I love a good thriller book and there’s nothing quite like one that features a group of people trapped in a place with a murderer. Here are 10 thriller books about people trapped in isolated settings.
The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
A group of thirty something friends from Oxford meet in the Scottish Highlands for the New Year, a tradition they began as students years ago. They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard cuts them off from the outside world.
A trip that started nice quickly descends into chaos as secret resentments built up over 10 years start to come out.
Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead and one of them did it.
The Sanatorium – Sarah Pearse
Elin is a detective who has been invited to her brother’s engagement party in a hotel that used to be a sanatorium high up in the Swiss Alps. It’s been a while since Elin has seen her brother and as she arrives, she feels like something is off. There’s something about the hotel that makes her feel nervous.
But then the bride-to-be disappears and everyone gets trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm.
Suddenly A Murder – Lauren Munoz
To celebrate the end of high school a group of wealthy teenagers attend a week-long 1920s-themed party at the glamorous Ashwood Manor on an isolated island. Until one of them turns up dead.
The investigators that show up on the island declare that he’s been murdered and when a storm traps everyone on the island, the detectives are determined to find out who it was that killed him. There’s the girlfriend, the other girl, the old friend, the new friend, the brooding enigma, and Izzy – the girl who brought a knife to the party.
In A Dark, Dark Wood – Ruth Ware
When reclusive writer, Leonora, is invited to the English countryside to celebrate the wedding of an old friend, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. What should be a cozy and fun weekend in the countryside quickly turns into a trip where revelations among friends unfold and old secrets come out. And a haunting realisation creeps in: they’re not alone in the woods.
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift as it travels throught he Balkans. By the morning, a passanger is dead. An America tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.
The train is far busier than expected for this time of the year and one of the passengers is none other than famous detective, Hercule Poirot. He attempts to figure out who is the killer before the murderer decides to strike again.
The Christmas Murder Game – Alexandra Benedict
Every Christmas, the Armitage family host a game at their grand family home. This year’s prize is to die for – the deed to the house. Lily hasn’t been back to the house since her mother died 21 years ago and has no intention of returning for the game. Until she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game’s riddles will lead her to answers about the identity of her mother’s murdered.
Now Lily must compete for the prize over 12 days with her estranged cousins. But when the snow becomes too thick for them to leave, the phone lines go down, and no one is getting out, Lily must keep her wits about her because no one is playing fair and there’s no telling how many of them will die before the winner is declared.
Five Survive – Holly Jackson
6 friends are travelling in an RV for their spring break trip when it breaks down in the middle of nowhere. They soon realise that all of their tyres have been shot out and there’s a sniper watching them in the dark, and one of them has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
Over 8 hours, each friend must confess their deepest, darkest secrets or risk being killed for them.
Run on Red – Noelle W. Ihli
Laura and Olivia are driving to a college party, and by the time they notice the car tailing them it’s too late. They’re on a road in the midle of nowhere with no cell phone signal. What at first seems like a simple case of road rage quickly turns into a terrifying chase and a battle for survivial.
There are 2 men in the truck trying to attack them, and Laura and Olivia need to figure out a way to stay alive long enough to call for help, and to figure out who their attackers are.
The Last House on the Cliff – Anne Wyn Clark
When her aunt dies, Lowri returns to her childhood home on the island of Anglesey with her young daughter, Ruby. Lowri expects this to be a fresh start for the both of them, but soon after they arrive strange things begin to happen.
Ruby begins insisting that an old woman is visiting her when no one else is watching, and a tattered old doll keeps being left for her to find. And, then Ruby disappears. Lowri is desperate for answers and soon uncovers secrets that suggest Ruby is not the only one in danger.
The Hike – Lucy Clarke
4 old friends – Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni – go on a trip every single year and this year they’ve decided on a 4-day hike in the Norwegian wilderness. But they’re not completely prepared and when they hear of a missing girl and decide to ignore weather warnings, their trip starts to go very wrong.
