5 Thriller/Suspense Books to Get You in the Mood for October

Once upon a time, I was a book nerd. A book enthusiast, you could say. I read everything that wasn’t non-fiction or a romance novel. But then I went off to a little place called college, where reading for pleasure was a thing of the past. Seriously. I don’t know what it was like for anybody else, but for music and theatre people at least, there was not a lot of “down time.” Every spare minute was spent practicing or in rehearsals for one production or another! But I digress.

By the time I graduated, I was so out of the habit of reading that books just didn’t really appeal to me much anymore. After all, Netflix and Hulu were life and I had like 13 shows to keep up with! Where was I supposed to fit in a book?

My mom suggested I read Odd Thomas, her favorite book, to get back into the swing of things. I begrudgingly agreed and accepted the copy she bought me. It took a while before I ever even opened the cover. Even then, I’d read a few pages… and then put it down for a couple of months. After years of almost no reading, I’d gotten to the point where I couldn’t read with any distractions! How terrible is that?!

Finally this past spring, I took a trip where I had several flights in one week. Since I’m not the type to buy the in-flight wifi, I was actually able to focus – distraction-free – on what I was reading. And it was AWESOME. I’d finished Odd Thomas a couple of weeks before my trip and loved it, so my mom suggested another Dean Koontz book – The Silent Corner. Since then, I’ve read several books and have many more on my list! With October is just around the corner, I thought I’d share some of my favorites… and a couple that I’ll be reading in the near future!

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Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

This is the one. The book that got me back into reading after a six year hiatus! It’s about a man named Odd. His name is the least interesting thing about him. He’s able to see dead people. They interact with him, but never speak. Using his powers, he has to stop a terrible event from happening. The problem is… he doesn’t know when or where this event will take place. But the fate of hundreds of people lies in his hands. You really can’t help but get sucked into this novel! I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a little sci-fi action with their thrilling suspense. And there are a ton of sequels! I haven’t read them yet, but my mom says many of them are as good as the first.

Three by Ted Dekker

A friend of mine recommended this to me, and when I mentioned it to my mom (a big Ted Dekker fan), she said, “YES! It’s so good!!” I knew I had to read it. After I finish my current book, this is at the top of my list! My best friend and I once watched all of the Saw movies in the span of like, a week. We were addicted! Super gory and almost painful to watch, yes. But we were hooked. When my friend was telling me about Three, it reminded me of those movies, and therefore sounded like something I would really like.

It starts off with a guy, just driving down the road when he gets a phone call. The voice on the other end tells him he has three minutes to confess his sin or his car will blow up. The phone goes dead, and not knowing what to do, he pulls into a parking lot and runs from his car, on the off chance the threat is real. Right on cue, the car blows up. WHAAAAT right?? I can’t wait to read!!

The Shining by Stephen King

This is one of those books where I saw the movie and LOVED it, so I’m positive I’d love the book. Since, as everyone in existence knows, the book is always better than the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, I’ll give you a brief lil summary. This man, Jack, is a writer with alcoholic tendencies and anger issues. Great combo, right? He and his wife and son go to live in this historic hotel in Colorado for the winter so that Jack can dry out and get back to his writing. Danny, his 5-year-old son, possesses “the shining,” a sort of psychic ability that allows him to see/hear things that others may not. The hotel, a sort of spirit in itself, tries to take hold of Danny. After failing, it succeeds in possessing Jack… and you can only imagine what horror ensues after this.

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz

Less horror-y than some of the others in this group, but what it lacks in horror it makes up for in suspense. The Silent Corner series focuses on Jane Hawk, a former FBI agent who is on her way to uncovering a plot bigger than anything she could’ve imagined. After her husband killed himself for no apparent reason whatsoever, she begins looking into other recent suicides… and finding that an unnerving amount of perfectly happy people have been taking their own lives. When Jane gets a phone call threatening her and the life of her 5-year-old son, Travis, she realizes her theory is more valid than she thought. Leaving Travis with some trusted friends, she goes on the run from the government, because absolutely no one can be trusted. Not even those who were once allies. I can’t say much more or I’ll spoil the plot but I will say two more things. BRAIN CONTROL. NANO-TECHNOLOGY. Okay, that’s it. I’m currently on book four of this series and haven’t been able to read anything else since I started this first one!! Seriously, if you’re wanting a book with a strong, smart, hardcore female lead, this is the read for you.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Okay, I’m gonna be honest. I don’t know anyone who has read this book. But after I read the plot summary, I know that I have to  get it. The main character is another strong woman (YASS), but she has her children with her! The events of the book take place during a post-apocalyptic time where people see these “creatures” that make those who see them go crazy and kill everybody around them and oftentimes kill themselves. It’s like a mix of Slenderman and A Quiet Place – yeee!! The only way to avoid seeing the creatures is by.. well, not opening your eyes. Malorie and her kids have a chance to escape their life of solitude and get to a secluded haven with 100+ people. The only problem? They have to travel there by river. Blindfolded. Like, I GET CHILLS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. And apparently it’s getting made into a Netflix movie with Sandra Bullock playing Malorie!!! I’m pumped.

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All right, folks! That should be enough to last you for the month of October… unless you have no life and read all five of them and their sequels in less than a month. In which case, I applaud you! 😉

Candidly,

Kristianna