Each year, Adam’s wife writes him a letter that he is never allowed to read. Until now. They both know that this weekend will decide the fate of their marriage. Only they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after. Rock Paper Scissors is a 2021 domestic thriller by Alice Feeney; if you’re looking for more killer twists like those in Paula Hawkins’ story, it’s the mystery read for you!
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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Millenium #1) – Stieg Larsson
Harriet Vanger, a descendant of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, went missing over forty years ago. Yet, all these years later, her old uncle still searches for the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a marauding journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate the disappearance. He is helped by the pierced and tattoed punk Lisbeth Salander. Stieg Larsson’s iconic, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, follows the pair as they delve into a web of corruption and family drama.
A global bestselling sensation, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family intrigue, love, passion and financial greed, perfect for any fans of The Girl on the Train.
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).
