Book recs: Witty Thrillers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might like the Slough House novels, by Mick Herron.

I really love the series on Apple TV. Do the books have the same stories as the TV show? Or different stories? Just want to know because obviously I don’t want to read the book if I’ve already watched the exact same stories in the TV series. But if the characters are the same, but the stories are different, I would be very interested in reading the book.

The shows hews pretty closely to the books. I like reading the book first then watching the season. There are some deviations but it's the same plot.

I will say the books are deeper and richer - more savage in some ways (savagely funny, also a darker). I like reading them for the depth, and watching them for the visuals. But if you're relaly strongly story driven probably don't need to read now.

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest the Everyone in my Family Family has Killed someone series (3 books, fourth coming out this spring). There's definitely something wry and witty about them I love.

I also really like GRady Hendrix. His books are classified as horror, but they are extremely witty and wry and smart. I've loved all of them.

Finally,thanks so much to the person who recomended Dear Daughter. I think it's solved a mystery for me - years ago I pisked up a book and read the jacket and first page and liked it but put it back done, and I've never been able to figure out what it was - posted here and even on Reddit's "what's the name of this book" with never an answer. Pretty sure it was dear daughter! Hope it lives up to my personal hype.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read Best Offer Wins as well. It’s a really fun read if you’re from the DMV. It is very dark and has dark humor infused throughout. It’s quite fluffy though.

If you want super dark humor and haven’t read American Psycho- that’s a good read and I find it to be incredibly witty but it might be more horror than thriller.

Also check out:

You Killed Me First by John Marrs
The Last Party by AR Torre
The You series by Caroline Kepnes

Interesting. I didn't consider it fluffy. Yes, the plot was straightforward rather than jumping around in time, and no shifiting points of view. But I enjoyed the psychological complexity of the main character. Behavior was bonkers at times, but there was a lot going on inside. Interesting exploration of control, including as a method of self-regulation.

With books, everything is so subjective, which is why it’s often hard to recommend things to other people. I didn’t find the character emotionally complex at all- just a complete psychopath with a past that tries to explain why she is the way she is. I probably found it a bit trite because I’m a psychologist in real life 😆 I still really enjoyed the book regardless.

Ahh . . . this makes sense to me, though I hope you haven't had (many?) clients like Margo in your career!

Without spoiling it for others, I'm curious - how early in the book did you start seeing her as a psychopath rather than . . . more run of the mill manipulative and controlling?

Any recs for novels/thrillers with characters you DO consider emotionally complex and interesting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read Best Offer Wins as well. It’s a really fun read if you’re from the DMV. It is very dark and has dark humor infused throughout. It’s quite fluffy though.

If you want super dark humor and haven’t read American Psycho- that’s a good read and I find it to be incredibly witty but it might be more horror than thriller.

Also check out:

You Killed Me First by John Marrs
The Last Party by AR Torre
The You series by Caroline Kepnes

Interesting. I didn't consider it fluffy. Yes, the plot was straightforward rather than jumping around in time, and no shifiting points of view. But I enjoyed the psychological complexity of the main character. Behavior was bonkers at times, but there was a lot going on inside. Interesting exploration of control, including as a method of self-regulation.

With books, everything is so subjective, which is why it’s often hard to recommend things to other people. I didn’t find the character emotionally complex at all- just a complete psychopath with a past that tries to explain why she is the way she is. I probably found it a bit trite because I’m a psychologist in real life 😆 I still really enjoyed the book regardless.

Ahh . . . this makes sense to me, though I hope you haven't had (many?) clients like Margo in your career!

Without spoiling it for others, I'm curious - how early in the book did you start seeing her as a psychopath rather than . . . more run of the mill manipulative and controlling?

Any recs for novels/thrillers with characters you DO consider emotionally complex and interesting?

LOL...to my knowledge I have not had any Margos in my career, but you never know as they can be good at hiding!

Full disclosure, I also have a background in criminology and criminal psychology, and I've recently been immersed in the work of Dr. Fiona Girkin in Australia..she studies female psychopaths in the workplace and she does a good job of differentiating between female and male psychopaths. That said, because I can easily pick up "psychopath clues" I could tell early on Margo was a psychopath...I just wasn't sure what type (there are violent and non violent psychopaths). I purposely went into the book knowing nothing about it because I like the element of surprise and wasn't sure how far the author was going to take things.

I am much more interested in real life psychopaths (true crime) and I think the only author who captures psychopathy so accurately (to the point I think the author must be a psychopath himself) is Bret Easton Ellis. If you can stomach really disturbing things, there is a Dutch movie called "Spurloos" that was later on made into an American film called "The Vanishing." The Spurloos movie is a very accurate and chilling portrayal of a psychopath- maybe one of the best I've seen- especially because it's a film. As for fiction books, I don't need the characters to necessarily be realistic, or even emotionally complex- I just like to be entertained and turn the pages to the point I can't put the book down. I did list AR Torre's book "The Last Party" above and I would also recommend Lucinda Berry (author who is a psychologist!). I know most people find Gillian Flynn's work to be the gold standard of fiction thrillers...I'll try to think on this some more and come back to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read Best Offer Wins as well. It’s a really fun read if you’re from the DMV. It is very dark and has dark humor infused throughout. It’s quite fluffy though.

If you want super dark humor and haven’t read American Psycho- that’s a good read and I find it to be incredibly witty but it might be more horror than thriller.

Also check out:

You Killed Me First by John Marrs
The Last Party by AR Torre
The You series by Caroline Kepnes

Interesting. I didn't consider it fluffy. Yes, the plot was straightforward rather than jumping around in time, and no shifiting points of view. But I enjoyed the psychological complexity of the main character. Behavior was bonkers at times, but there was a lot going on inside. Interesting exploration of control, including as a method of self-regulation.

