“The face you give the world tells the world how to treat you.”
One of the best thriller books by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects is a haunting psychological tale that is jam-packed full of small-town secrets, twisted family dynamics, and deeply flawed, yet unforgettable characters. Whether it was the chilling backdrops, the unreliable narration (a trademark for Flynn’s novels), or the emotional tension that hooked you, we’ve got you covered if you’ve found yourself hunting for similar reads. Here at What We Reading, we’ve rounded up the best books like Sharp Objects – stories that echo its disturbing themes, jaw-dropping plot twists and complex female protagonists. These books are all perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn and those readers who love psychological thrillers with a dark edge. From tales of mother-daughter tension to unsettling stories of murder and memory, join us for these books similar to Sharp Objects that promise the same addictive blend of suspense and psychological depth.
Sharp Objects Summary
Sharp Objects is a dark and haunting psychological thriller that centres around Camille Preaker, a troubled journalist who returns to her quiet hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to cover the recent homicide of two young girls. Camille has spent years attempting to keep as much distance between her, Wind Gap, and her dysfunctional past, which features a cold, manipulative mother, a mysterious half-sister she hardly knows, and the lingering trauma of her own childhood.
As Camille is immersed more and more in the case, she is forced to grapple with long-buried memories, self-destructive habits, and a deeply unnerving sense that something is terrifyingly wrong with her family. The town’s polished Southern charm hides a myriad of secrets, lies, and violence under its surface. The more she discovers, the more she begins to realise that the killer could be closer to home than she ever would have imagined. With sharp prose and a deeply atmospheric setting, Sharp Objects is a chilling depiction of mental illness, familial toxicity, and the scars that never quite heal.
The First Day Of Spring – Nancy Tucker
First up on our list of books like Sharp Objects is Nancy Tucker’s 2021 thriller, The First Day of Spring. The story follows Chrissie, an eight-year-old little girl with a terrible secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her stomach fizz like a soda. Her playmates are all crying, their mothers are terrified, keeping them all locked inside. But Chrissie rules the roost and knows how to wall-walk, how to get free sweets, and how to capture the feeling of power that she never gets at home.
Two decades on, a grown-up Chrissie is living in hiding under a new name. A single mother, all she wants is for her daughter to have the sort of childhood she was denied. That’s what makes the threatening phone calls all the more terrifying. People are looking for them, the past is catching up with them, and Chrissie fears that she may be about to lose the only thing in the world she has ever cared about: her child.
The Girl On The Train – Paula Hawkins
One of the most infamous and beloved psychological thrillers in recent times, The Girl on the Train introduces readers to Rachel, a lonely woman who takes the same commuter train every morning. From the window of the train, she has begun fantasising about a seemingly perfect couple living in one of the houses near the railroad tracks. Rachel has dubbed the couple “Jess and Jason”. But, after seeing something that she shouldn’t have, Rachel soon finds herself ensnared in a complex mystery that blurs the lines between reality, obsession, and deceit.
As Rachel becomes more and more immersed in the couple’s life, her own past, marred by alcoholism, trauma, and self-doubt, begins to resurface. With multiple perspectives and a deeply flawed and layered female MC, The Girl on the Train explores the dangers of assumptions, the unreliability of memory, and the darkness lurking behind communal facades, making it a great go-to after reading Sharp Objects.
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Pretty Girls – Karin Slaughter
Twenty years ago, Claire Scott’s older sister, Julia, vanished. No one knew where she went – there was no note, no body. It was a mystery that her local town was unable to crack, and it left her family ripped apart.
Now, another girl has disappeared, complete with chilling echoes pointing to the past. And, it looks as though this latest victim isn’t the only one to have gone missing. Claire is convinced that Julia’s own disappearance is tied to this new string of crimes. But when she begins to uncover the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery that will guarantee that nothing will ever be the same again. Packed with suspense, depths and sisterhood, Pretty Girls is one of the best books like Sharp Objects if you fancy another psychological thriller with strong female protagonists and disturbing twists.
