“Memories aren’t always about facts. Sometimes they’re about feelings.”
The Marsh King’s Daughter is a 2017 thriller book by Karen Dionne. Helena Pelletier has a doting husband, two beautiful daughters and a business that takes up her time. But, she also has a secret: she’s the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped by her father and held in a remote cabin in the marshlands in Michigan’s Upper Penisula. More than two decades on, her father has escaped from prison and once again disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a desperate manhunt, but Helena knows that only she has the survivalist skills needed to find the man the world has come to know as the Marsh King. If you love fast-paced thrillers, join us today at What We Reading for the best books like The Marsh King’s Daughter!
Behind Her Eyes – Sarah Pinborough
First up on list of books like The Marsh King’s Daughter is a psychological thriller centred around an unreliable narrator, Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes. Louise is a single mother stuck in a rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and their chemistry appears to be off the chart. When she arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man who says the kiss they shared was a mistake, but who nevertheless cannot keep his eyes off Louise.
And then Louise bumps into Adele, David’s wife. David and Adele appear to be the perfect married couple. Except David is so clearly overly-controlling and Adele is terrified of him. As Louise is pulled closer and closer into their orbit, she discovers more puzzling questions and realises something inside this marriage is very, very wrong.
Paper Ghosts – Julia Heaberlin
Carl Louis Feldman was once one of the most skilled photographers in the world. But that was all before he was tried for the murder of a young woman. He was acquitted on a technicality and admitted to a care home for the elderly suffering from dementia. His daughter arrives one day to take him on one final trip together. Only, she isn’t actually his daughter.
The young woman driving the pair of them is the sister of the girl Carl allegedly killed, and she is certain about his guilt. Through a paper trail consisting of his photographs, clues and details about his crimes, the trip is designed to test just how much he remembers. Similar to The Marsh King’s Daughter, Julia Heaberlin’s Paper Ghosts is a thriller that features a determined female lead and the man who ruined her life.
Every Last Lie – Mary Kubica
Clara Solberg’s world is upended when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are involved in a car crash. Nick is killed, but Maisie is remarkably unharmed. Initially ruled as an accident, when Maisie begins experiencing night terrors, Clara begins to question whether something else happened on that fateful afternoon.
Driven by grief and an increasing obsession that Nick’s death was far more than just an accident, Clara finds herself submerged in a desperate hunt for the truth. She will stop at nothing to find out, even if the truth is just the tip of a web of secrets and deceit. Mary Kubica’s Every Last Lie is another book like The Marsh King’s Daughter that explores the complex relationships between parents and children.
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Wild Life – Liam Brown
When he loses his job as an advertising salesman, Adam abandons his family and begins sleeping rough at a local park. There, a group of homeless men befriend him. As the months pass on through, Adam slowly begins to appreciate his tough new regime.
That is until winter arrives early, threatening to turn his idyllic life into a hellish experience for survival. Hungry, exhausted and tired of the constant in-fighting prevalent in his group, Adam decides to return home to his family. The homeless men, however, have other ideas for him. As the stakes are raised, he is forced to question whether any of us are capable of escaping the wilderness within.
The Good Daughter (The Good Daughter #1) – Karin Slaughter
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s perfect small-town life was shattered by an attack on their family home. It left their mother dead and their father devastated. The family were fractured beyond repair, enveloped by the secrets left behind from that terrible night.
In the years since, Charlotte has followed in her father’s footsteps and become a lawyer. But when violence returns to Pikeville, leaving the entire town traumatised again, she is plunged once more into a nightmare. Not only is she the first to witness the scene, but it’s a case that lets the memories she has attempted to keep buried loose. Similar to The Marsh King’s Daughter, Karin Slaughter’s The Good Daughter is a complex psychological thriller filled with morally ambiguous characters spread across a small-town setting.
Daughter Of Mine – Megan Miranda
When Hazel Sharp, the daughter of Mirror Lake’s veteran local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she is reluctantly pulled back to the town – and the people – she had left behind almost a decade earlier.
Yet Hazel is not the only relic of the past returning to Mirror Lake. A fierce drought has descended on the region. As the water levels in the lake start to rescind, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, including evidence that might finally explain the mystery behind why Hazel’s mother disappeared, and what exactly happened to her all those years ago.
The House In The Pines – Ana Reyes
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, dropped dead suddenly in front of the enigmatic man called Frank who they had been spending all summer with. Seven years later, Maya is living in Boston with a husband and kicking the addiction that has helped her cope with the gaps in her memory and the lost time she cannot account for. But, when a video surfaces of another woman suddenly dying in front of Frank, her past comes flooding back to her.
Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya travels to her hometown to relive that fateful summer and the influence Frank once had over her. As she pulls up her past, she notices hidden messages left behind by her deceased father. Messages that she never noticed before, but which nevertheless lead back to Frank’s cabin. Like The Marsh King’s Daughter, Ana Reyes’ The House in the Pines is a story of a daughter confronting the past and returning home.
Listen For The Lie – Amy Tintera
One of the best recent thriller books like The Marsh King’s Daughter, Listen for the Lie is a 2024 novel by Amy Tintera. After Lucy was found wandering the streets aimlessly, covered in the blood of her best friend, Savvy, everyone assumed she was a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town. It’s been years since then and that horrible night. A night that Lucy cannot remember anything about.
But now the viral true crime podcast ‘Listen for the Lie’ and its handsome host Ben Owens have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is soon forced to return to the place she swore she would never return to. She is determined to unlock the truth behind her friend’s death, even if she is the one responsible for it.
The Berry Pickers – Amanda Peters
In July 1962, a Mi’Kmaq family arrive in Maine from Nova Scotia to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, suddenly vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on their favourite rock on the edge of the berry field. Joe will remain haunted by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl called Norma grows up as the sole child of an affluent family. Her mother is annoyingly overbearing, whereas her father is emotionally distant. Norma is often plagued by recurring dreams that feel more like memories than her imagination. As she grows up, she soon begins to realise that there are hidden secrets her parents are keeping from her. The Berry Pickers is a historical mystery novel like The Marsh King’s Daughter about the shadow of trauma and the search for truth.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Berry Pickers
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).
