Few thriller writers do dark and unsettling quite like CJ Tudor. Since her bestselling debut, The Chalk Man, she has built a reputation for twisty, compulsive novels that blur the lines between crime and horror, and keep readers guessing until the final page. Her latest, Serenity Falls, is no different.
But which are the thrillers that have gripped Tudor herself over the years? Here, she shares the five dark and twisty page-turners that have shaped her life and writing…
Shutter Island by Denis Lehane
“One of my all-time favourite books with one of my all-time favourite twists. Set in 1954, it follows US Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule as they arrive on Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a dangerous inmate, Rachel Solando, from Ashecliffe Psychiatric Hospital.
“As a hurricane shuts off the island, it becomes apparent all is not as it seems. Teddy suspects the doctors are performing inhumane experiments and finds strange clues about ‘the rule of four’ and the mysterious ‘Patient 67’. It all culminates in an ‘Oh my God, how did I not put that together’ reveal which makes you re-evaluate everything you have just read.”
Abacus, £9.99
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
“A suburban couple turn to serial murder to spice up their 15-year marriage (as you do!). However, when one of them starts to suspect the other is breaking their ‘rules’, the whole scheme starts to unravel, threatening their marriage and children.
“Samantha Downing is one of my favourite authors because she has a deliciously dark sense of humour and it runs like a seam of black gold throughout all her books. She has a way of creating horrible situations and making you chuckle at them, as well as taking terrible people and making you care about them. In My Lovely Wife, you find yourself rooting for a killer – but one who is, possibly, the good guy.”
Penguin, £10.99
Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan
“In the future, human consciousness is digitised and stored in a spinal implant known as a stack, making physical death temporary. People can transfer their stacks into new bodies (sleeves) – but at a cost. The ultra-rich have virtual immortality and are known as Meths. Takeshi Kovacs, a former elite soldier, is recruited by Laurens Bancroft, a powerful Meth who wants him to investigate Bancroft’s own murder.
“If you like your crime thrillers high concept (and ultra-violent and dark), it doesn’t get much better than investigating a murder in a society where people can’t die.”
Gollancz, £10.99
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
“Here is another book with a genuine, bang-for-your-bucks, brilliant twist part-way through. It centres on Nick Dunne, who becomes prime suspect when his wife Amy disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. While on the surface their relationship looks idyllic, as the investigation progresses, you learn that that was far from true.
“Gone Girl spawned an avalanche of similar domestic psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators. But this book is superior on every level to its copycats. If you’re one of the few people who haven’t read it, then change that now.”
W&N, £10.99
A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin
“I first read this book in my twenties (so many years ago) but it has stayed with me ever since, because it was so cleverly written. Set in 1953, the novel is about an ambitious – and psychopathic – college student, Bud Corliss, who murders his pregnant girlfriend and passes it off as suicide in order to marry into a wealthy family. The victim’s sister is suspicious about her death and starts to investigate. It’s hard to say more without revealing too much.
“What I will say is that the reveal part-way through the book made me thumb back feverishly to see how I had been fooled so neatly. There are few books that accomplish that glorious moment of blindsiding the reader – making you realise the answer was there in plain sight. Read and admire the Levin’s oh-so-cunning sleight of hand.”
Corsair, £10.99
‘Serenity Falls’ by C J Tudor is published by Michael Joseph, £18.99
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