Secrets, Lies, and Betrayal: Domestic Thrillers to Read Now
Not all secrets stay hidden, and not all homes are as safe as they seem. Domestic thrillers lure readers into the seemingly ordinary lives of families and neighbours — only to reveal a world of deception, betrayal, and shocking twists lurking just beneath the surface. With tension that builds page by page, these gripping novels explore the dark corners of trust, love, and loyalty, keeping you guessing until the final, jaw-dropping revelation.
If you’re drawn to stories where every character has something to hide and every revelation hits harder than the last, these domestic thrillers are impossible to put down.
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Twists, Deception, and Drama: Must-Read Domestic Thrillers
All The Beautiful Lies: Book 1: A Gripping, Addictive Psychological Thiller (All The Beautiful Lies Series) by J.S. Ellis
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The escort, The husband and The wife. What do they have in common?
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Daryl’s biggest priority was taking care of his ailing mother and a stack of medical bills. To ease the financial burden, he uses his looks and charm to his benefit and works as an escort. Then, he meets Jeff Whittaker at a bar and makes an unconventional request.
Entice his wife into cheating to see if she would.
Daryl takes the job because he needs the money, yet he fears what will become of Jeff’s gorgeous wife, Emma, if he reports good or bad news to him.
Then Emma gets attacked at her home.
Who attacked Emma? And What does Jeff want with Darly? Is it possible that Jeff Whittaker wants out of his marriage in a far more final than divorce?
Little Red Flags by Tamsin Gray
She thought the worst was over. She was wrong.
Sophie Haldane’s life on the rugged cliffs of Bodega Bay was supposed to be picture-perfect — fairy lights, laughter, and the man she loved at her side. But when her husband is murdered, Sophie’s world is ripped apart.
The police call it a botched robbery. Sophie knows better. She saw the shadow in the firelight, heard the scrape of metal before Alex’s cry split the night. Someone was watching. Someone planned this.
Now, alone in the same house her husband died in, Sophie can’t escape the feeling something is wrong. And when a kind stranger drifts into her life, Sophie must decide whether he’s the one person who can help her—or the most dangerous threat of all…
Someone is out there. Watching. Waiting and closer than she thinks…
The Perfect Husband by Kristen Chaney Beard
Megan wakes in the hospital after a horrible car accident six weeks prior. At least, this is what she’s told. Eli is by all appearances the perfect husband, but everything feels wrong. Why does the doctor speak to Eli alone, and why does the hospital wing seem deserted?
Eli presents evidence of their marriage and life together, and tells her how they’re building a house by the river. Yet her few emerging memories show a very different life. Everyone she meets seems to be in on it, unless she’s suffering from paranoia due to her brain injury. She can’t trust herself or anyone else. When they return “home” to their house-in-progress, Megan plays a double agent, working with “Eli” to rebuild her life while trying to uncover the truth. Why would he do this? Does she know something she shouldn’t?
Ellison is the key to her past and future, even if she can’t trust him. He has an explanation for everything until new answers lead to an even more twisted story. Part of her wants to relax into this dream life he’s built, but can she live a lie? Can she love a man with hidden motives? What will she have to do to uncover the truth and learn her true identity?
The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd
Six weeks of friendship. A lifetime paying for it.
They were the cool girls. Two years older, oozing glamour. She could prove herself worthy of their friendship. She could do the dare.
Twenty-five years later, Lucy has a perfect life. She is still friends with the cool girls. All except one. Maddie. The one they never saw again after the dare. They don't talk about her. They don’t think about her. It is as though she never existed until…
Lucy gets a text from an unknown number. Why didn't you tell them where I was?
The past hurtles into the present and secrets push their way to the surface.
Who is the message from? Is Maddie back? Or is someone else set on exposing the truth and seeking revenge?
A gripping domestic psych thriller perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, S.E. Lynes and Lisa Jewell.
Ransom Road by Anya Mora
My husband was everything I wanted in a partner.
