I know which Suspense Books Taylor Swift Would Love. How? She recently revealed more about the kind of books she loves to read. Not surprisingly, she loves Gothic Suspense, Domestic Suspense, and Dark Family Suspense. Here’s my list of books she (and you) will love!
Suspense Books Taylor Swift Would Love
On a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Taylor Swift revealed some more about her reading habits. We already knew she loves Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but in her conversation with Colbert, she went through the tropes and elements she looks for.
Maybe Taylor took my quiz that sorts you into one of the three reader types and she is a suspense lover all the way!
Taylor Loves Gothic Suspense
Here’s the first kind of book she loves:
“An old rambling British mansion, covered in moss or ivy, and there’s a mysterious relationship, and he may not be what he seems, and there’s a murder that has happened in the past and you hear whispers of it, and there’s the idea of a ghost, or an actual ghost.”
If that’s not Gothic Suspense, I don’t know what is! Here’s my rundown on what that subgenre is, but let’s just skip ahead to Taylor’s Gothic Suspense Book List:
Besides the classics:
- Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Here are some other books with gothic elements that I think Taylor would love:
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
A husband, a wife, a remote church in Scotland, a weekend trip that should be romantic but is spooky. This book just keeps you guessing and has some of the domestic suspense element that Taylor loves.
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
An abandoned mansion on the Thames, an inheritance, an orphaned baby. This book is super creepy and even has a sequel called The Family Remains.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Guest List has gothic elements (a spooky island with ruins), the island element Taylor loves, a possibly cursed wedding, and maybe a ghost!
A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
This book has some gothic Rebecca vibes as a new bride is brought by the husband to his ancestral mansion. But this bride is a reality show celebrity, not a shy ingenue. Let the games begin!
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
This book has both gothic and family secrets elements, so could be on this list or the list below. A character with an illness, a spooky family mansion, that is cut off by the tide…
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
This book also has both gothic and family secrets elements. Gothic fiction often centers around a young female household employee, like a governess. In this book, a young woman is hired to work in a spooky Maine mansion for an elderly woman who is thought to have killed her family.
Taylor is into Books About Dark Family Secrets
There’s a family compound on an island off the coast of Maine, there’s secrets in this family, right? This brother, what’s going on with him, why don’t know we know where he’s been for ten years, why did he just show up?
I have a whole list of Family Secrets Suspense, but here’s what I recommend to Taylor:
Vantage Point by Sara Sliger
I really enjoyed this story of a rich family with YES a private island in New England and YES they are supposedly cursed. A fun read from summer 2025 that I don’t think got enough attention!
The Inheritance by Trisha Sahklecha
Rich family, private island (Scotland, not Maine), a family in turmoil, and a shocking ending!
Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
An isolated New England island, a son who suddenly returns (did Taylor already read this one) with his new girlfriend, plus a teenager who went missing years ago…
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Yes, this is a YA book but it has all the elements Taylor mentions: private island, a wealthy girl with amnesia, and SO many secrets.
The Prime Video adaptation was really good too.
Taylor Loves a Good Domestic Suspense Book
There’s a marriage and the marriage isn’t what it seems … why are you with him? He’s horrible to you. Oh: plot twist! Unreliable narrator; she’s the psycho….
Domestic Suspense is a subset of Psychological Suspense (I define it here) but let’s get to the book list:
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
This book about a woman who wakes up every morning with memory loss. She is seeing a psychiatrist and keeping a journal. Can she get to the bottom of what happened to her and who she can trust?
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
This book is the one suspense book that I think I will never figure out. My discussion post has comments that all make sense, but they can’t all be right.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michalides
I love this book! A psychiatrist offers to help an artist who was accused of killing her husband and then has not said a words since. What happened?
The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine
I also really love this domestic suspense about a woman who is NOT going to let some newcomer to town come and convince the man she loves to abandon her and the children they both adore. It’s on!
What other books do you think Taylor should read? Tell me in the comments!