If you liked
Books like The End of Everything
by Megan Abbott
Megan Abbott's The End of Everything turned a suburban-disappearance premise into one of the best literary thrillers of its decade. Lizzie's voice is what readers come back for. These five carry the same patient psychological precision.
The shortlist
What to read next
Bury Me Deepby Megan Abbott
“Megan Abbott rewriting a real 1930s Phoenix murder case as a fever dream. Period noir with a feminist undertow.”
The Church of the Dead Girlsby Stephen Dobyns
“The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns 1997 review. Three teenage girls disappear from an upstate New York town and the community begins to suspect everyone, including itself.”
Cold Steel Rainby Kenneth Abel
“The first Danny Chaisson novel. Kenneth Abel writing New Orleans politics and corruption with a New Orleans-specific moral exhaustion you cannot fake.”
When Rich Men Dieby Harold Adams
“When Rich Men Die by Harold Adams 1987 review. The fifth Carl Wilcox Depression-era mystery sends the alcoholic itinerant artist back to Corden, South Dakota for a banker’s murder.”
Enough Ropeby Lawrence Block
“Lawrence Block's collected short fiction. Eighty-plus stories. The case for Block as one of the most versatile American crime writers of his generation.”
FAQ
Common questions about The End of Everything read-alikes
- Are these all noir or literary-suspense?
- Mostly. Dobyns's Church of Dead Girls is the closest literary-suspense match. Bury Me Deep is Abbott's noir companion. Cold Steel Rain and When Rich Men Die are regional crime in the patient psychological mode Abbott does so well.
- Which is the best next Megan Abbott?
- Bury Me Deep, our other Abbott on the list. After that, Dare Me, The Fever, and Give Me Your Hand are her strongest 2010s novels. The Turnout (2021) is the most recent.
- What about other suburban-disappearance thrillers?
- Laura Lippman's Every Secret Thing and Tana French's In the Woods are the two best non-Abbott examples outside our review catalog.
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