Reality TV Suspense and Thriller Books are relatively new in the adult reader space. Books set in reality TV shows have been very common in young adult fantasy and contemporary books and I will do a post of those on my YA and romance book site, YA All Day. Let’s talk about the Reality TV Thriller Books!
Reality TV Suspense and Thriller Books
My Favorite Reality TV themed thrillers:
- my favorite BY FAR is a book I rarely hear about: Stranded by Sarah Goodwin. My second fave would be Game of Lies by Claire Macintosh. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is good too, but it’s more of a survival story than a reality show!
New Reality TV Themed Thrillers in 2025:
- Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger
- The Compound by Aisling Rawle
Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
- Published in 2025 by Park Row Books
- Reads like: Survivor meets Fear Factor
- Best for: readers who’d like a multigenerational cast, some humor, and a fair amount of character development.
The Compound by Aisling Rawe
- Published in 2025 by Random House
- Reads like: Love Island meets Survivor, with coupling up and voting off and starvation
- Best for: readers who like interpersonal drama more than action and suspense
The Compound wasn’t gripping enough for me, with a lot of interpersonal drama.
Stranded by Sarah Goodwin
- Published in 2021 by Avon Books
- Reads like old-school Survivor
- Best for: readers who love Lord of the Flies, LOST and Survivor
Stranded might be my favorite Reality TV book. If you loved old-school Survivor or even LOST, this book is for you. Harrowing and hard to read, this literally kept me on the edge of my seat.
Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh
- Published in 2024 by Sourcebooks
- Reads like: Snowflake Island, which is on Netflix and I recommend it!!
- Best for: readers who like police procedurals and cozy mysteries
I really enjoyed Game of Lies. It combines a police procedural as the Welsh police investigate a murder during a reality TV filming.
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
- Published in 2024 by Gallery/Scout Press
- Reads like: Love Island meets Survivor
- Best for: people who don’t like reality TV but like survival thrillers
This book started out as a reality TV themed book and turned into a gripping feminist survival thriller. After some calibration in my expectations I really enjoyed this. Check out my Spoiler Discussion of One Perfect Couple.
Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf
- Published in 2024 by Park Row Books
- Reads like: Big Brother x Survivor
- Best for: people who really are fans of Reality TV. Of all the books on my list, this is the most reality TV grounded, with lots of challenges, reveals, and more.
To me, this was the most fun or “brain candy” of the books, requiring some suspension of disbelief. But it’s an enjoyable read, and you can check out my Review of Everyone is Watching with spoilers!