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Psychological thrillers are known for their moody atmosphere, mind-boggling plotlines, and twists that will have your jaw on the floor!
But besides these basic requirements, what else makes a psychological thriller?
What makes it distinct from a regular thriller? And what are some famous examples?
Well, we’ll delve into all of that below, as well as explore some sub-sub-genres of this already beloved genre, with a couple famous examples.
So What Exactly Is A Psychological Thriller?
While thrillers are a distinct genre of fiction, they share a lot of traits with the mystery fiction genre.
For example, conflict that usually arises from a crime or suspicious event like a murder, disappearance, or robbery. The plot then revolves around resolving this conflict.
Thrillers are usually packed with suspense, narratives that have you on the edge of your seat, and characters experiencing fear and paranoia, or are out for revenge.
Thrillers have many subgenres, such as crime thrillers that delve into criminal investigations, legal thrillers that unfold in courtrooms or other settings relating to the law; adventure thrillers that follow heroes on perilous journeys; and spy thrillers that involve webs of international secrecy.
There are also, of course, psychological thrillers, which can often blend with the previously mentioned subgenres, but not be the main focus of the story.
But what makes psychological thrillers unique is that they are deeply interested in exploring the darker workings of the psyche.
The story is usually told by an unreliable narrator, or a character experiencing psychological distress, with antagonists – and even protagonists – motivated by violence and obsession.
Psychological thrillers focus on conflict and tensions happening internally. Let’s take a look at some different examples of psychological thrillers.
Subgenres Of Psychological Thriller
Domestic Psychological Thrillers
The most common subgenre of psychological thriller, the domestic psychological thriller has a familiar setting and characters who lead pretty mundane, everyday lives until something happens to flip all that on its head.
For example, in 2015’s The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, our protagonist is a woman who is witness to a shocking event during her commute to work and starts investigating.
Meanwhile, in 2012’s Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, married couple Nick and Amy Dunne seem to live in domestic bliss, but following Amy’s mysterious disappearance, their neighbors and the community at large start to believe Nick is responsible.
While 2019’s A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson tells the story of a teenage girl accused of killing an older man, and how her parents (a pastor and a defense attorney) reconcile their need to protect their jobs and preserve their principles, while at the same time protecting their daughter.
Dark Psychological Thrillers
These thrillers are characterized by a dread and menace that permeates every page.
The antagonists are usually extremely disturbed individuals like serial killers, and the protagonists may be the stressed-out investigators trying to bring them to justice, or just ordinary people who become embroiled in disturbing situations.
One of the most famous examples would be Thomas Harris’s novels Red Dragon (1981) and its wildly popular sequel The Silence of the Lambs (1988) that was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.
In it, Clarice Starling, an FBI agent, ends up playing a dangerous mind game with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a forensic psychiatrist and convicted cannibal so she can bring an evasive murderer known as Buffalo Bill to justice.
Other examples include the 2007 novel In The Woods by Tana French, and is the first installment in the critically acclaimed series Dublin Murder Squad.
The novel follows an investigator troubled by their past and who is tasked with investigating a child murder case that has disturbing parallels with events that took place during his childhood.
A more recent example would be In The Maidens by Alex Michaelides.
Published in 2021, it follows a former student of Cambridge University who believes that a well-liked professor of Greek Tragedy is responsible for the mysterious murder of a student who is part of a secret society run by the professor.
However, when another murder is committed she has to evaluate what exactly she is willing to sacrifice to put an end to a possible serial killer.
As well as risking their lives, characters in workplace psychological thrillers also put their careers in jeopardy in order to get to the bottom of a mystery.
Examples include 2021’s The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which tells the story of a creative writing teacher who steals a manuscript belonging to one of their students, with terrible consequences.
Workplace psychological thrillers also often have moments of dark humor and can often be satirical.
For example, The Other Black Girl (2021) by Zakiya Dalila Harris balances suspense and scathing social satire, examining dangerous privilege that affects people every day in reality, and the racism many authors of color face in the world of modern publishing.
Supernatural Psychological Thrillers
Supernatural psychological thrillers are chilling stories that usually revolve around the occult and draw from paranormal motifs.
For example, The Whisper Man (2019) by Alex North follows a grief struck father unable to outrun the disturbing, terrible events that plague his hometown.
Alex North also wrote a follow-up to the novel called The Shadows (2020) that takes place in the same universe.
The Shadows tells of a mystery involving two teenage boys who are responsible for a terrible crime they commit after experimenting with lucid dreaming.
One boy then disappears without a trace, and the people he left behind are haunted by the crime he committed as well as his disappearance.
Final Thoughts
We hope our article has clarified for you what sets psychological thrillers apart from other types of thrillers, and has given you a few great recommendations!
One thing is for sure, and that is psychological thriller is a sub-genre that can be explored in a number of different ways, from the paranormal to the criminal.
Hi, my name is Athena Sula and I am a certified bookworm. Any free time I have is spent reading – at home, the park, on the bus. Anywhere I can sit down for a few minutes and get my book out, I’ll jump at the chance.
I first had the idea for Seeking A Good Book when I was in college and everyone would come to me for book recommendations. More often than not, everyone I recommended a book to would always come back with a glowing review of it.