With books, everything is so subjective, which is why it’s often hard to recommend things to other people. I didn’t find the character emotionally complex at all- just a complete psychopath with a past that tries to explain why she is the way she is. I probably found it a bit trite because I’m a psychologist in real life 😆 I still really enjoyed the book regardless.

Ahh . . . this makes sense to me, though I hope you haven't had (many?) clients like Margo in your career!

Without spoiling it for others, I'm curious - how early in the book did you start seeing her as a psychopath rather than . . . more run of the mill manipulative and controlling?

Any recs for novels/thrillers with characters you DO consider emotionally complex and interesting?

LOL...to my knowledge I have not had any Margos in my career, but you never know as they can be good at hiding!

Full disclosure, I also have a background in criminology and criminal psychology, and I've recently been immersed in the work of Dr. Fiona Girkin in Australia..she studies female psychopaths in the workplace and she does a good job of differentiating between female and male psychopaths. That said, because I can easily pick up "psychopath clues" I could tell early on Margo was a psychopath...I just wasn't sure what type (there are violent and non violent psychopaths). I purposely went into the book knowing nothing about it because I like the element of surprise and wasn't sure how far the author was going to take things.

I am much more interested in real life psychopaths (true crime) and I think the only author who captures psychopathy so accurately (to the point I think the author must be a psychopath himself) is Bret Easton Ellis. If you can stomach really disturbing things, there is a Dutch movie called "Spurloos" that was later on made into an American film called "The Vanishing." The Spurloos movie is a very accurate and chilling portrayal of a psychopath- maybe one of the best I've seen- especially because it's a film. As for fiction books, I don't need the characters to necessarily be realistic, or even emotionally complex- I just like to be entertained and turn the pages to the point I can't put the book down. I did list AR Torre's book "The Last Party" above and I would also recommend Lucinda Berry (author who is a psychologist!). I know most people find Gillian Flynn's work to be the gold standard of fiction thrillers...I'll try to think on this some more and come back to you!

Ooh - thank you!! I’ll check those out fir sure.

FWIW, I think I’m more interested in more run-of-the-mill emotional complexity than violent psychopaths. I know everyone talks about “Best Offer Wins” as being about the crazy DC real estate market - and it is. But what I enjoyed most were the breadcrumbs the author kept dropping in Margo’s thoughts - her quick, skewed interpretations of situations and people, and how that caused her to choose to act in different ways. The connection between her distorted thoughts and her unusual behavior (less the last 20% of the book and more the earlier 80%.)

Maybe I’m just looking for more books that are (a) plot-driven and entertaining; and (b) involve a main character with an inner life I find interesting. Margo was nuts, but I did find her different “justifications” for her behaviors interesting, especially taken as a whole.

[Anonymous]

what about books by Shari Lapena or Freida Mcfadden? Do those count?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read Best Offer Wins as well. It’s a really fun read if you’re from the DMV. It is very dark and has dark humor infused throughout. It’s quite fluffy though.

If you want super dark humor and haven’t read American Psycho- that’s a good read and I find it to be incredibly witty but it might be more horror than thriller.

Also check out:

You Killed Me First by John Marrs
The Last Party by AR Torre
The You series by Caroline Kepnes

Interesting. I didn't consider it fluffy. Yes, the plot was straightforward rather than jumping around in time, and no shifiting points of view. But I enjoyed the psychological complexity of the main character. Behavior was bonkers at times, but there was a lot going on inside. Interesting exploration of control, including as a method of self-regulation.

With books, everything is so subjective, which is why it’s often hard to recommend things to other people. I didn’t find the character emotionally complex at all- just a complete psychopath with a past that tries to explain why she is the way she is. I probably found it a bit trite because I’m a psychologist in real life 😆 I still really enjoyed the book regardless.

Ahh . . . this makes sense to me, though I hope you haven't had (many?) clients like Margo in your career!

Without spoiling it for others, I'm curious - how early in the book did you start seeing her as a psychopath rather than . . . more run of the mill manipulative and controlling?

Any recs for novels/thrillers with characters you DO consider emotionally complex and interesting?

LOL...to my knowledge I have not had any Margos in my career, but you never know as they can be good at hiding!

Full disclosure, I also have a background in criminology and criminal psychology, and I've recently been immersed in the work of Dr. Fiona Girkin in Australia..she studies female psychopaths in the workplace and she does a good job of differentiating between female and male psychopaths. That said, because I can easily pick up "psychopath clues" I could tell early on Margo was a psychopath...I just wasn't sure what type (there are violent and non violent psychopaths). I purposely went into the book knowing nothing about it because I like the element of surprise and wasn't sure how far the author was going to take things.

I am much more interested in real life psychopaths (true crime) and I think the only author who captures psychopathy so accurately (to the point I think the author must be a psychopath himself) is Bret Easton Ellis. If you can stomach really disturbing things, there is a Dutch movie called "Spurloos" that was later on made into an American film called "The Vanishing." The Spurloos movie is a very accurate and chilling portrayal of a psychopath- maybe one of the best I've seen- especially because it's a film. As for fiction books, I don't need the characters to necessarily be realistic, or even emotionally complex- I just like to be entertained and turn the pages to the point I can't put the book down. I did list AR Torre's book "The Last Party" above and I would also recommend Lucinda Berry (author who is a psychologist!). I know most people find Gillian Flynn's work to be the gold standard of fiction thrillers...I'll try to think on this some more and come back to you!

NP. What an interesting post! The Vanishing haunted me for years. My good friend was college roommates with Caroline Kepnes, which my young adult children find incredibly cool. They loved watching the You series.