How to write a psychological thriller readers can’t put down
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Psychological thrillers still dominate today’s bestseller lists. Titles like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, The Silent Patient, and You helped fuel this boom. Writers keep entering this genre to meet growing reader demand. But what actually makes a book a psychological thriller? And how do you write one readers will love?
Bestselling thriller author Andy Maslen made the jump into this genre after years writing vigilante fiction and crime novels. He wanted to understand the “ingredients” before diving in. So he read dozens of psychological thrillers and studied their patterns closely. Here’s what he found.
Psychology comes first
In this genre, feelings matter more than actions. Readers care less about what characters do. They care about what’s happening inside a character’s head. That’s why many psychological thrillers use first person or close third person narration. This point of view pulls readers directly into a character’s mind. Relationships take center stage instead of staying in the background. In action thrillers, relationships exist but rarely drive the plot. Here, they’re the whole story.
The disordered mind creates doubt
Many protagonists experience some kind of perception distortion. Sometimes it’s self-inflicted, like alcoholism in The Girl on the Train. Sometimes someone else causes it, through gaslighting or manipulation. Readers stay just as confused as the character. This confusion creates the genre’s signature tension. Maslen built this into his own novel, You’re Always With Me. His protagonist develops postpartum psychosis after a difficult birth. She believes her version of events completely. Readers believe her too, until the story pulls the rug out.
Secrets drive the plot forward
Nearly every psychological thriller hinges on a hidden secret. Often, the reader thinks they know what that secret is. Then the story reveals something completely different. In Gone Girl, readers assume the husband killed his wife. His secret turns out to be something else entirely. This technique keeps readers guessing until the final pages. It also justifies why characters lie or act suspiciously throughout the book.
Ordinary settings make it scarier
Most psychological thrillers happen to everyday people, not spies or billionaires. The setting might be a school run, a workplace, or a quiet neighborhood. Maslen calls this the “normal person” trope. His characters often think, “I’m just an ordinary person. Why is this happening to me?” That question makes the genre genuinely unsettling. Nobody expects a vampire to attack at 3 a.m. But waking up next to a stranger who calls you “darling”? That feels possible. That’s what makes these stories linger.
The protagonist can be the villain
Psychological thrillers don’t need a likable hero. Often, the protagonist turns out to be the villain. Maslen wrote an entire novel from a controlling character’s point of view. What matters isn’t likability, but relatability. Readers need to think, “That could be me.” We may never face a stalker or home invasion ourselves. But we’ve all felt anxiety, fear, or dread before. That shared emotion pulls readers into any protagonist’s skin, good or bad.
Give villains virtues and heroes flaws
Antagonists need depth too, not just menace. A purely evil villain feels flat, almost forgettable. Maslen compares that kind of villain to malaria. Nobody can empathize with a disease; it simply kills. Real antagonists need reasons, even twisted ones, for their actions. Many carry childhood trauma or a distorted sense of justice. Some don’t even realize they’re the villain of the story. This ambiguity keeps readers unsure who to trust. Chapters from the antagonist’s perspective can build that uncertainty further.
Build cozy domesticity before you destroy it
Before chaos hits, readers need to care about what’s at stake. Maslen calls this building “cozy domesticity.” Maybe it’s a nursery, a marriage, or a quiet routine. Give readers small, specific details about that comfort first. What color is the nursery? What sounds does the baby make? The more perfect that world seems, the more dread builds. Readers sense something bad is coming, even before it arrives. That anticipation creates tension long before anything actually happens.
Insidious tension beats action-movie tension
Domestic threats feel scarier than car chases or gunfights. In an action thriller, characters can run, fight, or escape. In a psychological thriller, the danger already lives inside the house. Maslen describes a simple, unsettling scenario: a stranger at your door. They ask to use your bathroom, and you let them in. Then they ask to use your phone, and stay a little longer. Saying no would feel rude, even paranoid, in real life. That social pressure traps ordinary people in dangerous situations. This slow, awkward escalation creates dread no shootout can match.
Bad decisions keep the tension building
Characters in psychological thrillers often make terrible choices. They hide evidence, lie to police, or return to dangerous relationships. Readers want to shout, “Don’t do that!” But they also understand why the character did it. Maslen compares this to Kate Winslet’s character in Mare of Easttown. She plants drugs to protect her grandson, then immediately regrets it. These flawed decisions make characters feel human. They also trap characters in situations that spiral out of control.
Every bad choice still needs a believable reason behind it. Otherwise, readers stop caring what happens next. Editors call this “too stupid to live,” or TSTL. A character wandering toward danger without cause breaks trust instantly. Give your protagonist a real motive for every risky move. Avoid making characters overly aware of genre tropes, too. A character who jokes, “This is just like The Girl on the Train,” breaks the spell. Play it straight, and let readers make those connections themselves.
