Nine Must-Read True Crime and Tense Thrillers by Gregg Olsen

In 1911, Clara and Dora Williamson, two wealthy British heiresses, went to a sanitarium in the Pacific Northwest.

They wanted to undergo the revolutionary new “fasting treatment” at the hands of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard. It was supposed to be a holiday.

But within a month, both women were emaciated and shadows of their former selves. And they weren’t the first to be subjected to extreme and brutal treatments. Hazzard wasn’t interested in helping anyone. She wanted the money her clients brought to her.

Sometimes, she even went so far as to commit murder to get what she wanted.

For years, in the town of Raymond, Washington, three girls grew up carrying a terrible secret. Their mother, Shelly, was subjecting them to terrible abuse, degradation, torture, and terror.

But the one thing their mother never accounted for was the unshakeable bond the three sisters would form.

It allowed them to survive their childhood and gather the strength and courage to finally escape after the nightmare escalated with multiple murders in this harrowing true story.

Former homicide detective Nicole Foster is at rock bottom after being driven off the force by her ex-partner and lover.

Now, she’s broke with a gambling addiction and no prospects for her future. All she has left is memories of the murder case that ended her career. 

When the little girl’s grieving father begs her to help, she is drawn back into the case. But the more she investigates, the closer to home the case brings her.

Until the key to uncovering the truth might finally lead to both justice for the little girl and getting her life back.

To try and get their marriage back on track, Adam and Sophie take their three-year-old daughter on vacation for the Memorial Day weekend. On their first day, Adam goes out on the lake, only to watch helplessly as Sophie is abducted.

At least Adam’s friend, Lee Huseman, is the detective on the case.

But as the case develops and Adam becomes increasingly more paranoid, Lee moves closer to the truth. Not everyone involved has been telling her the truth.

At least, they haven’t revealed all the ways they’ve lied to their partners or admitted to the secrets they’ve kept from the people they claim to love.

When Ruth Turner reports that her sister Ida has been missing for over a month, Detective Megan Carpenter knows this case requires more than just a report.

At Ida’s farmhouse, they find her kids alone and scared. Megan also notices what isn’t there. A TV. Games. No sign of the outside world. It’s obvious something is amiss within this home.

And when the body of a woman if found near their community, she knows the cases are somehow connected. To solve the case, Megan has to unravel the secrets of this tight-knit community.

But Megan has her own dark secrets. And if she wants to prevent another body from showing up, she has to confront the ghosts of her past.

In May 2005, the Groene family was murdered in their Idaho home. All except the two youngest children, who were missing.

What the community didn’t know was that the boys were miles away in the woods of Montana in the hands of serial killer Joseph Edward Duncan. Forty-eight hours later, the girl is rescued.

But this was only the beginning of her story. This is the story of how she worked to heal from the trauma and reclaim her life.

Across the Puget Sound, in various towns and cities, bodies are washing up. The only thing the young women have in common are the violent deaths they suffered.

But there is a connection. Someone is watching them. Capturing them. Torturing them. This killer won’t stop.

Not until someone stops him.

He’s smart. Cunning. Ruthless. And his next victim will shock everyone.

When a family is slaughtered and their teenage son disappears, single mother and police officer Emily Kenyon leads to investigation.

Surprisingly, it’s her daughter Jenna that begins to put the pieces together. Not before another family is murdered. Then another.

Emily and Jenna continue to make progress on the case, connecting clues and moving closer to the truth. Until Emily makes a shocking discovery.

The killer knows about their search. And now he’s coming after them both.

Carole and David have the perfect life in the quiet community along Oregon’s Deschutes River. Until their young son Charlie vanishes without a trace. It’s a shock to everyone in the community.

Everyone except their neighbor Liz. It was accident. One that would change the lives of everyone she loves.

So, she covered it up. As both marriages crumble for different reasons, Liz becomes withdrawn and paranoid.

But perhaps, for good reason. There’s another neighbor with secrets. He’s been watching Liz.

And the mystery of what happened to Charlie is just beginning.