Jeneva Rose Recommends 4 Thrillers to Read This Fall and Teases Her First Horror Book (Exclusive)
‘The Perfect Marriage’ author reveals her favorite dark reads and what to expect from her horror debut
Key Takeaways
- Jeneva Rose recommends four twisty, dark books for your fall reading list.
- ‘The Perfect Marriage' author opens up about writing horror for the first time.
- From Stephen King to Karin Slaughter, Jeneva shares the reads she loves.
If you’ve been to the bookstore recently, you’ve probably seen the book The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose on the shelves. It follows a lawyer who decides to defend her husband after he’s accused of killing his mistress. The popular bestseller has more than 1 million ratings on Goodreads.
“I still don’t feel like I wrap my head around it,” the author tells Woman’s World. “I think it’s good that I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the success I’ve had because it keeps me grounded, keeps me humble, keeps me continuing to strive. It keeps me connected to who I was when I started.”
In addition to The Perfect Marriage, Jeneva published a sequel called The Perfect Divorce, several romance books and a time-travel book. Now, she’s gearing up to release a horror novel later this year. To learn more about Jeneva’s upcoming book and what other books she recommends reading this fall, keep scrolling!
Jeneva Rose teases her upcoming book
Next week Jeneva will release a series of short stories called Sometimes I Scare Myself, which follows three groups of a people: a 30-year-old girl after a playful séance leads to the death of the medium they hired to help them do it, the Dalton family after they move into a haunted house and a group of friends who get stuck in a cursed cabin.
“It was a lot of fun being able to start over: new characters, a new atmosphere, new setting, new everything,” says Jeneva. “I really loved being able to take the thriller guardrails off. With the thriller genre, where things have to be grounded in reality, the twist has to make sense. With horror, I can leave the door cracked open, and I don’t have to explain everything and I can go darker and more gory and I can just have a lot of fun with it.”
Jeneva Rose reveals her favorite thrillers for fall
The author doesn’t only write thrillers, she also reads them! From Stephen King to Karin Slaughter, here are Jeneva’s favorite thrillers for fall.
‘The Kind Worth Killing’ by Peter Swanson
While flying from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets Lily Kintner. They drink martinis together and play a game of truth, when Ted reveals he could kill his wife, Miranada, who he thinks is cheating on him. Instead of looking scared, Lily says, “I’d like to help.” Back in Boston, Ted and Lily continue to bond, but there are a few things from Lily’s past that might just come back to haunt her–including her experience carrying out murders.
What Jeneva says: “He just took a risk with those twists, and it worked out so well. It’s a book I wish I could reread.”
What readers are saying: “The Kind Worth Killing is a wickedly clever, slow-burn psychological thriller that thrives on mind games, shifting motives and the dangerous charm of morally gray characters. Peter Swanson creates a story where no one is innocent, everyone has an angle and every chapter pulls you deeper into a web of deceit you never see coming.”
‘Pretty Girls’ by Karin Slaughter
From bestselling author Karin Slaughter comes a haunting novel centered around three sisters. Claire is a trophy wife, Lydia is a single mother and Julia is the sister who vanished two decades ago. Since then, Lydia and Claire have barely spoken, but when Lydia’s husband dies under mysterious circumstances, the two are forced back together after authorities suspect his murder and their sister’s disappearance are connected. As the investigation unfolds, shocking family secrets surface and the two sisters must confront the truth: the life they believed they had was built entirely on lies.
What Jeneva says: “That one I have to do an asterisk when I recommend it because it is very very dark. So if you don’t like very very dark topics, I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you do, I totally recommend it. That was also a great twist in there. I remember reading it and being like, ‘She’s not going to do it. Karin’s not going to go there, is she? Oh, she did.’ it. But, I loved it. I think it worked.”
What readers are saying: “This is one of those books that grabs you, makes you uncomfortable, completely horrifies you…and somehow still makes you stay up way too late because you have to know what happens next. The twists were fantastic. Every time I thought I had things figured out, Slaughter basically said, ‘Cute. Try again.’ The story is incredibly dark and disturbing, but underneath all of that is such a powerful story about sisters, grief, trauma, secrets and just how far someone will go for the people they love.”
‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ by Liv Constantine
This Reese’s Book Club pick, written by sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, follows Amber Patterson, who becomes obsessed with Daphne Parrish, a rich woman who has everything Amber wants. Soon, Amber befriends Daphne and works her way into the family, spending time with Daphne’s daughters and getting close to her handsome husband, Jackson. But both women are hiding secrets, and when the truth comes out, Amber’s carefully planned life starts to fall apart.
What Jeneva says: “I remember reading that one and savoring it. I kind of knew where the story was going, but the ride was so much fun.”
What readers are saying: “The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine is one of the twistiest books I’ve read lately. I love these characters because they are so layered with great back stories and each of them have deep issues from the past and some have major skeletons in the closet. The writing is so good it kept me turning the pages never knowing what secrets would be revealed or what twists or turns were coming! I definitely recommend it!”
‘Pet Sematary’ by Stephen King
This spine-tingling novel from Stephen King begins when Dr. Louis Creed accepts a job and relocates his family to Ludlow, Maine. Little does he know that their house sits near a makeshift pet cemetery where local children bury their beloved animals. Beyond that, lies another burial ground—one Louis knows he should avoid. But the dark magic calls to him, and soon Louis discovers that some things are far more terrifying than death itself.
What Jeneva says: “I like that one so much because the whole thing is about grief, and the most terrifying thing isn’t the monsters in it or what they become. It’s what grief can do to a person. And when you’re watching it or reading it, you think, ‘Maybe I would do the same thing.’ And that’s kind of scary.”
What readers are saying: “Pet Sematary absolutely terrified me, and that is saying something because I read over one hundred books a year and no other book has ever affected me the way this one did. From the moment I started, I kept telling myself I would read just one more chapter, and before I knew it, hours had passed. The suspense and dread build so perfectly that it is impossible to put down.”
You can preorder Sometimes I Scare Myself by Jeneva Rose now wherever books are sold.
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