To stand out in the thriller genre, a book must deliver a jaw-dropping twist that keeps readers hooked till the end. Skilled authors like Agatha Christie and William Diehl expertly manipulate reader expectations to deliver shocking and satisfying twists. From psychological thrillers to crime dramas, these captivating novels use intense suspense and endless twists to keep readers on edge.

There's nothing more frustrating than a thriller book that leaves readers disappointed with its final twist, but that only makes the stories that get it right stand out all the more. Mysteries, psychological thrillers, unsettling crime dramas, and more have been a key feature of fiction for centuries, going back to James Fenimore Cooper's The Spy in 1821. Of course, the longer this genre has been popular, the harder it is to take avid readers by surprise.

Standard thriller tropes can be a double-edged sword, and so often, a book falls...