Psychological thriller books that will blow your mind

There is no doubt about the fact that psychological thrillers offer one of the most absorbing and engrossing reading experiences. With their mind-boggling plots, these novels often act as if they are the predators, and the helpless readers are the prey! Also, though psychological thrillers center on stories of crime and the criminally insane, that's not always the case. These novels can also be about the societal ills and issues that can cause a mind to disintegrate. Here's a look at 5 psychological thriller books that will definitely blow your mind.

After killing off his most famous protagonist 'Misery' in his latest novel, author Paul Sheldon meets a horrible car crash. When he wakes up in agony, he’s in the bed of Annie Wilkes who pulled him from the wreckage and brought him back to her isolated mountain home. Bedbound with broken legs, he soon discovers former nurse Annie is his number 1 fan and intends to hold him hostage until he writes Misery back into existence!

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The novel gives narratives from three different women about relationship troubles and binge drinking. Taking the same train to work every day, Rachel is fascinated by a woman who lives along her route. Every day, Rachel gets a glimpse into this woman’s “perfect” life. Until one day, when Rachel witnesses something shocking.

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It follows an unnamed young woman to the south of France, where she falls for the handsome widower Maxim de Winter. They soon marry and she moves into his grand home. Isolated and alone, the ghostly presence of Maxim’s first wife Rebecca begins to haunt the new Mrs de Winter. When ship wreckage is discovered with Rebecca’s body inside, secrets unravel and suspense builds!

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It is the sequel to Harris's 1981 novel 'Red Dragon'. Both novels feature the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, this time pitted against FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling.

"The serial killer nicknamed 'Buffalo Bill' has been capturing and starving women, then murdering and skinning them. FBI rookie Clarice Starling is assigned to solicit help from imprisoned psychopath Dr. Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter, whose insight into the depraved minds of serial killers is second to none," reads the book's blurb.

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In this Gothic thriller, readers meet London psychotherapist Mariana Andros, who rushes to her niece’s side at Cambridge University following a beloved classmate’s murder. Mariana immediately suspects Edward Fosca, a charismatic professor of Greek tragedy who has assembled a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. As the bodies of Maidens continue to pile up, Mariana’s obsession with cracking the case soon endangers her life.

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The book revolves around Amy Dunne, who mysteriously disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary. At the top of the suspect list is her seemingly perfect husband Nick. Shockingly, both husband and wife aren't who they seem to be. All in all, it's a novel about a marriage gone terribly wrong.

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