The Roanoke Girls – Amy Engel
Amy Engel’s The Roanoke Girls follows Lane Roanoke, who returns to her family’s decaying Kansas estate after her cousin, Allegra, disappears. It’s the same place that, as a teenager, Lane fled from, getting away from the oppressive home after she had discovered an unnerving truth about her family’s legacy.
As Lane reconnects with the small town and the deeply flawed relatives she had hoped to leave in the past, she’s hauled back into the complex web of secrets that have defined the Roanoke women – beautiful, damaged girls who either fled like her or died young. Lane must finally confront the darkness she’s left behind to discover what really happened to Allegra – and overcome the trauma that has moulded her life. With generational trauma, buried secrets and a fascinatingly flawed heroine, The Roanoke Girls is the perfect similar to Sharp Objects if you’re looking for a brooding tone and some serious emotional intensity.
Behind Closed Doors – B.A. Paris
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He’s been blessed with both looks and wealth; she has grace, charm and elegance. He’s the dedicated attorney who is yet to lose a case; she’s the flawless homemaker, a skilled gardener and cook, and dotes on her younger disabled sister. Whilst they are still only newlyweds, it looks as if they have it all on the outside. You may not want to like them, but their effortless ease and comfort are too much not to be charmed by. Nevertheless, you may like to get to know Grace better. But you know it’s difficult because Jack and Grace are inseparable.
Some may call this true love. Others may start to wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she is never able to meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How is she able to cook so many extravagant meals but appear bone-thin? Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows? Some may just start to wonder what’s really going on once the dinner parties are over and the front door of this couple’s life has closed.
Everything You Want Me To Be – Mindy Mejia
Hattie Hoffman has spent her entire life playing different parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. But Hattie wants something more, something bigger, and, ultimately, something dangerous. When she is found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips through her small-town community. It soon comes to light that Hattie had been involved in an explosive secret online relationship. The biggest question everyone wants answered is: Did anyone else know?
Similar to Sharp Objects, full of twists and turns, Mindy Mejia’s Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerising young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets are put into the spotlight, and she inches closer and closer to death.
The Night We Burned – S.F. Kosa
Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job literally depends on it. And, as a woman trying to outrun her secrets, so does her life. But when a murder crops up in her old town, one linked to a devastating fire at a cult compound two decades prior, suddenly all of Dora’s carefully constructed deceptions are put at risk.
Because she has seen a murder like this before. She knows what the police missed. And, if she doesn’t stop the story, she may be next. As Dora follows the journalist reporting the story, altering facts about her identity along the way, she’s thrown back into a world she desperately tried to leave in the past. A world where two girls promised to help each other through… until it all went up in flames. And Dora knows that she won’t be lucky enough to survive twice.
The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson
If you loved Sharp Objects for its morally murky characters and jaw-dropping reveals, Peter Swanson’s The Kind Worth Killing delivers a similarly dark and addictive ride. The novel opens with a chance encounter at an airport bar, where Ted, an affluent businessman, confesses to a mysterious woman named Lily that he fantasises about killing his unfaithful wife. Instead of being horrified or appalled by the fantasy, Lily calmly replies: “Some people are just the kind worth killing.”
What follows is a deadly cat-and-mouse game full of manipulation, betrayal, and escalating revenge. As the story unfolds through multiple POVs – including Lily’s deeply unnerving backstory – it becomes clear that no one is telling the entire truth. Every character is keeping something hidden, and the lines between victim and villain soon start blurring with every chapter that passes.
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager centres around Maggie Holt, who inherits her childhood home, a grand but infamous Victorian mansion known as Baneberry Hall. Decades earlier, her family were forced to flee from their home in the middle of the night, claiming it to be haunted – claims that were made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir.
Now an adult and reluctant to believe in her father’s story, Maggie returns to the family home to renovate it and sell it. But, strange and unexplainable occurrences soon begin to happen, mirroring the same events in the book she’s always dismissed as a work of fiction. As she delves deeper, Maggie discovers secrets buried in the walls that force her to question everything she thought she knew. With a layered mystery, dual timelines, and an emotionally complex protagonist, Home Before Dark is another one of the best books like Sharp Objects if you fancy another chilling psychological tale.
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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).
