5 Thrillers to Read By the Beach Before the End of Summer!

Before the summer ends where you are, you’ve gotta give these 5 thrilling novels a try. They’re sure to keep you on the edge of your beach chair!

Is there anything better than a good beach read? If you’re anything like us, you’ve got at least a few more beach days planned before the heat of summer is gone. If so, you’re going to need something to keep you company while you get that killer tan. These five thrillers will get your toes curling in the sand. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

The Writing Retreat – Julia Bartz

The Writing Retreat will help you stay cool this summer, mostly because it’s set in a beautiful mansion surrounded by snow! The novel follows Alex, an aspiring author who gets invited to an ultra-exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author. The catch? Her former best friend will also be attending the retreat, along with other participants. The stakes are high, the writer of the best novel will be published at the end of said retreat! Once the writers get to writing, someone goes missing and things begin to unravel. The relationships in this novel are wonderfully complicated and the mystery escalates quickly, so you won’t want to put this book down. Pick up The Writing Retreat if you’re looking for a whole cast of complicated female characters with a side of possible murder!

We Were Never Here – Andrea Bartz

Andrea Bartz’s We Were Never Here is a killer thriller. The story revolves around two women, Emily and Kristen, who meet abroad every year for a best friends only trip. We quickly learn that their most recent trip resulted in the murder of a man that tried to assault her. Had Kristen not intervened and killed the man, things would’ve been so much worse…right? When another man ends up dead the next year, Emily’s world is turned upside down. The conflict between best friends is soapy and dangerous in the best of ways. You’ll breeze through all 304 pages easily. If you’re lounging with your bestie, this book might make you side eye them. Also, the ending of this novel had us audibly gasping. If you give no other book a chance, download this one to your Kindle ASAP!

Survive the Night – Riley Sager

Survive the Night reads like a movie. You can see the colors and vignettes as clear as day in your mind’s eye. This story follows Charlie, a movie buff whose best friend was recently murdered by the “Campus Killer.” The year is 1991, and Charlie has to get home ASAP. She takes Josh, a complete stranger to her, up on his offer to carpool home for the holiday. It doesn’t take long for Charlie to discover that Josh is not who he says he is. The majority of this novel takes place in a small car, with just Charlie and Josh to keep you company. That’s the main draw of Survive the Night – the tension that builds over Charlie’s adventure. Be prepared to squirm in your swim trunks because you feel like you’re in the backseat with Charlie and Josh, watching as the night descends deeper and deeper into chaos. Grab Survive the Night if you are looking for an easy read that’ll keep you guessing!

Daisy Darker – Alice Feeney

Daisy Darker takes place on a sometimes-secluded island. Daisy Darker and the rest of her family gather at her grandmother’s home to celebrate her 80th birthday. In an unfortunate turn of events, guests of Grandma’s birthday party start to show up dead, one by one. Daisy Darker is a clever homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, a giant in the mystery genre. Daisy is an interesting protagonist that leads you through the night of Grandma Darker’s birthday through to the next morning. The twists in this book are likely to make you pause, set your book down, and think about all the hints you missed. The audiobook performer for this novel has a beautiful voice, so we definitely recommend reading this one via audiobook. Don’t sleep on Daisy Darker if you’re into closed circle mysteries!

The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley

Our last thriller also takes place in the snow, like The Writing Retreat. Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party is told from the perspective of five different college friends who meet up every winter to celebrate New Year’s Eve together. Someone ends up dead in the snow and the police cannot be reached due to terrible cell service and a hellish snowstorm. Years of history weigh on every exchange, so be prepared to really dig into these characters. You’ll spend a majority of the novel trying to find clues to who the killer might be. That is the real fun of this novel: getting out the red string and corkboard. Can you piece together the truth from five different perspectives before the killer is revealed? Grab a copy of The Hunting Party if you’re in the mood for some detective work!

These are just a few of the thrillers we’ve loved recently. What are some of yours? We’re always looking for fun thrillers. Tweet us your recommendations @AfterBuzz TV!