The book you keep seeing

Jeneva Rose's The Perfect Marriage follows a lawyer who defends her husband after he's accused of killing his mistress. It has over 1 million Goodreads ratings.

Success she can't quite grasp

Rose says never fully processing the success is what keeps her grounded and still striving, and connected to the writer she was at the start.

“It keeps me connected to who I was when I started.”

Not just thrillers

Alongside The Perfect Marriage and its sequel The Perfect Divorce, she's written romance and a time-travel novel. A horror book lands later this year.

Sometimes I Scare Myself

Her short story collection follows three groups: friends whose playful seance kills the medium, the Dalton family in a haunted house, and friends trapped in a cursed cabin.

Taking the guardrails off

Thrillers must stay grounded and the twist has to make sense. Horror lets her leave the door cracked open, skip the explanations and go darker and gorier.

“With horror, I can leave the door cracked open, and I don't have to explain everything.”

The Kind Worth Killing

Peter Swanson's novel starts on a London to Boston flight. Ted tells a stranger, Lily, he could kill his cheating wife. She answers that she'd like to help.

“I'd like to help.”

A twist worth the risk

Rose admires how far Swanson pushed it. Readers call it a slow-burn game of shifting motives where nobody is innocent and everyone has an angle.

“He just took a risk with those twists, and it worked out so well.”

Pretty Girls

Karin Slaughter's novel pulls estranged sisters Claire and Lydia back together when Lydia's husband dies and police link his death to their sister Julia's disappearance.

The very dark asterisk

Rose warns people off this one if they can't handle brutal material. She recalls thinking Slaughter wouldn't go there, and then she did.

“She's not going to do it. Karin's not going to go there, is she? Oh, she did.”

The Last Mrs. Parrish

Amber Patterson fixates on wealthy Daphne Parrish, befriends her and works into the family. Both women are hiding things, and Amber's plan starts coming apart.

Knowing the ending, still hooked

Rose savored this one even though she guessed where it was headed. Readers point to layered characters with buried histories and secrets that keep surfacing.

“I kind of knew where the story was going, but the ride was so much fun.”

Pet Sematary

Dr. Louis Creed moves his family to Ludlow, Maine, near a pet burial ground. Past it lies another one, and the dark magic there starts calling to him.

Grief is the real monster

For Rose, the horror isn't the creatures. It's what loss does to a person, and the moment you catch yourself thinking you might make the same choice.

“The most terrifying thing isn't the monsters in it or what they become. It's what grief can do to a person.”

Where to start

Pick by mood: Swanson for pure twist, Slaughter if you want it brutal, Constantine for a fun ride, King for dread. Sometimes I Scare Myself is available to preorder.