10 Best Thrillers With Narrators So Unreliable You Will Question Every Page

Published Oct 17, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry.

When we pick up a book and follow its protagonist (or protagonists), we tend to assume that we can trust them. After all, we're about to spend several hours in their company, looking over them or even through their eyes. And most of the time, what we see is truly what we get: an accurate telling of what the main characters are seeing.

Sometimes, though, you simply can't trust what the protagonist is telling you, or seeing. Whether they're knowingly deceiving the reader or they really see the world differently from what it actually is, unreliable narrators can add an unexpected twist to thrillers. Of course, the nature of the unreliable narrator is usually a surprise, so we'll keep things as spoiler-free as possible for these picks!

The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

In The Good Son, Yu-jin wakes up one morning to discover, to his horror, that someone had murdered his mother. Her bloody body is lying in a pool of blood at the base of the stairs in their apartment in Seoul, South Korea. And Yu-jin has no idea what happened, or what he should do next.

The problem is that Yu-jin has suffered from a medical condition his whole life that leaves him with gaps in his memory. Over the next few days, the young man embarks on a mental and psychological journey to remember the elusive events of the night his mother was killed. This tense psychological thriller explores the darker side of human nature as Yu-jin uncovers secrets about himself and his family.

You can find The Good Son on Amazon.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle By Shirley Jackson

Horror novelist Shirley Jackson is perhaps best known for the classics: The Lottery and The Haunting on Hill House. Though it's not as well known, the short novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle is every bit as tense and unsettling as her more popular classics.

The story is told from the point of view of Merricat, a strange girl who's shunned by her entire town. She lives on the edge of town with her agoraphobic little sister and her uncle, and her family hides a dark secret.

As Merricat visits the town and interacts with other characters, she can feel their eyes probing into her with disdain. But the longer you spend in Merricat's point of view, the more apparent it becomes that she's seeing the world through a very twisted perspective.

You can purchase We Have Always Lived in the Castle on Amazon.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

In The Last House on Needless Street, a house sits boarded up at the end of a dead-end street. This unlikely spot is home to three characters: a man who drinks his sorrows away, a teenager who isn't allowed to step food outside, and a cat with an affinity for quoting the Bible.

The three live in relative peace until a woman moves in next door and starts poking around. Secrets buried in the past threaten to resurface as we see everything play out through the eyes of some very unreliable narrators.

You can purchase The Last House on Needless Street on Amazon.

I'm Thinking Of Ending Things by Iain Reid

In I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Jake spends time with his girlfriend, who's considering ending their relationship. They do normal couple things, like having dinner with his parents and taking a drive through a snowstorm.

Underneath this seemingly ordinary story is an eeriness that's made more surreal as facts and events seem to shift and morph. There's clearly more to the story of this young couple. Figuring out what's really going on will keep you guessing all the way through to the unexpected and shocking conclusion.

You can purchase I'm Thinking of Ending Things on Amazon.

Elizabeth Is Missing By Emma Healey

Often, unreliable characters are willfully deceiving the readers or even themselves. But sometimes you have a book where the main character is just seeing the world through the tricks their mind is playing on them.

That's the case in Elizabeth Is Missing (which is, admittedly, more mystery than thriller). The book follows the aging Maud, who's convinced that her friend Elizabeth has disappeared. But has she, really? Maud's mind isn't what it used to be, and no one seems to take her seriously when she claims her friend is in grave danger.

That doesn't stop Maud, who's determined to save her friend, no matter what... Whether or not she needs saving.

You can purchase Elizabeth Is Missing on Amazon.

Victorian Psycho By Virginia Feito

Winifred Notty is the perfect governess for her new charges in a Victorian-era household. But underneath her caring and responsible outer mask lurks a very dark mind. Winifred acts in strange, often gruesome ways, and she gets more and more bored with acting the part of a proper member of society.

If you're familiar with American Psycho, you know what to expect. Winifred describes doing and seeing some horrible things, but how much of it is in her imagination? This unreliable narrator will have you questioning everything she says and sees.

You can purchase Victorian Psycho on Amazon.

Shutter Island By Dennis Lehane

A U.S. Marshall and his partner visit Shutter Island in 1954 to investigate the local hospital for the criminally insane. They've got their work cut out for them: One of the patients is loose on the island, and a powerful hurricane approaches.

The duo search for the escapee and investigate the hospital. They uncover potentially unethical practices and horrors hidden under the surface. As they do, the real nature of the investigation comes to light. This is one of those books that will make you want to go back to the beginning to read it again once you've finished.

You can purchase Shutter Island on Amazon.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

When a woman shoots her husband in the head five times out of nowhere, people around the world take notice. Among them is Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist who's very interested in the case.

The woman has withdrawn into herself and stopped talking entirely. But Faber is determined to get her to open up again, and to find out what led to the horrible attack. The journey takes Faber down a dark path, one where not everything is as it seems.

You can purchase The Silent Patient on Amazon.

The Girl With All The Gifts By M.R. Carey

Melanie is a sweet girl whose life is relatively normal. She attends classes, has fun with her friends, and dreams about the future. Except she does all these things while strapped to a wheelchair, with guards pointing their guns at her.

This slow-burn psychological thriller shows the world from Melanie's child-like perspective, skewing it and hiding the truth. Something is very wrong, and Melanie herself might be at its core.

You can purchase The Girl with All the Gifts on Amazon.

Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is one of the most famous examples of the unreliable narrator trope in thrillers. Just in case you're not familiar with the incredibly popular book, I'll still do my best to keep this summary spoiler-free.

When Nick Dunne's wife suddenly disappears on their fifth anniversary, he immediately becomes the primary suspect. Evidence comes up that makes Nick look extremely guilty, including testimony from his wife's friends, her diary, and his own suspicious computer searches.

Nick insists that he's innocent, but can we really trust Nick's perspective? Or is there more than meets their eye about their seemingly happy marriage? This great example of the unreliable narrator trope in books is captivating from start to finish as you try to work out the truth.