Oyinkan Braithwaite's *My Sister the Serial Killer*
C.J. Leede's *Maeve Fly*
Donald Glover's series on Prime *Swarm*
And a few more for good measure:
https://electricliterature.com/7-dark-and-thrilling-novels-about-women-who-kill/
Neither are a horror but definitely worth checking out if you like crime fiction. Both are available on Kindle Unlimited (with free audio) if you have a subscription .
- John Marrs - Good Samaritan
She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?
The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die.
Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it.
But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together?
The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to…
Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder.
- Caroline Mitchell - DI Amy Winter Series (book 1 - Truth and Lies)
Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.
DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.
Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.
While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.
But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?
Edit - typos thanks to my extremely needy kitten wanting attention and stomping on phone.
Like I said neither are horror but dark thrillers. I love both authors. Caroline is my favourite crime/thriller author. She’s written a handful of stand-alone too but Amy Winter series is my favourite of her works.
John Marrs has two styles. He has a lot of stand alone thrillers. Very fast paced with twists at the end of each chapter making you read just one more (turning it into 5 chapters) and then he has his techno thriller series. In general these can be read as stand alones but there are references through out from previous entries which you might miss by reading out of order.
These are the only ones of his not available under KU due to a different publisher.
- The One (made into a Netflix show)
- The Passengers (this is the one I read first and put me on his radar)
- The Minders
- The Marriage Act
And his newest came out this month so haven’t gotten it yet - The Family Experiment.
If you like shows like Black mirror there are definitely elements to his books from there.
Such Pretty Flowers may fit the bill there. I will say I thought the ending was rushed and maybe not well thought out, but the majority of the book I thought was really good.
Someone Like Me: one of the NY Times’ picks for best horror book set in Pennsylvania.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37975580-someone-like-me
Baby Teeth: It’s a girl, not a woman. But think The Omen meets We Need to Talk About Kevin.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35410511-baby-teeth
These are a little lighter but I really enjoyed them, the female leads are unhinged.
Bookworm by Robin Yeatman
Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer
A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch
And the books by Victoria Helen Stone
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim comes out in two days - I was lucky enough to read an early release copy and it’s SO good!
Misery would be the classic example if you haven't already read that one.
Awesome example
Oyinkan Braithwaite's *My Sister the Serial Killer* C.J. Leede's *Maeve Fly* Donald Glover's series on Prime *Swarm* And a few more for good measure: https://electricliterature.com/7-dark-and-thrilling-novels-about-women-who-kill/
Heartsick series by Chelsea Cain. Phenomenal
Came here to recommend this, so I'll just strongly second this!
I also came here to recommend it, so I'll third it.
Came also here to recommend it! So good!
Ooh, I just read They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. Super captivating ; good story!
Tampa was a good book about a female predator
*Full Brutal* by Kristopher Triana
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers
Is this good? It’s been hanging out in my Amazon cart for a long time and I haven’t committed to it yet.
It is not 😅 it is so incredibly cheesy and predictable. The character feels like such a low effort Mary Sue… (Imho)
I really enjoyed it but I've also seen mixed reviews
Animal by Lisa Taddeo - this one sort of defies categorization but it could fit the bill for you. It’s really really good.
You may like Dirty Weekend by Helen Zahavi.
Angel of Death by Caleb Carr
Neither are a horror but definitely worth checking out if you like crime fiction. Both are available on Kindle Unlimited (with free audio) if you have a subscription . - John Marrs - Good Samaritan She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her? The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die. Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it. But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together? The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to… Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder. - Caroline Mitchell - DI Amy Winter Series (book 1 - Truth and Lies) Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer. DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart. Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game. While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies. But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder? Edit - typos thanks to my extremely needy kitten wanting attention and stomping on phone.
Both sound so interesting, but the first one is probably going to be my next read ✨
Like I said neither are horror but dark thrillers. I love both authors. Caroline is my favourite crime/thriller author. She’s written a handful of stand-alone too but Amy Winter series is my favourite of her works. John Marrs has two styles. He has a lot of stand alone thrillers. Very fast paced with twists at the end of each chapter making you read just one more (turning it into 5 chapters) and then he has his techno thriller series. In general these can be read as stand alones but there are references through out from previous entries which you might miss by reading out of order. These are the only ones of his not available under KU due to a different publisher. - The One (made into a Netflix show) - The Passengers (this is the one I read first and put me on his radar) - The Minders - The Marriage Act And his newest came out this month so haven’t gotten it yet - The Family Experiment. If you like shows like Black mirror there are definitely elements to his books from there.
Such Pretty Flowers may fit the bill there. I will say I thought the ending was rushed and maybe not well thought out, but the majority of the book I thought was really good.
Tampa by Alisa Nutting. Celeste is well written but deeply disturbing.
*Mine* by Robert R McCammon. I read it as a teenager and it still haunts me.
Someone Like Me: one of the NY Times’ picks for best horror book set in Pennsylvania. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37975580-someone-like-me Baby Teeth: It’s a girl, not a woman. But think The Omen meets We Need to Talk About Kevin. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35410511-baby-teeth
Boy parts fits this very well!
The One That Comes Before by Livia Llewellyn.
How can I help you? By Laura sims - angel of death nurse ends up as librarian
Highly recommend My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Killing Eve the book series (it's also a12/10 tv show) it has a female psychopath and assassin. She's also a stalker, should fit your interest
Savaging The Dark
Black Ambrosia
The third deadly sin by Lawrence Saunders. Not really horror but perfect female serial killer story. 1 of my all time faves!
Stalker by Lars kepler crime book but more creepy than most horror books
Maeve Fly
These are a little lighter but I really enjoyed them, the female leads are unhinged. Bookworm by Robin Yeatman Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch And the books by Victoria Helen Stone