The mystery and thriller genres are constantly upping the game to keep readers on their toes. Think of Gone Girl and the explosion of domestic thrillers that followed after Gillian Flynn introduced a seemingly standard missing person mystery that ended up having a WTF twist that most readers did not see coming. While I’m overall neutral on the existence of WTF twists — most times I feel it goes too over the top in a distracting way, but am always here, and excited, to be proven wrong — I have never been able to resist a book where the actual premise makes me do a double-take.
If you can use some WTF premises in your reading life, I’ve got some backlist along with a brand new release that range from crime novels to thrillers, with horror and sci-fi sprinkled in.
The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes, Zoë Perry (Translator)
The Secret Dinner is part crime novel, part thriller, part horror (not supernatural), and not for the faint of stomach.
This was originally published in 2016 in Brazil and got very popular during the pandemic (reading horror during a horror, I guess) and has now been translated into English. There are four friends who are in the stage of life where you’re in college and finding your way in the world and struggling financially. When they have to find a way to pay rent, they end up hosting dinner parties that are illicit and beyond WTF.
Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly
A mystery and thriller for fans of horror (also not supernatural).
Dixie Wheeler’s father brutally murdered the entire family and then himself, having spared only Dixie, who was a baby at the time. Now an adult, she decides to move back to her childhood home, the literal place of the crime, as if that isn’t the most “WTF are you thinking” impulsive decision.
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
This is a crime novel blended with a sci-fi novel that is set very much in our world, with the addition of clones.
If your husband stole your award-winning research and cloned you — with his specifications — into a new wife, would you team up with said clone after a murder cover-up? Gailey asks the important questions!
Unusual Suspects
Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers.
The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley
This slow-burn suspense novel is built and caged (heh) in a WTF premise.
If a stranger shows up to your house with a bunch of money (which you desperately need) and a request that they be caged in your basement, you’re gonna think you’re being pranked. But this goes into seriously “I’m sorry, what now?!” territory because this is not a prank. For additional context, the homeowner is Black, and the stranger asking to be caged in his basement is white…
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
Here’s a domestic thriller debut that ensured I read every book that followed.
It’s not rare that a couple married for 15 years, with teenage children, might look for something to, say, spice up their lives. It is however — hopefully! — rare that the new hobby they settle on is murdering young women. Yup. And the story is only told from the unnamed husband’s POV…
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf and see 2026 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you or you read it on bookriot.com and you’d like to get it right in your inbox, you can sign up here.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
English (US) · 
French (CA) · 
French (FR) ·