“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.”
If you couldn’t put down Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, you’re certainly not alone. With its gripping exploration of family trauma, psychological suspense, and a deeply flawed female protagonist, Dark Places is a masterclass in dark, twisty thrillers. But, what do you read next? Today at What We Reading, we’re curating our favourite books like Dark Places for readers who crave gritty mystery novels, unreliable narrators, and stories that delve into the darkest corners of the human psyche. Whether you’re on the hunt for books similar to Dark Places in tone, structure, or shocking reveals, these readalikes all deliver the same heart-pounding suspense and emotional depth. From domestic noir to family secrets and true crime-inspired fiction, if you love Gillian Flynn’s dark storytelling style, these are the best books to add to your reading list.
Dark Places Summary
Libby Day was only seven when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars. Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced that Ben is innocent, Libby begins to ask questions she’s never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother’s? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he really capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm, or is Libby deluding herself because she’s desperate for her brother to come home?
She starts to realise that everyone in her family has something to hide regarding that fateful day, particularly Ben. Now, twenty-four years on, the truth is going to be even harder to work out. Who massacred the Day family?
Check Out The Best Gillian Flynn Books
Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
Kicking off our list of the best books like Dark Places is another one of Gillian Flynn’s best books, Sharp Objects. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the sudden disappearance of another. For years, Camille has barely spoken to her neurotic mother, or the half-sister she barely knows: an enigmatic thirteen-year-old who seems to have a grip on the entire town.
Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims, perhaps a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story of her life and survive this troubled homecoming.
Check Out The Best Books Like Sharp Objects
The Marsh King’s Daughter – Karen Dionne
Helena Pelletier has a doting husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that takes up her time. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teen by her father and sealed away in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, grew up loving her home in nature. And, despite his occasional brutalness, she loved her father too.
More than two decades on, she has buried her past so soundly that not even her husband knows the truth. But now her father has killed two prison guards, escaped, and vanished into the marshes. The police begin their manhunt, but Helena knows it is in vain. She knows there’s only one person with the skills to find the survivalist the world has dubbed ‘the Marsh King’, because there was only one person he ever trained: his daughter.
The Weight Of Blood – Laura McHugh
The Dane family’s roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane; however, that doesn’t stop sixteen-year-old Lucy Dane from being treated like an outsider. People still murmur about her mother, a young stranger who inspired countless myths when she suddenly disappeared years ago. When one of Lucy’s friends is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost girls – the mother she never knew, and the friend she couldn’t protect.
When Lucy happens upon Cheri’s necklace in an abandoned trailer, she finds herself drawn into a search for answers. What Lucy uncovers makes it impossible to ignore the suspicion suddenly being pulled toward her own kin. More alarmingly, she begins to suspect Cheri’s death could be linked to her mother’s disappearance, putting her at risk of losing everything. Evoking the same Southern Gothic feel as Dark Places, The Weight of Blood is the perfect go-to if you love Gillian Flynn’s work.
Behind Her Eyes – Sarah Pinborough
Louise is a single mother, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. One rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks immediately fly. He leaves after they share a kiss, but she’s thrilled she may have finally met someone. When Louise arrives at work on Monday morning, she meets her new boss, David. The same man from the bar.
And then Louise bumps into David’s wife, Adele, who is new to town and in need of a friend. David and Adele appear to be the picture-perfect husband and wife team. So why then is David so controlling, and Adele so terrified of him? As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s world, she discovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. Similar to Dark Places, this domestic thriller is all about the lengths people will go to protect their secrets.
Check Out The Best Books Like Behind Her Eyes
We Are All The Same In The Dark – Julia Heaberlin
It’s been ten years since Trumanell Branson vanished, leaving only a bloody handprint behind. Her brother, Wyatt, lives as a pariah in the crumbling family house, cleared by the police but hanged as guilty in the court of public opinion. When Wyatt finds a lost girl, he believes she is a sign. The town’s youngest cop, Odette Tucker, believes she is the missing catalyst that will ignite a seething town still waiting for its missing girl to come home.
Desperate to solve both cases, Odette fights to save the lost girl in the present and to unearth the mysteries of a missing girl in the past. One of the best books like Dark Places, We Are All the Same in the Dark, is a twisty thriller about a woman and a girl who redefine perceptions of physical beauty and strength.
Jar Of Hearts – Jennifer Hillier
When she was just sixteen, Angela Wong disappeared without a trace. Nobody suspected that her best friend, Georgina Shaw, was involved in any way. Certainly not Kaiser Brody, who was close with both girls back in high school. Fourteen years on, Angela’s remains are discovered in the woods. And Kaiser, now a detective, finally learns the truth: Angela was a victim of Calvin James. The same Calvin James who murdered at least three other women.
To the authorities, Calvin is a serial killer. But to Geo, he’s something else entirely. Back in high school, Calvin was Geo’s first love. For fourteen years, Geo has known what happened to Angela. But, whilst everyone now thinks they know the truth, there are dark secrets buried deep. And what happened that fateful night is more complex and chilling than anyone really knows. Similar to Dark Places, Jar of Hearts is a true crime-inspired tale about how long you can get away with a lie, and how long you’re able to live with it.
All The Missing Girls – Megan Miranda
It’s been a decade since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge. Back again to tie up loose ends and look after her sick father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reopens Corinne’s case. Mere days after returning home, Annaleise, Nic’s younger daughter, vanishes.
Told backwards, from day fifteen to day one, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbour’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, family, and wider community like Dark Places. All The Missing Girls is a deliciously dark psychological mystery that leaves you wondering just how far you’re prepared to go to look out for the ones you love.
Before She Knew Him – Peter Swanson
Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new home outside of Boston. Hen is an illustrator and works out of a nearby studio, and has finally found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. At last, she begins to feel like she has some stability and peace.
But when they meet the neighbours next door, that sense of serenity starts to crumble as she spots a familiar object displayed on her husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like the one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years prior. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this cold case, an obsession she isn’t able to shake, and is unable to talk about to anyone. Similar to Dark Places, Before She Knew Him is a twisty thriller brimming with dark family secrets.
Check Out The Best Dark Thriller Books Of All Time
The Girls Are All So Nice Here – Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn’s The Girls Are All So Nice Here centres on Ambrosia Wellington, who receives an invitation to her college reunion. She begrudgingly returns to her alma mater. Yet this isn’t a nostalgic trip down memory lane; someone else is coming too, and they know what Amb did during her freshman year.
Told in dual timelines flicking between the past and present, the novel peels back the layers of cruelty, obsession, and betrayal among the so-called “nice girls.” As Amb’s carefully constructed adult life begins to crumble, the truth behind a deadly secret is brought to light. If you’re looking for stories similar to Dark Places featuring disturbing female dynamics and the weight of guilt and trauma, There Girls Are All So Nice Here is a gripping read that more than echoes the suspense of Gillian Flynn’s novel.
The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home to find a letter she’s been waiting her whole life for. She soon learns not only the real identity of her parents, but also that she’s the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the River Thames. Everything about Libby’s life is about to change. Yet, what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well, and she is on a collision course to meet them all.
Twenty-five years ago, police were summoned to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a happy ten-month-old baby in the crib. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily-scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at the address had vanished. Another one of the best domestic mystery-thriller books like Dark Places, The Family Upstairs features unreliable narrators, flawed characters, and more than a little family drama.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Family Upstairs
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
