Since her debut novel, The Book of Lost and Found, hit the shelves in 2015, Lucy Foley has rapidly ascended the best-sellers chart. Initially dipping her toes into historical fiction, Lucy has since pivoted to crafting gripping crime and thriller novels.
Her journey into the world of suspense began with The Hunting Party in 2018, followed by the acclaimed The Guest List in 2020. Lucy’s venture into the realm of thrillers and mysteries continued with The Paris Apartment in 2022 and The Midnight Feast in 2024. Not just a prolific writer, Lucy is an avid reader too. In a candid chat with Reese’s Book Club back in 2020, she divulged her top five thriller reads, including an Agatha Christie classic and a book series that Netflix has brought to the screen.
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Lucy’s first recommendation is the darkly humorous My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. She hailed it as a “fun read” and evidence that wit and levity can coexist with the tension of a thriller.
This compelling narrative, which has garnered a following since its 2018 release, delves into Korede’s tumultuous bond with her sister Ayoola, who lives up to the book’s title as a serial killer.
Adele by Leila Slimani
Lucy has her sights set on Adele by Leila Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor, next. Describing it as a 21st-century version of Madame Bovary, she found the tale of Adele, a sex addict and unsatisfied wife living a double life filled with clandestine affairs, “gripping and deeply troubling.”
Although this was the only one of Slimani’s works to make it onto the list, Lucy did add that she also recommends The Perfect Nanny, and Sex and Lies, reports the Mirror US.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering her own works, Lucy considers Christie a huge inspiration in her writing. For her list of recommended reads, she names The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the third book featuring the iconic detective Hercule Poirot.
Reminiscing about her childhood when she first immersed herself in Christie’s mysteries, Lucy points out that revisiting them as an adult revealed they weren’t the “cosy crime” tales she had envisioned, but rather chilling thrillers in their own right.
You by Caroline Kepnes
Further, Lucy suggests You by Caroline Kepnes, which gained immense popularity after its television adaptation on Netflix, featuring Penn Badgley’s striking performance as the homicidal protagonist Joe Goldberg—a character Lucy hails as one of the “best literary creations of all time.”
Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith
This non-fiction writing guide, from the author of The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train, was “invaluable” for Lucy when writing The Hunting Party and The Guest List. She adds that it should be a “must-read” for anyone planning on writing their own thriller novel.