Three kinds of twists define the genre
Maslen breaks psychological thriller twists into three categories: reality, identity, and guilt. Reality twists upend everything readers thought was true, like in The Sixth Sense. Identity twists reveal someone isn’t who readers assumed, similar to The Usual Suspects. Guilt twists question who’s actually responsible, as in Jagged Edge or Basic Instinct. Genre readers expect these twists. They’re actively looking for them while reading. The goal isn’t to trick readers completely. It’s to make them say, “How did I not see that coming?”
Wrong-footing the reader builds suspense
Great psychological thrillers constantly mislead readers, without technically lying. Multiple points of view help writers pull this off. One character believes something is safe. Another character’s chapter reveals the opposite is true. When those realities collide, tension spikes immediately. Maslen used this technique for a slow-speed car chase scene. Two characters end up stuck in the same traffic jam. No high-speed chase needed. The mental tension carried the entire scene.
Play fair with the reader
A great psychological thriller always plays fair. Every important clue needs to appear on the page. Readers should never feel like information was withheld unfairly. Maslen likes planting a small detail early, then revisiting it later. A character says something on page five, then lies about it on page 95. Attentive readers catch the contradiction themselves. Misdirection works best in plain sight, not through hidden tricks. Maslen points to novelist Patricia Highsmith’s advice on this technique. She once described planting an obvious clue readers still miss. The trick is drawing attention elsewhere, toward something shinier. Readers focus on the distraction and miss the real clue completely.
Keep police in the background
Unlike crime novels, psychological thrillers rarely center on police work. Detectives exist, but they stay mostly in the background. Maslen treats them almost like a Greek chorus. They help validate or question what the protagonist tells us. Writing police scenes in third person adds a layer of trust. Whatever the police witness, readers can believe as true. That contrast highlights the unreliability everywhere else in the story. Skip deep forensic detail or procedural jargon in these scenes. That level of focus belongs to police procedurals, not psychological thrillers.
Hiding identity through pronouns
One simple trick author use often: skip character names entirely. Instead, write “he” or “she” without clarifying who that pronoun means. This creates mystery without any unfair tricks. Everything stays visible to the reader. They simply don’t know which “he” the narrator means yet. Maslen compares this to building a puzzle box. It rewards attentive readers who piece things together themselves.
Choosing first or third person
Maslen recommends mixing both, rather than picking just one. He wrote his psychological thriller’s husband and wife in first person. This choice pulled readers directly into their unreliable perspectives. He wrote the detective character in third person instead. That distance signaled to readers: trust this version of events. Third person can also create a “long shot” versus “close-up” contrast. Readers feel closer to unreliable characters and farther from reliable ones.
Structuring multiple viewpoints
When switching between characters, Maslen keeps one rule consistent. He changes narrators only at the start of a new chapter, never mid-scene. Each chapter opens with that character’s name in caps. This keeps readers oriented, even with several narrators in play. Mixing viewpoints within a single chapter felt too chaotic for this genre. He compares character switches to a wine tasting palate cleanser. Each new chapter resets the reader’s focus completely.
Finding ideas for your next thriller
Maslen finds story ideas everywhere, especially in daily news. A newspaper story about adoption law sparked one plot idea. A run-down house near his home inspired another eerie setting. Long dog walks give his brain room to wander freely. Ideas often surface, disappear, then return reshaped days later. Staying curious and observant matters more than forcing inspiration. Readers benefit when authors stay genuinely open to everyday details.
Final thoughts on the genre
Psychological thrillers reward writers who understand their core ingredients. Psychology, secrets, unreliable narration, and sharp twists all matter. Relatable protagonists, sympathetic villains, and fair-play puzzles matter just as much. But rigid rules rarely apply across every book. Study bestsellers, notice patterns, then adapt them to your story. The genre thrives on surprising readers who think they’ve seen it all.
This post was developed from 2 previous First Draft Friday conversations between host Alessandra Torre and best-selling thriller author Andy Maslen. Watch both First Draft Friday Conversations on YouTube. #1 and #2
About Andy Maslen
Andy has always written stories. Starting age six, with a (very short) story about an alien on a distant planet. He says it’s in his blood, a talent inherited from his father and grandfather.
Before settling into a life of full-time writing, Andy worked in a record shop, as a barman, as a door-to-door DIY products salesman, a cook in an Italian restaurant and an advertising copywriter.
Andy is published by Thomas & Mercer and also releases books independently through his own imprint, Tyton Press.
Want to read some of Andy’s favorite thrillers? Check out his list of top Psychological Thriller books on BingeBooks.
Images in this post are stock images or AI-generated.
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This was an excellent First Draft Friday episode. I’m watching the 2nd part of Writing Psychological Thrillers, Psycho or Thriller right now! https://www.facebook.com/alessandra.torre.399/videos/1939770286171848/
This post was truly worthwhile to read. I wanted to say thank you for the key points you have pointed out as they are enlightening.
Thank you so much! We’re so glad that you found it helpful.