Ellen Won Steil's favorite books to satisfy your dark, suspense craving

There is no question (in my mind anyways) that Gillian Flynn is the master of suspense and we’re all just spectators in her ring.

This is the suspense book that really did it for me and made me want to run to my laptop and write. Yes, the infamous Gone Girl, that launched her career is likely more well-known. But I vividly remember getting chills, tingles, and inspiration as I read this terrifying yet thrilling story about troubled reporter, Camille Preaker and the demons she faces going back to her hometown. 

Sometimes there is nothing darker than confronting unresolved issues from your childhood. Especially when this involves murder, small-town nostalgia, and a hypochondriac mother.

No matter how much you may love a certain genre, you can inevitably fall into a reading slump. Too much of a good thing, right?

I will begrudgingly admit, the “missing” or “murdered girl” trope can sometimes get a bit dull without a new touch. Which is why when I came across Megan Miranda’s adult debut told entirely in reverse (from Day 15 to Day 1) was I ever floored with delight!

How absolute genius is it to take a twisty, shocking story about the disappearance of two girls, decades apart but give it to reader backwards? I found myself deeply engrossed not only in the propulsive story but intrigued by the unique way I had to process the timeline.

I don’t know about you, but reading was one of “the things” that got me through the pandemic. Where else was there to escape to but in a thrilling suspense book?

Very pregnant with my second child and stir crazy, this insane, twist of a story came in the nick of time. When I say this one had a twist, I mean it was one of those that made me close the book. Push it aside from shock. Quickly open again and charge through to the ending. 

Oh, just the age-old tale of the psychotherapist tasked to work with a patient who not only refuses to speak. But shot her husband five times in the face.

Yes, yes, I’m sure you’ve seen the movie. Who hasn’t watched Anthony Hopkins slither his tongue in such a way that makes you want to crawl away and hide forever? But the real important question here is: have you read the book?

This fact may reveal me as a little weird and that’s okay: I was obsessed with this movie as a child. I couldn’t get enough of the taut, haunting relationship between Hannibal and Clarice.

When I finally got around to reading the book, I was annoyed with myself for waiting so long. Letting the words of Hannibal go from the pages into your mind is somehow extra disturbing.

I’m going even further back with this one. Unusual pick certainly, a YA novel from 1989 that I stole off my sister’s shelf circa 1994.

I was ten and ready for something darker than The Baby-Sitters Club. This was one of those early reads that made me want to write in the first place. The first real suspense book that had me staying up late, wondering how does one create a story like this? I still have that book, tattered and sitting on my shelf as a reminder of that first spark.

Christopher Pike is able to write stories to young readers in a timeless way. The nostalgia and sheer thrill from this story about a young woman who finds herself dead after falling four stories will bring you back to nights with covers over your head. Did she jump or was something more sinister behind her death? Only her ghost can find out the truth.