John Marrs is a freelance journalist based in London, England, who has spent the last 20 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines.
He has written for publications including The Guardian's Guide and Guardian Online; OK! Magazine; Total Film; Empire; Q; GT; The Independent; Star; Reveal; Company; Daily Star and News of the World's Sunday Magazine.
We Live Here Now (2025) Sarah Pinborough "Brilliantly chilling. It's enough to make you move into a new build and never want to leave. It ratchets up the tension until the dial breaks. Pinborough really is the Queen."
It Should Have Been You (2025) Andrea Mara "Andrea has a knack of taking our every day anxieties and turning them into full blown nightmares. She is one of the best psychological thriller writers out there, subtly weaving darkly absorbing stories with relatable characters who leap off the page."
The Stranger in the Room (2025) Luca Veste "One of the best psychological thrillers I've read in years. Thought provoking, unsettling and compelling."
The Haters (2024) Robyn Harding "A menacing page turner with so many brilliant red herrings. I flew through it and was wrongfooted many times. A clever, cautionary, and twisted tale."
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby (2024) Ellery Lloyd "The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a whip-smart page-turner with twists and turns that'll keep a hold on you right up until the final, gripping denouement. It paints such a vivid picture of the international art world that you'll wonder whether Juliette Willoughby actually existed or if she really is just a figment of the authors' frighteningly vivid imagination. A terrific, hands down, five-star read."
The Affair (2024) Claire Allan "So skilfully and masterfully told, I was absolutely involved in these women's lives. It's just absolutely brilliant."
The Gathering (2024) C J Tudor "Tudor slays with this brilliantly imaginative take on the vampire genre. This genre is tailor made for her. It's as if it's her own invention. There's nothing she can't turn her hand to. Fangbloodytastic."
To Die For (2023) Lisa Gray "Slick, smart and sassy as hell, To Die For has more twists than the Pacific Coast Highway. Lisa knows how to grab your attention from the get go with this memorable ensemble and it never lets up. Her best book yet."
All the Little Liars (2023) Victoria Selman "Flew through it in 24 hours. Fantastically addictive, the absolute definition of bingeable. Emma Cline's The Girls meets Gillian Flynn's Dark Places in a heady mix of deception and whodunit. Loved it even more than Truly, Darkly, Deeply."
Jayne Cowie "It's going to live with me for some time to come."
We're All Lying (2023) Marie Still "I love a twisty, turny thriller and this was exactly that. A gripping, empathetic read and a wonderful debut."
Strange Sally Diamond (2023) Liz Nugent "Achingly beautiful with a cast of characters that'll remain with you long after the final page is turned. Already one of the must-read books of 2023."
Mother's Day (2023) Abigail Burdess "Deliciously dark, dripping in malice and drenched with razor sharp wit. Burdess is a writer to be watched - and feared."
The Hike (2022) Susi Holliday "An expertly paced, relentless thriller. Love the red herrings and it genuinely kept me guessing right up until the last page."
The Skeleton Key (2022) Erin Kelly "A unique storyteller; impossible to predict, impossible to put down."
The Other Side of Night (2022) Adam Hamdy "A fantastic read. Mind bending, gut wrenchingly tense and one of the most original stories I've read in years. It was an absolute treat."
A Stranger on Board (2022) Cameron Ward "Agatha Christie meets Die Hard on water. A fantastic, full throttle thriller that never takes its foot off the accelerator."
Complicit (2022) Winnie M Li "Powerful and compulsive, an era-defining novel that's impossible to put down."
The Attic Child (2022) Lola Jaye "As educational as it was exceptional. I was nowhere near ready for it to end. It was heartbreakingly sad yet life affirming and full of hope. One of the most important books you'll read all year."
The Pact (2021) Sharon Bolton "You won't be able to turn the pages fast enough. A thriller with so many twists and turns you may need to take a travel sickness tablet before reading."
Sleepless (2020) Louise Mumford "The Circle meets Black Mirror in a thrilling, plausible and gripping debut. Frighteningly inventive."
The Silent Friend (2020) Diane Jeffrey "A thoughtful drama exploring an unlikely friendship. Fans of The Dilemma and Three Hours will love this."
The Push (2020) Claire McGowan "The definition of an utterly absorbing page turner. Richly drawn out characters, a compelling plot, and a finale that will keep you guessing."
The Magnificent Sons (2020) Justin Myers "Tales Of The City for a new generation . . . smart, touching, razor-sharp one-liners, a life-affirming read with characters that burst from the page yet remain believable. I fell utterly in love with it."
The Babysitter (2020) Phoebe Morgan "Smart and sophisticated, with a payoff that’s well worth the wait. This is a dark, chilling thriller oozing with secrets, betrayals and twists."
Strangers (2020) C L Taylor "Wonderfully devious, clever cliffhangers and utterly addictive."
The Wreckage (2020) Robin Morgan-Bentley "It doesn't feel like a first novel at all, it's written with the confidence of someone several books into their writing career. I absolutely loved Alice and her sarcasm. It's a great original idea, and the style reminded me in parts of authors like Clare Mackintosh, TM Logan and Mark Edwards."
The Alibi Girl (2020) (Alibi , book 2) C J Skuse "It has everything you’d expect from Skuse; tragic twists and turns but always with heart at its core. Heart-wrenching, impossible to predict and completely absorbing."
The God Game (2020) Danny Tobey "Like an episode of Black Mirror written by Stephen King. It reminded me in parts of Stand By Me meets Ready Player One - a wildly original thriller with heart."
I Will Make You Pay (2019) (PI Matthew Hill) Teresa Driscoll "Another highly accomplished, breathless thriller…had me awake until the early hours, bleary-eyed and craving just one more chapter."
The Nobody People (2019) (Resonant Duology, book 1) Bob Proehl "The epitome of a page-turner, with well-drawn-out characters, tense set pieces, and a cinematic feel."
Trance (2019) (Alex Madison, book 1) Adam Southward "A tense, original thriller that perfectly blends the nail-biting suspense and shocks of Silence of the Lambs and Shutter Island."
Across the Void (2019) S K Vaughn "The mysterious SK Vaughn has taken a well-loved genre and given it a much needed shot in the arm. Fantastic idea, but delivered with such heart, incredible tension, and beautifully drawn out characters. It’s the best survival thriller I’ve read since The Martian."
B P Walter "Day one of my holiday lost to B P Walter and his intriguing thriller A Version of the Truth. If you like Peter Swanson, this will be right up your dark, twisted alley."
The Silent Patient (2019) Alex Michaelides "The definition of a page turner. The twist comes as hard and fast as a slap across the face."
Before Her Eyes (2018) Jack Jordan "Packed with intense, unpredictable, heart-stopping moments, this is a first rate psychological thriller you won't forget in a hurry. It's one of those 'just one more chapter' books you don't want to put down."
One Way (2018) (Frank Kitteridge, book 1) S J Morden "A rip-roaring thriller of a book that hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the final chapter."
Dead North (2018) (Sam Williams, book 1) Joel Hames "Will leave me with a thriller hangover for some time."
The Memory Chamber (2018) Holly Cave "Strikingly original and impossible to put down; one of those novels that stays with you long after you reach the final page. Holly has created a fictitious world that feels impossibly real; a story that you wish you had written."
Close to Home (2017) (DI Fawley Thriller, book 1) Cara Hunter "Close to Home hit the ground running and didn't stop right until the final page . . . the last [twist] was a genuine stroke of genius . . . told in a unique, modern way that sets the bar for new crime writers . . . the last time I felt that excited by a book was A Kind Worth Killing."
