Natasha Preston is a standout voice in young adult thrillers. Books like The Cellar and Awake pull readers in with high-stakes suspense, eerie tension, and mysteries that keep the pages turning.
If you enjoy Natasha Preston’s fast-paced, twisty stories, these authors are well worth adding to your reading list:
Karen M. McManus is known for smart, suspenseful YA thrillers built around secrets, shifting loyalties, and carefully timed reveals. Her novels often dig into friendship, betrayal, and the hidden lives people keep from one another.
A great place to start is One of Us Is Lying, in which five students walk into detention and only four come out alive.
Holly Jackson writes addictive mysteries filled with sharp twists and believable teen characters. Her stories usually follow determined young investigators, blending suspense with themes of friendship, courage, and the search for truth.
Readers looking for a gripping mystery should try A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, about a high school student reopening a murder case her small town thinks is already solved.
Kara Thomas excels at dark, atmospheric mysteries with layered characters and strong emotional undercurrents. Her books explore trust, trauma, and the ways old secrets continue to shape teenage lives.
Her novel The Cheerleaders follows a girl trying to uncover the truth behind a string of suspicious deaths tied to her town’s cheerleading squad.
Kimberly Derting blends suspense, mystery, and romance in stories that balance emotional stakes with a strong sense of danger. Her novels often place ordinary teens in unsettling situations where dark truths refuse to stay buried.
In The Body Finder, Violet Ambrose has the disturbing ability to sense murder victims, drawing her into the hunt for a local killer.
Megan Miranda writes atmospheric thrillers that combine psychological depth with intricate mysteries. She frequently uses haunting settings and long-buried past events to create stories that slowly tighten their grip.
One standout is All the Missing Girls, told in reverse chronological order, which invites readers to piece together the mystery in an especially clever way.
Courtney Summers delivers intense YA thrillers grounded in raw emotion and difficult truths. Her books confront trauma, grief, and complicated relationships with an honesty that makes the suspense hit even harder.
If you like Natasha Preston’s darker edge, try Sadie, a haunting and powerful story about a girl determined to find out who murdered her sister.
Tiffany D. Jackson writes gripping YA mysteries that are both suspenseful and thought-provoking. Her novels tackle issues such as injustice, inequality, and public perception while still delivering tightly plotted, page-turning tension.
Fans of Natasha Preston may enjoy Allegedly, an unsettling story about a girl accused of a terrible crime as a child who now wants a chance to reclaim her life.
Jessica Goodman is especially good at combining teen drama with simmering suspense. Her thrillers often focus on elite social circles, complicated female friendships, and the damage secrets can do behind polished appearances.
If you enjoy tense mysteries with social fallout, pick up They Wish They Were Us, which uncovers dark truths beneath the surface of a privileged school community.
Kit Frick writes psychological thrillers filled with complicated relationships, unreliable narrators, and mounting unease. Her layered storytelling will appeal to readers who like Natasha Preston’s twists but want something especially character-driven.
Consider I Killed Zoe Spanos, a compelling mystery where identity, memory, and guilt become increasingly tangled.
Gretchen McNeil brings together mystery, horror, and a quick-moving sense of fun in her YA thrillers. Her books throw teens into dangerous situations and keep the tension high from the start.
Give Ten a try, a tense thriller about a group of teens stranded on an island and forced to solve a string of deadly events before it’s too late.
Chelsea Pitcher writes tense, twisty thrillers full of secrets and emotional pressure. Like Natasha Preston, she often explores how hidden truths and bad decisions can spiral into something far more dangerous.
Her novel This Lie Will Kill You follows a group of teens drawn into a deadly game that forces them to confront the secrets they would rather keep buried.
Dana Mele crafts YA thrillers with strong pacing, sharp mysteries, and plenty of betrayal. Her stories often center on close-knit groups where loyalty is fragile and the truth is more dangerous than anyone expects.
Readers might especially enjoy People Like Us, a dark boarding-school mystery packed with scandal, complicated relationships, and unexpected turns.
Caleb Roehrig combines emotional intensity with fast-moving suspense. His novels feature strong character dynamics, sharp plotting, and the kind of twists that keep readers invested all the way through.
His thriller Last Seen Leaving begins with a missing girl and unfolds into a mystery filled with secrets, tension, and difficult questions.
E. Lockhart writes YA thrillers marked by emotional complexity, elegant prose, and memorable twists. Her stories often focus on family, privilege, and the secrets that shape relationships in lasting ways.
Her best-known novel, We Were Liars, delivers psychological suspense and a powerful sense of mystery that Natasha Preston fans may find especially compelling.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes clever mysteries and thrillers packed with puzzles, tension, and strong hooks. Her books often mix high-stakes suspense with family drama and intricate plotting.
A standout choice is The Inheritance Games, which combines riddles, secrets, and fierce competition in a story that is easy to race through.
