5 of the best domestic thrillers for readers

Courtesy Penguin UK

Courtesy Picador

Courtesy Orion Publishing Group

Courtesy Penguin UK

Ben East rounds up five of the best domestic thrillers to read.

Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn

The classic domestic thriller that kick-started the genre, Flynn’s unnerving examination of a marriage that has completely corroded has everything – twists, secrets, lies and death. In the film adaptation, directed by David Fincher, Rosamund Pike earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of missing wife Amy, alongside Ben Affleck as her husband, Nick. It also helped to propel the book to 15 million sales worldwide.

The Girl On The Train (2015) by Paula Hawkins

Although there are echoes of Gone Girl in this tale of a missing woman, it is a quite brilliant memory-loss thriller about three compelling women. No one is quite who they might seem but they are all completely recognisable character types, making the twists seem entirely plausible. A film adaptation, starring Emily Blunt, is due out in October.

How To Be A Good Wife (2013) by Emma Chapman

Some critics might deride the domestic-thriller genre as chick-noir, but Chapman's beautifully written prose is a world away from the trashy end of the thriller genre. An unsparing chronicle of marriage and trauma, the main character, Marta, becomes more and more unreliable as a narrator as her life with husband Hector begins to unravel. Chapman's follow up novel, The Last Photograph, was published last month.

The Silent Wife (2013) by ASA Harrison

A counterpoint to the high drama of Gone Girl, The Silent Wife is the scarily plausible tale of Todd and Jodi's marriage, in which the journey towards murder is slow and disturbing. It's a great shame Harrison never got to enjoy the acclaim The Silent Wife now receives: she died just before it was published.

The Couple Next Door (2016) by Shari Lapena

A brand new domestic thriller to get your teeth into this summer. A couple leave their baby at home while they have dinner with their neighbours – only to find her missing when they return. In Gone Girl style, they start to fall under suspicion themselves, as sympathies and loyalties switch backwards and forwards.