Four Psychological Thrillers Set in Maine for Your Beach Read List
This review includes affiliate links. If you purchase something using one of these links, I’ll get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Maine is a classic setting for scary, spooky, and suspenseful books. The woods, the ocean, the sheer lack of population density in many parts, plus Stephen King’s influence, make for a place where creepy things can happen and it’s not easy to escape (or get cell service for a modern plot device). If you’re looking for a psychological thriller or psychological suspense novel to bring to the beach or lake with you this summer, there’s quite a few set in Maine to choose from. These four books are ones I’ve read recently in the genre.
The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
The book is told from several different perspectives, adding to the suspense and making the twist(s) at the end even more impactful. I thought I’d figured out the big twist real early on…but there’s more to it! The Other Mrs. is a good read and will certainly pull you in.
The Only One Left - Riley Sager
A spooky, isolated oceanside house, mysterious family lore, and murders. This one is my favorite of the books on this list - read the full Book Maineiac review here.
The Last House Guest - Megan Miranda
With family drama, townies v. summer folks, friendship, romances, and tragedy, The Last House Guest is a fun read that never lets you get too confident you know what’s really up with the main characters. It bounces between summer 2017 and summer 2018, giving the reader the before and after perspective of the key death at the center of the story.
Shutter - Melissa Larsen
I read it, it kept my interest and I wanted to know how it ends. But it won’t get my enthusiastic recommendation because it was overall disappointing, even though the premise is great and had a lot of potential. The ending had some twists that helped salvage the story, but even by psychological suspense/thriller standards the main character made some bad, unbelieveable decisions. Her complaining about nobody telling her to bring a coat for a weekslong trip to Maine was the moment I went full-fledged ‘meh’ on the book.