“In the outside world, you will find more people who are kind than people who are not. Seek them out.”
Strange Sally Diamond is one of the most shocking and best thriller books from 2023. The story centres around Sally Diamond, a woman who cannot understand why what she did was considered so strange. Putting out her father with the rubbish when he died had been what she had been told to do, after all. Nevertheless, she begins making new friends that help her face the true horrors of her childhood and begin finding independence. But, Sally’s life is soon upended again when she begins receiving messages from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself. If you loved Liz Nugent’s story and are craving more mysteries featuring the blurred lines between malice and innocence and the struggle for identity, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Strange Sally Diamond!
The Last Thing To Burn – Will Dean
Kicking off our list of mystery books like Strange Sally Diamond is Will Dean’s 2021 crime thriller, The Last Thing to Burn. On an isolated farm in the United Kingdom, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years prior. When she learns that she is pregnant, she is determined to protect her child, no matter the cost. Soon, she is devising a plan to escape, ironing out the details to the most meticulous point.
But, when another woman is brought into the fold on the farm, her plans are soon thrown awry. Will she be able to save herself, her child and this innocent woman all at the same time? Or will she be doomed to spend the remainder of her days as a captive on this farm? Intense, dark and thoroughly gripping, The Last Thing to Burn needs to be on your TBR list if you loved Strange Sally Diamond.
Gray After Dark – Noelle W. Ihli
When a tragic accident ruins Miley’s dreams of competing for an Olympic gold medal, she picks up a job working at a mountain guest lodge. The Frank Church Wilderness is remote; nevertheless, it is the ideal spot to recover and train. The local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her.
However, Miley’s plans soon take a terrifying detour when she is abducted during her morning run. She is held captive in a grimy cabin far off the grid and is soon forced into calling upon her athletic prowess, cunning mind and unshakeable courage just to survive. But, as her ordeal continues to escalate toward the hellish, she is forced into an unlikely alliance to attempt a risky attempt. Inspired by true events, Noelle W. Ihli’s Gray After Dark is a pulse-pounding thriller that any fans of Strange Sally Diamond are sure to love.
The Stranger In Her House – John Marrs
Paul claims that he is only there to help. He claims to have been sent by a charity for vulnerable people to do odd jobs for the elderly widow, Gwen. But there’s something about the man that rings alarm bells for Gwen’s daughter, Connie. Paul is a little too kind, a little too involved for her liking. More worryingly, Gwen appears to have fallen entirely under his spell.
The last thing Connie wants is for a stranger to begin messing around with the safe routine she’s built around her mother. However, by the time Paul finds himself between homes and moving in with Gwen, she realises that she has been pushed to the sidelines. But, as her attempts to unmask Paul and show who he really is become more and more desperate, she’s not the only one wondering whether she’s lost her grip on reality. When events begin to spiral rapidly out of her control, she will have to choose whether she wants to risk an all-out war with Paul, and potentially lose Gwen forever.
The Perfect Nanny – Leila Slimani
When Myriam, a French-Moroccon lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for an appropriate nanny to care for their two young children. And they are soon delighted when they find Louise.
Louise is quiet, polite and dedicated. She sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic apartment in Paris’ affluent tenth arrondissement, works late hours without ever complaining and plays host to some of the most enviable kiddie parties. But, as the couple and the nanny become increasingly dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment and suspicion soon begin to creep to the surface. Similar to Strange Sally Diamond, Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny is an unnerving read that explores themes of control, obsession and psychological unravelling.
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Kill For Me, Kill For You – Steve Cavanagh
One dark evening on New York’s Upper West Side, two strangers encounter each other by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy learn that they have a lot in common, especially loneliness and a burning desire to exact revenge on the men who destroyed their families. As they continue to talk long through the night, they concoct the perfect plan: if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.
In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shared with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She is attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes who then proceeds to disappear into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again, knowing that the blue-eyed man is still out there? A breathless and heart-pounding psychological thriller, Steve Cavanagh’s Kill for Me, Kill for You is sure to be a hit for anyone who loved Strange Sally Diamond.
Lying In Wait – Liz Nugent
Another one of the best Liz Nugent books that any reader who loved Strange Sally Diamond is sure to devour, Lying in Wait centres on Lydia Fitzsimons. Lydia seemingly has the perfect life; she is the wife of a deeply respected and successful judge, mother to her beloved son and mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin.
That house, however, hides a dark secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers said secret, the wheels are set in motion which soon leads to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax where this Dublin family’s twisted relationships and dynamics are all suddenly brought to light.
Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker is presented with a troubling assignment: returning to her small hometown and covering the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. For years, Camille has avoided speaking to her neurotic mother or her thirteen-year-old half-sister who appears to hold an eerie grip on the entire town.
Now, set up in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims a bit too intimately. Hounded by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she is to have any chance of getting the story and surviving her homecoming. Dark, absorbing and full of twisted family dynamics, Gillian Flynn’s debut novel, Sharp Objects, is the perfect follow-up for any fans of Strange Sally Diamond.
Bye, Baby – Carola Lovering
On a brisk autumn night in a New York apartment, thirty-five-year-old resident Billie West hears a terrified scream. It’s her lifelong best friend, Cassie Barnwell, coming from one floor above. She’s just realised that her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down at her own arms remembering that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has just shattered Cassie’s world.
Thus begins the story of Billie and Cassie’s friendship. From their small Hudson Valley hometown to the recent weeks leading up to that fateful night, their once unshakeable bond has been upended, and Billie will do anything to restore it, even as she hides the truth about what really happened the night the baby was taken. Told in alternating perspectives, Carola Lovering’s Bye, Baby is the ultimate follow-up to Strange Sally Diamond for anyone looking for another read that tackles the echoes childhood trauma leaves behind, and the impact women’s choices have on their relationships.
Then She Was Gone – Lisa Jewell
It’s been a decade since Laurel’s daughter, Ellie, vanished. She had her whole life ahead of her, and Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter. Then one day a charming and charismatic stranger named Floyd walks into a cafe and whisks Laurel off her feet.
Soon enough, the pair are spending evenings and nights together, Laurel is staying at his house and even being introduced to Floyd’s nine-year-old daughter, Poppy. Poppy is precocious and pretty, but meeting her robs Laurel of her breath for a different reason. That is because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions from the past that have haunted her for years all come rushing back. What happened to Ellie? Who still has secrets to hide?
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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).
