Six thrillers in which the house hides a sinister past

Jaclyn Goldis is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and NYU Law. She practiced estate planning law at a large Chicago firm for seven years before leaving her job to travel the world and write novels. After culling her possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, she traveled for over a year until settling near the beach, where she can often be found writing from cafés.

Her new novel is The Chateau.

At CrimeReads Goldis tagged six thrillers in which the house hides a sordid past, including:

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

I had to keep reminding myself to breathe as I flew through this eerie, heart-pounding thriller. A young woman down on her luck accepts a housesitting gig for an apartment in one of New York’s most ritzy buildings. But the plum job comes with strange rules: no visitors or nights away from the apartment permitted. Physical elements of the complex—an old dumbwaiter and a hidden wing used for nefarious purposes—contribute to the menacing ambiance and ratcheting tension. As a fellow resident disappears and the housesitter digs into the building’s terrifying past, she must expose its twisted history before she is targeted next. This one is super dark and mines unique motives—I loved it!

Read about another entry on the list.

Lock Every Door is among Caleb Roehrig's eight great thrillers with effective twists.

--Marshal Zeringue