The essentials:
Gone Girl - Crack in book form. Similarly female-focused mystery thriller.
Millennium Trilogy - Dark, detailed, bonkers and brutal. Three Scandi-crime Classics with a twisted female lead and moody tone. Big SA trigger warning.
My Dark Vanessa - A literary fiction set in a school, same dark wintery feel and themes of a teacher exploiting his student. Again, plenty of uncomfortable SA.
Read Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. It was written in the 1930s, but still interesting, set in an Oxford college and the twist makes sense.
Haha yeah unfortunately a lot of mystery books have this problem, they want the ending to blow you away so the twist is outrageous. I felt the same way about this book.
If you want smart mystery books, I recommend Cuckoo’s calling or Magpie Murders. Enjoy!
Try the Secret History by Donna Tart, the Lake of Dead Languages (forgotten author), and Once We Were Villans by M.L Rio.
Carol Goodman! I second these recs: Goodman for a more classic thriller, but with emphasis on atmosphere, Tart for what I can best describe as Gothic satire? That book is truly in a class of its own (though I'm biased because it's one of my favourite books ever). Don't expect a straightforward mystery, however. Rio was clearly very inspired by Tartt. Some find that a flaw, others a quality. Villains is much more "contained" than Secret History but still not a standard mystery. Both are very character driven, almost like a character study at times. Definitely more psych suspense than thriller on either cases I'd say.
I haaated that book lol. I agree with all the other recommendations you got here! I would add Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I'm going against the trend here but to me it was even better than Gone Girl. Super creepy (which I love!)
If you want something super fast paced, No Exit by Taylor Adams was one of the most effective popcorn thrillers I read. I was actually on the edge of my seat! It's not a very character focused narrative, however so depends on what you like.
A book that I adore but never see recommended is White Ivy by Susie Yang. It has the academic vibes (in part), questions of privilege, and "enraged girl in a precarious situation" vibes you might like. I struggle to categorise it...there is a murder/secret but it's not really a thriller. It's almost like a dark novel of manners. The main character is unlike able but in a very interesting way I found.
oooooh ok ok wow see I'm about a few chapters into the book rn and was really looking forward to completing it 😭😭😭 ughhhhhhhhhh why why whyyyyyy it's started off pretty good too I was looking forward to where the story was gonna gooo. One thing I absolutely HATE are disappointing bad endings- I enjoyed The Silent Patient so I was looking forward to finishing this as well 💔 but if the ending is as bad as you say I think I'll just spoil it for myself and leave it uncompleted,, I don't want to put myself through that kind of emotional dissatisfaction again 😭😭
Normally I'd say stick with it as your experience may be different, but in this case hating the ending is so common you may as well take a look at it. If you're not as bothered, you can go back and read the rest to see how it got there.
He’s the most overrated author! I suggest Piranesi - it’s hard to describe and better to go in cold but it’s got a great mystery/conclusion