Books that will get your heart going but not in a jumpscare way

I’m not sure if any of you can relate, but I have never been a lover of the scary side of Halloween with the creepy costumes, horror movies, and literally anything that a child would view as slightly spooky. This said, I definitely still enjoy a good psychological thriller that gets your mind thinking and your heart racing with anticipation for the different parts of the story to fit together.

In the last year, I’ve found myself dabbling in Stephen King primarily but also a couple of other miscellaneous reads that have challenged me to really think about things while feeling slightly on edge. Without further ado, here are some books that you can probably curl up with and still feel safe reading alone at night.

“11/22/63” by Stephen King

This book is probably in my top 10 reads of all time. I’ve already written a book review on it, so you should definitely go read that. If you don’t want to go do that, though, all you must know is that it has time-traveling, everything you could want in a sci-fi thriller, and a love plot.

“The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins

This is the first psychological thriller I had ever read, and it is definitely the reason I continue to. The story is about a woman named Rachel and her monotonous life in which she rides the same train at the same time every day. On this train, she is able to see into the backyard of one of the houses that is driven by and has taken to creating a life in her head for the couple that lives in said house. One day, she notices something is off which leads to her investigating and eventually becoming a part of the couples’ story. I’m purposely giving you pretty much nothing to go off of because there really is no way to make sense of this book without reading it.

I cruised through this book in two days, so needless to say, it’s nothing short of the feeling of being enveloped in a true crime documentary.

“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides

This one was pretty popular on TikTok last year, but it sat in my TBR–to be read–list for a little while before I decided to give in to the social pressure of every single reader I knew to read it. I wish I could say the wait wasn’t worth it, but I’d be lying. This one had the plot twist of the century. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I didn’t see it coming even though, looking back, it’s a tad bit obvious. This book takes place primarily in a psych ward with criminal psychologist, Theo Faber, trying to solve the mysterious crime of famous artist, Alicia Berenson, and why she shot her husband.

I found myself sincerely believing I had put two and two together a majority of the time, but then Michaelides would throw in another clue that would throw me off the scent. By the end, I had no idea what to expect, but the ending was nothing short of mindboggling.

“Billy Summers” by Stephen King

The statement, “Stephen King is a genius,” is an understatement in this case. Although this book tells us exactly what is happening at all times, the characters along with the overall plot make this read well worth it. Following the life of the best hitman alive, you would expect this book to be one of gore and disgusting details of everything bad this murderer does, but it is quite the opposite. Billy Summers is a normal guy who happens to get paid to snipe people who have done unforgivable things. Even though we learn of everything that goes into his planning and the execution, this story is also one of love and kindness and the complications of contradicting morals and actions.

This one was nominated as one of the best thrillers on Goodreads, so if my opinion isn’t enough, take the credibility of every other reader.

“Fairy Tale” by Stephen King

Although I haven’t finished this one yet and it has taken me a little while to get as far as I have, I know for a fact that this one will be just as good as the other Stephen King books I’ve read. “Fairy Tale” is about Charlie Reade, a normal high school boy, who happens to befriend an old man with a shed that has a portal to the fairytale world in it. The following plot is one of intrigue and adventure. I haven’t reached the part where something really big happens yet, but you can bet that once I finish it, there will indeed be a book review happening.

“The Perfect Couple” by Elin Hilderbrand

Before I began reading this book, I thought it was a romance and was expecting a cute summer read that would be lighthearted, so I was surprised when pretty much right away, there was a dead body found. Set at a Nantucket wedding resort–which is extremely expensive and can only be afforded by the richest of rich–it is expected that the Otis-Winburry union will be perfect, so when the Maid of Honor is found dead on the beach the morning of the wedding, you could say people were a bit surprised.

The story covers almost every single thing wrong with all the couples there. No lie, after reading this one you might lose a little hope for love, but the mystery and anticipation will hopefully cover this up!