top 5 thrillers to read during isolation

Ireland, and quite a few other countries in the world, has been in lockdown for a couple of weeks in order to halt the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For most of us, this means working from our sofas in our pyjamas drinking coffee from our favourite mugs, having our siblings slowly fall into insanity upstairs, and wondering when we'll be able to catch up with friends in our favourite bar.

It hasn't been easy to adopt this new, slower pace of lockdown life, when we're all so used to always being on the go. But while the cabin fever is a daily occurrence, the extra time has allowed for us to pick up new- or old- hobbies and enjoy them. Reading has been part of my everyday routine for a while now- I used to love sitting in a café or a sunny park, or have my weekend coffee and croissant snuggled in bed, all with the latest novel I'd picked up. I've read a lot in the last couple of years, and while I donate most of what I pick up, there are some that I just couldn't possibly remove from my bookcase. Here are the five thriller novels that I've read in the last year that I couldn't put down!

The Sleeper Lies, by Andrea Mara

I picked this up in the Easons at Heuston Station for my commute home one evening in February before the craziness started and I absolutely recommend it. The Irish novel, set primarily in a little town in the Wicklow mountains, is a perfectly eerie read when you've nowhere to go and you're safe in the knowledge that no one can get you at home.

When protagonist Marianne wakes up one morning in her isolated cottage to a blanket of snow, she can't understand where the fresh footprints are coming from. Worse still, they stop outside her bedroom window. Single, living alone and working from home, Marianne suspects the footprints could be from drunken yobs fooling around. After all, she's a true crime fan, so it's just her mind playing tricks with her, right?

With a bigger storm on its way and the threat of supplies running out and roads getting blocked, strange things continue to occur around Marianne. As she searches for answers, she uncovers new information about the mysterious murder of her mother and reminisces on her trip to Denmark ten years previously to discover the truth. Add the memories of her ex resurfacing, and Marianne is in a tricky situation.

I loved the eerie feel to this novel so much. It was such a page turner, and I really enjoyed how Mara switched from present time to Marianne’s trip to Denmark, to when her ex was living in the cottage too. Usually a change in pace and narrative messes with the storytelling, but Mara did such a good job juggling the three paces and sticking with one for just the right amount of time before moving along the timeline, without making us wait for too many chapter before picking back up in the suspense. If you happen to be flying past an Easons sometime soon (or not, we don’t know how long this will last!), make sure to pick this one up!

You Let Me In, by Lucy Clarke

A recent find from The Works. Just the cover of this book alone excites me, puts me on edge, and takes me back to this story.

Another novel where the protagonist’s safe space has essentially been violated and her safety is in jeopardy- or is it?

Best-selling novelist Elle can only be living the dream. She just moved into her newly-built house on a Cornwall cliff, looking out into the sea. Her debut novel was so successful that she got a second book deal. She’s single, beautiful and free. What more could she want?

Elle rented her house out on Air BnB when she was at a swanky writers retreat for a week. Returning home, she tries to imagine what the family would have been doing while in the gorgeous house. Except something just isn’t quite right. Something is off. A stranger has been in her house, where all of her secrets lie hidden. As the deadline for Elle’s new novel approaches, she struggles to make sense of her sense of unease. It’s almost as though there’s another presence in the house. Who rented the house? How did they get in her writing room? But most importantly- do they know Elle’s biggest secret?

Clarke did such a good job creating an atmosphere that’s so unsettling, while also being in this big, bright home. I love how the house itself was almost a character in the novel. Clarke plants the building of it into the narrative, creating the vessel for the tension that the story is steeped in. Clarke expertly weaves several mysteries and sub plots into the book, catching our attention for a moment on one storyline, before focusing our attention on another. I flew through this one very quickly and I’ll definitely be looking out for more work from Clarke in the future.

Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn

Ok, so this one isn’t particularly new, but it’s easy enough to find at the bookshop. The debut novel by Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl, Sharp Objects introduces us to Camille, strong-minded journalist for a large newspaper in Chicago. When two little girls disappear in Camille’s home town in Missouri, her editor sends her back to report on the investigation. Staying with her estranged mother and precocious 13 year old sister in sleepy Wind Gap, Camille begins to strongly identify with the two victims; wild, stubborn and not in-tune with the locals. She discovers that in order to find out the true fate of the two little girls, she must first solve the mystery of her own past.

This was the first novel that I’d read of Gillian Flynn, and I’ve sought out more of her work since- even convincing my friend Lydia to buy a set of her books on my recommendation- but this is definitely her best work that I’ve read. I love the creepy setting; a typical, sleepy town where the locals almost seem stuck in another century- very different from the big bustling city of Chicago where we start.

Camille herself is a multifaceted character, and we begin to understand her nature from her interactions with her family and old acquaintances.

Not that the story gets predictable or boring at any point, but just as you begin to settle in an accepted reality, Flynn throws in a surprise twist to keep you on your toes. I love the ending, it makes a lot of sense, and I really enjoy rereading the book and seeing all the obvious clues. A modern classic, Sharp Objects is one that you’ll be rereading yourself for years to come.

In A Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware

Apparently I have a preference for single women in their thirties, who live alone and have a career in writing. My last favourite is exactly the same; meet Nora, who loves to jog, is writing a new novel- and who just got invited to a hen do. To be precise; the hen do of her former good friend Clare, whom she hasn’t seen nor spoken to in ten years. A sophisticated celebration, Noar finds herself agreeing to travel to the beautifully designed Glass House, in the middle of an English forest. The guest list is short, the party planned with short notice, but it does include her other childhood friend; rebellious, trouble-maker Nina. Flo, maid of honor, is as uptight as they come, and more of a cheerleader to Clare. The weekend underway, something goes wrong. Very wrong. There’s a death, and it wasn’t an accident. Everyone has secrets, and Nora is forced to wonder if she ever knew her childhood friends at all.

This isn’t a slasher novel where everyone dies one at a time, it’s a well-crafted masterpiece. I couldn’t get enough of it from the first page, and this is definitely the kind of book that you can spend all night reading. Ware explores the topic of toxic friendships in her novel, the different kinds of people who can love you and lose you at the drop of a hat, and how those relationships can affect you for years to come.

Reading is my favourite thing to accompany my morning coffee and croissant, and I regularly take an hour out of my morning to immerse myself in whatever book I’ve got. With Ireland on lockdown, it’s a really nice way to escape a bit from the crazy and chaos of the Covid 19 pandemic, and I highly recommend reading to keep you sane (here are some more tips if cabin fever is getting to you!).

What are your favourite thrillers that you can’t put down, and have you read any of my suggestions? Thank you so much for reading my blog post, it’s the only thing keeping me sane during this lockdown!

If you’d like, follow me on Instagram @lapetitemis for more updates on what books I’m loving!