Then his business took off and we had Rosie — the most colic-y baby our pediatrician had ever met.
Shadows from my past crept closer. So I locked us away, safe inside the gates of our island home. Or so I thought.
I knew it was a bad idea to let anyone in, but I needed help. And Nanny Bexley was a dream come true: an excellent resume and tons of energy.
But just one week after she came into our lives, the dream turned into a nightmare. And there was no one I could trust.
If I wanted to see my daughter again, I would need to step outside and find her myself.
Welcome to Liar’s Island… a stand-alone series of interconnected, novella length domestic thrillers set in the picture-perfect community of Liars Island. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.
On this island, families and friendships are more than meets the eye … secrets, deceptions, and jealousies threaten to ruin everything these influential people have built. But it isn’t only the rich that live here … and power comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone here is a liar … just how far would you go to get what you want?
The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney
The perfect life. The perfect love.
Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He's a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley's most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.
She is a miracle of science.
But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband's motives--and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to Abbie half a decade ago?
Beware the man who calls you . . .
The Secrets of Us by Lucinda Berry
Dangerously addictive, The Secrets of Us is a pulse-pounding exploration of a disturbed psyche and the bond between two sisters desperate to escape a troubled past.
Foster sisters Krystal and Nichole have always been there for each other, so when Nichole is committed to a psychiatric hospital after trying to kill her husband, Krystal drops everything to defend her.
Scarred by a hard upbringing, Nichole and Krystal managed to construct comfortable lives for themselves. Krystal became a respected lawyer, and Nichole was happily married to an architect—until Nichole starts raving that her husband isn’t her husband, believing that he’s an imposter.
Driven by fierce loyalty, Krystal starts asking questions, but she’s not sure she can bear the answers. Her investigation leads to the sisters’ dark shared past…to a horrible tragedy and a well-guarded lie that cemented their sisterly bond.
But that lie can’t kill the truth—the battered, gasping, clawing truth that’s coming for them both. Now Krystal and Nichole must both fight for the lives they’ve built before they’re consumed by the one they left behind.
The Family Home by Miranda Smith
There’s a dead man in my apartment. Only me and my ex have a key. But neither of us would have done this. We have too much to lose...
I wake on the sofa, my head throbbing. How did I get here? In the darkness, I make my way to my bedroom. I turn on the lights. And then I scream.
There’s a body in my bed. And I know this man: we went on two dates together. Who could have killed him? And how did he get in? Only two people have a key to the house: me and my ex-husband Matthew.
I trust Matthew. With what we’re hiding, I have to. And I can’t risk the police digging into our past, or learning about the night when we drank champagne on the cliff and ruined everything.
Someone knows our secret. We have to find out what they want. But am I wrong to believe Matthew, when I know how well he can lie? And how can I save myself, when the truth might destroy me?
An absolutely gripping thriller that will keep you reading late into the night, unable to put the book down for a second. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.
The Family at No. 12 by Anita Waller
When Janette answers the door to a potential customer looking to board his dog, she never imagines he has nefarious plans.
But minutes later he’s dead and in her cellar.
Weeks later she realises she’s pregnant.
And so she becomes Mother and the baby Child, and a hidden life begins.
But all secrets come out eventually ...
Conclusion:
Domestic thrillers remind us that danger doesn’t always lurk in dark alleys — sometimes, it’s waiting behind the doors of the most ordinary homes. These stories of secrets, lies, and betrayal expose the fragile foundations of trust and the terrifying power of deception. Whether it’s a missing memory, a deadly marriage, or a truth buried deep in the past, each of these novels will keep you turning pages late into the night, questioning just how well you really know the people closest to you.
So pop the kettle on, settle in with a blanket, and lose yourself in these dark, twisty tales — but don’t be surprised if you find yourself double-checking the locks before bed.
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Which of these domestic thrillers will you pick up first? Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear which story left you utterly gripped!
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