Serial killer thriller books are the kind of reads that make you want to keep reading just one more chapter. There’s usually a strong sense of danger, a killer who may strike again, and characters racing to figure out what’s really happening. These books are perfect if you like dark suspense and stories that are hard to put down.
I’m sharing 15 of my favorite serial killer thriller books in this post. These are the books that kept me invested in the case, the characters, and whatever twist was coming next.
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Serial Killer Thriller Books to Add to Your TBR
These are some of my favorite serial killer thriller books, with a mix of investigations, psychological suspense, dark secrets, and characters with surprising connections to the killers.
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Dawn Girl — Leslie Wolfe
A woman found dead on a deserted beach, a possible serial killer, and an FBI agent racing to stop another murder.
Special Agent Tess Winnett follows the clues and begins to believe the victim isn’t the killer’s first. As Tess gets closer to the truth, she must also face a terrible secret of her own.
A Killer’s Mind — Mike Omer
A disturbing pattern of murders, an FBI forensic psychologist, and a case that suddenly hits close to home.
Zoe Bentley is called in after three Chicago women are found strangled, embalmed, and posed as if they were still alive. As she and Special Agent Tatum Gray dig into the killer’s mind, new evidence connects the case to murders from Zoe’s childhood.
Too Old for This — Samantha Downing
A retired serial killer, a quiet small-town life, and a journalist asking questions that could expose everything.
Lottie Jones has spent decades hiding her past, but Plum Dixon’s investigation brings old unsolved cases back to her doorstep. When Lottie decides she has to protect her secret, getting away with murder proves harder than it used to be.
The Diary of a Serial Killer’s Daughter — L.A. Detwiler
Ruby Marlowe has grown up with a father who has always taken care of her, but she begins to realize he is hiding something much darker.
As she looks into her mother’s life and death, Ruby uncovers secrets connected to her father’s killings. The more she learns, the harder it becomes to ignore the path he is on and what it could mean for her.
Stillhouse Lake — Rachel Caine
A quiet life falls apart when Gina Royal discovers her husband is a serial killer and starts over as Gwen Proctor.
She eventually finds refuge with her children at remote Stillhouse Lake, but a body in the water and threatening letters bring the danger back. Gwen has to protect her family while keeping her new identity from unraveling.
A Killer’s Wife — Victor Methos
A prosecutor’s past comes rushing back when a new string of murders looks disturbingly similar to her ex-husband’s crimes.
Jessica Yardley is asked by the FBI to help hunt the copycat, which means facing the man who once tore her life apart. As the killer’s motives become clearer, Jessica has to decide who she can trust and whether she can stop what is happening.
The Butterfly Garden — Dot Hutchinson
A hidden garden, kidnapped women, and a survivor whose story may hold the answers.
After the garden is discovered, FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison question Maya about the man known as the Gardener and what happened there. But the more Maya reveals, the more the agents begin to wonder what she may still be hiding.
Engaged to a Serial Killer — Steena Holmes
A secret engagement, troubling red flags, and an arrest that changes everything.
Just as she thinks her life is finally coming together, her fiancé is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Now she has to figure out whether she ever really knew him and what his arrest could mean for her own future.
The Serial Killer’s Daughter — Alice Hunter
A woman disappears from a quiet Devon village, and local vet Jenny is shaken by how close the crime feels to her past.
As the daughter of a prolific serial killer, she has spent years trying to distance herself from what he did. But when the new crime begins to resemble her father’s murders, Jenny is forced to question what that connection could mean.
Little Bones — N V Peacock
A woman who grew up witnessing her father’s crimes, a new identity, and a past she thought she had escaped.
Now a mother, Cherrie is pulled back into that past when a podcast links a recent disappearance to her father’s (aka Mr. Bones) murders. As people uncover who she really is, Cherrie finds herself being called “Little Bones” all over again.
The Whisper Man — Alex North
A grieving father, a small town with a dark past, and a new disappearance that feels all too familiar.
Tom Kennedy moves to Featherbank with his young son Jake, only for another boy to vanish in a case that resembles the crimes of the serial killer once known as the Whisper Man. As detectives revisit the old investigation, Jake begins hearing whispers at his window.
The Serial Killer’s Wife — Robert Swortwood
A woman hiding under a new identity, an abducted son, and a past she thought she had escaped.
Five years after her husband was arrested as a serial killer, Elizabeth is forced back into that life when a man named Cain takes her son. With only one hundred hours to save him, she must recover the trophies her husband kept from his victims and face secrets she never knew.
The Serial Killer’s Party — Amy Cunningham
An exclusive party in Norway, a billionaire host, and a guest who arrives looking for revenge. After months of planning, the guest believes the host is responsible for several murders, including her sister’s. But when someone dies at the party, she begins to wonder if she has walked into a trap.
Hard Girls — Martina Cole
A new serial killer in Grantley pulls retired DCI Kate Burrows back into an investigation she thought she had left behind. The case looks disturbingly similar to the Grantley Ripper, but this time the victims are prostitutes. With her past experience catching killers, Kate may be the one person who can stop him.
Monster — S. E. Green
A woman who survived an abduction as a child now uses what she learned to help police understand serial killers.
Caroline’s latest case involves murdered teenage girls and begins to feel disturbingly familiar. As she starts experiencing blackouts and hallucinations, she’s forced to question what the connection to her own past really means.
Find Your Next Serial Killer Thriller Book
If you like darker thrillers with high stakes and plenty of suspense, I hope you found a few new books to add to your reading list.
For more twisty reads, check out my list of domestic thriller books.