Do you love twists, turns, things that surprise and get your brain going? Books you can lose yourself in, or make you sit and think long after you’re done? Then check out these three books to thrill this fall!
New to our rating system? Take a look at the guide at the end of this article and our book club welcome post linked here.
If you’ve skimmed our recommendations already, you may be wondering why we selected all orange flag reads this week. The truth is, although some of these may have mentions of pregnancy or infertility, they are still (in our opinion) great thrillers for the season! The mentions are very minimal, relevant to the plot and or characters, and are not something you really think about as the story progresses. A few times we completely forgot about them and had to flip back through to be sure.
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This short, but impactful story will live rent free in your mind for days, or even weeks to come! This isn’t your typical psychological thriller where there is a defined “bad guy” and a need to figure out whodunit. This story dives into the twistedness that lives within us all. How even the reasonable or seemingly normal aspects of human nature that makes us morally grey can still make us the villains in someone else’s story. Living in a world designed to create all the shades that exist between black and white has a way of not only encouraging poor decisions, but making sure they catch back up to you.
After a tragic car accident kills a young, creative, yet somewhat aloof woman, her husband is left paralyzed from the neck down and with a broken jaw. His only means of communication are eye movements and the pleading messages he tries to send through them. After the accident he becomes solely reliant on his last living relative, his mother-in-law. She quickly becomes a reliable and attentive caregiver — that is, until she slowly starts uncovering secrets of her son-in-law his marriage to her daughter. This book will grip you while you watch their relationship spiral into darkness.
This book only has a brief mention of infertility which is plot relevant.
Warnings: Disturbing imagery
After experiencing a recent trauma, Emma retreats to a solitary beach house to get some much-needed R&R. While working on her personal recovery, she takes many long walks down to the isolated beach. This isn’t peak season for beach goers so she is always alone and able to keep to herself, or so she thinks.
During her stay, Emma becomes unlikely friends with one of her neighbors, never actually speaking, just communicating through little games from a distance. One thing they have in common: they both love to read.
One day her neighbor recommends what must be the worst horror/thriller book she has ever read. So bad, in fact, that she writes a blunt, but honest book review on the Amazon listing. What she doesn’t expect is for the author to write her back. It is only a matter of time before we sees who gets the last word.
This book briefly discusses pregnancy and infant loss, but we were not overwhelmed by it and the topics are relevant to the plot/character development.
After going out for a fun birthday dinner, a relatively well-known podcaster named Alix meets a well-meaning, but slightly odd woman named Josie. After discovering they are in fact “birthday twins,” Josie starts to feel like they were destined to know each other and that somehow Alix’s podcast will have the ability to save her from her less than desirable life and troubling past.
Over several weeks, Alix agrees to interview Josie for a new series, and things quickly spiral out of control. The more Josie reveals about her trauma, her history, her family, and her husband, the more Alix is both disturbed and intrigued.
But is any of it true? The deeper Alix digs, the more dangerous things become until this acquaintance turned obsession leads to destruction.
The mention of kids and parenting in here may actually vindicate a few childfree people. There is one line that made us laugh out loud at the sheer audacity of it! Here’s a hint: it’s about being 30 yeas old and all the time one must have on their hands due to being childfree. We know you’ve heard that one before, ha!
The discussions about children actually amplify the twistedness of the antagonist so we absolutely still recommend this book!
Warnings: discussions of domestic violence, and sexual assault
Chyldfree Book Rating System
 | The main character is childfree and sticks to it – a winner for our community! |
 | No main character pregnancy or parenting tropes although there may be touches of it here and there for other characters |
 | Main character pregnancy and/or parenting tropes, but they are relevant to the plot |
 | Filled with pregnancy and parenting or there was a “CF” (childfree) character and they “changed their mind” |
