There's nothing like reading an engrossing thriller that builds on a suspenseful premise with well-placed clues and a superb sense of timing, all the way to a killer ending. And author Phoebe Morgan does it not once, not twice, but thrice. In
The Babysitter, she pays a smart nod to the #MeToo era with psychological undertones that's both tightly-plotted and absorbing. In last year's
The Girl Next Door, she pulls off a deeply enthralling narrative, dipping her toes into the domestic thriller genre with fantastic results à la
Gone Girl propelled by an unreliable (and self-centred) protagonist who's willing to go to any lengths to cover up her secrets. That a girl who lives next door gets murdered only threatens to break her carefully cultivated veneer of a perfect life. And in her assured 2017 debut,
The Doll House, she angles around themes of family secrets, lies, and revenge, crafting an unsettling and page-turning portrayal of a family who find their past catching up to them in mysterious ways. It never misses a beat and there isn't one single dull moment to speak of, even as it hops from an observation of anxiety and paranoia to an action-heavy face-off. Because what's a thriller for if it gives us time to breathe?
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