29 Beach-Perfect Thrillers

Soak in the sun, sand, surf, and stories!

What is it that makes reading at the beach so satisfying? There's nothing like getting lost in a book with your toes buried in the sand, sunlight glinting off the waves, a briney sea salt breeze on your face, and the roar of the surf drowning out all your worries. It's a double dose of escape.

But what makes a perfect beach read? Well, that varies from reader to reader. Some crave light, fluffy fare requiring minimal focus, while others are looking to immerse themselves in an epic saga. From frothy rom-coms to twisty thrillers, generational sagas to moving memoirs, our favorite beach reads run the gamut. If you're looking to get your pulse pounding with horror, mystery, or suspense here are 29 beach-perfect thrillers for you.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

A naïve young woman impetuously marries a wealthy English widower she meets while traveling with her overbearing employer. But after arriving at his isolated estate on the windswept Cornish coast, things take a chilling turn.

The Stand by Stephen King

A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, carrying a mutated virus that wipes out 99 percent of the world's population within a few weeks. This sets off a riveting struggle between good and evil among those who remain.

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Crosby

a former FBI agent is contending with entrenched racism when he returns to his Southern hometown to serve as the county's first Black sheriff. Pressure builds as he unearths the crimes of a serial killer who's been hiding in plain sight.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are foster sisters who break away from their controlling foster mother. Years later, when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, they're identified as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Summer of 1974: Boston explodes into violence over the desegregation of public schools. Against this tense backdrop, Mary Pat is a fierce single mother in South Boston, determined to find her missing teenage daughter.

The Swarm by Frank Schätzing

Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic eyeless crabs poison Long Island's water supply. Around the world, the ocean exacts its revenge. In this riveting novel, a team of scientists try to discover what's causing marine animals to wreak havoc.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time waitress with an unusual "disability." She can read minds. When she meets the dashing Bill Compton and can't hear anything he's thinking, she falls hard. But he's got a disability of his own: he's a vampire.

Jaws by Peter Benchley

A great white shark terrorizes the beautiful summer getaway of Amity Island and a motley crew of men take to the water to do battle with the beast. A brilliant, heart-pounding meditation on the nature of humanity.

From Below by Darcy Coates

Sixty years after the SS Arcadia vanished in mysterious circumstances, its wreck has been discovered. Cove and her dive team have been granted permission to explore the ship's rusting hull, but the Arcadia hasn't yet had its fill of death.

Camino Ghosts by John Grisham

Mercer Mann desperately needs an idea for her next novel and Camino Island bookseller Bruce Cable has one for her. A developer is vying for ownership of an uninhabited island off the coast of North Florida. But this island has a history.

One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke

It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-drenched Greek island for a bachelorette party. But each of these women is hiding a secret, and soon their masks begin to slip.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell

After the disturbing funeral of the family matriarch, her descendants look forward to a relaxing summer at the family's sprawling summer estate on the shimmering sands of Alabama's Gulf Coast. But something deadly lies in wait for them.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Hoax or tragedy? Seven years ago the Atargatis vanished in the Mariana Trench filming a mockumentary about legendary sea creatures. Now a new crew seeks answers that can only be found below the waves. For one of them, it's personal.

By the Light of His Lantern by Abe Moss

Naked in the sand, Lewis coughs seawater from his lungs. The sky above is black as the beach below it. In this place, the sun and moon and stars are long dead. But the darkness, full of eyes and teeth, is very much alive.

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

The time is now. We are in a small room with the vampire, face to face, as he speaks, pouring out the hypnotic, shocking, moving, and erotically charged confessions of his first two hundred years as one of the living dead.

All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

At sixteen years of age, John Grady Colefinds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers. Cut off from the only life he has ever imagined, he sets off for Mexico on a journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

Against her better judgment, single mom Alice invites a mysterious man into her home. Lily's husband is missing and, according to police, he never even existed. This enigmatic novel explores the space between going missing and being lost.

Duma Key  by Stephen King

After a terrible accident severs Edgar's arm and decimates his life, he retreats to a house on Duma Key, off the Florida coast. As he heals, he paints. But Edgar's works are not just paintings. They're portals—and their power cannot be controlled.

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

After her restaurant fails, Lee finds herself living in her car. When she strikes up an unlikely friendship with a wealthy woman who wants nothing more than to disappear, things begin to get tricky. 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. Seeking the truth, her aged uncle hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist, who is aided by the punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

August 1975: Thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp. As a panicked search begins, the layered secrets of the Van Laar dynasty collide with the blue-collar community working in its shadow.

The Beach by Alex Garland

The Khao San Road, Bangkok—a mecca for rootless young Westerners. On Richard's first night there, in a low-budget guest house, a fellow traveler slashes his wrists, bequeathing to Richard a meticulously drawn map to "the Beach."

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

Her father was the town detective; her mother, its most notorious criminal. Hazel Sharp is warily drawn back to Mirror Lake after she inherits her childhood home. As a drought causes water levels to drop, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

On a foggy summer night, a private jet leaving Martha's Vineyard plunges into the sea. The only survivors: Scott Burroughs, a down-on-his-luck painter, and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining heir to a massive fortune.

The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy

CIA analyst Jack Ryan has little interest in fieldwork, but when covert photographs of a highly advanced Soviet nuclear submarine land on his desk, he finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek between two world powers.

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

When Emma suffers a serious illness, her husband Leo, an obituary writer, copes by doing what he knows best, researching and writing about his wife's life. But as he does, he discovers the woman he loves doesn't actually exist.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Eight people, each harboring a guilty secret, accept a cryptic invitation to an isolated island mansion off the Devon Coast. Their first night is marked by murder. As the bodies pile up, the guests scramble to identify the killer.

Sea Sick by Iain Rob Wright

A deadly virus has been unleashed aboard a passenger ship. Soon the ship will be overrun with blood and death. There's nowhere to escape. Saving the passengers onboard will be next to impossible, but failure might mean the end of the world.

Who Is Maude Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

Traveling in Morocco with her new boss, reclusive author Maud Dixon, Florence begins to feel she's finally leading the cosmopolitan life she deserves. But then she wakes up in the hospital having narrowly survived a car crash and Maud is missing.

There you have it, from lasting classics to thrilling new titles, this is your ultimate list of beach-perfect thrillers. And if you can't make it to the beach, these books will be equally as enjoyable in your backyard or a local park.

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon